How to Change the World
If the church wants to change the world, what should it do? If you listen to what is being said on your social media feed, it’s all about the big splash. Everyone is trying to go viral, land the right talk to a big audience, or follow the latest Christian trend. We want public, big, and unmistakable. This is what fills our feed, and we have probably come to believe that bigger is actually better.
When we look at Jesus’ life, we do see plenty of examples of large crowds, spectacular healings, and numerous followers. Jesus made a public impact, and we might think that we have to figure out how to do the same. However, in John 6, even after Jesus fed the 5,000 and walked on water, it was not enough to hold the crowds. John 6:66-67 says that many of his disciples turned away from him. In fact, He asked His own apostles, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” (NIV). Despite the many miracles and blessings He gave, it wasn’t enough to hold the crowds’ attention when things got serious.
We often think that we have to do something big for Christ. In fact, we sometimes even downplay or refer to our service as insignificant. We’ve got to realize that this type of thinking is not coming from the Bible but from the culture around us. We may not even realize how much of our culture has seeped into us. In Matthew 10:42, Jesus says that if we give a cup of cold water in His name, we will not lose our reward. This is a far cry from the messaging we receive from the world around us.
When we look at Jesus’ life, He did have large crowds following Him, but He spent focused time on a few. Jesus had concentric circles of influence. The inner circle consisted of the apostles He was closest to: Peter, James, and John. The next circle of influence included all the apostles. The next was a larger group of disciples that He spent time teaching and working alongside. Only outside of this came the crowds.
Christianity has been a movement focused on making disciples one-by-one. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 does not call us to convert people and leave them, but to make disciples. Disciple-making is personal, and it’s long-term. It’s doing life with one another and helping each other grow as spiritual brothers and sisters. In his book, The Rise of Christianity, Rodney Stark concludes that it was not through public miracles that the Church grew but through Christians who reached out to their friends and relatives (208, 211). From these personal touches, Christianity grew. Christians served, provided help to those who needed it, and treated people well who often were looked down upon. This was highly personal and sometimes even private.
It’s important that we approach our church work with a biblical understanding of what is expected, as well as what is effective. Smaller churches may not think that they can do much. They often do not have the resources that larger churches do, and if they are in rural areas they may not even have as many people to reach. They may be tempted to succumb to the idea that the larger churches are better at evangelism and equipped to make an impact. Without ever saying it, the smaller churches may believe “bigger is better” and become discouraged by their own efforts. However, we have to remember the lessons about how Christianity grew.
If Jesus’ approach was to deeply impact a core group of people, equipping them to make other disciples, why do we discount it if our congregation has to lean on smaller, more personal evangelism efforts? Christianity spread through the power of multiplication. If each person in a congregation only impacted two others to develop a deeper relationship with Christ and become disciple-makers, and those two impacted two more, the church would experience exponential growth. Personal investment in the lives of other Christians, helping them mature in their faith and become disciple-makers themselves, creates greater, more lasting change than something more fleeting. Seeking a way to go viral or land one talk will not have a greater impact than when we walk alongside a brother or sister as they strengthen their spiritual walk with God.
We need to adjust the way we are thinking about evangelism. While this is especially important in a small and rural-church setting, larger churches also need to check themselves to make sure that their theology about effective evangelism is grounded in the Word. In Luke 12:32, Jesus gives this encouragement which is still relevant today: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”
