When the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost, the first church was established in Jerusalem. There is much for us to learn from how the early church developed.
It was a church filled with people who diligently pursued the truth, loved others as themselves, enthusiastically worshiped God, and persistently preached the gospel. God was pleased with the devotion of the believers, so he added to their number daily.
However, God's plan for the church did not stop with the church in Jerusalem. The gospel needed to go from Jerusalem to Samaria and even to the ends of the earth.
Nearly every independent church has devoted the majority of its resources and energy to sustain the institution and the number of believers. Whether it is a large church with thousands of people or a small church with only a few dozen people, their priority is to attract more people into the church.
Does the heart of God ask us to remain comfortable in the church or go into the crowd and share the good news?
When Stephen was martyred, the early church also encountered its first large-scale persecution. In addition to the apostles, the other disciples fled from Jerusalem in great numbers.
But we were astonished to find that the disciples did not flee to one place and then hide themselves. Rather, they preached as they went, so that the gospel was spread outside of Jerusalem.
Before this, the leaders of the church were the apostles, who remained in Jerusalem. They didn’t serve God and the church all the time, were not preachers, nor missionaries, but it was through them that the gospel was preached. Truly, they were the sharers of the good news. This might be considered the first lay movement.
The pandemic swept through our world and almost destroyed a few large churches, which wanted to grab new members from the small churches. This is indicative of the crisis of large churches, otherwise, they would not attempt to do this.
Large churches are resourceful and wealthy, and also experienced in putting together online worship services. The move to online services happened quickly and while small churches were still trying to deal with the changes, a significant number of their members were attracted by famous pastors.
However, what happened was abnormal. Following the resumption of normal church services with small churches reopening, then things changed again.
Was it God's will that churches all over the world would close? If so, were online meetings in line with God's heart? Most Christians haven't taken communion in six months, although online communion gradually became more common. Is this something that God just permitted? Even a team as influential as the Steam of Praise declared hat unleavened bread could be replaced by bread for the communion service. Is this a positive change for the church or is this a wrong direction?
Is there a lesson to be learned from the Jerusalem church? The apostles stayed in Jerusalem as persecution closed in on them, and feared no danger. Likewise, in this global pandemic, if we want to transform crisis into opportunity, we need to step out of our comfort zone and take the gospel from Jerusalem into the world.
The idea is that crowds will come into the church if the doors are open. However, if the church is in an adverse situation, then the crowds may not come. The church must become active so that people will be attracted and want to come. Every Christian who has been in the church for so many years should be able and willing to share the gospel.
Almost every major revival of the church has stemmed from a lay movement. It's almost impossible to rely on famous pastors to bring about revival in this environment since they have too many constraints. Lay people are not as entangled in the affairs of life, so once this countless number of people experienced the tongues of flame and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the gospel message could not help but spread to others.
When we talk about the history of Chinese Christianity, we must mention John Sung, Watchman Nee, Wang Mingdao, and Jia Yuming. However, many churches only have two or three Christians scattered all over the country. They met, studied the Bible, prayed, and evangelized slowly.
The church was not ruled by men, but by God. If it was men that oversaw the church, then the church would quickly disappear. The church was the body of Christ, accompanied and cared for by Him. With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
If we looked at the circumstances, the church was going to be finished. But if we fixed our eyes on God, then all things would work out according to His good will.
In the post-pandemic era, we wondered whether the church would sink and if the ship would run aground. We didn't know. But the cross that floated above everything seemed to cry out to us: Run! The church is renewed!
May we follow the example of the Jerusalem church, share the gospel beyond Jerusalem, move out of the confines of churches, and into the crowd.
- Translated By Elaina Wu
