Read Acts 2:42-47. What do you think attracts people to church? Good music? Great preaching? Superb coffee?
The early church didn’t have any of those things! Music isn’t mentioned. The preaching was Spirit-filled (read Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14-41 as an example) but was given by lowly and uneducated fishermen and others. Coffee was severely lacking in first century Jerusalem! And yet, the Lord added people to the church every day. So what attracted people to the church? It was their love for each other and for others. They quickly realised they belonged to one family – God’s family – and that each believer was a brother or sister in Christ. And so they showed love to each other by meeting together daily and sharing everything they had. They found every way possible to help each other.
That’s what attracted people to the church. Even the Roman rulers recognised the love Christians had for each other and for those in need. They wanted to destroy the church but found the love in it utterly captivating.
Radical love between believers in a church attracts people to that church. It draws people to Jesus. If you want your church to grow, then learn to love like the early church loved. Being committed to our fellow Christians as much as we are to God – being with them and sharing life with them – is the best way to make your church grow.
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
oHow could you show love to a fellow believer today?
