What Did Jesus Do to Draw a Crowd?
Gathering large crowds for Sunday services is a primary focus of many local churches. The determination and pressure to increase worship attendance is driving many local church pastors to find and implement effective methodologies to make this happen.
A close examination of the motivation behind this drive to increase attendance is required in order to distinguish between biblical and worldly models. Often this drive is present because local churches gauge their success by their attendance. I'm afraid many local churches are implementing strategies to get more people into their places of worship without considering the spiritual impact this will have upon the congregation, present and future.
When looking to the example of Jesus for a biblical model of church growth, two questions arise. First, did Jesus intentionally strive to gather a large crowd? Second, what was it about Jesus that caused large crowds to gather around him?
The crowds around Jesus
The first question is simple to answer. There's not a single reference to Jesus intentionally strategizing to gather a large crowd.
The irony in the ministry of Jesus is that people swarmed around him. The assumption in North American churches today is that crowds will gather in response to slick advertisements, to hear celebrities, or to receive a free gift. Yet without a hint of marketing gimmicks, crowds surrounded Jesus. Once, a whole town assembled to see and hear him (Mark 1:33); in another incident, the crowd was so large that Jesus had his disciples prepare a boat that he could use for preaching from the water (Mark 3:8-9). The water was probably deep, and the people could not walk out to him while he was teaching.
Within those crowds there were people who made long journeys—far beyond the normal distance for the target audience. Imagine the determination of these physically and spiritually ill individuals who traveled over one hundred miles to be with Jesus. (Keep in mind that they were traveling without the modern conveniences that we have.) These people were desperate to get to Jesus. Some of the travelers carried their paralyzed friend so that he could meet with Jesus (Mark 2:3). Another crowd that numbered in the thousands was hanging around Jesus for three days. Even when their food supply was consumed, they continued to stay with him (Mark 8:2, 9).
This leads to the next question: What was it about Jesus that caused large crowds to gather around him?
What Jesus did
Simply stated, Jesus preached the Kingdom of God in word and deed. People were astounded by his authoritative teaching. He taught that the Kingdom God was within the grasp of his listeners. He declared his authority to forgive sins and authority to determine the proper use of the Sabbath Day, as well as the authority to cast out demons. “The people were amazed at his teaching” (Mark 1:22).
His love for individuals was another factor that caused people to flock to him. His compassion was visible through his miracles. He healed people afflicted with everything from fevers to leprosy. He released those who were spiritually oppressed and possessed by evil. When individuals encountered Jesus, their lives were changed forever. The heart of Jesus is clearly revealed in his encounter with a woman who had suffered for twelve years. After healing her, he then invested his time in listening to her life story (Mark 5:33). Individuals such as these who received Jesus' compassion spread the good report about him. They did not have to use a catchy phrase or a gimmick to get their friends to go see Jesus; they only had to express what they saw, heard, and experienced. Some even told their friends and families about what he had done for them, even though Jesus instructed them not to say a word about the healing they received (Mark 1:44-45).
The charisma of Jesus also drew the crowds. He engaged people on their turf, he went to the places where they lived and partied. He went to the home of Simon and Andrew and freed Simon's mother-in-law of her fever. While he was staying there, a large crowd gathered around the house (Mark 1:29-33). In the next chapter of Mark's Gospel, Jesus was in a house preaching. Once again, a large crowd gathered. In that house a man received the forgiveness of sins and healing from his paralysis. Jesus also entered the house of Levi, one who had recently chosen to follow Jesus, and he mingled with the religious outsiders of his day. While the religious leaders were outside the house questioning the religious integrity of Jesus, Jesus was sharing a meal with “sinners.” It is extremely significant for Mark's Gospel to record Jesus visiting people in their homes. Jesus was not in his office praying or studying; he was out among the people. He talked with them. He ate with them. He healed them. He loved them, and they knew it!
The growth strategy of Jesus was to bring God's kingdom—the power and presence of God—to people in practical and tangible ways. The result was that “news about him spread quickly over the whole region” (Mark 1:28), and the physically and spiritually sick traveled more than one hundred miles to be touched by him. This is an example for followers of Jesus to implement!
What should we do?
When the Kingdom of God is not alive and active in the ministry of a local church, the church will resort to other means of drawing large crowds. Typically, a local church is gauged to be successful by the number of people attending the worship services. When the crowds are small, the temptation is strong to turn to exploitation techniques used by the world. These methods can gather a large crowd for “worship” and on the surface it appears that the Kingdom of God is present. There is a growing number of North American Christians who believe in relying on good advertisement, good music, good parking, and a host of other good things to increase the number of those attending worship services. Such strategies have replaced a trust in the ability of Jesus to grow his church. My conviction is that the future of the church in North America is bleak if she does not repent and change her ways.
On the other hand, a great opportunity lies ahead. It's time for the church to fully embrace the ministry model of Jesus. His followers can communicate and demonstrate the presence of the Kingdom of God in the power and presence of the Spirit of Jesus. The church can demonstrate the compassion of Jesus to people on their own turf by going to where they live, work, and party. The church can be an instrument in the hands of God to bring the good news that the Kingdom of God is within arm's length of everyone! Then, as God is impacting lives through his church, the word will quickly spread throughout the region that God is on the move. Then the crowds will come seeking to hear, see, and experience the power of Jesus. When the church wholeheartedly lives out the ministry model of Jesus, the church will be able to trash her reliance upon gimmicks to increase the numbers. And then the church will be free to trust in Jesus to grow his church his way!
