Irresistible Faith

June 7, 2026

It was exciting to attend the first ever annual meeting of the Keystone Conference UCC, where pastors and church delegates from over 220 churches gathered to learn, do church business, worship and fellowship. It was the first meeting since the four conferences in Pennsylvania became one! It was a big deal! People have been trying to bring the conferences together for quite a while. I was on a committee about 12 years ago that tried to merge the Penn Northeast and Penn Southeast Conferences. Penn Northeast voted yes, but Penn Southeast didn’t have the votes.  So many people worked so hard over the last three years to bring the four conferences together. They got past the disagreements, caught the vision and found the unity. Even our new conference minister, Carrie Call, says three years ago she thought, “This is never going to happen!“ But it did! So, we rejoice in the new day the Lord has made! It makes more financial sense to join together, and together we are stronger!

Elaine Ely, a friend and UCC pastor, said to me it was a different feel at the meeting this weekend. There were a lot more people she didn’t know. But it felt good! It was a good weekend. There was a great attitude! We were all able to move forward in faith. Jesus taught we should love our neighbor, love God, and don’t be afraid. That’s something I think we all work on outside of church.

Today we’re looking at Acts 2:42-47. It’s about a new time, a new thing. The Christian church was brand new. The risen Jesus, right before he went to heaven, told his followers they would receive the Holy Spirit, which was God with them. Then Jesus leaves, he takes the spiritual elevator up to heaven. And then Pentecost happens, and Jesus’ believers are filled with Holy spirit! 3000 Jews in Jerusalem from many different nations, hear the disciples speaking in each of their languages! They are amazed and wonder what is going on? Peter speaks to all those gathered about Jesus. The listeners are cut to the heart and ask: What should we do?

“Peter says, repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and you’ll receive the Holy Spirit.” What follows immediately after is this passage from Acts 2 which describes what the church was like. The disciples teach and work miracles, the believers gather in homes and break bread, they share meals, they celebrate communion, they pray, they shar what they have and take care of each other. That’s what churches ever since have done. Vs. 46-47 say, ^“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” 

They ate together with glad hearts! They experienced joy! It wasn’t all easy. Church was a new thing! No one had ever done this before. We hear later in Acts about disagreements among the believers, and persecution of Christians by outsiders. But here, they enjoy the favor of all the people. Means people around them are really impressed! They think, “These are the kind of neighbors I like having around! Maybe, I’ll even join them and become a Christian!

We live in a different time. What do people in our country today, people outside of church, think about the church? Wouldn’t it be great if they were amazed by us! They see us do church in a way where we just grow in love for one another, for God, and for the world! They see our joy! What if people are so impressed by Christians, we keep adding to our number, those who are being saved!

Church didn’t start as an established religion. They were just Jesus followers. There was no constitution and bylaws, and no building. It was simple: meet together, eat meals together, help each other and other people, pray, and baptize people. I’m sure it wasn’t easy. But the effect they had on those around them was amazing. People looked at Christians and were impressed! They thought, “Wow, those Christians really love one another! They love everyone, even their enemies!” The church took off! The irresistible Christian faith was rooted in relationship, not religion.  It was not an established religion, not an institution. Instead, the church was very relational, and the Lord added to their number!

Speakers at the Keystone Conference meeting talked about how more people today feel lonely and disconnected and spend a lot of time looking at screens. The number of people who say they don’t have any close friends is growing. Fewer people attend church which is a shame because church is a great remedy for loneliness! Church is a team sport.

There are two big ways that church helps connect people with friends. The first way is groups. Pastor Andy Stanley says, “Circles are better than rows.” Worship is what we’re all about! It’s great to praise God! Most often in worship we sit in rows. But Christians are called to do more than attend worship. A church with a rich relational life isn’t just worship. People join groups: circles. At Trinity and St. Peter’s there are Bible studies, women’s groups, Sunday school, and Consistory. You meet in circles, looking at and talking with each other. You have some fun together and share how things are going. In the circle people know how you’re doing, how you’re really doing. You are friends. Groups or circles are great because you learn together, pray for each other, and you know each other.

Another way church helps us grow in relationships is through serving. Some people are all about groups: if that’s you, you may say, “Everybody should join Bible study” or whatever group you’re in. But some people would rather be part of a team that works together, rather than sitting in a circle. A team where you serve together might be the food pantry or the CROP Hunger Walk, a choir or bell choir. You work hard or walk a long way or learn a difficult song. You might enjoy being on the team that serves in the food stand at Old Home Week. Trinity youth serve together in worship reading Scripture, greeting, or taking up the offering.  On a team you feel like you are making a difference together!

Now imagine someone is impressed with our church. They say, “Wow, look how they love each other!” They decide to come check us out. How do we help them decide, I want to be part of this church and these Christ followers?

We get them connected! Research shows a person that makes 6 friends in a church in the first few months will stick with that church! Person who makes only 2 friends or less in the first couple months isn’t going to stay at that church! So, it’s everybody’s job to help new people get connected quickly! If you see someone you don’t know, say hello. Invite them to a group, or to serve.

A speaker at the Keystone Conference meeting asked us a question, which I’ll ask you. Raise your hand if you first came to church because of a Bible tract? Raise your hand if you first came to church because you read a book? Raise you hand if you first came to church because of a preacher on TV? Raise your hand if you first came to church because somebody loved you and cared for you? A caring person brought you to church. And caring people kept you here!

Friends matter because they are glad to see us when we come to church, they miss us when we’re not here, and they help us grow spiritually.

My challenge for you this week is to think about how your connection to your friends at church is helping you grow closer to God.

The faith of the early Christians was irresistible to outsiders! It was about relationships more than religion. They ate in each other’s homes and broke bread together. And the Lord added to their number daily, those who were being saved. Relationships bring us to church for the first time; they can keep us at church. Church is a team sport where we go deeper by joining a group or serving on a team. The key to becoming an irresistible church is to be a church that always makes new friends. Amen.