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Not an Event, but a Life: Why are the Crowds Here?

Wrapping around three sides of the church building, this line was a repeat of the scene just hours before when a line had wound around the building from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm. This crowd, however, wasn’t gathered for a service. Only a few days before, our senior pastor went home to Jesus in a sudden turn of events that shocked the congregation. At the end of the Wednesday night prayer service, an aneurysm in his brain ruptured, and 32 hours later he was gone.

When the viewing was over, more than seven thousand people had waited in line for up to two hours to walk through the sanctuary and pay their respects. Based on the number of people who showed up, it was a successful event. The magnetic appeal of that night, however, wasn’t an event—it was a life. People flew in from all over the country to celebrate a life that had touched thousands—from the middle of Van Nuys, Calif. to the White House. Even the President gave his condolences to the family by phone. Who was this man? Ironically, he wasn’t very famous, even though he was pastor of The Church on the Way, a fairly well-known congregation. This was Scott Bauer, the senior pastor who’d been ministering to the congregation for many years before he was officially given the reins in 1999.

As I write this, I’ve just finished listening to the three and a half hour memorial service for Pastor Scott. When I had an idea for this article months ago, I had no idea what would happen as I was completing it. Sitting here thinking over some of the plans in my head for my future, I realize that saying good-bye to my dear pastor last night has radically changed my outlook not only on my life but also on my calling and ministry. See, I never heard Scott say, “Oh, look how many people are here."

He was never impressed to be the pastor of one of the largest congregations in America. He was passionate about people’s lives being changed as they drew closer to Jesus, passionate about people coming to know Jesus, and passionate about loving people because Jesus loved people. And yes, the crowds came. Not all of them walked away changed, but then not everyone who came in contact with the human Jesus left his presence transformed. Nevertheless, one person walking in our Lord’s footsteps can have such a powerful effect on many who come into contact with that life that the effect of one life is multiplied into a movement that can change the world.

An Event

A crowd had followed Jesus to the slopes of a mountainside. Five thousand men, plus women and children, had followed this small itinerant band around the Sea of Galilee to this deserted place. By looking strictly at the numbers, an event of that size would be successful by even the most stringent standards. Some fifteen thousand people had gathered in the middle of nowhere—much more interested in hearing what Jesus had to say and watching what Jesus was going to do than they were in eating. Imagine never worrying about the length of your lesson because your kids are so much more interested in hearing what you have to say than what’s on the refreshment table in the back of the room.

Why had this crowd gathered? John 6:2 reports that they’d seen some of the miracles Jesus had done, and while they weren’t too sure what was going on, they knew they didn’t want to lose sight of this man. They were so intent on following him that they didn’t even make preparations for their journey.

They were driven to follow by a glimpse of something otherworldly, and yes, they dropped what they were doing to follow. However, their commitment was based on what they thought Jesus could do for them. After the feeding, the crowd followed Jesus once again. But Jesus said they only followed him because they’d eaten their fill. Herein lies the moral of the story: we can always get a crowd to follow us if the people are getting what they want. That doesn’t necessarily mean the crowd will last. The crowd followed because of the feeding, but as soon as Jesus’ teaching offended them, they left (see John 6:60 and 6:43-59).

The temptation for us lies in the balance between teaching and feeding. In this case, feeding can be anything that makes the crowd feel good. Our temptation is to continue with the feeding to the detriment of the content of our teaching. If our sole criterion for success is the number of warm bodies in seats, this temptation can become overpowering.

Good Crowd, Bad Crowd

Later in his ministry, the crowds decided Jesus was the long-awaited, conquering king who would take their land back from the Romans, though Jesus hadn’t claimed to be that conquering king and hadn’t allowed them to make him king (see John 6:14-15). Then, as Jesus headed toward Jerusalem to make his final conquest—over sin and death—the people misread his intention entirely and welcomed him as a conquering king. They didn’t know that Jesus had an entirely different battle plan in mind.

In John 12, the crowd met him with palm branches as a sign of honor. What a great scene—a huge crowd of people overjoyed to see their leader! This impressive crowd was ready to follow Jesus to victory. When he didn’t hide himself from them as they sought to make him king, he seemed to be doing what they’d always wanted him to do.

Where were they a few days later when Jesus was on trial and his life was on the line? Not supporting him, that much is clear. It’s even possible some of the people shouting, “Crucify him!" with the chief priests and Pharisees were the same people who just a few days earlier had been so excited to see him. As soon as it was clear it wasn’t in their best interests to stick near Jesus, they deserted. Crowds can be easily swayed, especially when people’s lives or reputations are at stake.

If You Entertain Them, They Will Come

In Ezekiel 33:30-33, the children of Israel were eager to go hear the teaching of Ezekiel; they talked about it together and encouraged each other to go hear what God was saying through the prophet. That’s verse 30. Verse 31 paints a different picture: “They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but they will not obey them. For flattery is on their lips, but their heart is set on their gain." If you think it’s bad news when your congregation is described like that, it’s about to get personal. Verse 32 reads: “To them you are like a singer of love songs, one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; they hear what you say, but they will not do it." How depressing! Ezekiel drew a crowd teaching the right message (not sacrificing content), but they still came to hear him only because he was a good speaker. He was entertaining.

The Crowd That Changed the World

Fifty days after the celebration of the Passover, after the death and resurrection of our Lord, a small band of the faithful were together waiting for the Holy Spirit to come as Jesus had promised. This coming caused quite a stir among the crowds gathered for the feast of Pentecost. Peter, moving in the power of the Spirit, stood before them and preached about all they’d seen. Weaving the history, prophecy, and current events together, he introduced them to the potential of a relationship with Jesus.

This crowd had nothing to gain at this point. Jesus had been crucified, and there was the very real possibility of reprisal against anyone labeled as a follower of Jesus. However, this crowd was willing to accept the truth. Moved by a story of mind-boggling, eternal love, they not only made the decision to follow Jesus, but they followed through by getting baptized, continuing in fellowship, and living out the teaching of the apostles.

Thus the secret of a devoted crowd lies in what they are devoted to. If they’re only devoted to themselves and their interests, then when it’s no longer in their best interests to stay, they’ll go. If they’re only devoted to entertainment, then when they cease to be diverted, they’ll go. But if they’re genuinely there for the truth—because they’ve been touched by the revelation of an awesome God—they’ll stay. Instead of “how many?" a better question to ask in relation to our youth gatherings is “Why are they here?"

Why Is My Crowd Here?

Though that’s a good question, there’s another one we should ask first. Are we, and our leadership team, living in communion with God? If so, we should ask if we’re presenting this relationship and the message of the gospel in a way that’s relevant to our crowd. Next, we should ask if we’re sacrificing content for entertainment at any stage in the journey (and remember that the Word of God is compelling, even entertaining, stuff). After these questions, we can look to see if our students are beginning to commit their lives to living out these teachings. If we’re asking these questions and we can answer them satisfactorily, then we may not even need to ask why the crowd is here.

Not ‘How Many People?’ but ‘How Is Your Life?’

Ezekiel’s life shows us that you can do everything right and some people still won’t come for the right reasons. That’s not our worry. Measuring success, especially in youth ministry, is not an empirical proposition. Numbers don’t necessarily equal success.

Some crowds come to gawk, to satisfy their curiosity. Some will come because their friends came. Some will walk away unchanged, having been briefly entertained. But some…some will be radically changed. You mustn’t be discouraged by the others.

Jesus changed the world with twelve. We don’t follow him because of the great crowds he drew. We follow him because of who he was. He demonstrated a love beyond imagination to do whatever it took—reach across any barrier, span any gulf, pay any price—to rescue his beloved. If we remain dedicated to this God, faithful in our walk, teaching the truth of the gospel, maintaining excellence in ministry, and most of all, loving people because Jesus loved them, we’ll have enough people in our crowds with changed lives that our youth ministries may eventually change the world.

And we shouldn’t be intimidated by the world’s—and unfortunately, much of the church’s—definition of success. Our success is found in hearing the words all faithful servants should be longing to hear, and these are, when our race is won and our battle is finished, hearing our Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant." That’s our measure and definition of success. When we get down to what actually matters, it’s not a crowd. It’s a life.

Anna Aven is a five-year youth ministry veteran with an MA in Youth, Family and Culture from Fuller Theological Seminary. She's written for the Journal of Youth and Theology and the Thomas Nelson 2005 Sourcebook for Youth Ministers.