From Crowd to Community
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the task of a church planter…
When people gather, they form a crowd. A church is made up of people. But the Church is not merely a crowd—it is a community. I’m convinced that the task of church planting is to transform a crowd into a community.
Oftentimes, the temptation is to remain a crowd. A crowd is a random assortment of no-names with no specific structure or order. Often, the crowd gathers for a form of entertainment or a thrilling experience. Musicians form crowds. Charismatic voices form crowds. Social agendas form crowds. A crowd is a place where people freely come and go without being noticed or known.
I believe the task of a church planter is to take the chaos of a crowd and order the multitude into a community.
A community differs from a crowd in that a community is a group of people who share life together. A community is defined by commonalities. They share a common location. They eat at the same restaurants, go to the same schools, see each other in the same common areas— the beach, coffee shop, pickleball court.
A community is a group of people that know one another and are known by one another. While a crowd is full of no-name faces, a community is full of familiar faces. Faces with names like John, Susan, Drew, Eric, Erin, Jose, and Lucia. The task of the church planter is to enter into the crowd, to learn the names of the people, listen to their stories, and allow the Word and Spirit of God to form them into a community that shares life with one another.
This is the task I have set out to do. But how do I do it? How does God do it? As I take a step back and look at Scripture, there are many different examples of how to plant a church. But to learn how to form a crowd into a community, I am drawn to the book of Exodus.
It was at Western Seminary that my professor, Guy Gray, pointed out Exodus as a paradigm for church planting. Let me explain:
Exodus is the story of how God takes a crowd of people in Egypt and forms them into a community. At the beginning of the story, Pharaoh looks at the Israelites and refers to them as a “swarm”—a term used to describe a swarm of insects. The story of Exodus begins with a portrait of the Israelites as a dehumanized sea of no-names with no importance. Yet it is this group of people that God takes from a swarm and turns into a nation.
At the heart of the Exodus story is a list of seven “I will” statements given by the LORD to Israel. These statements serve as a guide for the structure of the Exodus story and are still used by the Jews as a liturgy to commemorate the Passover today:
“Say therefore to the people of Israel,
‘I am the Lord, and
I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and
I will deliver you from slavery to them, and
I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
I will take you to be my people, and
I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
I will give it to you for a possession.
I am the Lord.’”
Exodus 6:6–8
God gives seven “I will” statements—seven promises that reveal how God takes a crowd and forms them into a community. In these seven statements we find that God gives them a common experience, a common identity, and a common mission.
Common Experience
Their common experience is marked by God’s promises of redemption:
“I will bring you out... I will deliver you...I will redeem you...”
The Israelites are brought out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, delivered from slavery, and redeemed by God’s own hand. Together they experience refuge as great acts of judgment are poured out upon the land they inhabited. Together they gather in their homes, place the blood of a spotless lamb on the doorposts, and eat unleavened bread. Together they flee amid the cries of Egypt, as their oppressors grieve the loss of their firstborn. Together they swiftly escape on dry ground as walls of water surround them and the sounds of horses’ hooves draw near. Together they experience redemption.
At Passover, the Jewish people gather around a table and remember the Exodus through the lens of the “I will” statements. As they recite “I will redeem,” they drink from the cup of redemption, remembering God’s deliverance through the Passover lamb. It was during this part of the feast that Jesus, at His final meal with the disciples, took this cup and said:
“Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Matthew 26:27–28
As the LORD formed Israel into a nation through the common experience of redemption, Jesus formed His Church into a community through the common experience of redemption at the cross. We gather around the table, cup, and bread. The Church is formed through the common experience of salvation, regeneration, and redemption. This commonality becomes the foundation for Church life.
For the church planter we are commissioned to preach the gospel. To declare this message of redemption, and to gather with those who have. In the last month we have gathered with those who share the same experience. During this time we formed new experiences by breaking bread together, learning each other’s stories, and seeking the Lord together. The redemption of Christ serving as the unifying experiences that binds us together.
Common Identity
“I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God…”
Exodus 6:7
In Exodus, the purpose of redemption is relationship. God’s intent was to take Israel as His people, as a groom takes a bride. This covenant is formalized at Mount Sinai, where God’s presence is revealed, His law is given, leadership is established, and His presence is known.
God’s self-revelation is the source of Israel’s identity—not their own self-discovery. As they discover who God is, they discover who they are. And this happens, not in isolation, but together. Through shared life with Yahweh, a people are formed.
In the Church, the purpose of redemption is still relationship. Through the new covenant in Christ’s blood, the veil is torn, and Jesus breathed the Spirit upon the Church. We become a people who know God personally and are known by Him intimately.
What does this look like as we form a crowd into a community? It looks like a covenant community, committed together to love God and love one another. It’s the shared life of the Spirit—gathering, teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer.
Central to this pivotal point in the story of Exodus and their common identity is the name of the LORD:
“The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Exodus 34:5-7
The discovery of God’s name becomes the pivotal moment in which the Israelites are formed from a crowd into a community. Likewise, as the Church gathers around the name of Christ—and learns one another’s names—strangers become known. Relationships are established. The identity of the Church is formed.
Common Mission
“I will bring you into the land... I will give it to you for a possession.”
Exodus 6:8
Redemption leads to relationship, and relationship leads to renewal. The Israelites are given a common mission: enter and possess the land God promised.
Likewise, Christ’s redemption brings a mission:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
The Church is empowered to be witnesses, to reflect the glory of God in a broken world. The world becomes our inheritance.
At Everlight Church, we’ve articulated our mission this way: All of Jesus reflected in all of life for the renewal of the Coast. As we make disciples and reflect the heart of God, renewal takes place. Ground is taken. Lives are changed. The Light overcomes darkness. God’s presence is known.
Common redemption. Common identity. Common mission. God’s way of forming a crowd into a community. A promise in which He said, “I will.”
This Sunday, as we celebrate the resurrection, I marvel at the reality that Christ established a new creation—a new community marked by the life-giving presence of His indwelling Spirit. A New Exodus that lifts the burdened, liberates the captive, and redeems the sinner.
I pray for the crowd of people in Pismo, and along the Coast, who will not be sitting in a pew. A people to be known. Names to be remembered. Lives still to be touched by the Light and brought into the community of the redeemed. People who are still in Egypt—crushed by the weight of the world, enslaved to their own passions, and stuck in darkness. At one time, I belonged to this crowd, but the living Christ brought me into the community of His people.
This Sunday, my prayer is for a New Exodus. For people to be set free and brought into the kingdom of the Light. Those lost in the no-named crowd will come to know the love of Christ demonstrated on the cross and be brought into the community of the Church.
