When Jesus Becomes Real To Us, We Tell Others

We are facing a massive demographic challenge. After decades of decline in the American church, it would take millions of people coming to faith just to regain the ground that has been lost. The stakes are not merely institutional or cultural. They are eternal.

So the question before us is simple and searching: How will people come to faith? Will it be through another singular evangelist like Billy Graham? While we thank God for such gifts, history suggests that most seasons of revival and awakening do not grow primarily through mass gatherings. They grow when Jesus becomes real to ordinary people—and those people tell others.

John 1 gives us a picture of this dynamic. Jesus finds Philip and says, “Follow me.” Philip spends time with Jesus, and something becomes clear to him. He then goes and finds Nathanael and says, “We have found the Messiah.” Nathanael is skeptical. But Philip doesn’t argue. He simply says, “Come and see.” One person encounters Jesus. Then one person tells another. A chain of witness begins.

Tim Keller once observed that if there were a 500-pound gorilla in Central Park handing out fifty-dollar gift certificates, no one would keep that information to themselves. They would tell someone immediately. His point was bracing: the reason we often don’t speak about Jesus is not primarily fear or technique—it’s that Jesus doesn’t always feel real to us.

But in revival, something changes. The Holy Spirit makes Jesus real to people. Maybe they have just met Him. Maybe they’ve been healed. Maybe they’ve just surrendered their life to Him. And suddenly the most natural thing in the world is to tell someone else.

In revival, the gospel becomes contagious—what some have called “sneezable.” It becomes simple: “We have found the Messiah.” “Come and see.” When the church declines, it often loses this contagious quality. But in awakening, it is restored.

Prayer sits at the center of this. Two things are necessary if we are to become contagious again. First, we need real, heartfelt connections with people who don’t yet know Jesus. Prayer softens us. It breaks our hearts open and aligns us with God’s love for the lost. Evangelism is not a technique to master, but God’s burning love invading our hearts.

Second, prayer gives us space to encounter—and re-encounter—Jesus Himself. Not just as a figure in a beloved book, but as a living reality. When Jesus becomes real to us, we cannot help but speak of Him.

This is one of the hopes we carry for the New England Revival Covenant. As the church prays, Jesus will become more real to us, our love for others will deepen, and the gospel will spread—friend to friend, family to family—faster and farther than any campaign ever could.

Rev. Greg Johnson
Director, Revive New England