The Church As a Supernatural Community

But in the quiet moments after our Easter celebration. I found myself deep in the book of Acts, and God gave me a revelation that has been burning in my heart ever since.

A Morning Revelation
During my time with the Lord, I wrote these words:
The church is a supernatural community
With a supernatural enemy,
Made up of humanity.

When the church is working right,
it bears a lot of fruit
and gives God a lot of glory.

This simple truth emerged as I traced the early church's journey through Acts, and it explains everything we've experienced—the victories, the challenges, and what's still to come.

The Supernatural Community
Acts 1 shows us Jesus ascending to heaven, promising His followers they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Then 120 believers spent ten days in prayer, waiting for that supernatural power.

Acts 2? The explosion. The Holy Spirit descended, and 3,000 people came to Christ in a single day. This wasn't human effort or clever marketing—this was supernatural community in action.

I remember teaching Acts 2:42-47 for ten straight weeks when we first planted this church. Those verses about believers devoting themselves to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer—about sharing everything in common and praising God with sincere hearts—became my prayer for what we could become. An Acts 2 church.

But here's what I missed back then: I forgot to turn the page.

The Supernatural Enemy
Acts 3 reveals the other side of the equation. As soon as the church began bearing fruit, opposition arose. Peter healed a lame man, and immediately the religious leaders threw him and John into prison. The Evil One doesn't sit idly by when God's people start making a difference.

This pattern continues throughout Acts. Every time the church experiences breakthrough, resistance follows. In Acts 4, persecution actually emboldened the believers, growing the church from 3,000 to 5,000. In Acts 6, Stephen performed great wonders, and immediately "opposition arose."

It's the same pattern we see today. When churches are truly impacting their communities, when lives are being transformed and God is receiving glory, spiritual opposition intensifies. This isn't coincidence—it's spiritual warfare.

Made Up of Humanity
Acts 5 brings us back to earth with the story of Ananias and Sapphira. Here were two people caught up in the excitement of the early church's generosity, but they wanted the recognition without the sacrifice. They lied about their giving, and God's judgment was swift and severe.

This is where humanity enters our supernatural community equation. We're not angels—we're flawed human beings with mixed motives, hidden pride, and the capacity for self-deception. Even in the midst of God's supernatural work, we bring our humanity along for the ride.

But here's the beautiful thing: God doesn't discard us because of our humanity. Instead, the fear of the Lord that followed Ananias and Sapphira's judgment led to even greater signs and wonders, and more people came to Christ.

The Pattern Continues
Reading through Acts, I see this cycle repeating: supernatural fruit, supernatural opposition, human frailty, and then more supernatural fruit. It's not a bug in the system—it's a feature. This is how God has designed His church to function and grow throughout history.

Serving God's Purpose in Your Generation
In Acts 13:36, Paul describes David as someone who "served God's purpose in his own generation" before he "fell asleep." This is the calling for every believer and every church in every era.

Looking around our congregation, I see seven generations represented—from the Greatest Generation to Generation Alpha. Each generation has a unique role to play in God's unfolding story. My job as one of the older generations is increasingly to watch and cheer as you younger generations take up more of the great work and receive more of God's smiles.

What Lies Ahead
If we remain faithful to our calling as a supernatural community, we can expect more of the same pattern: supernatural work by God, troubles from without and problems from within, and ultimately more fruit and more glory given to God.

We're launching Kids Camp, Mosaic Summer on Tour, and Mosaic Summer Adventure. We have Oasis in August and our 30 Days of Grace campaign, starting on August 17.

Each of these represents another opportunity for our supernatural community to bear fruit and give God glory—and another opportunity for opposition to arise and our humanity to be revealed.

The Beautiful Tension
This is the life of the church: supernatural community with a supernatural enemy, made up of humanity. It's messy and glorious, challenging and rewarding, human and divine all at once.

When we're working right together—when we're devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer—we can bear tremendous fruit and give God tremendous glory. The key is "together." None of us can do this alone, but together we become something greater than the sum of our parts.

So let's embrace who we are: flawed humans empowered by a supernatural God to form a supernatural community that threatens the kingdom of darkness. Let's expect both breakthrough and opposition, both divine power and human struggle.

And let's do a lot more together, because that's how supernatural communities change the world.