Kingdom or Religion? Part 2 of 3
By S. Crawley
This series is adapted from an article first published in Mission Frontiers, Jan/Feb 2026.
I had just met “James”, a young man in his early twenties. He had only recently started following Jesus, so I asked him about the journey. What changed? What made him want to follow Jesus?
The most significant thing, he said, was a friend.
When he first met her, he asked why she had come to this city to study her course. She said she felt God had led her there, and that He wanted her to study it.
That stuck with him. What does she mean, God led her here? How can she hear God? How can anyone hear God?
As he got to know her, he saw her integrity. He saw her honesty. He saw her care and concern for people. This was a genuine person with a genuine relationship with God, and it made him more and more curious. So when she invited him and a friend to read the Bible with her (using the discovery process), he took the opportunity.
He wanted to understand the kind of relationship she had with God, and whether it was something he could experience too.
What Doesn't Explain It
In Part 1 we asked what holds our groups together. Now we ask: what makes the Kingdom grow?
Religions often grow through social forces: birth rates, migration, people joining because it helps them belong or get ahead.
Those forces are real. But they don't explain what happened in the Gospels and Acts. The early growth happened far too quickly to be explained by population change, and following Jesus usually cost people status rather than adding it.
Ideas alone don't explain it either. James wasn't won by an argument. He hadn't compared belief systems and chosen the most convincing one. What caught his attention was a person who seemed to actually know God.
What Does Explain It
What made him curious was something he could see: a real relationship with God, lived out in ordinary relationships with others.
That's how Jesus said His Kingdom would be recognised: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). And it's how Paul discipled people. He didn't only teach; he invited people to watch: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). "What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things" (Philippians 4:9).
Research agrees. Lynne Taylor studied unchurched Australians who began following Jesus as adults. What sparked change for many of them was exposure to people living strikingly authentic relationships with God and others, who then invited them to take part.
Notice what James’ friend didn't do.
She didn't run a program or deliver a presentation. She answered a simple question honestly — "God led me here" — as she lived a life that backed it up.
Her words raised the question. Her life made it worth pursuing.
James’ question, "How can she hear God?", is exactly the right one. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27).
The Kingdom is a relationship to enter rather than a set of ideas to adopt.
Life in Every Cloak
Here's where it matters for cities. Paul wrote, "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them" (1 Corinthians 9:19).
He became like a Jew to Jews and like a Gentile to Gentiles. Why? How would Gentiles ever grasp life with Christ if they only ever saw it in a Jewish cloak?
The same is true in our cities.
A university student needs to see life with God lived out among students. A factory worker needs to see it among workers. A family in a high-rise estate needs to see it in a family like theirs. Each urban village and affinity group needs to see Kingdom life in a form they recognise.
If it's only visible inside church culture, most of the city will never see it.
This is why "Listen to God, trust Him, obey Him, and help others do the same" matters so much.
We live it, they see it, they catch it — if that’s what they’re hungry for.
The friend was listening to God about where to study, trusting Him enough to move cities, and obeying Him in how she treated people. When she invited James to read the Bible, she was helping him do the same.
The Question for Us
If growth comes through relationships people can see, the most important question isn't "What program should we run?"
It's, “How is my relationship with God going, and what am I doing about it?” Then, "What are people seeing in me and my relationships?"
Would a friend who doesn't follow Jesus notice anything about our relationship with God?
Would they hear us talk naturally about what God is saying?
Would they see integrity, honesty and care that make them curious?
What makes it grow?
Religion >> Social forces and population dynamics
Kingdom >> Authentic relationships with God, self and others that people can see
In Part 3, we'll ask the final question: who is really doing the changing?
Getting Practical
1) Who first made you curious about God? What did you see in them?
2) Think of two or three people in your life who don't follow Jesus. If they described your relationship with God, what would they say? What would you want them to see?
3) This week, when someone asks why you made a decision, try answering honestly about how God was involved. How do they respond? Any signs of curiosity or hunger?
S. Crawley serves leaders and teams in Asia carrying a vision for their cities and is passionate about helping people grow in authentic relationships. He also knows how to make nachos.
© 2026 S. Crawley. All rights reserved.