SEVEN EVIDENCES OF A SPIRIT-FILLED CHURCH
Churches can be impressive.
They can have excellent facilities, great music, strong preaching, full calendars, polished websites, creative environments, growing attendance, and plenty of activity. I’m grateful for excellence, creativity, and good leadership.
They don’t answer the more important question: Is the Holy Spirit actually alive among these people? That’s harder to measure.
You can count attendance, track giving, measure participation, and build dashboards for almost everything a church does. The work of the Spirit shows up differently. You have to look at the fruit.
Seven Evidences of a Spirit-Filled Church
Acts 2 begins with a bang. The Holy Spirit is poured out, the disciples start preaching in languages they never learned, Peter teaches the crowd about Jesus, and about three thousand people believe and are baptized.
Then Luke tells us what happened next: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). They got together to learn, worship, and pray. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
As you keep reading, you see the Holy Spirit transforming this group into a different kind of people. There aren’t extravagant buildings, professional staff, or anything we might call programming. Yet their life together is compelling, they enjoy the favor of the people around them, and the Lord keeps adding to their number. The fruit of a Spirit-filled church is becoming visible.
Acts 2 gives us seven visible evidences of what happens when the Spirit is alive among God’s people. I want to offer them to you for inspiration and as a way to pray for God to move in greater ways among your own church.
#1 A Spirit-Filled Church Boldly Tells People About Jesus
Before we even get to Acts 2:42, Peter stands up and talks boldly about Jesus. That might sound obvious. He’s an apostle, after all. What else would he do? But remember who Peter was only weeks earlier. After Jesus was arrested, Peter denied knowing Him because he was afraid of what might happen. Now he’s standing in front of a crowd of thousands and proclaiming Jesus publicly. “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd” (Acts 2:14).
Peter hadn’t suddenly developed a more courageous, outgoing personality. He’d been filled with the Holy Spirit.
Throughout Acts, one of the clearest marks of the Spirit’s work is boldness about Jesus.
A Spirit-filled church makes much of Jesus. Not the pastor. Not the church brand. Not the building. Not the programs. Jesus.
When the Spirit is at work, people become increasingly willing to speak His name, tell His story, and point other people toward Him.
#2 People Repent, Believe, and are Baptized
Peter’s preaching produces another unmistakable result. People respond. About three thousand people repent, believe in Jesus, and are baptized. Luke says, “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
The Spirit changes hearts. People who were resistant became receptive. People who were unconvinced began to believe. People turned from sin and stepped into baptism. They died to their old selves and their lives started moving in a different direction.
Those changed lives need somewhere to grow. That’s exactly what happens next.
#3 People Hunger to Know and Obey God’s Word
Hungry people don’t have to be talked into eating. Something similar happens when the Spirit begins changing us. We start wanting to know what God has said.
The early believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). They wanted to know what Jesus had said, what He had done, and what following Him meant for their lives.
The hunger drives us to seek God’s Word. The Spirit drives us deeper into God’s truth. It’s easy to become fascinated with experiences, personalities, opinions, or whatever happens to be trending in Christian culture, but the Spirit keeps pulling us back to what God has said.
The Spirit creates people who don’t merely want to hear God’s Word. They want to live it.
They bring it to church. They open it at home. They ask questions. They study. They learn. Most importantly, they obey.
#4 The Church Devotes Itself to Prayer and Communion.
The first Christians devoted themselves “to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).
These were part of a rhythm of community and trust. Prayer is one of the clearest admissions that we cannot do this ourselves. Prayer says, God, we need You. Communion says something equally important. Jesus, we remember You. The bread and the cup keep pulling the church back to the center of our faith: the body of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, His death, His resurrection, and the grace we have received because of Him.
There’s something powerful about believers remembering the gospel together. We’re reminded that none of us saved ourselves.
We all come to the same table because we all need the same Savior. That’s why we pray and break bread.
#5 People Are Filled with Awe at What God Is Doing
Every church has things it can try to take credit for. We planned that. We paid for that. We worked hard for that. Then there are moments when the only honest response is, God did that.
Luke tells us, “Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles” (Acts 2:43). They could see that God was at work among them.
There were signs and wonders, but the story of Acts also includes answered prayers, changed lives, healing, provision, and moments when God accomplished what people could never have manufactured themselves.
When God does what only God can do, we should be quick to notice and quicker to give Him the credit.
#6 The Church Becomes a Family Marked by Radical Generosity
Awe at God’s work didn’t leave them staring upward. It changed the way they treated one another.
Acts 2 gets uncomfortable if we read it slowly enough. “All the believers were together and had everything in common” (Acts 2:44). Then Luke says, “They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need” (Acts 2:45).
These people didn’t just attend the same church. They shared life. Someone else’s need became their concern. That kind of generosity is a mark of the Spirit because our natural instinct is usually to protect what belongs to us.
My time.
My money.
My house.
My schedule.
My convenience.
The Spirit keeps moving us toward one another until someone else’s need becomes our concern.
That’s what family does.
#7 Gladness, Gratitude, and Praise Fill the House
All of that generosity didn’t produce a solemn, duty-bound church. It produced a joyful community. One of my favorite descriptions in this passage comes near the end. “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God” (Acts 2:46-47).
A Spirit-filled church should be filled with joy. I’m not talking about forced enthusiasm, fake smiles, or pretending everything is fine when life is hard. I mean real gratitude that comes from knowing Jesus and recognizing what God is doing among His people.
Joy grows when we remember what God has done, notice what He is doing, and trust Him with what comes next.
A church filled with the Spirit should have plenty of reasons to praise Him.
Take Action
These seven evidences give us a way to examine what we’re contributing to the church we call home.
Ask yourself: Am I keeping Jesus the main thing? Look at your relationship with Scripture, prayer, and communion. Are these becoming normal rhythms of your life, or just things you reach for when you’re in trouble?
Look around for a need you can meet. Someone near you may need a meal, encouragement, financial help, practical support, or simply someone willing to show up. Let their needs become your concern.
Pay attention to what God is doing. Notice changed lives. Celebrate baptisms. Remember answered prayers. Thank Him for the people He’s put in your life. Bring gratitude and joy with you everywhere you go.
All for Jesus,
Brad D. Jenkins
P.S. — If this has been helpful, please send me a message at brad@bradjenkins.me and let me know. My writing aims to help people enjoy a vibrant relationship with Jesus, and it is an honor to be on this journey with you. To read previous newsletters or to sign up so that you don’t miss future posts, visit www.bradjenkins.me/blog.