Comeunity

“When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristrchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together.” (Acts 19:28-29).

Maybe this isn’t the first passage you think of when you hear the words “Come Unity.”

In this explosive scene from the book of Acts, we see a violent demonstration of the power of unity. The small nucleus instigating this riot shared interests to a point that they could move a whole city. It was not everyone – once you reach the tipping point, movements take on a life of their own. In just a few short verses we read, “the assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there” (v.32). It only takes  a small spark to start a fire. It only took a few very invested and like-minded people to unify enough of a city around one place and purpose to put the lives of the disciples in danger.

Perhaps the greatest example of this in history is the tower of Babel. In Genesis 11:1-9, we read of a time when people were all gathered in one place and shared a common language. “Then they said, ‘come, let us build for ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the earth.” This is a microcosm of all human activity outside of the work of God in the world. God’s plan is to make his name great and to fill the whole earth with his presence. Humanity’s plan has been to our own name great and to rule the world according to our own definition of good and evil – often to catastrophic effect.

Those who are familiar with the story already know that God’s response to this was to multiply our languages and scatter humanity over the face of the earth. The table of nations alludes to this in Genesis 10:25. Those who are familiar with the whole story will also know that Babel would be reversed in the advent of the New Humanity, the birth of the New Covenant Community in Acts chapter 2. In Acts 2:8-10 you will read about another “table of nations.” In this ironic reversal, Jews from “every nation under heaven” express bewilderment at hearing the newly Spirit-filled disciples “declaring the wonders of God in (their) own tongues” (v.11). God’s new humanity is unified in the multiplicity of language, cooperating with Him in His mission to make His name known to the ends of the earth.

We are Pentecostals. In continuity with our history as a movement, God is still inviting us to be an Acts 2 community, a new humanity who are filled with His Spirit to be His witnesses. Our posture as a people needs to be “come unity, come Holy Spirit and empower us to be a community of witnesses to the world.” Where do we begin?

Well, let’s look back to the narrative to see what the disciples were doing when the Spirit descended on that very first Pentecost.  Acts 2:1 says, “On the day of Pentecost, they were all together in one place.” This underlined phrase is the translation of  an evocative Greek word, “homothymadon.” It means, “rushing along together with purpose,”[1] and suggests musical imagery – a concert master conducting an orchestra masterfully. It is used 4 times in Acts 1-4 to describe the unity of the early church community. It is shockingly the same term used of the riot in Ephesus. That was the kind of charged unifying energy that the disciples brought to the matter of prayer for the baptism of the Spirit for mission.

Our prayer as the General Executive Officers of the PAONL for our churches in 2026 is “Comeunity.” We want to create space for leaders and disciples to purposefully pray for and wait on the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for mission. We are praying for unity around our mission, for us to practice authentic community, and for our communities to be transformed by the presence and power of God as He fills whole earth in preparation for His return. Moreover, we are believing for 1000 people to come to faith this year in NL, just as the Spirit’s first coming resulted in 3000 people immediately being baptized on that first Pentecost. Let’s pray together Come, Holy Spirit. Come Unity.

[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3661/kjv/tr/0-1/ – this is a great resource!