7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. 1 Thessalonians 1:7-10
Solid faith is infectious and cyclic. It encourages others, which encourages those doing the encouraging. The people in the Thessalonian church were not shy about their faith. They must have taken a bold step in tossing aside their idols, which would’ve opened the eyes of fellow idol-worshipers.
Think about it. If someone who goes to the bar every day and gets drunk but all of a sudden turns his life around, and just goes to the bar to hang out now without drinking a drop of alcohol, a lot of people notice.
News would have spread among the idol worshipers that several of their fellow brethren no longer believe as they do. It would only be natural for those remaining to investigate this new faith.
Couple that with the vibrancy of new faith in a believer and it’s not wonder that word of their conversion spread far and wide.
And we can assume that they were also feeding the poor, caring for the sick, visiting those in prison (among other things) as a display of their new faith.
God is doing something big in 2021 in the church around the world, just as He did something quite interesting in the church in 2020. We of course don’t know what He has up His sleeve, so to speak, but we won’t be disappointed.
May God be praised in 2021.
Blessed be the Lord.