Podcast Summary: The Church of Eleven22

Episode: The Lord’s Hand Was With Them - Saturated with Jon Tyson
Date: September 12, 2025
Host: The Church of Eleven22 (special guest: Pastor Jon Tyson)

Episode Overview

In this dynamic sermon delivered during the "Saturated" gathering at The Church of Eleven22, Pastor Jon Tyson from New York City challenges the congregation to imagine what happens when the "hand of God" comes upon a church—not just to grow or experience revival within, but to truly reach and transform an entire city. Drawing from Acts 11:19–30 and his experiences in New York, Jon Tyson explores five characteristics of Spirit-empowered movements: radical conversions, category-defying community, unprecedented generosity, destiny-releasing leadership, and a new cultural identity. Throughout, he inspires listeners to pray for transformative "super blooms" in their own contexts, urging the church not to settle for what God is currently doing, but to seek even greater impact for Jesus.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Antioch and Divine Momentum

• Jon Tyson greets the church: “You told me this is the best church in America. Feeling strong vibes, strong vibes here.” (00:08)
• He describes his background, pastoral experience, and family.
• Sets up Antioch, the third largest Roman city, as the focal point—a diverse, morally compromised place where God did something completely new.
• Main Question: What happens when the hand of God comes on a church and it touches a city?

2. Five Marks of a Church with the Lord’s Hand

a) Radical Conversions

• Scripture: Acts 11:19-21 – “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”
• Insight: True spiritual momentum isn’t simply growth by church transfer or “reshuffling the deck,” but when those farthest from God respond.
• Stories:
  • A man in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen listens to a sermon, breaks off a relationship, converts, and now ministers in the arts (19:40).
  • A woman practicing the occult joins a Bible study, becomes a Christian, and her father is healed during a testimony (21:30).
  • A Jewish man sees Jesus in a dream and believes (22:45).
  • A Muslim man is led to Christ using Google Translate/ChatGPT on a Manhattan sidewalk (23:30).
• Memorable Quote:

  “There’s not a category of religious background, spiritual background, sexual background, occult background that Jesus cannot reach. You should be more confident than ever about the message that we carry.” — Jon Tyson (24:15)

b) Category-Defying Community

• Scripture: Acts 11:25-26, Acts 13:1 – Describes Antioch’s radical diversity.
• Historical Insight: Antioch was divided by ethnic walls, but the church broke those barriers for the first time in history.
• Modern Context:
  • Secular attempts at diversity, like DEI or bias training, often fail to produce true reconciliation (41:15).
  • Only the gospel’s power can tear down the “dividing wall of hostility.”
• Anecdote: Small group in Queens fasts, saves lunch money, and blesses neighbors—Muslim woman comes to Christ because “Jesus people loved me when I was in need.” (50:20)
• Local Challenge: Historical example of a 1905 Jacksonville revival (6,500 people attended), calls the church to dream for even greater citywide unity.
• Notable Quote:

  “The world is out of options, and the church is just getting started. We have something to bring to the table on this issue.” — Jon Tyson (47:30)
  “I want to humbly submit that there could be a day coming when an even greater sermon is preached in your city and something greater could happen.” — Jon Tyson (52:40)

c) Unprecedented Generosity

• Scripture: Acts 11:27–30 – Prophets predict famine; Antioch church immediately gives to those in need elsewhere.
• Insight: Spirit-moved people are set free from the "tyranny of mammon," giving generously out of instinct.
• Tim Keller’s Summary (61:40):

  "The pagan society was stingy with its money and promiscuous with its body... Christians gave practically nobody their body and practically everybody their money.”

• Personal Example:
  • Jon Tyson describes supporters who enabled his ministry as a young, struggling youth pastor (65:10).
  • C.S. Lewis gave away two-thirds of his earnings into an “Agape Fund.”
• Challenge: Imagine 20,000+ people in a church with a "generosity fund" actively looking to bless the city.

d) Destiny-Releasing Leadership

• Scripture: Acts 11:22–26 – Barnabas seeks out Saul, draws out his destiny for the sake of the wider mission.
• Insight: Moves of God unlock and call forth the destinies of new leaders, many not yet Christians.
• Personal Testimony:
  • Tyson himself, a teenage dropout and meat store worker in Australia, had destiny called out by a youth leader; 40+ from that youth group now serve in ministry (73:55).
• Quote:

  “To say yes to Jesus is to expand the horizon of possibility for your life. Go find someone that you believe in and give them everything you have.” — Jon Tyson (78:40)

• Anecdote: His mentor teaches him Bible study and evangelism, “still to this day, I preach in the middle of New York City with tools and skills that were given to me as an 18-year-old.” (79:50)

e) A New Cultural Identity

• Scripture: Acts 11:26 – “The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.”
• Context: Names matter—the world's use of words is often profane or meaningless, but the church’s identity reclaims the name of Jesus.
• Anecdote: Working as a butcher, Tyson’s calm witness prompts a previously hostile coworker to begin taking his child to church, “because I want him to be like you.” (91:45)
• Memorable Quote:

  “You don't need to do some big spectacular thing. Just tell them you love Jesus and then show up every day across this city and show them that it matters.”—Jon Tyson (94:30)

3. Invitation and Summons to Greater Faith (98:05)

• Challenge for Saturated:

  “What God is doing here is special... But I don’t want you to think that this is it... you have a city and a region that desperately needs the good news of the gospel to get into it.” — Jon Tyson (99:45)

• Call to Respond:
  • Praying for prodigals, for citywide unity, for those called into ministry.
  • “If you sense the Lord calling you into ministry, just say to the Lord, you can have my future, you can have my life.” (101:15)

4. The “Super Bloom” Vision — Faith for the Impossible (1:03:00:00)

• Metaphor: The Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on earth, but rare torrential rain releases hidden seeds into “super bloom.” So too, revival can break out in spiritual deserts when God’s rain comes.
• Application:

  “What we need is not just to do little bits of prayer here and there... We need a church like this that says, Lord, I will not let you go until you begin to reign again in the desert of this nation.” — Jon Tyson (104:00)

5. Closing Prayer (1:07:40:00)

• Content: Prayer for Jacksonville, unity, revival, unprecedented generosity, for prodigals to return, for leaders to be raised up, and ultimately—with urgent faith—for God’s rain to fall upon a spiritually dry city and nation.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Radical conversions can happen anywhere:

  “The blood of Jesus can cover any sin and can reach any person.” — Jon Tyson (24:45)

• The failure of secular diversity efforts:

  “In the absence of [secular] solutions, the church cannot sit back and say, ‘we told you so.’ The church needs to rise up and show a better way that only the cross can do.” — Jon Tyson (47:55)

• On generosity:

  "The church is always at its best when it’s a generous church." — Jon Tyson (65:05)

• Calling out destiny:

  “To say yes to Jesus is to expand the horizon of possibility for your life.” (78:40)

• Enduring, quiet witness:

  “You don’t need to do some big spectacular thing. Just tell them you love Jesus and then show up every day across this city and show them that it matters.” (94:30)

• The vision for Jacksonville:

  “I believe with all of my heart that God is looking for people to pray for rain to stretch out his hand, because this future is possible. It is starting to happen in little pockets around the country... The possibility is here.” (104:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:08 — Jon Tyson introduction; sets up Antioch and God's desire for the city.
• 19:40 — Example: Radical conversion of a man in Hell’s Kitchen.
• 47:30 — The failure of secular diversity efforts and the church’s opportunity.
• 50:20 — Story of small group generosity and a Muslim woman’s conversion in Queens.
• 61:40 — Tim Keller quote on generosity; precedent in Acts and modern examples.
• 73:55 — Destiny-releasing leadership and calling out young leaders.
• 91:45 — Butcher shop testimony: persistent Christ-like witness leads to impact.
• 98:05 — Summation and invitation to the church for greater faith.
• 104:00 — “Super bloom” metaphor and challenge to be a people who won’t stop praying until revival comes.
• 1:07:40:00 — Closing prayer for Jacksonville, the church, and national awakening.

Final Words

Pastor Jon Tyson’s message is both inspiring and challenging, urging The Church of Eleven22 not to become complacent but to imagine and pray boldly for a movement that will transform Jacksonville and beyond. By examining the origins of the Antioch church, he demonstrates that history’s most significant moves of God emerge when ordinary believers—empowered by God’s hand—cross barriers, live generously, call out the destinies of others, and embody a new identity in Christ, even in the midst of cultural barrenness. The episode closes with an invitation for listeners to step forward in prayer, generosity, leadership, and steadfast faith for their own city’s “super bloom.”