Come-to-Jesus moment and come-to-Jesus meeting

Come-to-Jesus moment and come-to-Jesus meeting are two idioms that began as literal exhortations involving the religious figure Jesus. Today, the terms also hold a figurative meaning. We’ll examine the literal and figurative meanings of come-to-Jesus moment and come-to-Jesus meeting, where the terms come from, and look at some examples of their use in sentences.

A come-to-Jesus moment may refer to the moment in which a person has a religious conversion and dedicates his life to Jesus. However, the term has also taken on a more secular meaning. A come-to-Jesus moment may refer to that point in time when someone has a realization, becomes enlightened, understands the core values that must be preserved in a situation. The phrase come-to-Jesus moment is often used when describing the moment when a politician, employee or child understands that he is on the wrong path and must change direction, it is often considered a positive development.


A come-to-Jesus meeting was originally an American term describing a Christian religious service where it was hoped that many worshipers would dedicate their lives to Jesus. Many charismatic preachers traveled across the country in the 1800s and 1900s holding camp meetings or tent revivals, which were enthusiastic religious services. Today, the come-to-Jesus meeting has taken on a figurative sense, often used in politics, business and parenting. When one has a come-to-Jesus meeting with another, this is an opportunity to point out where someone has taken the wrong path. A figurative come-to-Jesus meeting is never pleasant, it is often the last attempt to straighten someone out before dire consequences are enacted. Note that each of these terms are hyphenated, and the name Jesus is capitalized. Be aware that a minority of people may not approve of the use of the term come-to-Jesus in a secular way.


This push to grab Microsoft devs comes after Microsoft’s own come-to-Jesus moment on developer tools for the cloud in 2014. (The Register)

Most of the athletes stung thus far have had their narcotic-come-to-Jesus moment, and rushed to embrace their infirmities. (The Globe and Mail)

So he called Smith into his office for a classic come-to-Jesus meeting. (The Buffalo News)

“If I was in my past career in business, we would have a closed-door come-to-Jesus meeting where everybody would just lay it out on the table and we’d try to get past it, but that’s not something that’s available to us as an elected body.” (The Island Packet)



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