A Church on Mission

What makes a church a missional church? The Antioch Factor! In his book: The Antioch Factor, Ross Paterson points out the difference between a “maintenance church” and a “missional church.” In Acts the church in Jerusalem grew rapidly after Pentecost and the apostles worked hard to care for all those who were in need among them. Their strength was in attracting large numbers of new converts, through evangelism and discipleship. The size of the church and the ensuing work among their members made them effective locally. The only drawback during their success was the fact that the importance of the last words of Jesus became a faint memory amid all their activities. Jesus left them with this directive as recorded in Acts 1:8: ““But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” Acts 11: 19-26 reports how disciples of Jesus were scattered because of the persecution of the church in Jerusalem. As a result, a thriving church was started in Antioch in western Syria. The apostles sent Barnabas to investigate what had happened. He joined the amazing work God was doing in that city and consequently recruited Saul from Tarsus to help him there. Many came to the Lord, and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. In Acts 13: 1-3 Luke records what happened when the leaders of the church were fasting and praying: “the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”” The result was that two of the five leaders in the church were sent to preach the Gospel in other non-Jewish parts of the world and did so with joy. This church became a model missional church that many others have copied and reproduced in all the centuries since. What did they do differently that made their ministry continually so effective?

1. Their church was filled with people of different races and cultures who had all found new life in Jesus

2. They were concerned about those who had not had an opportunity to hear the Gospel regardless of their background, religion, or cultural diversity

3. They were obedient to the heavenly calling without hesitation or procrastination

4. They sent their best people to share the Gospel in other parts of the world

5. They fasted and prayed for their success.

6. They rejoiced when those they sent reported back to them.

7. They understood that the task God had given them (in Matthew 28:18-29) was greater than their locality, and that what they had learned and experienced in God needed to be shared where the name of Jesus was not yet known

8. They knew and trusted the missionaries they sent to do the work

9. They had understood and practiced the method of reproducing and multiplying disciples while trusting Jesus to be the Lord and administrator of his Church

10. Their example encouraged more missionary activity Our desire at Long Creek is to follow their example in being a missional church.