by Daniel H. King, Sr.

The first general persecution of the church by the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem led to the scattering of Christians everywhere (Acts 8:4). This diabolical plan hatched by the political leadership of the city was set in motion in order to wipe out the new movement of Jesus followers. But it turned out to be a providential boon to the growth of the community of faith because it planted churches in many cities and towns where it had not heretofore spread.

In Acts 11 Luke describes “men of Cyprus and Cyrene” who moved through the region of Antioch, the capital of Syria, and took the bold step of speaking “to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus” (v. 20). The result of their work was astounding. A significant congregation of Gentile saints was born there and then. The church historian gives a glowing report of their activity:

And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.  The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.  When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.  So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:21-26 ESV).

It should be noted that in verse 26 the text reveals that a “church” was now meeting in the city of Antioch. These new disciples who had been led to the Lord by the courageous and enthusiastic evangelists from Cyprus and Cyrene (although these special individuals go unnamed in the text) constituted the human basis of the new church in Antioch. What we observe here is a beautiful pattern of church beginning, church functioning in a local setting, and church growth. It begins of course with Christian brethren who put forth the effort to speak to potential converts, even though in this instance they were quite different from themselves, and they were delighted to find these people very amenable to the gospel. Luke is non-specific as to whether there were tens or hundreds, but he does inform his readers that “a great number who believed turned to the Lord” (v. 21).

The church at Jerusalem, upon hearing of these important developments far to their north, sprang into action immediately. Barnabas was dispatched to Antioch in order to strengthen these new disciples, and when he arrived there and saw the tremendous potential, he traveled to Tarsus to fetch Saul, a man whom some disciples still held in suspicion, but Barnabas had come to place a great deal of trust in. The two of them met regularly for a year there with the new congregation that had formed. The ultimate result was that these two giants of the faith together “taught a great many people” (v. 26).  

So, church planting, church administration and functioning in a local setting, and church growth were all evident in this brief picture given in Acts 11. What we observe in this case is what we see universally throughout the New Testament record. The book of Acts attests this in parallel stories in a good number of other instances. Moreover, the various epistles of Paul, John, Peter, James, and Jude, provide evidence of the identical pattern of church polity. The local church was clearly at the center of God’s plan for saving the lost.

Briefly then, let us summarize the elements that are so central to the salvation of the lost, and the essential role that the church plays in this process of saving souls and fitting them for ever greater Christian service:

1. The local church was deemed necessary when new converts were led to Christ in a new locale. Why was a new church planted in Antioch? Churches already existed in many places elsewhere. The answer to this question could be given readily by any child of God who has the misfortune to be living in a city or town where there is no faithful group of Christians assembling on a regular basis. Spiritual fellowship, commonality of purpose, encouragement, sharing, companionship, joint participation in worship and service; these are the elements at the heart of the life of a local congregation. Each of these concepts requires the presence of others in company and commonality.

So, a local church in a sense is an outpost, a beachhead, of truth and righteousness in a sea of lost humanity. Is it not then sad to behold the dissolution and death of a church in any community? It represents just the reverse of what we see in the case of Antioch in Acts 11. Every effort should be put forth by people of faith to see that this does not happen.

Our own personal comforts and preferences ought to be made secondary in order to assure that struggling congregations are strengthened and placed on a sure and enduring foundation. Barnabas traveled far to help. Saul left the comfort and familiar surroundings of his home city of Tarsus in order to aid and strengthen the new group at Antioch. It was a worthy endeavor, and in the years ahead it would bear much fruit for the Lord and his cause. We should take a similar interest in local church life.

2. The local church was the instructional body suited for training new Christians for service in the kingdom of God. If people are led to Christ and then left to themselves without further guidance, they will die spiritually. It will be recalled that in the setting of Antioch’s new body of believers Barnabas and Saul, “met with the church and taught a great many people.” They knew that these “babes in Christ” (Heb. 5:13) needed the milk of the Word in order to grow thereby (Heb. 5:12). A local congregation is in this sense the spiritual nursery of new believers. That is what it was in Antioch, and that should be what it is where you worship and where I worship as well.

Luke meant for us to understand two types of teaching done by these two at Antioch: the type that convicts and converts, and the kind that deepens understanding of the Christian religion and exhorts to the ongoing practice of good works (Titus 2:14). Both types are essential. One is necessary for disciple-making, the other for development and growth.

3. The local church was the worship center for new believers. The text tells us that Barnabas and Saul “met with the church.” They knew and understood the importance of ongoing worship and coordinated activity in a local church setting. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews warned that circle of saints that neglecting worship was a deliberate sin (Heb. 10:25, 26) involving a failure to “encourage one another.” He wanted them to “stir up one another to love and good works” (v. 24). Every congregation should play that role in the lives of its members. I will not forget a radio interview I once heard. A professor in the divinity school of a prestigious university was asked what he did on Sunday mornings. His reply: “Sometimes I go outside and enjoy the beauty of my rose garden.” He was quite an accomplished fellow academically. But he had failed to comprehend the essential part that church worship plays in our spiritual lives. He was a professor of religion who did not care much for what he professed. 

4. The local church was deeply interested in seeing new congregations planted, growing and prospering. It will be remembered that the church at Jerusalem in its zeal to share the Bread of Life, saw fit to look beyond its own borders when it saw the need in Syria. Some might have argued that Syria was a long way off. They might have suggested that the men and money that would have to be invested in Syria could better be utilized for Judea and Jerusalem. But that was not what they said or did. They made the sacrifice in order to see to it that Syrians in Antioch also had an opportunity to hear and obey the gospel of Christ and worship God acceptably. Churches ought to be looking outward as well as inward. They should seek to instigate the establishment of other churches. They ought to follow the good example of the saints in Jerusalem.

5. Hence, the local church was the divinely purposed agency for outreach to a lost and dying world. This is the conclusion that is forced upon us after a fair examination of the considerable evidence that may be gleaned from the New Testament. When I was a teenager, brother Otis Gatewood spent a week with the congregation where my family worshipped. He was “on fire” for the Lord and the lost. That was evident to all who heard him. Every night he addressed some aspect of what we then called “personal evangelism” (a lost art fifty years later). His enthusiasm for saving the lost was like a beneficial virus. It made a difference in the lives of many in that congregation. I have never forgotten that week. I only wish that I could hear those moving messages again. Afterward, that church grew as never before. Unfortunately, over the decades we have permitted other things to crowd out an interest in reaching out to our neighbors and friends and sharing the Good News of the Savior. Perhaps our success in some instances has been our undoing. That fire needs relighting in many local congregations today!

On the other hand, those who have wished to enrich themselves personally, declare independence from local church leadership with its legitimate and proper restraints, depart from New Testament pattern and principle, and build for themselves religious/financial empires, have created all sorts of “ministries” and “evangelistic associations.”

In some cases they may have had the best of intentions. That is not ours to judge. They have created these religious entities, proclaiming that they do so for the purpose of taking the gospel to the world. They seem not to notice that the book of Acts is quite silent about such. Barnabas and Saul did not set up housekeeping at Antioch at the “Barnabas and Saul Evangelistic Association.”

They saw the local congregation of saints as the means to carry the message of Christ to the lost. That is all they ever needed. They simply worshipped and served the Lord Jesus in the environment of the local church. They attempted to replicate at Antioch what they had experienced at Jerusalem: a vivacious body of convicted believers with hearts burdened for the unsaved around them. And the rest is history. The very simplicity of the concept was the key. The church at Antioch became for gentiles what Jerusalem had been for Jewish Christians.

We should be satisfied with New Testament simplicity as well: “I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3 WEB).