Reflections on Church Planting – Part 3
This series of seven reflections were shared by Josh Cockayne at the Plant Course 2022, hosted at St George’s Leeds.
“The Church in Antioch
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”
Three words: Now, However, Also
Now.
The church planting movement is beginning to pick up pace by the time we reach this passage in Acts. If we reflect back on that vision given by Jesus to the church - to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth - we can see that the apostles have very effectively witnessed to the power of the gospel in the local proximity. The first 11 chapters of Acts have seen healings, a radical new community living, caring for the poor and vulnerable, and hundreds and thousands of converts. This hasn’t been without cost. One of their most committed leaders, Stephen, was found to be guilty of blasphemy and stoned to death. The very people they have been sent to reach have been the most opposed to their growth.
What is your now? Where are those who are nearest to you culturally and geographically. I know at Holy Trinity, it has been exactly the right first step to begin with the Christians working in the city centre and to convince them of the value of our ministry.
What persecution have you faced to get to where you are? My natural instinct is to think of difficulty and resistance as signs to try something different, rather than indicators of growth. It is helpful to gain a sense of perspective here (global church planting). The disciples were doing a very effective job of engaging with those closest to them- preaching the gospel and seeing many people coming to faith.
However.
“However among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.”
It isn’t clear here whether this shift was a change aligned with the early churches vision and values or within the 5 year ministry strategy. It feels instead as if among the community were those who were prepared to take risks and see things differently. The team itself was diverse - this was not a group of men from Jerusalem coming take over the world.
It’s a good reflection for us to ask where the ‘however ministry’ might come from in our context - where are the voices that bring perspective into ministry that are so far out of our comfort zone that we would never imagine doing that?!
I remember when I planted with a team in York, one member of our team felt very passionate about prophetic street ministry. To me, the idea of approaching a stranger in the street is getting to the limits of my gifting and comfort zone. The idea of sharing words from God with complete strangers makes me feel physically sick. If I’m honest, I did not think it would work, either. But I was happy to humour our team member. One of the first Sundays we met together as a church, this team member stopped two people in the street who had been baptised on the same Sunday many years ago and both of whom had since left the church. They both went on to become important members of our community.
I learnt a lesson that day. Make sure you have “however” people; people who don’t just think differently but who are prepared to challenge your own expectations for ministry.
Also.
The churches ‘however moment’ led to an ‘also moment’. Their willingness to take risks and move beyond a ministry that was successful and growing meant that they were able to see God at work. They also saw God at work in powerful ways.
I love what happens next. The church in Jerusalem get wind of what has happened. What do they do?
They don’t close down this emerging movement of God by removing all the leaders from their context. They don’t let them just get on with their own thing either. They send one of their best leaders, Barnabas, to resource the church at Antioch, to join in with what God is doing and to support the growing community. Incidentally Barnabas decides to bring Saul, a new convert along for the ride, hoping he might learn a thing or two from this new context. You know the rest.
The question I want to ask is this? Are you resourcing places where you see God at work? What happens when God does something that doesn’t fit your strategy in the life of your community? Are you prepared to send your best leaders?
Joshua Cockayne
Joshua is the Team Leader at Holy Trinity Boar Lane: a Church with a midweek ministry to love and serve workers in the heart of the city. He is also an honorary lecturer in the School of Divinity at the University of St Andrews and a tutor at Westminster Theological College. He previously led the G2 Central church plant in York from 2016–2017.
