Should the Church Be Building Oriented? The Going and Sending Culture of the Early Church

There is a difference in the local church between going and sending. Going carries the weight of everyday life, while sending is the purposeful geographical move of an individual(s) to another area to make disciples and plant churches. The common misconception of “Missions or Missional” leads the Western hearer to think of evangelism as foreign missions.[1] The lack of going activity of the church in America evidences this. The American church comprises roughly 64,071,810 evangelical Christians,[2] which, as the name implies, should be committed to the orthodox gospel and its proclamation.[3] America’s current population is 194,157,000 people; if every evangelical Christian witnessed to 3.03 people, all of America would have heard the gospel at least one time.[4]

The misunderstanding of “mission” as something that happens overseas rather than in the current context could account for the American church’s lack of going. “Mission” must be defined to be understood. Thus, “mission” should be understood as God’s overall purpose for the church:[5] to be and make disciples.[6]  Local fulfillment of the Great Commission entails going and preaching to the lost; this is missional to the local church.[7] Yet, for obedience to the Great Commission, the local fulfillment of going must extend to sending to the nations. This obedience to the great commission is the church's mission and the church’s obedience to it in going locally and sending globally results in growing communities and new churches.[8]

Always Going

While the two are different from one another they are complementary to each other. A going church consistently equips and mobilizes its people and sends some of them to the ends of the earth.[9] Craig Ott and Gene Wilson give this impression in this statement regarding Paul, “Paul apparently considered his missionary ministry in the region complete because churches had been planted that would further preach the gospel to those who had not yet heard and would further multiply by establishing churches in as yet unreached regions.”[10] In this section, the author assumes that the Great Commission is the church's mission and thus will look at the example of the going and sending activity of the early church.

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Luke’s purpose for writing Acts is the extended work of the risen Christ through the people of God in fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promises.[11] The extent of this work is announced early on in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” There is much debate on the extent to which Jesus referred to “the remotest part of the earth,” yet regardless of how the disciples understood the phrase, Luke wants his readers to understand that God’s intention is the world.[12] The extent of this witness knows no boundary of space or time, for it is to the ends of the earth until He returns in the same way He left.[13]

            The apostles took this commission seriously; not long after the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts 2:1-6, it is declared in Acts 5:28 that all of Jerusalem is filled with their teachings. The apostles proved to be witnesses in Jerusalem, but what about the rest of the body, and to what extent is the gospel taken? Luke provides a clear context of the early church practice and the movement of Christ’s commission in Acts 8:1-4. Two things are worth noting: great persecution scattered the church to Judea and Samaria, and “the scattered church went about preaching the word.”[14] Luke's use of “οὖν,” “therefore” strongly connects this event back to Acts 1:8, thus emphasizing the “going” activity of the early church.[15]

            Luke describes the church's activity in Acts 9:31, “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samira enjoyed peace, bearing built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.” This going activity is continually enforced by Luke in Acts 9:31, where his use of πορεύομαι, “to go,” is the same as Jesus’ commission in Matthew 28:19, “Go and make disciples.” Luke emphasizes the Master’s plan for growth and multiplication in the early church activity, going on in the fear of the Lord.[16] This fear of the Lord seems exemplified in Luke’s testimony of the verbal witness of Christ in the face of potential danger by the early church.[17] 

This example continues in Acts 11:19, with another use of οὖν, “So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except the Jews alone.” Up until this point, Luke makes it abundantly clear that this is the work of the church that was “going” in Jerusalem and “going on” when scattered. The shift of mission activity from going to sending occurs in Acts 13:4. Where Luke records the beginning of the Spirit’s work of “sending” to the ends of the earth.

Luke paints the picture of the early church always going; the church characterized by going will be useful to the Spirit’s work in sending. Luke records that the persecution in Acts 8:1-4 led to the church’s going activity all the way to Antioch in Actus 11:19. At a colossal crossroads for the church, Luke describes how Barnabas and Saul are set apart for God’s work by God’s Spirit and edified by God’s people.[18] This calling came out of a period of expectancy through fasting for God’s direction from the church at Antioch and ended with their bold obedience to God’s leadership.[19]

The sending here while at the direction of the Spirit is affirmed by the church leadership. Luke 13:3 says, “Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” The laying on of hands serves as a symbol of endorsement of the two missionaries sent out on behalf of the local church.[20] This sending demonstrates the eagerness of the church at Antioch to look beyond themselves, embracing the commission of Christ to make disciples amongst the nations.[21] Thereby, Luke makes an important shift in the narrative of Acts, noting the importance of the church’s priority in sending unto the nations.

Luke clearly distinguishes between the daily going activity of the local church and its sending activity to the nations. A church that goes is a church that sends, yet though the activity is similar, the emphasis and process differ. God does not call everyone to be sent, but all are called to go. This vital distinction allows Storehouse Church in Southern WV to create a going and sending culture as its members take the gospel from the hollers to the nations.

Sending Culture is Discipleship Culture

Planting churches can be a complex process, but making disciples is simple. Jesus didn’t begin with a church; he began with disciples, who became the church; when disciples are made, the church is always the outcome.[22] Craig Ott and Gene Wilson stress this in saying, “Since the basic building block of the church is the disciple, the focus of apostolic church planting must remain disciple-making: Leading people to Christ, and instructing them to live with Christ, in the fellowship of Christ’s community (the church).”[23] The church can do many things, but are they all worth doing? Robert Coleman, in The Master Plan of Evangelism, says, “Merely because we are busy, or even skilled, at doing something does not necessarily mean that we are getting anything accomplished.”[24] 

Luke records in his writings a movement that started with the Messiah and continues today. Warrick Farah, a missiologist and founder of Motus Dei Network, gives an essential look into the historical perspective of this movement:

While it can be described in several ways, Christianity is by nature a movement. As a transglobal movement, it is the largest and most successful movement in history. Jesus started with twelve (Luke 6:12-16), sent out seventy (Luke 10:1-24), at Pentecost three thousand souls were added (Acts 2:41), and the numbers continued to grow daily (Acts 2:47). What began as a Messianic Jewish movement soon flowed into Gentile contexts as the apostles innovated their approaches to ministry (Acts 15; 1 Corinthians 9:21). In Acts 19:10, we read that “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the providence of Asia heard the word of the Lord” while Paul was in Ephesus for two years… In all its diversity, including the various transitions it has gone through, the calling “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) has crossed more barriers and become “home” for more cultures than any other movement.[25]

A more biblical ecclesiology sets the function of making disciples as central to launching church plants.[26] The commission of Jesus to His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 remains the church's work to make disciples of Jesus Christ amongst the nations.

The whole life of the church is going and witnessing, as this is the great commission, Christ’s command to the disciples.[27] Craig Ott and Gene Wilson define church planting as, “That ministry which through evangelism and discipleship establishes reproducing kingdom communities of believers in Jesus Christ who are committed to fulfilling biblical purposes under local spiritual leaders.”[28] The goal is to send qualified leaders to make disciples that  plant healthy churches, and its method is to make disciples of those far from God. Both going and sending must continually hold in view to create a lasting culture that impacts the hollers and the nations.

Yet, with so many differing views of disciples and discipleship, this must be further developed. A disciple is one who follows Jesus, being changed by Him in their identity and purpose.[29] Boice says there are five elements to following Christ: “Obedience, Repentance, Submission, Commitment, and Perseverance.”[30] Coleman notes that disciples multiply through discipleship, which is, “Slow, tedious, painful, and probably unnoticed by people at first, but the end result will be glorious, even if we don’t live to see it.”[31] Disciples result from a long walk through the Scriptures with those willing to receive the message and its messenger.[32] This slow and worthwhile walk produces disciple-making disciples who participate in the going and sending activity of the local church.

[1] Timothy Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 256.

[2] “Americans, U.S. United States,” Joshua Project, https://www.joshuaproject.net/people_groups/15741/US.

[3] Douglass Sweeny, The American Evangelical Story, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 23-24.

[4] Americans, U.S. United States.”

[5] Craig Ott, The Church on Mission: A Biblical Vision for Transformation among All People, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019), 2.

[6] Robert Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism, (Grand Rapids: Revell, 1993), 13. And Jim Putman, Real-Life Discipleship: Building Churches that Make Disciples, (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2010), 11. And Warrick Farah, ed, Motus Dei: The Movement of God to Disciple the Nations, (Littleton: William Carrey Publishing, 2021), 84. And Jason S. Sexton, Four Views on The Church’s Mission, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 20.

[7] Craig Ott, et al., Global Church Planting: Biblical Principles and Best Practices for Multiplication, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), 23. And Keller, Center Church, 259.

[8] Ott, Global Church Planting, 24.

[9] Keller, Center Church, 259.

[10] Ott, Global Church Planting, 25.

[11] Darell Bock, Acts: BECNT, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academics, 2007), 24. And Joseph Fitzmyer, The Acts of the Apostles: ABC, (New York: Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1997), 60.

[12] Bock, Acts, 66.

[13] Fitzmyer, The Acts of the Apostles, 201.

[14] In verse 4 it is equally important to note here that the activity of preaching the Word was reserved for the church not the apostles here as verse 1 declares that the apostles did not at this time scatter.

[15] Bock, Acts, 320.

[16] Derek Thomas, Acts: REC, (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing Company, 2011), 268.

[17] See Acts 2:14-36; 3:12-26; 4:8-12; 18-20; 5:17-32; 5:41-42; 7; 8:1-4; 9:28-29.

[18] Fitzmyer, Acts, 494.

[19] Polhill, Acts, 290.

[20] Polhill, Acts, 290.

[21] Bock, Acts, 440.

[22] Mike Breen, Building A Discipling Culture: How To Release A Missional Movement By Discipling Like Jesus Did, (USA: 3DM Publishing, 2016), 5.

[23] Ott, Global Church Planting, 80.

[24] Robert Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism, (Grand Rapids: Revell, 1993), 13.

[25] Warrick Farah, ed., Motus Dei: The Movement of God to Disciple the Nations, (Littleton: William Carrey Publishing, 2021), 2.

[26] Geoffrey Hartt, et al., Churches On Mission: God’s Gerace Abounding to the Nations, (Pasadena: William Carrey Library, 2017), 4.

[27] Craig Ott, The Church On Mission, 35.

[28] Craig Ott, et al., Global Church Planting: Biblical Principles and Best Practices for Multiplication, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), 8.

[29] Jim Putman, Real-Life Discipleship: Building Churches That Make Disciples, (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2010), 27-30.

[30] James Montgomery Boice, Christ’s Call To Discipleship, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 17-22.

[31] Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism, 35.

[32] There is not sufficient time to develop this statement, yet Christ’s commission to “Make Disciples” is best understood as immersing those far from God in the Word of God. I developed this in the exegetical section of the previous seminar “Developing a Missional Church Culture” paper with Dr. Hildreth. This understanding plays a significant role in the elements of the following strategy.