Series Schedule. My Church Story. Today s Outline

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1 Church Planting in the New Testament and Today Part 1: Introduction Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. Acts 15:41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Acts 16:5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. Glyn Roberts Friends and Fellowship McLean Bible Church April 3, 2016 Series Schedule April 3: Introduction My churches, The New Testament, Today April 10: Missions With Buce (Indonesia), Romy and Kaye (Philippines) April 17: Leadership Structure, Qualifications, Issues April 24: Church Planting Movements Past and Present May 1: Church Planting at MBC Campuses; NewCityPlanting.org; Launch Teams Today s Outline My Churches Story The New Testament Pentecost and Jerusalem Samaria and Antioch Paul and the Other Missionaries Today Churches Big and Small, Old and New The West and the Rest Continental Statistics My Church Story My Churches Dates Planted Attendance St. Peter, Farnborough (earlier) 500 (600) Round Church, Cambridge (earlier) 600 (1,500) Roseford Chapel, Cambridge (25) Greystone Ev., Newcastle (0) Calvary Baptist, NYC ,600 (2,000) Falmouth Baptist, MA ? 200 (active) Calvary Baptist, Evanston, IL ? 250 (merged) Evanston Gospel Chapel, IL ? 80 (0) Boulder Bible Chapel, CO (25-30) Fourth Presbyterian of DC ,500 (1,800) Providence Baptist, McLean McLean Bible Church 2002-Present ,000-16,500 Church Planting The two words aren t used together in the NT But the concept is there! Sowing is part of many of Jesus parables They point to individual and Kingdom growth All local congregations have A founding date Messes, struggles, and ups and downs Sinners! Many Churches Close Down But struggling churches can be revitalized! Church Planting is a new focus for MBC The most important work on the planet! George Verwer Pentecost Acts 2:5-12 Now there were staying in Jerusalem Godfearing Jews from every nation under heaven. A crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues! 1

2 Jerusalem Acts 2: Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Samaria Acts 8:4-8 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city. Acts 8:14-15 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Other Places Acts 8:40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Acts 9:10, 19f In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. Acts 9:32-42 Peter went to visit the saints in Lydda. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw [Aeneas, healed of paralysis] and turned to the Lord. In Joppa a disciple named Tabitha... became sick and died.... Peter... got down on his knees and prayed.... "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes.... Many people believed in the Lord. Acts 10:48 [At Cornelius home] So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. Syrian Antioch Acts 11:19-21, 26 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to 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. 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. Antioch - a Sending Church Acts 13:1-3 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 14:26-27 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. Paul s First Missionary Journey Acts 13:4-5 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. Acts 14:19-25 They stoned Paul. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and [Pisidian] Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. They preached the word in Perga. 2

3 Paul s Second Missionary Journey Acts 15:40 Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Acts [Derbe, Lystra, Iconium; Phrygia, Galatia; Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea; Athens, Corinth; Ephesus] Acts 18:22-23 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up [almost certainly to Jerusalem] and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch. After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. Paul s Third Missionary Journey Acts [Ephesus, Macedonia, Greece, Macedonia, Troas, Miletus, Tyre, Ptolemais, Caesarea, Jerusalem] Acts 20:18-21 You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. Romans 15:19 So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. Other First-Century Planters Besides Paul s teams, the traveling ministries of Peter, John, Philip, Barnabas and Apollos are described in the NT Early church writings and traditions identify particular areas with other apostles and teachers Mark - Egypt Thomas - India Thaddeus - Armenia Andrew - Greece Matthew - Ethiopia Church Planting Today Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. There are now churches worldwide, old and new! New churches multiply better New church plants have a higher death rate! Millions of towns and neighborhoods need churches The colonial missions era is gone The church is stagnant or losing in the Western world Rapid expansion in the rest of the world Bible quotations from NIV 1984 Statistics and Graphics from Operation World, 2011 World Religions, % of Population Massive Response Outside the West Other None Muslim Hindu Chinese Buddhist Ethnic Christian 3

4 USA TransBloc Movements See Operation World pp. xxx-xxxi and Appendices 5 & 6 The Megablocs are Protestant, Independent, Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox and Marginal denominations, plus Unaffiliated and doubly affiliated. The overlapping Transbloc movements are affiliates of denominations, using percentage estimates for divided denominations. Asia Africa Africa Latin America Europe (including Russia) 4

5 Europe (including Russia) 5