The vibrancy of a congregation depends on the willingness of its leaders to seize their call to surrender. An excerpt from THE AMAZING POTENTIAL OF ONE SURRENDERED CHURCH (p.97).
When a church, in obedience to God, gives sacrificially of its best people and resources in order to launch a new ministry initiative, it unleashes a process of spiritual fruit-bearing that multiplies indefinitely. The Holy Spirit’s strategy of multiplication of disciples and churches has proven effective since the Day of Pentecost. Any church, large or small, will find God’s favor when they look for ways to have global impact through evangelism, discipleship, and church multiplication.
No church better illustrates this than Antioch. In surrendering Barnabas and Saul to God’s calling on their lives (Acts 13:2,3), they gave a gift greater than they could possibly have imagined, for the ministry which began that day not only took the gospel to many cities during their era, but has now spread to many countries right up to the present time. More than any other act of the Antioch assembly, their risky mission initiative illustrates the amazing potential of one surrendered church.
FOR DISCUSSION
- What positive dynamics are sustained in a church that has an ongoing heart for spreading the gospel to areas and peoples that still need to hear it in a way they can understand?
- What negative dynamics result from becoming inward-focused, lessening the outreach and mission mandate?
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