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Jesus gave us the great commission in Matthew 28:18–20 – to make disciples of all nations. But before this, He had already given an effective pattern (or blueprint) for us to follow to help achieve that goal.

The Blueprint: Luke 10:1–16

In Luke 10:1–16, Jesus sent 70 disciples in pairs to towns and villages to bless, befriend, meet felt needs and declare Jesus is establishing the Kingdom of God.

We read that when the 70 disciples did so, even the demons submitted to them (Luke 10:17). But Jesus commended the disciples’ obedience rather than the resulting demonic drama!

Factors for Church Growth in Acts

The exponential growth of the early believers in the Acts of the Apostles is extraordinary. The story inspires us to believe the same could be true of our local fellowship. Let’s look closer at some of the factors to that growth which may help us see the Lord’s wisdom and His ways!

In Acts 6:3, the church appointed seven men “full of the Spirit” (Acts 6:3) to oversee serving food and other requirements to the Hellenistic Jewish believers. Appointing these seven men made the work of meeting the people’s needs effective.

They blessed the people by getting to know them, meeting their needs and sharing the good news of Jesus. It was the same pattern that Jesus taught the 70 in Luke 10! Was this service a training ground for a wider ministry?

Out of the seven, we see two men emerge who were involved in dramatic events.

The first of these two was Stephen. He did many signs and wonders (Acts 6:8). Thanks to the Spirit, Stephen had irrefutable wisdom – which resulted in his opponents’ jealousy and envy (Acts 6:9–10).

This led to his trial before the Sanhedrin (Acts 6:12) and his powerful speech which exposed the faithlessness of the Jewish leaders and people (Acts 7:51–53). The result was the first Christian martyrdom – his own (Acts 7:58–60).

The second man was Philip. He was the first to take the gospel to the despised Samaritans. Later, he was directed to lead the Ethiopian eunuch to saving faith in Christ (Acts 8:4–8, 26–40).

The Jerusalem church had many thousands of believers – and the number was increasing daily (5:14). It was a wonderful time of fellowship with great joy (Acts 2:46–47). But as a result of persecution after Stephen’s stoning, they scattered to Judea, Samaria and beyond (Acts 8:1).

Was God showing them his strategy for reaching the world and shifting them beyond their cosy fellowship?

Paul and His Travelling Companions

After this, we read of the dramatic conversion of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1–9) and his acceptance and endorsement by the leaders in Jerusalem.

Disciples of Jesus were first called “Christians” in the church at Antioch (Acts 11:26). And it’s in this city that we gain an insight into a Spirit-led mission. Here, Saul and Barnabas were commissioned to take the message of Christ to Asia and eventually to Europe (Acts 13:2–4).

From then on, the spread of the message was by two or more (e.g. Paul and Barnabas; Paul and Silas). The Spirit led them to reach city after city in Asia and Europe. Eventually, a pattern of gathering in homes and non-religious buildings emerged.

Paul was so successful that believers continued to multiply and the good news about Jesus quickly spread across Turkey, Macedonia and Achaia (Acts 19:10)!

Insights from Ed Silvoso

Early in 2020, I read Ed Silvoso’s latest book Ekklesia which opened my eyes to two amazing mindsets. Before this, my understanding of God’s way of fulfilling that commission was limited.

The first relates to King James’ insistence on translating the word ‘ekklesia’ as ‘church’ in the Authorised Version of 1611, instead of ‘gatherings’, ‘assemblies’ or ‘congregations’ of believers. The word ‘church’ means “house of the Lord”. For several hundred years this term was highly respected.

But today, the word ‘church’ is often seen as an array of organisations and governance, elaborate buildings and usually Sunday meetings. For many people, this connotation of ‘church’ is irrelevant!

The second mindset change was about the Greek word ‘ekklesia’. The word refers to the ‘gathering’ of believers. Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst” (Matt 18:20). A gathering can be two or three, 20 or 30, 200 or 300.

To illustrate, a husband and wife in true unity is a ‘gathering’, able to reach some people better than by themselves. We are now seeing groups of various sizes being led to ‘do exploits’: blessing individuals or any sized group, even a town or city, by service of any kind – even through finance! This ‘flow of the water of life’ is touching every level of human society every day of the week, so that countless souls are being saved and cities are becoming transformed into ‘God’s cities’!

This report gives examples of the above!

The website Transform Our World is a goldmine of the many breakthroughs since Ed Silvoso’s early days in Argentina and is well worth the digging!

Conclusion

Jesus gave the blueprint in Luke 10 of how to fulfil the Great Commission. It involves being sent out in twos, threes or more to share the good news while blessing, befriending and meeting the needs of people we meet. Those who believe are then gathered together to do the same until the Great Commission is complete!

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