Missions are not an appendix to the church. It is right at the centre of why we exist. Strong churches plant strong churches. From the beginning, the risen Christ gave His command, Be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. The church in Antioch understood this. They did not devise schemes or plot strategies. They worshipped. They fasted. And the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul. Not effort. Not performance. Not perfection. But Spirit-initiated, Spirit-directed, Spirit-fuelled ministry. The DNA of a healthy church reproduces. Strong churches plant strong churches.
This Sunday, at our 9:30am morning service, we welcome Barry Funnel. Barry trained as a dentist. Then God redirected his hands from teeth to translations. For over thirty years, he has given himself to the Word. He has worked with more than forty languages in Africa and Asia. He has trained consultants. He has overseen the completion of the Sena Bible in Malawi. And New Testaments in ten Tanzanian languages. Barry is passionate. He is precise. He wants every people group to hear God’s voice in their own tongue. Come. Hear from a man who has laboured in the harvest. Be stirred. Be challenged. Be sent.
This Sunday, at our 6:00pm evening service, Mark Penrith will open Acts 13:1-3. As you know, we are dreaming of planting a conservative, evangelical Baptist church with our healthy DNA right here in Benoni. Strong churches do not just talk about planting. They pray. They fast. They lay on hands. They send. Mark will walk us through the marks of a strong church. Leaders who are gifted, leaders who are diverse, leaders who are plural. And then the action, worship, fasting, the Holy Spirit speaking, and the church sending. Not schemes. Not strategies. Devotion to God first. Then the direction from God. Then action from God. Come. Let us learn together what it means to be a sending church.