NEEDED: ANTIOCH CHURCHES

    Very tragically, the majority of the over 6 billion souls in our world are headed straight for hell. A great percentage of this population have never heard a clear, true presentation of the Gospel. We who hold the truth of the Gospel have built some great churches and have sent missionaries to a number of fields. But still, the figures tack up against us daily. We are not getting ahead, but are falling further and further behind in this great task of World Evangelism. Yes, we are winning souls, and yes, some new churches are starting and even a few new fields are being entered by our missionaries. BUT IS IT ENOUGH? We all know the answer. So, should we shrug our shoulders with indifference and try to comfort ourselves with the feeling that there is nothing we can do? Do we defensively say, "We are doing our part, we are satisfied with our accomplishments." My dear brethren, we must never rest in our task of World Evangelism. C.H. Spurgeon said, "This is not my rest. It is the place of ... work ... We can never rest while we are in enemy territory." Many, however, are resting in some fashion or another. Or they have given up altogether. They have become complacent and satisfied with gaining a foothold in a town or city - building a building now and then - gaining enough of a congregation to support salaries and pay the bills. They open the doors week by week to sing "Hold the fort", but the people on the other side of the tracks, people of color, people in the next towns, off in the inner cities and elsewhere are forgotten and neglected. The scriptures say, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion." The only hope for the next town, the neglected areas, the unreached multitudes, is a REVIVAL of ANTIOCH CHURCHES!

WHAT IS AN ANTIOCH CHURCH?

    An "Antioch Church" is a church that takes upon itself the personal burden and responsibility of World Evangelism. Jesus gave this commission to the church He was building. "Go ye into all the world..." An "Antioch Church" is one which feels this as a personal commission, not just to join in league with other churches and hope that is sufficient, but to bear this commission as a personal responsibility for each congregation. The early churches felt this way and responded so that we have the following reports: "... your (church in Rome) faith is spoken of throughout the whole world." (Romans 1:8)  And "....from you (Thessalonian church) sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad ..." (1 Thessalonians 1:8) And of course we have the testimony of the Antioch record of sending forth Paul, Barnabas and others into a world reaching ministry. So an "Antioch Church" is one which feels and responds to the burden of a world-wide ministry.
An "Antioch Church" is also one that has the hand of the Lord upon them so that a great number of people believe and turn to the Lord. (Acts 11:21) It is also a church which has ears open for the direction of the Holy Spirit and has a heart for obeying the commission. (Acts 13:2-3) And they will recommend (hand over) their choice members to the the grace of God to do the will of God to accomplish the work of God in multiplying new converts and congregations near and far. (Acts 13, 14 and etc.)  But to have this kind of church is not an easy task. For there is an enemy out there who despises the biblical principles about an "Antioch Church".

    THE ENEMY OF ANTIOCH CHURCHES AND HIS STRATEGIES

    The enemy is none other than the devil. He, being the enemy of souls continually wages war against any effort to win the multitudes to Christ. The enemy comes with enticing words and speaks to each pastor about "super" churches and "mega" ministries and deceives the many to become involved in "empire" building rather than the multiplication of congregations. Using partial truth (one of his old tricks) he persuades men of vision to believe that a better job for God can be done by building one large congregation rather than many smaller ones. The enemy is not honest about small congregation efficiency even though the statistics show that these new church we start while they are young win almost 2 more per hundred than the larger older ones. The smaller churches may win up to 300% more to Christ than the larger "mega" churches. The enemy seeks to cause pastors of smaller churches to feel they should be ashamed. The enemy seeks to cause pastors to be afraid to risk some failures in working to multiply congregations. (He uses a reward system (awards to the largest congregations, write ups in Christian periodicals opportunities to be highlighted on national platforms, etc.) The enemy uses modern transportation to encourage commuting and bussing to these more "exciting, larger, with more to offer" churches so that there is little chance of a local, effective gospel witness to be established in some areas. This keeps the body of Christ from being visible and active in their midst. The enemy seeks to convince pastors that they cannot afford to give up people in their congregation to start new ones in other nearby communities. They hold on to those God calls and keep them for the "home" work, instead of sending them forth to multiply converts and new congregations. The enemy has most pastors and churches convinced that it is better to pay for the foster care of some other church's offspring than to endure the travail of delivering a new baby church of their own. The enemy uses the "sanctified" tradition for the necessity of permanent lands and buildings as an excuse for not multiplying congregations. Of course there are many other deceptions and "sanctified" traditions which the enemy uses to discourage us from being Antioch churches with the world in our sights and new churches planted and growing as our goal, but my prayer is that God will convict us to re-read the biblical account and repent and return to the original New Testament plan for ministry.