This week's sermon: "The Legacy of Antioch"

The term Global South refers to the astonishing growth of the Christian church in Africa, Latin America, and Asia while the formerly dominant centers of Christian influence in Europe and North America are weakening.

"In a word," Mark Noll says, "the Christian church has experienced a larger geographical redistribution in the last fifty years than in any comparable period in its history, with the exception of the very earliest years of church history."

So does this mean that day of European and North American missionaries is done? That would be a tragic misunderstanding of the situation. Partnership in mission with the Global South does not mean that all the unreached peoples of the world can be reached by people who are in the Global South because 1) in pioneer missions, there are no local churches to do the work and 2) proximity to an unreached people doesn't necessarily mean more effectiveness in learning their language, entering their culture, and loving them, and teaching the truth.

The story of Antioch in Acts 11:19­26 leads us to at least 8 implications that will help us see how to partner with the Global South:

  1. Someone must cross the cultural barriers that separate unreached peoples from the gospel (Acts 11:19­20).
  2. Don't wait to be forced out by persecution (Acts 11:19).
  3. The hand of the Lord will be with you, when you follow him into his mission (Acts 11:21).
  4. Be willing to serve a work that God has already begun (Acts 11:22­23).
  5. The main prerequisite for this work is not great gifts but great grace (Acts 11:23­24).
  6. When you sense God's leading, recruit others to go with you (Acts 11:24­25).
  7. In all your evangelism and church planting, don't neglect to teach the converts and to take them deep into the gospel and build them up so they are stable and strong (Acts 11:23).
  8. Be open to a significant change in your life (Acts 13:1­3).

The Legacy of Antioch is that it was a mission church that became a sending church through the partnership of Barnabas and Saul, who in the end were sent out by the church to which they were sent. And how many Antiochs are there around the world yet to be created and yet to be strengthened, where we can send our men and women who are willing to cross cultural chasms to reach the lost? Will you be one of them? Will you rededicate yourself to support those who go with rock-solid faithfulness?

David Mathis (@davidcmathis) is an elder at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Twin Cities, and works as executive pastoral assistant to John Piper. He and his wife Megan have twin sons (Carson and Coleman) and live in Minneapolis. David is co-editor (with John Piper) of Thinking, Loving, Doing, most recently, and Finish the Mission, forthcoming. Yep, he plays rec softball and went yard in his last game.