Bible Reading Plan | Devotion for the week of May 2, 2021

²¹After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, ²²where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. ²³Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. ²⁴Then they traveled back through Pisidia to Pamphylia. ²⁵They preached the word in Perga, then went down to Attalia.

²⁶Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch of Syria, where their journey had begun. The believers there had entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work they had now completed. ²⁷Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, too. ²⁸And they stayed there with the believers for a long time. – Acts 14:21-28, NLT

We can learn quite a bit from this passage about the life-cycle of missionaries. They preached the Good News and strengthened the disciples – encouraging them to remain true to the faith. Then they appointed elders in each church, committing them to the Lord.

Here in Papua New Guinea, that’s what our church planters do as well. First, they have to learn the language and culture of the tribal people group they’ll be working with to be able to preach the Good News to them effectively. They then preach through the entirety of scripture, establishing a firm foundation and guiding the tribal people to understand that they’re sinners in need of a Savior and must rely on Jesus and not their own work to be part of God’s family. Once there are believers who are truly putting their faith in Jesus’ blood alone to save them, the missionaries strengthen the new disciples in their faith and encourage them in the hardships they will go through. In this process, the missionaries move out of the tribal location but continue to go back to the tribe to continue discipling and encouraging the church as they grow into maturity. Leaders develop within the church and are eventually nurtured into elders. Then the work of the missionary is complete. But it takes 12-18 years to get there. They must commit the church to the Lord and trust Him to continue the work He started there. Our missionaries will still go back to visit and encourage the tribal church, and so did Paul. But, at this point, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch, considering their work “complete.”

The church at Antioch was the church that sent them out, their sending church, and now they return to gather the church together to report all that God had done through them. Imagine that gathering – the report that Paul and Barnabas were able to give of the ways God was opening a door of faith among the Gentiles. I’m sure the church in Antioch came away amazed and encouraged, uplifted by this God-glorifying report. This could happen for WCC as well, as you take time to hear from missionaries and how God is working through them and through this church to reach the nations.

As part of the church body at WCC, both you and the church’s missionaries are part of the same body working together to build and uplift the church. Not only are missionaries part of planting and building up a church where they have gone to serve, they’re also still part of building up their sending church. You are working in partnership with each of the church’s missionaries to grow your church to maturity in Christ. Are you acting as effective hands and feet? Or are you hanging limply alongside your mission partners, failing to play your vital role in supporting them practically, relationally, and through prayer?

Verse 28 says that Paul and Barnabas stayed a long time in Antioch with their sending church. Imagine that time. What do you think it was like to hear all the stories of Acts in person from the missionaries that experienced it? Did the church cherish every opportunity they had to hear more about God’s glory, His mighty acts, His faithful provision? Or do you think they stood at a distance and missed out as the missionaries left on another journey?

Our yearly Missions emphasis just concluded, but you can get more involved with Missions at any time. So make a point to connect with one of WCC’s Mission Partners that joined us in person this past Sunday. Or reach out to a missionary who wasn’t able to come to the Missions Celebration to hear more of their story and what God is doing. You can also sign-up for our mission partners’ email updates and take the time to get to know them and cheer them on as fellow workers in the Lord. And be sure to visit https://warsaw.cc/missions to find out more about our partners, Pit Crews, 3^rd Thursday Missions Nights, and other ways you can become more involved with Missions. – Summer Zimmer