I remember as a kid watching some television programs, where people did some crazy stunts, and the narrator would always give a warning such as this: "These are professional stunt people. Please do not try this at home." Many look at missions the same way. Don't try evangelism or missions at home; leave it to the professionals--your pastor, the Billy-Graham's, the seminary-trained people, etc. It is true that God calls highly gifted & educated individuals to spread the Gospel at home & throughout the world. But it is also true that God uses ordinary followers of Christ to spread the Gospel both at home & throughout the world.
Who Planted the Church at Antioch?
The church at Antioch (in Syria) was greatly used by God in the 1st Century. They were the church that sent out the Apostle Paul & Barnabas (Acts 13.1-3), Silas & Mark (15.32-40). Antioch was the launching point for each of Paul's great missionary endeavors. But this church itself was not planted by any Apostle!
You can read the founding of this church in Acts 11.19-26. The followers of Christ in that day fled the persecution in Jerusalem, spreading throughout Judea & Samaria (8.1), some even going as far as Phenice, Cyprus & Antioch (11.19). We know that they were not Apostles because we read that the Apostles remained in Jerusalem (8.1), and Paul (the Apostle) doesn't come on the scene until later. And it seems unlikely that any of those who came to antioch were elders, since we read of the elders still in Judea (11.29,30), and the church in Jerusalem sending Barnabas (no doubt an elder himself) to lead the church in Antioch (v. 22), who also gets Paul (now an elder) to work with him (vv. 25,26). Thus, the church in Antioch was planted by ordinary believers!
This shouldn't surprise us. Anyone who has come to know God through Christ can "speak the word" (v. 19) & "announce the good news of the Lord Jesus" (v. 20). You don't have to be eloquent; you don't have to have a degree after your name; you don't have to know a great deal. Just tell others what you do know. Christianity is not some esoteric religion, where the fullness of truth can only be grasped by the greatest minds, by elite scholars, or some special in-crowd. The "mysteries" are the truths of God now plainly recorded in the Bible for all to read & understand, being taught by the Holy Spirit.
Two Ways the Church Expands
Does that mean there is no need of elders? No, of course not. Through the labors of these ordinary believers, God blessed & "a great number who believed turned to the Lord." (Acts 11. 21) But there were still greater gains when Barnabas came to lead the church (v. 24). It grew to the point that they had 5 elders, so the Holy Spirit led them to send out Barnabas & Paul to plant more churches (13.1-3).
Therefore, there are clearly two ways churches are planted & grow: 1) when gifted, Spirit-filled elders--"able to teach" & "holding fast the trustworthy word as taught"--proclaim the "Good News" of Christ to unbelievers; and 2) when ordinary believers, also gifted & Spirit-filled, proclaim the same "Good News" of Christ to unbelievers.
More Than Giving Money
What are the implications of this? First, as believers we are called to do more than give money. The Christian life is more than attending church, fighting our way through a week to get enough money to support ourselves & our family, plus some extra to support our church & missions, and then returning to church to passively sit, learn a little more, and recharge for another week in the world. Rather, as a follower of Christ, all of my skills, knowledge, abilities & gifts are at the disposal of Christ my Lord, and become tools for use in his kingdom. I am now a light to the world in which I live, to give them the Gospel by my words & by my life, to proclaim it & to demonstrate it. My first thought in whatever I do should be, "Will this point people to Christ?" or "How can I use this to point people to Christ?" Living the other way is living to GET from the world, so that I can GIVE to the church. Living this way is living out of the riches GIVEN to me by Christ, and then GIVING out of his abundance to the world. Jesus said, "Freely you have received. Freely give."
Second, this raises the importance of every man's life & labor; it is not less than that of the preacher. No longer is the manual laborer consigned to the doldrums of mundane labor, eeking out his existence, living to have a positive balance statement, so that he can give the only thing he can give for the service of Christ--money. Now his labor is service to Christ, and he uses it bring the Gospel to others: he works hard so that he can tell others of Christ's love when he was an enemy; he is honest so that he can tell others of God's trustworthiness; he is generous so that he can tell others of the bounty & freedom of God's grace; etc. Everything (1Co 10.31) becomes the means of loving & serving God, and proclaiming his worth. The mother changing her baby's diaper out of love & gratitude to Christ, and praying for the child, and perparing herself to disciple the child, and do all she can to lead that child to Christ, is every bit the missionary, and all that she does in that spirit is proper service & glorifying to God.
Third, we must train every believer how to be a light (a missionary) where he is. It is like teaching children to read, write & speak. We teach every child to do all of these things, and help them develop those skills to the best of our ability & theirs. That doesn't mean we expect them all to become book authors or silver-tongued orators. It simply means they need to know & use those skills in order to understand & influence the world. Likewise, every believer needs to learn how to be a missionary to the world in which he lives. That doesn't mean everyone will quit their day-job & become a full-time preacher. But it does mean that everyone will do his part in the Mission of Christ. In other words, no believer is called simply to receive the grace of God, but, having freely received, to then freely give it to others.
This also leaves plenty of room for some individuals to give their lives to nothing but preaching & prayer (e.g., Paul). But the goal for ordinary believers is not merely to invite people to their church where the preacher can lead them to Christ; rather the goal is that every believer proclaim Christ, and invite people to lay hold of Christ through repentance & faith. Every believer should give his whole life in service to Christ, not just his money. The fact that every believer is involved in missions & evangelism & discipleship no more hinders particular individuals (e.g., elders) from devoting themselves to these things, than every believer praying hinders particular individuals from devoting themselves to prayer (e.g., elders--Acts 6.4). When simple followers of Christ evangelize, churches are born (e.g., Antioch)!
In the part 2, we'll look at some examples, both historical & contemporary, of how ordinary believers have & are making Christ known among the nations of the world.
