Acts 14:21-23 - Mission Statement

JFK at NASA speaking with the Janitor.

President JFK was touring NASA back in the 60’s during the race to the moon.

Every employee there worked together for one purpose: To put a man on the moon.

JFK was meeting several employees.

He came to a janitor and asked his name and what he did there.

Janitor: “I’m here to put a man on the moon, Mr. President.”

A mission statement is just a saying until it becomes a fire in our hearts.

It supposed to be a compass that guides us as a church and makes sure everyone is going the same way.

It’s the who, what, why, how.

Who are we?

What are we doing?

Why are we doing it?

How are we going to do it?

It’s what makes us, us.

Big Idea: We glorify God by making disciples and planting churches.

Big Idea Q: Why is this our mission? How do we embody the mission?

Stand to read

Acts 14:21–23 ESV

21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Leader: This is God’s Word

Everyone: Thanks be to God

Context

Summarize Acts 14:1-18

Stoning was a horrific, bloody event.

I wonder as stones bounced off Paul’s skull, if he didn’t have flashbacks to the stoning of Stephen—The execution he approved of.

The disciples stood around him, wondering what to do with the body— “Bummer. He was in the prime of his ministry”

Then his eyes pop open “It’s okay, guys! No funeral today! Let’s get out of here.”

Then with extreme bravery, he goes back into the city that tried to kill him!

That’ll preach 10,000x louder than any sermon—the gospel is worth suffering for.

Nothing could deter Paul from preaching Christ.

Why does Paul do it? How is this worth it?

Paul understands the cost of discipleship

The disciples stood around him,

Paul gets up, body bruised/broken, dusts himself off, and goes into Derbe to preach the gospel and sees many more people come to faith in Christ (Acts 14:20-21)

Paul understands that his love for the gospel and his understanding that this is how people can be made right with God.

It could cost him his life, and there’s nothing else he’d rather do

This is exactly what he tells the Christians (“it’s through trials we enter the kingdom” v. 22)

The second reason it’s worth it reveals the posture of his heart.

Because making disciples glorifies God.

He recognizes that He has been divinely commissioned to preached the gospel and lead sinners to repent.

This is what the Lord has called him to do, and there’s nothing else he’d rather do than to please the Lord.

Paul lived a life on mission where he’d go into a city and preach the gospel believing the Lord was going to save sinners and use him to make disciples.

Church, Paul teaches us

We glorify God by making disciples (vv. 21-22)

If you are a Christian, you are called to do this too.

The last thing that Jesus said before He ascended to heaven was to “Go, make disciples.”

Making disciples happens far more outside the church than inside.

Meaning we’re going to have to be real Christians to get this done.

My friend Tim sent me some research he was doing for his PhD.

He was looking at Jesus’s methods for teaching in light of the Great Commission.

Jesus spends his time in formal/informal settings.

Formal: Structured, socially recognized settings where the audience expects instruction.

Informal: Relation, situational setting. Often responsive in small groups or individuals.

In Matthew

45 Teaching moments

17 Formal/28 informal

38% Formal/ 62% informal

In Mark

32 teaching moments

9 formal/23 informal

28% formal/72% informal

In Luke

46 teaching moments

14 formal/32 informal

30% formal/70% informal

In John

29 teaching moments

8 formal/21i informal

28% formal/72% informal

All four Gospels, Jesus spends around 30% of His time in a public teaching space and 70% of his time in an informal, unscheduled, intimate context.

Tim text me:

“For those of us on stage: Disciple off of it, too. For those of us without a stage: Make disciples, because the world is your stage.”

What if you started taking this seriously.

If you started praying for someone intentionally, expecting God to do something amazing?

If you started opening up your homes to show people who you truly are and who Jesus truly is to you?

As a pastor, I can only do so much, but our goal here at Harvest City is to help you make disciples.

As a church, we strive for this.

How does this work practically?

What are we (Harvest City) going to do to make disciples?

Take the Next Step (Next Steps Area)

We are training disciples to help you take your next step.

Begin Christian habits—Prayer, Bible, Church

Baptism

Starting Point—Membership

Serving—What are you interested in doing?

Community Group Leader Training

Our community groups will be paramount to the fellowship of this church.

Can they be clunky/awkward? Yes. But once you get 2-4 weeks in, you’ll start becoming connected to people in ways you wouldn’t otherwise.

You’ll see these people as fascinating

If you’d be interested leading a group, please let me know.

Growing with other believers helps you make disciples and be a better disciples.

Mission without community collapses.

Harvest City Institute

24 week discipleship program designed to develop disciple-making disciples.

Grow in knowledge of the Word, theology, and Christian practice.

Christian story, Christian belief, and Christian practice.

This will be open to the entire church this Fall

It’s hard work—Christian can do hard things—If you put in the work, you will grow.

If you’ll get serious about discipleship, you will grow.

I’ve taken about 7 months off doing jiu jitsu.

Life, responsibility, etc.

So I haven’t taken it very seriously.

There are some people who started training while I was there and was very new to the sport.

One of my training partners, Sydney, had started, but she has taken her training seriously.

She trains, works her muscles, works her technique, and just got her blue belt!

According to rank, she has passed me.

I haven’t grown at all in 7 months, because I haven’t taken my training seriously.

She’s grown exponentially.

We have what you need to take your next step toward Jesus.

Some of us wonder when we’re going to grow, but we don’t take discipleship seriously.

Here at Harvest City, we value discipleship. Let’s use this year to grow in Christ together.

Transition

There are several ways for you to grow in your knowledge of the Bible and faith, grow in your ability to lead other people, opportunities for you to make disciples.

But that’s not where we stop.

Paul doesn’t only make disciples and then leaves them with no next step.

Much of Christianity in America is set on making decisions, but not making disciples.

Christians don’t thrive outside the church—So when Paul made disciples, that inevitably resulted in planting a church.

Disciples don’t mature in isolation—We need the church.

Acts 14:23 ESV

23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Paul followed the pattern of the synagogue and established a leadership by elders.

The church needs a plurality of leaders—Not just one man in every church.

Obedience to Christ in the church needs structure.

Paul glorified God by committing the new church to the Lord, because it belongs to Him.

We glorify God by planting churches (v. 23)

When Paul went into a city he preached the gospel.

He engaged the city with the gospel.

He built relationships expecting to lead these people toward Jesus.

He goes into a city with the greatest message of all time

That the eternal God of the universe stepped out of heaven to die on the cross for your sins so that you could have eternal life through Him because He rose again three days later as the ruling reigning King who will return to make all things new!

And by believing in Him you be set free from your sins!

This is the greatest news ever

so Paul engaged the city with it and disciples were made.

He strengthened their faith, led them into a deeper understanding of the Word, and their faith grew.

What inevitably happens when you engage a city with the gospel, and make disciples, is that churches are planted.

“Bo, question. This is a church plant. How does a small church plant like this plant churches?”

What are we going to do to plant churches?

Long-term goal

That’s where we’re going. This is the type of church we want to be, so we fuse it into our DNA now because we’ll begin working to that end.

Vision is to grow to a point where we cannot hold more people

Then (when we get our permanent building), not find or build a bigger building, but to plant a church.

We want to begin making disciples now, because you don’t plant a church before you make disciples.

When we’ve grown so many leaders, serve team members, a pastor, then we want to do what the Church in Antioch did with Paul/Barnabas in Acts 13—Send them out.

I hope to one day ask several of you to leave—This is a hard thing because it sacrifices our first and best in the church. We sacrifice our front-liners for the sake of the gospel.

I hope to ask you to leave as feel that loss out of a flaming passion to see God glorified through making disciples and planting churches.

Paul knew something we forget—The gospel doesn’t just save us from something, it sends us to something.

Paul didn’t go back into the city because he was reckless—he went back because Jesus is worth it.

The same Jesus who was crushed on a cross outside the city.

The same Jesus who endured suffering to bring sinners to God.

The same Jesus who didn’t stay dead, but rose again and now reigns!

THIS Jesus is worthy of disciples.

The question isn’t: “Is this too much.” The question is, “What else would you want to give your life to?”

Don’t you want in on this?

Let’s talk about what that’ll look like. Come chat with me after service.

Let’s take a next step together.

Take the Next Step

Name one person. Pray for them. Move toward them.

Ask God for a name, and pray for that name every day this week.

Look for an intentional moment to be with the,.

Aim to be faithful, not close the deal.

This is how disciples are made.

One life, one relationship, one step at a time.

Take your next step into the life of Harvest City Church

Stop by the Next Steps area/baptism/Starting Point.

Harvest City Church exists to glorify God by making disciples and planting churches. Let’s get to work.