The missionary task belongs to the church. And if it belongs to the church, then at least in some way, it belongs to every Christian. Of course, every Christian’s involvement will look a little different. We won’t all play exactly the same role. If you play sports, you know how useless it would be if every player on the team played the same position. It would be chaotic and ineffective. So it is with missions.
While every Christian has a role to play, some Christians will be called by God to serve him by especially focusing on missions. They will take an active role in advancing the gospel among the nations. But the nature of that call will likely seem very ordinary. Even the story of Paul’s call to missions is simpler and more relatable than you might realize.
Paul’s role as a missionary is probably the most famous thing he’s known for, especially after he becomes a follower of Jesus. From Acts 13:1-5, we can make ten observations about how Paul got started as a missionary. Those observations help us to see how ordinary the missionary calling can be.
1. Paul was committed to the church.
The first thing mentioned in Acts 13:1 is not a missions event or even a missionary. It is a church. “Now there was in the church at Antioch…” (13:1). Antioch was the city of Paul’s home church. He is listed as one of the teachers in that church, showing that these men shared the ministry of the Word together.
Right before this, Paul had been on a kind of short-term mission trip with Barnabas. Barnabas was also a member of the church at Antioch. When he had joined that church, he enlisted Paul to serve there with him (Acts 11:19-26). Shortly after, the church in Antioch received word that the church in Jerusalem needed some help because of a famine. So, the church in Antioch decided to send Barnabas and Saul to help take some provisions to Jerusalem (11:27-30). In 12:25, we read that those two, along with another brother, John/Mark, had just returned from that journey.
What is clear from all of this is that Paul was committed to his church. He served where he could. He taught the scriptures so that others could grow in their faith. He willingly visited others in need. He cared that God was known and made known in his own congregation and in other places as well.
2. Paul worshipped with the church.
“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting…” (Acts 13:2).
This might sound obvious. Since we have already seen that he was committed to the church, it would make sense that he was worshiping in the church. After all, worship is a large component of what churches do. But verse 2 makes it explicit that there was a certain occasion where the church was worshiping and fasting, and some significant things came from it.
It might seem like gathering with your church each week is mundane, but it is usually in those ordinary gatherings that the Lord does some of the most significant work in the lives of his people. Don’t underestimate what the Lord can do as you regularly gather for worship with his people in the church.
3. Paul listened to and was led by the Holy Spirit.
“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” (Acts 13:2-3)
Apparently, in some remarkable fashion, the Holy Spirit spoke into this particular worship service. And when he did, Paul and Barnabas and the rest of the church listened and allowed themselves to be led by what he said.
While the Holy Spirit may not speak quite as audibly or clearly in any given church service, we can still trust that he will speak through his Word if it is faithfully proclaimed in our gatherings. Our task is to pray that we would discern his leading in our lives and that we would follow it obediently.
4. Paul was set apart by the church and by God for his work.
Based on verses 2-3, the church obeyed by setting apart those who were specifically called by God for missionary service. The missionary’s responsibility to go was not divorced from the church’s responsibility to send.
But Paul was not only set apart by the church. He had also been set apart by God for this task, just the way God had set him apart for salvation. Notice Paul’s own testimony from his letter to the Galatians.
“But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.” (Galatians 1:15-16)
God was setting Paul apart for the work to which he had called him just the way he set him apart for the salvation to which he had called him.
5. Paul was called by God.
This naturally ties in with the previous point. God had called Paul for the work of a missionary in the same way he had called him unto salvation. The calling and being set apart happened the same way. These two concepts are tied together in one other place in the New Testament.
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God…” (Romans 1:1).
The most important call that God can put on a person’s life is not a call to missions; it is a call for salvation. But be sure that when he calls you to salvation, he also will call you to ministry in some capacity, even if you never change jobs or addresses.
6. Paul was prayerful.
Acts 13:3 tells us that the church only sent out these missionaries after praying for them. As members of that church, Paul and Barnabas no doubt would have also been among those who prayed. Prayer is essential to discerning the call of God to ministry.
Learn to pray well! Learn from people who have prayed a long time. Learn how to pray through what you read in scripture.
7. Paul was sent out by the church and by the Holy Spirit.
The same Holy Spirit who called Paul also sent him. And the church confirmed this calling by joining the Holy Spirit in the sending of its missionaries. When a church sends missionaries, it affirms that the Lord is indeed intending for those missionaries to be sent out for the task.
8. Paul was strategic about where he went.
“So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.” (Acts 13:4)
As one who has served in some missions roles (and as one who has asked a lot of questions of missionaries), I have observed a familiar question: How did you decide where to serve? The common answer is this: where your abilities and interests intersect with a place where those abilities and interests are needed, that’s a good place to serve.
Of course, there are human and divine elements at work in determining such locations. That’s normal. There are human and divine elements in just about every other decision we make on a daily basis. Paul employed strategic thinking about where he went, even as the Holy Spirit was sending him to where he needed to be.
9. Paul proclaimed the word of God.
“When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.” (Acts 13:5)
Whatever else we may do as Christians, gospel proclamation must be our priority. As mentioned earlier, we won’t all play exactly the same roles in ministry. But that does not exempt us from proclaiming the gospel in whatever ways we are able.
10. Paul partnered with others in the work.
Paul was not a lone ranger. From the start in Acts 13, he served alongside Barnabas and John/Mark. Throughout his later ministry, he joined with countless other gospel partners.
There are two primary ways that I get to be involved in the work of God in the world. First, as a pastor of a local church in the US. Second, as part of a team of missionaries that focuses on working with ministry leaders around the world. In both roles, I get to work alongside like-minded servants of God for the proclamation of the Word in the world.
Sometimes I am asked, “How do you know who to partner with?” My answer is, choose to work alongside people who believe what you believe, but who can minister in ways you can’t and in places you couldn’t as effectively without them.
Answer the call of God to salvation. Then consider how, even if in ordinary ways, God might be calling you to make his name known among the nations.
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