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the local church and mission iii-acts 1

The Local Church and Missions III: Acts 1

By Todd Miles

In my previous posts (part 1, part 2), I took up the question of what the Bible has to say about the relationship between the local church and missions. The catalyst for the investigation is my church’s desire to construct a mission’s strategy that is biblically faithful and is particular to our congregation and location. What role should the local church play in the sending and maintenance of missionaries vis-à-vis parachurch missions organizations? I began by looking at the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:13-20 and followed with a short exposition of the Great Commission in Matthew 28. The focus, for the rest of these posts will be the book of Acts.

The book of Acts records the spread of the gospel, starting with a small band of disciples in Jerusalem and ends in Rome where Paul was openly preaching the gospel. The hermeneutical challenge is determining what is prescribed (and therefore ought to be obeyed) versus what is merely described (and is not necessarily normative for the local church). This challenge, though not to be overlooked, ought not to keep us from looking to the Book of Acts for guidance. We would misunderstand Luke’s purpose (and more importantly the purposes of the Spirit who inspired the text) if we were to reduce Acts to a collection of simple historical facts, void of any normative implications for the church today. So I offer the following observations from Acts 1 for the consideration of any local church when developing a missions strategy.

1. The Church belongs to Jesus and he takes responsibility for its growth.

Though most Bibles title Luke’s writing as The Acts of the Apostles, he makes a strong case in his opening sentence that a more fitting title would be “The Continued Acts of Jesus Christ.” Luke describes his first book to Theophilus, The Gospel according to Luke, as dealing with “all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). The implication is that all that follows in Acts is a record of all that Jesus continued to do. Though Jesus ascended to the Father not even halfway through the first chapter of Acts, he did tell his disciples that he would build his church (Matt 16:18) and he did promise his authoritative presence with them to the end of the age (Matt 28:20). This reminds us immediately that the amazing spread of the gospel and explosion of the church recorded in Acts is a divine work. Nothing has changed since then. It is Jesus Christ who takes responsibility for the building of his church and therefore, our efforts to grow the church are to be submitted to and dependent upon him. Our task is to be faithful. Jesus supplies the growth. An implication of this truth is that we cannot justify our processes, practices, or methodologies by appealing to the results that Jesus brings. The Lord may bring about many conversions and grow his church in spite of our theology and strategies. This is not to say that results are unimportant. It is to say that we have to recognize who we are and what we bring to the table in the arena of church growth.

2. Missions is related to the Kingdom of God.

We notice immediately the emphasis on the Kingdom in the book of Acts. Just like his pre-crucifixion ministry, the forty days of Jesus’ post-resurrection, pre-ascension teaching focused on the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). The disciples asked if it was at that time that Jesus would “restore the Kingdom to Israel” (1:6). Clearly, the disciples were not concerned about mission to the nations at that time (unless that mission included things like judgment, victory over oppressors, domination of enemies, and the like). Jesus did not deny the substance of their expectation (the centrality of the Kingdom), but he did promise that he would send the Holy Spirit and that they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (1:8). Jesus’ response ought not to be read as a rebuke followed by a radical correction to their understanding. He had after all been talking to them about the Kingdom for the previous forty days, so his directions in verse 8 must be intimately tied to the substance of his prior teaching (in both his pre- and post-resurrection instruction). Rather, Jesus corrected their desire to know times or seasons regarding the consummation of the Kingdom and then gave them specific instructions regarding his tasks for them in his Kingdom agenda.

What this tells us is that the mission of the local church is to be seen in continuity with Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom in the Gospels, not in discontinuity. Developing a faithful missions strategy must be done with Bibles open to Jesus’ instruction on the Kingdom of God, including the Sermon on the Mount and his parables that speak to us about the nature of the Kingdom, the timing of the Kingdom, and how we are to comport ourselves as we await the consummation of the Kingdom.

3. The ministry of the Holy Spirit precedes our missions efforts.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has read the Gospels. Jesus’ entire first-advent ministry was characterized by the empowerment and the presence of the Holy Spirit (Peter summarized that ministry to Cornelius and the other Gentiles by saying “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” in Acts 10:38). Jesus had promised his attending presence to his disciples in Matthew 28:20. I take it that his sending of his Spirit is the fulfillment of that promise. It is significant that Jesus talks of what he will do for the disciples (send the Holy Spirit) and then of what the disciples will become (note that the verb esesthe, “will be” is in the future tense and the passive voice). Being a witness for Jesus is first and foremost about what Jesus makes us through the presence of the Spirit, and only secondarily about our decisions, efforts, and strategies. Refusing to witness for Jesus is a denial of what Jesus has made us to be, regardless of what we think our gifting may or may not be.

4. The Holy Spirit empowers the church to witness.

Again, the language of the text is clear. Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Having seen the risen Christ, the disciples were in a unique position to witness to Jesus’ resurrection and this seems to be a requirement for the office of apostle (cf Acts 1:22-23; 1 Cor 9:1; 15:7-8). However, not all those in the book of Acts who were instrumental in the spread of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth had seen the risen Christ in the flesh (e.g., Apollos, Priscilla, Acquila, etc.), so it would be inaccurate to limit the Spirit’s power to witness to those eyewitnesses alone.

It is the Holy Spirit, in fulfillment of New Covenant promises, that constitutes the people of God as the Church. The roles of the Holy Spirit in salvation and the church, both at the individual and corporate level, are crucial and myriad (reference virtually any New Testament teaching on the Holy Spirit). But this first mention in Acts of the Holy Spirit’s work is empowerment for witness. Jesus sent the Spirit in fulfillment of his numerous promises (e.g., John 14-16), but here he gives priority to empowerment for the purpose of proclamation of the gospel. This will manifest itself immediately in Peter’s preaching at Pentecost in Acts 2.

This tells us that missions should be primarily about gospel proclamation. Perhaps this seems obvious, but I would invite each local church to look at how their missions dollars are appropriated. How many missionaries, actively involved in front-line evangelism and church planting, are supported by your church? How many missions dollars go to administration, support personnel, or social justice causes? I realize that administration and support are necessary for missions of any sort to take place (ironically, “successful” field missionaries are often “promoted” off the field and into administrative roles). I also believe that social justice efforts are an integral part of the gospel of the Kingdom and ought not to be divorced from evangelism and church planting. We are called to be word and deed ambassadors of the Kingdom, following the example and directives given by Jesus. However, the giving and sending trends in North American mission agencies are revealing.

In a survey of 820 mission organizations from the United States and Canada, missiologist Michael Jaffarian reports that 45.1 percent of the nearly $6 billion donated to missions organizations annually was given to agencies whose primary ministry was evangelism and discipleship, while 49.1 percent was given to agencies whose primary ministry was relief and development.[i] The recent giving trends, no doubt affected by highly publicized natural disasters around the world, are telling. Jaffarian observes, “The total income given for overseas ministries . . . grew by more than $1.27 billion between 2001 and 2005, or 27.5 percent in this span of four years. Most of that growth took place in the relief/development area. American agencies focused on evangelism/discipleship saw combined income grow by 2.7 percent during those four years; those focused on relief/development saw theirs grow by a whopping 74.3 percent.”[ii] These numbers indicate a growing commitment to social concerns that far outweighs the growth in commitment to evangelism.

5. The vision for missions is local and global.

Witness for Jesus was to begin in Jerusalem and extend to the outlying areas all the way to the ends of the earth. The phrase “ends of the earth” is to be interpreted as both ethnic and geographic in scope, inclusive of all peoples everywhere.[iii] It is true that Acts 1:8 establishes the trajectory and literary strategy for the rest of the book. But it also reflects the priorities and commitments of those who heard and obeyed Jesus’ words. Those priorities, reflected in commitment to reaching people both nearby and far away, are normative for local church’s today.

Again, I would invite you to look at how your local church’s missions dollars are appropriated and determine whether or not your missions budget accurately reflects the priorities of Acts 1:8. Look also at where most of your dollars are being invested. What percentage of your missions giving supports men and women involved in frontline evangelism and church planting? Is your church committed to reaching people both locally and around the world for Christ? You might be surprised (and perhaps disturbed) at your findings.

Endnotes
[i] M. Jaffarian, “The Statistical State of the North American Protestant Missions Movement, from the Mission Handbook, 20th Edition,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 32/1 (January 2008): 37. Evangelism and discipleship mission agencies were involved in activities such as church planting, evangelism, national church nurture, and Bible distribution. Relief and development activities include agricultural programs, justice issues, medicine, and public health. Seven of the top ten North American mission agencies by income are devoted almost entirely to relief and development. World Vision alone, with an annual income of over $1 billion, accounts for over one-sixth of the total income given in North America for overseas missions.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Darrell L. Bock, Acts, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007), 65.



Todd Miles (B.S., M.S. in Nuclear Engineering at Oregon State University; M.Div., Western Seminary; PhD in Systematic Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor of Theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. Before his doctoral studies Miles was a Research Engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for ten years. Now Miles teaches Systematic Theology, Hermeneutics, and Ethics at Western Seminary. Miles is married to Camille and they have six children, Natalie, Ethan, Levi, Julius, Vicente, and Marcos. Miles serves as an elder at Hinson Memorial Baptist Church in Portland. Miles is the author of A God of Many Understandings? The Gospel and Theology of Religions (Nashville: B&H, 2010).

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