The First Missionary Movement

Acts 13:1-4

-The Protestant Missionary movement in North America began in 1806 with five University Students, a thunderstorm and an impromptu prayer meeting under a haystack.

– The very first missionary movement in Christian history also began with a world-changing prayer meeting in Antioch

– The commissioning of the first missionary team from Antioch reveals three important attitudes that every healthy Church must adopt:

I.  A Missionary Mindset

1)     The mission must begin at home (v. 1)

a.       The Church in Antioch was founded by men and women with a heart for the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)

b.      The Church leaders were mature, faithful and culturally diverse

c.       The Church in Antioch was impacting their own city with the gospel before they began to send out ‘foreign’ missionaries

2)     The mission drives us to our knees (v. 2)

a.       ‘Fasting’ indicates that the leaders were actively seeking God’s will

b.      Healthy Churches beseech the Lord of the Harvest for the fulfillment of the mission in our generation

• Jesus modeled this kind of missional prayer  (Matthew 6:10)
• Jesus will not return until our mission is complete  (Matthew 24:14)

3)     The mission pushes us beyond our borders into new territory (v. 3-4)

a.       God designed the world to multiply and reproduce

b.      Healthy churches intentionally multiply disciples and send them out to do likewise

c.       The greatest danger to the fulfillment of our mission is apathy and an unholy satisfaction with the status quo

d.      “The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise” – Tacitus

II.  Sensitivity to the Spirit

1)     We don’t impose our plans on God!  God speaks through His Spirit and we respond to His initiative in faith and obedience (v. 2)

2)     The Spirit’s call to missionary service came first to Barnabus and Saul (aka. Paul)

3)     God’s call was confirmed by the Local Church through prayer and the laying on of hands

III.  Sacrificial Sending

1)     The loss of Paul and Barnabus was extremely costly to the Church in Antioch!

2)     Missional Churches hold the resources God has given with an open hand