Churches - Paul's Legacy

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria

"The next day Paul and Barnabas left for the city of Derbe. They spread the Good News in that city and won many disciples. Then they went back to the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (which is in Pisidia). They strengthened the disciples in these cities and encouraged the disciples to remain faithful. Paul and Barnabas told them, “We must suffer a lot to enter God’s kingdom.” They had the disciples in each church choose spiritual leaders, and with prayer and fasting they entrusted the leaders to the Lord in whom they believed." Acts 14:20b-23


We cannot really list here all that was mentioned in the Book of Acts regarding Paul's missionary journeys, but we can sure read this small portion of Scriptures when he first went on these mission trips.

Moving from one city to the next, Paul, like Jesus, taught the Word of God, particularly to those who wanted to hear them. Of course, there were those who didn't like what he was saying and these led to riotings, to Paul being assaulted, stoned, imprisoned, and charges brought up against him. But Paul continued on in their journey leaving churches as they moved on.

Epistles

It is interesting to note that a big part of New Testament Scriptures is Paul writing letters to the different churches that he help start in the different cities he had visited and greeting households he had stayed in during his missionary journeys. We do not know how many churches he help start and how many letters were lost.

For sure we know that he helped start churches in the cities in and around Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossi, and Thessalonica, as one or more letters were written to them, and are included in the bible. We call these letters, epistles.

Servant-Leaders

The one thing apart from being led by the Holy Spirit, traveling in groups of two or more, teaching, praying and fasting, and performing miraculous signs, that helped jumpstart this church planting spree, we also read above that there was persecution and suffering and that the churches chose spiritual leaders among them who stayed committed and helped lead them, as Paul moved on to the next city in their missionary journey.

Scriptures also record that Paul on his succeeding journeys went back and visited some of these churches that he help plant, and continued writing letters to them, many of which were preserved and read in their meetings, and shared to other churches and, as we have mentioned, form a big part of the New Testament bible.

Before Jesus left His disciples, He said that He will not leave them as orphans. And truly, because the Holy Spirit was sent to them. Now Paul, too did not leave the churches he left behind, as orphans, as he left them letters of instructions and let them appoint leaders, teachers, encouragers and servants among them full of the Holy Spirit. And that was the "gentile church formula" then, up until this day, and until the Lord's return.

From Paul's last letter to Timothy:
(generally believed to have been written during the reign of  Roman Emperor Neo)

"My life is coming to an end, and it is now time for me to be poured out as a sacrifice to God. I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith. The prize that shows I have God’s approval is now waiting for me. The Lord, who is a fair judge, will give me that prize on that day. He will give it not only to me but also to everyone who is eagerly waiting for him to come again."