Marks of a Missionary Movement #4 - Rapid Mobilization

In his book Movements that Change the World, Steve Addison tells the story of Roland Allen to introduce the 4th mark of a Missionary Movement, Rapid Multiplication.

Allen was an Anglican missionary who wrote about planting churches among those who had not yet heard the Gospel. Born in England in 1868, Allen was ordained and served as a missionary in North China. As Allen challenged the methods of planting of churches in the early 20^th century he wrote a book titled Missionary Methods: St Paul's or Ours? Allen looked at the spread of the Gospel in Acts and noticed that where he saw the church growing exponentially in his day, it resembled what he read about in Acts. But mostly he saw slow, cumbersome, highly ordered ecclesiastical ways of planting churches which resulted in the addition of a few churches at best and looked very little like the early church. He grieved that multiplication was not happening in most places except for where indigenous people groups took it upon themselves to plant churches. He advocated a return to the methods of St. Paul.

Allen wrote "This then is what I mean by spontaneous expansion. I mean the expansion which follows the unexhorted and unorganized activity of individual members of the Church explaining to others the Gospel which they have found for themselves…I delight to think that a Christian traveling on his business, or fleeing from persecution, could preach Christ, and a Church spring up as the result of his preaching."

While his ideas were largely rebuffed by the Church of England, they sound much like the way the Gospel spread and churches were planted exponentially in Acts.

Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

The Greek here means to make disciples “in your daily comings and goings," or "as you pass from one place to another.” That's what followers of Jesus do. Acts 8:1, 4 tells us how this unfolded for early believers " On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria…{4} Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went." Who left and who stayed? The Apostles stayed in Jerusalem, and the other believers were scattered? So – who did the preaching? The scattered believers did…everyday followers of Jesus.

The result of the preaching of these scattered followers? The story of the church at Antioch paints the picture. Acts 11:19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Acts 11:20-21 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

The powerful witness of Christians scattered throughout the Mediterranean world resulted in churches being planted everywhere.

Does this kind of rapid mobilization still happen? It is happening in 3^rd world areas. In 2000, there were 360 million Christians in Africa. At the present rate of growth there will be 633 million Christians there making it the second largest Christian continent after South America. Fifty years ago the fledgling church in China was reeling from the expulsion of Western missionaries. Today the Christian church in China grows by 16,500 new believers each day! Why is this happening? It happens because new believers are excited and empowered to share Jesus the day they become a believer.

This can happen in North America among Lutheran Christians! As pastors and other leaders empower people to learn to know, love, listen to and share Jesus with their unbelieving friends, the Holy Spirit can work to bring about faith and new life! I want to be a part of that. How about you?