I read part of an old missions book _Bridges of God_, lest night. The author of the book wrote about how people-groups become Christians. He conjectured a bit about Paul and pointed out some things that I hadn't really thought much about.

Originally, the church was primarily Jewish. Eventually, the Gospel was preached to Smaritans, who were similar to Jews in many ways, but were not considered to be orthodox. Later, a small group of Gentiles believed, but we don't read about a 'people-movement' to Christ. Then, in Antioch, there was a large number of Gentiles who believed. The author of the book I was reading suggested that the Gospel may have bridged over to the Gentiles through prostelytes who had Gentiles relatives

The Jeruslaem church sent Barnabas to teach these Christians. The author of the book speculates that Paul might have been known for teaching that God wanted to reach the Gentiles. He had heard about God's plan to reach the Gentiles when he was called, and Paul was also taught by the Lord in the desert.

Perhaps Paul knew that God wanted to reach the Gentiles, and Antioch may have served as a training ground and a model for him. The GOspel had come in through the Jewish community there. Many Jews had beleived. Then Gentiles started believing. The Jews and Gentiles were together as a church.

Some of the Jews at that time did not believe in eating with Gentiles. But, as we see in I Corinthians, it is important not to have divisions during the Lord's supper. We know that it was the practice of the early church to eat the love feast together. Think what Paul must have been thinking when Cephas came to Antioch and, by exmaple, led many not to eat with the Gentiles. The Jews and Gentiles were to function together as a functioning body.

When Paul and Barnabas went out to plant churches. Antioch had served as a training ground for them. They had taught there for a year. When they traveled abroad, they followed a strategy which was similar to what had happened in Antioch. They took the Gospel to the synagogue- to the Jewish community. Some Jews accepted, but Paul knew to present the Gospel to 'the Jew first.' Prostelytes and God-fearing Jews who went to the synagogue had an opportunity to hear the Gospel as well. From there the Gospel could brindge across to the Gentiles. In many places, it would seem that most beleivers were Gentiles during Paul's lifetime.

I believe there is a need for 'Antiochs' today. Those who want to go out and plant churches may benefit from being involved in an Antioch, facing the same cultural issues. If one wants to reach a new people group, it would be beneficial for him to spend some time in an 'Antioch' with the same culture as that people group. Those being trained to plant churches benefit from having practical experience of what church life is supposed to be like. If their experience is sitting on a pew, then they may benefit from spending time in a Christian community where people really know one another, take care of one another, and bear one another's burdens. They may benefit from being in a funcitoning body, where meetings and social interaction allows for believers to minister their gifts one to another. They need to have experience being in a church community where there is a lot of love.

Here, in this part of the world, I think something like a Christian farming commune might be able to serve that purpose in certain areas. A lot of unemployed young men who become Christians from among their own unreached people group, who don't have any work skills could come for a year, study through the entire Bible, pray with others, be discipleed, and learn farming while farming the land. They could learn to farm fish, make baskets, or whatever.

Church planters reaching unreached peoples need to know the importance and the experience of church which is really like a family. When young unmarried people get kicked out of their homes because the believe in Christ, they need to be in a church community that really supports them emotionally, practically, and financially. The model of church which the church planter seeks to reproduce must be a family-community type model, rather than a model which involves sitting on a pew once a week.

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2000