In Acts 13:1–3, we find the church in Antioch sending out two great leaders, Paul and Barnabas. They had come to Antioch to help the new believers there, and now these growing believers were sending leaders out to a broader mission field.
Notice that the church didn’t say, “We have the greatest teacher and the greatest encourager! Let’s put them on staff.” The Holy Spirit told them to send their best leaders, and they did. I’m sure some tears were shed by both those sending and those going. But they did it, and in doing so, this one church shaped all of us who followed.
Gospel Goodbye
When Chris Hruska and Gavin Johnson were sent to plant Citylight in Omaha, Nebraska, they already had the vision to be a church that plants churches. Their goal was to establish one daughter church by their five-year anniversary.
Within the first year, Citylight had grown from 40 congregants to 600. They felt the Lord was saying, “It’s time to reproduce. I want you to send your best.” So they took their newest leader who was “firing on all cylinders,” says Gavin, and sent him a few miles away to plant a new church, Citylight Bensen.
“Whenever we do a gospel goodbye, we put ourselves in a position where we are dependent on God to provide the next laborer,” says Chris. “We’re dependent on God to continue to raise up new disciplemakers and leaders.”
Blessings in Loss
Though the church members have said goodbye to some of their best leaders, the Lord has blessed their sacrifice. Now, five years after Citylight was planted, they have four daughter churches, and two of those are planning to plant their own churches.
“Sending our leaders not only blessed new communities, but it also has blessed our church because it’s kept us humble, prayerful, and dependent,” Chris observes. “It’s been good for the mission and healthy for our church.”
Yes, in the short run, it feels like loss. It is loss. The one who plants the tree rarely gets to sit in its shade. But the church that has the foresight to send leaders will help untold generations to come, even if that one church doesn’t feel the immediate benefits.
Let me put it another way—someone sent the person who reached you. Someone left another church to plant yours. You were the person who got to sit in the shade. Now it’s our turn to help others.
For more church-planting stories and information, visit Church-Planting Sunday, which is February 25, 2018.