Growing In, Going With, the Gospel (Acts 13-14)
Here’s my message from Church Planting Sunday, on October 26th, 2025. You can listen to the audio here.
Karis is a part of a church planting network called Acts 29. And today we celebrate Church Planting Sunday. Around 20 years ago, when we planted this church, we shared two distinctives with people interested in the plant - that we’d be gospel-focused and reproduction-motivated. Now I’m not sure I anticipated this baby boom we’ve experienced. But I wasn’t talking that kind of reproduction. I was referring to church planting. By God’s grace, Karis was able to get off the ground. And the Lord has also used us to plant other churches. We have been reproduction-motivated. And that springs, for sure, from being gospel-focused.
Now maybe you noticed that from those passages in Acts. We’re taking a detour this morning on our drive through Matthew. An off-ramp to pop in on this church in Antioch. Where we’ll be reminded of those distinctives. Where I can remind us of our vision. To grow in the gospel - and then go, planting churches, with that gospel.
It’s an apt time for us to talk church planting. Tomorrow, I’ll go to Dallas with Aaron and Darren and Jeremy for the Acts 29 Conference. There we’ll connect with church planters from all over the globe. But we’ll also get to hang with the Glossons and Tooleys - two couples we sent from here to plant in Carolina. In just a few weeks, Josh Rice will come to visit and preach. He’s working to plant churches in Japan. He was on our first vision trip there back in 2012.
The Still family will be visiting us over Christmas, as well. We also sent them out from here - to plant churches in Brazil. Their church Redentor is starting another in one of the poorest favelas in Rio. During Advent, we’ll take up a special offering to help that church get off the ground - another granddaughter church of Karis.
Darren Swanson, one of our elders, and his wife Bekah, are praying now about joining the Baleses in Scotland, and helping plant churches there. This is a part of our Karis DNA. And I want to remind you, friends, that it’s rooted in God’s word.
Here’s the roadmap for our journey today. We’ll look back at the ministry of this Antioch church. Observe a couple of facets of their ministry together. And then we’ll consider how we might reflect them together today.
Acts 13: The Church of Antioch Planting
Let’s first look at chapter 13, those first three verses. We see believers motivated to start new churches. The leadership of that church is praying together. And notice how diverse that team of leaders is. “Barnabas” and “Saul” are there, pillars you’ve perhaps heard of before. There is “Manaen” who is close to this Roman ruler named “Herod” - perhaps his foster brother, brought up in his home. The one who decapitated John the Baptist. And questioned and mocked Jesus. It seems the Lord’s been working even in that family.
And then you have these two men, “Simeon who was called Niger.” And “Lucius of Cyrene.” They’re both Africans. People of color. They’re there on this team praying. So a couple of things: diversity isn’t the world’s idea. They’re just catching up to our God. And don’t buy that lie that this is some “white man’s religion.” They’re there, at the beginning, long before America was even a thought. Before the gospel ever got to Europe.
And they’re there again praying. The “Spirit” guides them to send out “Barnabas” and “Saul,” who we know as Paul. To carry the gospel message. Go and make disciples. And then to form gospel churches. What always results.
This church of Antioch, situated strategically in this growing, bustling capital of the Roman province of Syria - it becomes the sending church for Paul’s three missionary journeys. It comes to rival the Jerusalem church in terms of its importance. And it becomes the birthplace of church planting. These prayers for guidance they pray - and their willingness to submit to God’s answers - reverberate throughout the world. And even reach our ears today. We see the church of Antioch planting here. And the gospel goes to the nations through them.
Acts 11: The Church of Antioch Planted
Let’s turn back to Acts chapter 11, starting in verse 19. The earliest disciples are on the run because of what happens to Stephen in Jerusalem. He preaches a sermon, that we hear in Acts chapter 7. And the crowds rage and riot and pellet him with stones. And Stephen dies in chapter 8, with Paul - before his conversion - there, giving his approval. And that kicks off persecution causing God’s people to scatter. And that’s how some end up in Antioch to the north. They’re migrants. Really refugees. Running for their lives.
One point I find interesting. This is actually something that’s happening today. Believers are fleeing suffering in Africa and the Middle East. And they’re ending up in Europe, a place cold to the gospel. And they’re spreading God’s word and planting churches.
Now they go up there preaching. They’ve been transformed by Jesus. What else could they really do? And they start their preaching, like Jesus, with the Jews. But verse 20 tells us that some men from “Cyprus and Cyrene,” again people coming from Africa, hold out the gospel to non-Jews, to “Hellenists.”
And God works in powerful ways. Here, all through nameless people. We’ve seen some Christian celebrities, for sure, in this text. But God needs no such thing. Verse 21 says, that His “hand” is with them, and a “great number” believe. They turn from their sin, and they trust in the Lord. And now a church in Antioch gets planted. And all of those sheep now really need some shepherds.
The home church in Jerusalem hears and sends “Barnabas” there to help. He takes it in for himself. And he rejoices. Verse 23 says he sees “the grace of God” - all the work the Lord has done. And He gets busy, exhorting them to “remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.” He tells them to keep going. And the Lord keeps working. Many more disciples are added. So many that he needs more help.
Now who’d be better equipped than his good friend, Paul? Whom God had called and sent to the Gentiles? He goes and finds him and brings him back there. And verse 26 says they labor together for a whole year, meeting with, and teaching all those new believers.
There in that city called Antioch. Where they get that nickname Christians. From their unbelieving neighbors. That distinguishes them from the Jews. But no doubt was a bit of a dig. Paul and Barnabas camp out there, working to form these Christians in the gospel of Jesus.
Here, in Acts 11, we see God work wonders in this city. Many come to know the Lord. We see the church of Antioch planted here. And those believers are grown up in the gospel by these.
So in summary, here in Acts 11 and 13, we see believers changed and formed by the gospel brought to them. And then we see them send and support those who bring the gospel to others. It’s there we see what’s clearly our calling still today: growing in the gospel together, first. And going with the gospel together, second.
The Church of Antioch and Us
Now I want to take each of those in turn, and think about how they might look here today - among us in Karis, here in Columbia. How we might look like that church in Antioch. Growing and going. And for each, I’ll have three sub-points. Things for us to pray. Things for us to pursue.
First, growing in the gospel. Again, verse 23 says Barnabas exhorts that church - to “remain faithful,” to stand strong. And then Paul comes and joins, and they teach that church for a year. They make disciples. They go about, sharing the good news. And they dig in, teaching those that receive it. They seek to form them in the gospel.
Now as I ponder that calling today, three needs come to mind. That are our focus here. Ways we want to help you grow. And the first need is this: rooting our identity in His person and work. Who are we, Karis? How do you see yourself, friend? Tribalism is making things so difficult today. And it’s easy to align ourselves with some other group. A political party or cause. Our country. Or ethnic group. Maybe our vocation. Or even a hobby.
We try to build an identity. While we’ve been given one in Christ. If we know God, we’re been adopted into His family. The Lord is our Father. And Jesus is our brother. We’re citizens of heaven. That’s first and foremost our nation. Our people are His Church. We have to be reminded of this. And challenged by this. Because we can so easily get swept away. And forget who we are.
For years I’ve had this reminder, that pops up in my email from time to time, from the late, great J.I. Packer, in his work Knowing God, which you can find out front:
“The immediate message of adoption to our hearts is surely this: Do I, as a Christian, understand myself? Do I know my own real identity? My own real destiny? I am a child of God. God is my Father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer. My Savior is my brother; every Christian is my brother too. Say it over and over to yourself first thing in the morning, last thing at night, as you wait in traffic, any time your mind is free, and ask that you may be enabled to live as one who knows it all to be utterly and completely true.” (J.I. Packer)
Is that how we see ourselves? Don’t we all need that reminder, desperately today?
But there’s another way our identity gets all out of sorts. We act like our standing’s tied up in our performance. Now we could read more about Antioch. And what happens there. Some zealous Jews from Jerusalem come down from there and meddle. And they start chattering about circumcision there.
Now that may understandably sound weird. Why are we talking about that? But circumcision is really significant in Scripture. It’s what God gave to their father Abraham. To distinguish them as a people. And set them apart from the nations.
And people later come down from Jerusalem to Antioch saying, “You gotta do this, too, boys. You’re leaving something out. In order to be a Christian, you first must be a Jew.” Controversy erupts. And Paul tries to shoot it down. But the church in Jerusalem ends up forming a council, that we see in Acts 15, where they shut that thinking down.
No. It’s not Jesus plus anything. Because Jesus plus anything else always equals nothing. And we have to fight to remember that, too. It’s not about our performance. But only about His. We can’t add anything on to Christ’s finished work. It’s finished. It’s done. And we receive it - and then rest.
I remember back in those days, when some people came to us - they were funding our plant - and they said, “If you don’t preach that alcohol is a sin, we’re cutting you off.” But I just couldn’t do it. Because it would add to Christ’s work. I just had to say no. And they stopped sending those funds. Oh, by the way, the Lord provided even more. I didn’t even drink. But I couldn’t go down that road. And throw burdens on people. To add to what God asks.
Now don’t hear me saying we don’t need to obey. But we don’t obey to be accepted by Him. We obey because we’ve been accepted by Him. We want to please God. So we try to do what He asks. But it’s Christ’s work that saves us. And that makes all the difference. We must root our identity in his person and work.
What’s a second need? Growing in humility and joy in Jesus. Now if you and I took our clipboards and polled people on the streets. And we asked people downtown these two questions, what do you think they’d say?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how humble do you find Christians to be? On a scale of 1 to 10, how joyful do you tend to think Christians are? I don’t know about you. I wouldn’t want to tally the results. But aren’t those qualities that should be growing in us?
Now one thing I’ve learned over the years about vision is that you’re not really getting anywhere unless people are annoyed. They’ve heard it before. Know what you’re about to say. You’re getting tired of saying it. They’re getting weary of hearing it. Then - and only then - you’re starting to get somewhere. It’s starting to get woven into the fabric of your culture.
Anybody know what’s about to hit the screen? We’ve been using this in Karis from almost the beginning. I want this tattooed on our souls. Maybe you’re here and you’ve never seen this before. But it’s called the cross-chart. You see the horizontal - the timeline of our life. There’s this point where we’re converted, where we give our lives to Christ. And there we feel this tension between what we know of God’s holiness and the sinfulness that’s in us. But the cross fills that gap. It brings us low. But it lifts us up. It humbles us. And causes us to rejoice.
But there’s this misconception we can have about our faith. It’s the more we grow, the older we get, the more we see we’ve conquered, the easier things will get. The reality is that, as we grow, the more this tension grows. We realize God is so much more righteous than we ever could imagine. And our sinfulness is even more extensive than we thought. And God wants that cross to get bigger, that joy to grow. Our temptation is to try to pull down that top line with our performance. “God doesn’t really expect all that.” Or to pull up the bottom out of pride. “I’m really not all that bad.” But the Lord wants us to feel that tension, to embrace that gap, and let the cross expand and fill it. What does this mean? The more we grow, the more humble we’ll get. The more joyful we’ll be. This is who we’re becoming. Where our hearts should move.
We can, as 1 John 1:7 puts it, we can “walk in the light, as he is in the light.” We can be real about who we are. We can own all the darkness here inside. And that verse says, if we do that, not only will we have forgiveness from God. We’ll have true fellowship with one another. This is essential for growing in the gospel. And so important for living in this world. Growing in humility and joy. This is the way, friends. What we should become.
Here’s one third need, I’d argue, for all of us, today: taking our faith public in grace and truth. A way we must grow - if we really want to go - with the gospel. Now you might be like me. I don’t like to be put in a box. I feel like I have tastes that are pretty diverse. Especially with music. I like some Jason Isbell. Singers like Donovan Woods. I was a fan of Pinegrove long before that TikTok shuffle thing. I’ll often listen to worship music. Some bluegrass and folk. Sometimes some relatively hard rock n’ roll. Just hope you’re with me at the game when “Living on a Prayer” or “Don’t Stop Believing” gets cued up. Back in the day I even tried to become a rapper. And even performed a few times on stage in college. Put on T-Swift’s “All Too Well” - the 10 minute version, of course - and I’ll get in the zone. I can belt out “Beat It.” Or hit those notes by Adele. Please don’t put me in a box, friends. I could go on.
And especially don’t box me in with regard to matters of faith. Because my faith in Jesus - my commitment to His church - won’t get stuffed in to some political tribe. But we so readily crawl into them, don’t we? Our identity gets all out of whack. We end up taking our marching orders from some other party or group. We find ourselves aligning with, and singing for, some other kingdom. And not taking our marching orders from Jesus the King. We start straying from Scripture, and all the diversity of its teachings. And we parrot talking points, whether from the right or from the left. We let people put us in a box. And they end up using us for their cause. When we’re meant to live for His.
Karis, we can seek to protect babies in the womb - and we should. And also speak out and speak up when kids who happen to speak Spanish get tossed into cages. We can say, as we learned this week, “There are mosquitoes now in Iceland. And that probably shouldn’t be the case.” We’re made stewards of God’s creation. And we should take that responsibility seriously. While we also believe in the sanctity of marriage. And God’s design for gender. We can believe and proclaim that sex is only for marriage. And it’s best for our hearts, if we live out what God says. While we also speak out against racial injustice. Calling out oppression in our land.
And we should be gracious as we bring people the truth. Because we have that chart stuck in our heads. And our goal isn’t to win an argument. It’s to win them to Jesus. Our love for God gets displayed in how we love our neighbors.
You see the gospel doesn’t fit neatly into some kind of box. It’s neither right nor left. Not conservative or liberal. It’s something entirely different. It’s not something in between. It’s something different all together. I love the way author Chris Watkin explains it. He calls it diagonalization. It doesn’t lean one direction or the other. It cuts up at the diagonal to something different all together. Rebecca McLaughlin puts it this way:
”Jesus in the Gospels doesn’t fit our modern paradigms. His attacks on the rich and his protection of the poor make most left-wing leaders look like heartless fat cats. But his teachings about sexual sin make most conservatives look soft. Jesus talks more about love across differences and inclusion for the marginalized than the most tenderhearted liberal. And yet he issues terrifying warnings of God’s judgment. He calls us not to judge lest we be judged. And yet he says that one day he will judge us all.” (Rebecca McLaughlin)
Karis, we submit to King Jesus. We follow the ways of His kingdom. That has broken into this age. And will one day span the globe. We take our faith public. We seek to win others for Jesus. But we do it with grace and truth. Pointing to a whole different way of life. That overflows from God’s love to us. This is what we’re to be about.
So these are the type of disciples we really must make. And what we must become. What’s so needed in growing in Christ today. Rooting our identity in His person and work. Growing in humility and joy in Jesus. Taking our faith public in grace and truth.
Second, let’s take going in the gospel. This is, after all, Church Planting Sunday. Three more things, that I think we should focus on, Karis. A first need: praying for His will and work. We see these leaders praying, in Acts 13, asking God to guide. Expecting Him to work. And this is seen all over the book of Acts. And this is because they want wisdom to do His will. But they also trust Him to do the real work.
And there’s no mistaking who’s doing it as we look at Acts 11. Verse 21 doesn’t say, and their preaching was awesome. It says, “And the hand of the Lord was with them.” Luke the author in verse 23 calls what Barnabas sees “the grace of God.” The Sovereign Lord, who rules over the nations, is really the one who sends them running to Antioch. He’s got lots of work for them to do there. But their labor of love finds its strength - its effectiveness - in His power and grace.
Back many years ago, I was ready for our Karis trip to Brazil. And my wife’s health was not at all good. I sought the Lord. I asked people to pray. And I thought I should back out at the very last minute. And Eric Papp, a beloved brother here, jumped in and took my spot. And it’s on that trip, where God really cemented his call to serve there.
And I think it’s the same trip where he met his wife. And now, yada yada yada, there are these three adorable little girls. And God is doing some amazing work now through that family. We need God’s guidance and wisdom. And we need His power and grace. We have to be about praying for His will and work. Asking for workers for His field. Pleading for wonders from His hand. This is where our power comes from.
What’s a second need? Going - or sending - to preach and plant. Tomorrow, I’ll see my beloved brother, Billy Glosson. Who we sent out to plant in Morganton, North Carolina. He is a phenomenal preacher. With them is Michael Tooley who is gifted at preaching, but especially in leading worship. And it hurt so much to send them from Karis. But in losing them, we also gained. It made a place for people like Aaron and Darren and Tyler and Jeff. We get to be a part of seeing God work. But it’s those people in western Carolina who are really the ones blessed.
Have you ever taken a ride on the Staten Island Ferry? It’s the large, iconic, boat ride from Manhattan to Staten Island and back. That gives you a free view of the Statue of Liberty. Maybe you’re a fan of Pete Davidson. I’m certainly not. But I do like Colin Jost. A few years back, Colin, I think, took some of his wife’s money and pooled it with Pete’s, and they bought one of those retired orange ferries. Their goal was to turn it into this big luxury party ship. But for a number of reasons, it’s just been moored along the coast at Staten Island - at significant expense for the last couple of years. Jost called it “the dumbest and least thought-through purchase I’ve ever made in my life.” I mean, maybe you shouldn’t get into business adventures with Pete Davidson?
But I digress. We in God’s church, so often take our people, our best leaders, like the Glossons or the Worleys that we’ve sent out to plant - and we tie them up. We let them rust. When we could set them free and let them sail - out to the nations, to reach people for Jesus.
We can’t just fixate on right here, right now. We have to think about the kingdom, the future. Not just keep people happy. And pay the light bill. God has far more in store for us than that, my friends. He wants us to be all about multiplication. Multiplying disciples. Multiplying leaders. And through that, multiplying churches. Not just turning people into consumers. But molding them into contributors. And being willing to release them into the wild. I don’t even want to think about losing the Swansons. But it’s where God calls, where His gospel leads.
Either we’re called to go and be on mission. Or we’re called to stay and be on mission. And, if we stay, we’re called to support those we send. Let’s continue to be a church, as a helpful Crossword article explains, that helps people discern their call, encourages them as they prepare, partners with them in prayer and finances, commissions them as they go, and provides care and accountability while they’re out there in the field. Let’s be a training center. A leader factory. A sending station.
And one last thing. Don’t hear me just talking about church planters and pastors. Whether you’re an accountant or a doctor, drive a tractor or build websites, God can use you here - or across the globe - sharing the gospel and planting churches. Jeremy Grove works for Crossworld and he would love to talk to you about how you can use your vocation to serve God among the nations. This is what we’re called to, Karis.
And also, if you think you’re called to missions and church planting, come talk to me about our internship program. I’d like to help. We love to train you and send you. We’re about going - and sending - people to preach and to plant.
Here’s a third need, when it comes to going: sacrificing ourselves whether here or there. Here’s something that’ll blow your mind. Darren Carlson writes: “The church in Antioch, founded by those whom Saul persecuted, sends him out as its missionary.” Did you get that? Seriously? They run away from Paul in fear. Paul then, is saved. He goes there to help. And then they send him out. And to go out and be persecuted himself.
Not only does this again, show us the amazing sovereignty of God. Not just the wideness - but the wildness - of God’s mercy. But it reminds us that we’re not called to comfort and complacency. We’re called to sacrifice. Maybe this means giving away a big part of your savings. Maybe it’s packing up and moving to a hard place. Saying goodbye to your parents. Abandoning a lucrative career.
Paul and Barnabas sacrifice by going to the nations. The Antioch church sacrifices by telling them goodbye. They’re there in that city, because they had fled their for their lives. And now they send out those leaders - right into the same.
Like our Lord Jesus, who suffered and died. We deny ourselves. We take up our cross. We walk into suffering. Knowing that glory is ahead. This is what our expectation should be.
But it’s worth it Karis. With Paul, in Philippians 1, we say, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Nate Saint, who died along with Jim Eliott, in that jungle in Ecuador, once wrote:
“And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted.” (Nate Saint)
Now it doesn’t mean our going has to look just like his. But wherever God calls us, wherever He leads, we’re called to give. We’re called to sacrifice. It’s what our expectation should be. And it’ll be worth it.
So these are the type of disciples we must make. That we must become. What I think it looks like to go in the gospel today. Praying for His will and work. Going - or sending - to preach and plant. Sacrificing ourselves whether here or there.
Karis, here is the big idea I want us to leave with today: We are a people changed and formed by the gospel, committed to start and support gospel-centered churches.
Questions for Application
Here are a couple of question I want to leave you with today.
How is God calling you to grow? Think about the three angles I mentioned. Is your identity rooted in His person and work? Are you growing in humility and joy in Jesus? Are you taking your faith public in grace and truth?
How is God calling you to go? Are you praying for His will and work - in your life, for our church? Are you a part of going - or sending - to preach and to plant? Are you sacrificing yourself - wherever you’re at?
Pray about and consider these things.
Why It All Matters
But you might be wondering. Why does all of this matter? Let me give you three good reasons. First, I think most would agree we’re in a tough spot today. There’s so much anger and division. Lifelong friends block each other online. People huddling in their tribes. Hurling their grenades. We’re far more polarized. There’s little common ground. And the rage is more and more spilling over in violence. What do we need here in America today? Gospel-formed people. Gospel-centered churches.
But here’s a second reason. There’s much suffering and sorrow all over our world. And there are so many people who still haven’t heard. We need people to go - we have to be willing to send - gospel-formed people to the ends of the earth. To the unreached. To plant gospel-centered churches. It’s why we’re so excited to invest so much in Japan. It may be first world but it’s miles and miles from heaven.
The need is so great - right here and far away. But third - and most of all - don’t we love God’s glory? Don’t we want others to see? The beauty of Jesus - and all that He’s done?
Karis, let’s grow and go together. Let’s ask our Father to work in us and through us. We are a people changed and formed by the gospel committed to start and support gospel-centered churches.