#4 The Model of

Paul (as a pathway

to planting)
 Very Important:
Models can, and should,
be adapted to suit your
situation and needs
If we look at the journeys of
Paul we see something of
the life and paths taken by
a first century church
planting team.
The Bible was not written
as a textbook for future
church planting teams—but
still it has much to teach us.
Paul’s culture was different,
but there is much in his
work that has a universal
quality from which we can
learn.
Paul’s culture was different,
but there is much in his
work that has a universal
quality from which we can
learn.
 If YOU (we) think Paul was a great
(excellent) church planter, what were
his principles?
 How might we discover his principles?
Te most obvious way seems to be by
looking at his activities and deciding what
he did and why he did it.
We know Paul’s theology but do we know
his principles and practices of CP.
We are not in his culture, but we can
prayerfully and wisely look at the
principles used by Paul / his teams.
Acts 13-14 gives the first procedure for
planting churches:
Acts 13-14 gives the first procedure for
planting churches:
- Sent off from Antioch Acts 13:1-3
Acts 13-14 gives the first procedure for
planting churches:
- Sent off from Antioch Acts 13:1-3
- Travel through.....(insert list here)
Acts 13-14 gives the first procedure for
planting churches:
- Sent off from Antioch Acts 13:1-3
- Travel through.....(insert list here)
- As they enter a city they start sharing
the gospel, Acts 13:5, 15; 14:1, 9)
- Two results are seen
- Two results are seen
- Some people repent and believe
 - Two results are seen
- Some people repent and believe
- Others do not. Often these people
persecute the team and try to throw them
out of the town, Acts 13:50; 14:5, 19
 - Acts 14:21-23 shows a
change - the team don’t continue
going on to new places but
return to revisit places where
churches had just been planted.
21 When they had preached the
gospel to that city and had made
many disciples, they returned to
Lystra and to Iconium and to
Antioch, 22 strengthening the
souls of the disciples,
encouraging them to continue in
the faith,
and saying that through many
tribulations we must enter the
kingdom of God. 23 And when
they had appointed elders for
them in every church, with prayer
and fasting they committed them
to the Lord in whom they had
believed.
3 Important questions arise here:
3 Important questions arise here:
✦Where did the elders (pastors?) come
from?
3 Important questions arise here:
✦Where did the elders (pastors?) come
from?
✦Where did the churches in the cities
come from?
3 Important questions arise here:
✦Where did the elders (pastors?) come
from?
✦Where did the churches in the cities
come from?
✦Where did the disciples in the cities
come from?
 This course tries to give
a practical approach to
church planting with this
pathway as a guide.
#1 Where did the
elders (pastors?)
come from?
They came from the new disciples that
made up the newly planted churches.
They came from the new disciples that
made up the newly planted churches.
Remember:
- The church was new
- The team of P&B was
small - none of them could
stay.
- They don’t contact the
church in Jerusalem and
asking them for help.
- No Bible school existed
to contact and ask for
potential candidates.
Church leaders are
important for the health,
life and mission of the
church.
- churches were quickly
formed, but leaders are
needed ASAP.
 - P&B made sure leaders
were appointed before they
left the region.
 - P&B made sure leaders
were appointed before they
left the region.
If we assume Paul followed the same
pattern on each journey we might
suggest from other texts what
happened on the 1st missionary
journey.
Using Acts 19-20 as an example:
 - 20:31, Paul stayed in
Ephesus for 3 years
- 20:17 it appears that
elders were in place,
probably before he left for
Macedonia 20:1
 - He later sent Timothy to
Ephesus to work with the
elders and the church -
read 1, 2 Timothy to see
what he counselled
Timothy to do.
 - He later sent Timothy to
Ephesus to work with the
elders and the church -
read 1, 2 Timothy to see
what he counselled
Timothy to do.
 - In Titus Paul speaks of his purpose for
leaving Titus on Crete, Titus 1:5
- Crete is an island with lots of little
towns
 - In Acts 13, 14 we see the churches
came first not the pastors
- So we assume on Crete there were
churches with no pastors
- Paul saw it as important to rectify this
situation
 - In Acts 13, 14 we see the churches
came first not the pastors
- So we assume on Crete there were
churches with no pastors
- Paul saw it as important to rectify this
situation
 The evidence from the ‘pastoral letters’
suggests that the outcome of Paul’s trial
before Nero in 62AD was positive, and Paul
was acquitted at that time (see 2 Timothy 4:16)
After his acquittal in 62AD, Paul left Rome
and probably embarked on a ‘fourth
missionary journey’
Question: In reading 1 Tim 3:6 what
does it teach us about appointing
elders / pastors?
He must not be a recent convert, or he
may become puffed up with conceit and
fall into the condemnation of the devil.
 Pauls methods seem to go
against what he wrote here.
Is he wrong in telling
Timothy to appoint new
converts as elders?
 Answer:
It’s quite long, so make
sure you think and follow
the argument through!
View #1
Paul only wrote this to Timothy (Ephesus)
but not to Titus (Crete).
So this command was only for Ephesus
and not for general use in churches.
But 1 Tim 3 seems to establish a principle
for churches and is not a one off
command.
Evidence: There’s a list of requirements
for church leadership given.
View #2
There were already elders in Ephesus but
not Crete.
If a new convert was appointed alongside
more mature believers he might become
proud.
This might appear to take into account the
history of the church at Ephesus and also
mean we properly read 1 Tim 3, but still we
see that it doesn’t really account for the
longer list of “universal” principles in 1 Tim
3 (and Titus 1).
If 1 Tim 3 only applies to Ephesus then
there are many other parts of letters, and
the rest of the Bible, that don’t apply to
all people for all time but only to a small
group in a certain location at a certain
time.
- On 1st missionary journey Paul appointed
elders
- They couldn’t have been Christians for long
- Paul spent 3 years in Ephesus and had
appointed elders there.
How do we understand the command to
Timothy?
#1 Paul contradicted himself—he
said the opposite of what he said at
other times
#2 Paul was trying to correct
previous mistakes with the
command he gave in 1 Tim 3
#3 We don’t understand what “recent convert”
meant in Paul’s culture.
Which point of view do you take? Why?
 Payne suggests that Paul did
not contradict himself, nor was
he trying to correct himself.
This is his reasoning:
 - Elders were overseeing the church at
Ephesus within 3 years of its birth.
On the first missionary journey elders
were appointed within the 2 years it took
for the journey to be completed.
 - The apostles led after 3
years with Jesus.
Uneducated ordinary men
(Acts 4:13) in leadership
positions soon after their
conversion.
 - “Recent” might be talking of maturity
and not only of time.
 - Looking at a length of
time isn’t easy as we stand
2000 years from the events
in churches that have been
established for many years.
 - Recent obviously in
some way includes time -
but remember the other
aspects of qualification are
listed there too:
 - Hospitable
- Manages household
well
- Good reputation with
outsiders
- Not arrogant
- Self controlled
 - These will only become
clear by spending time
with the person and their
family / church.
 - In some situations
elders are appointed within
months of leaders coming
to faith.
 - Remember that the church was
required to see if a potential elder
(pastor) had the required
qualifications for the job.
Important: Pastors were chosen from
the people.
 - They had all been born
again at about the same
time, they all knew Paul’s
teaching, they had a
friendship with the CP
team.
 - They knew 1 Cor 5, Php
4:2-3 - hold each other
accountable to the Gospel.
- Whoever became an
elder / pastor had no
formal training etc.
 - 1 Tim 3:2, Titus 1:9 do not mean the elder
had to have a degree from Bible college.
Many things we teach pastors to do are
cultural and not essential in qualifying
someone to be an elder.
 - Pastors need to be growing in
sanctification, in their gifting, skill and
knowledge.
#1 Where did the
elders (pastors?)
come from?
Key thought?
The elders were shepherding
people who were at a similar level
of maturity—a level that was
probably close to their own.
Question: Paul was at Corinth for 18 months
(Acts 18:11), Ephesus for 3 years and
Thessalonica for only a few weeks (Acts
17:2).
Should all church planters use these
periods as guidelines for appointing
elders?
Answer: No, the Holy Spirit determines
the putting in place of elders - Acts 20:28.

Sometimes God can work more quickly

than we imagine. There can be health and
rapid growth in churches!
#2 Where did the
churches in the
cities come from?
The churches were started by
new believers who were the
result of evangelism by the CP
team. They already lived in the
cities mentioned and
understood its culture and
context.
No believers were brought in
from other church centres, e.g.
Jerusalem or Antioch
#3 Where did the
disciples in the
cities come from?
They were the result of
evangelism. Previously
possibly they had believed in
other gods e.g. Hermes and
Zeus Acts 14: 11-13, or been
part of a synagogue Acts 13:5.
After repenting and placing
their faith in Jesus they had
become followers or disciples
of Him.
Zeus was the god of the sky and
ruler of the Greek gods. Zeus was
lord of the sky and rain.
We can see how
the CP team • Acts 13:43
worked when it • Acts 13:46
entered each city: • Acts 14:1
• Acts 13:5 • Acts 14:3
• Acts 13:16 • Acts 14:6-7
 Looking at the first
missionary journey Payne
suggests four steps on a
church planting pathway:
Summary
We have addressed three questions from
the 1st missionary journey. If we put them
together we get an idea of the biblical
pathway for CP.
 • The team enters a community and
evangelises
• Some people believe, others don’t
• New believers are called disciples, and
are gathered together as “the called out
ones”, a church
 • The CP team works with the church to
identify and appoint pastors to oversee the
church
 • The team repeats this process in other
places. At the same time they remain in
touch with churches and leaders for
accountability, teaching, equipping and
partnering in the mission
 The rest of this course will
attempt to offer a practical
approach to church planting
with this biblical pathway as
our guide.
The new disciples need to know what a local
church is before they can self-identify as one.
Gathering the disciples into a small group
allows the team to teach and model in
community what it means to be a disciple
and to make disciples.
Many church-planting teams value small
groups. Thus this additional, yet transitional,
step in the process is helpful to
contemporary teams.
The End