Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Core Values series of lessons covers what makes New Hope International
Church unique. Our core values describe who we are as a community. While our goals
and strategies may change according to the circumstances, our core values will not
change. They guide how we treat each other and how we serve God.
Discussion question
Why do you think Christianity spread so quickly in the first century?
Mark 16:15-20
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.
Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe
will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will
cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to
handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They
will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat
down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And the disciples went everywhere and
preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many
miraculous signs. (NLT)
Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on
earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the
commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of
the age.” (NLT)
Acts 1:4-8
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not
leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me
speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with
the Holy Spirit."
So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore
the kingdom to Israel?"
He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his
own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth."
In all three of these scriptures, Jesus commands all the disciples that come after
Him (including us) to go and evangelize the entire world. In each of these scriptures,
there is the assurance that God will be with us, confirming what we preach with signs and
wonders.
Acts 17:5-6
But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the
marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in
search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not
find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting:
“These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here …”
Titus 1:5
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished
and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
Paul understood that short-term missions produce converts, but only churches
produce disciples. Paul wanted to make disciples for Jesus who would be trained and
multiplied. When they were ready, the disciples in these churches would be sent out to
evangelize the regions that surrounded them, just like Jesus instructed the Jerusalem
church to evangelize Judea and Samaria. In turn, these disciples would establish local
churches wherever they went. In this way, the gospel would spread over entire nations,
and eventually over the entire world. From church history, we know that within 100
years, the gospel had spread throughout the Roman Empire and possibly reaching even
India.
In every place where the Holy Spirit led them, the early disciples established
churches. This type of organic, Spirit-led church-planting was critical in the
establishment of the early church. It did not depend on government support, seminaries,
or money. Early Christians understood that a church did not need many resources to start
—it just needed Spirit-led people who shared the gospel and established new churches
wherever they went.
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him
to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great
numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Aquila and Priscilla are another good example of church-planting in the Bible.
When Paul met Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth, he started a church together with him.
Later, when he travelled to Ephesus for the first time, Aquila and Priscilla accompanied
him and then stayed in that important city. Paul himself only stayed for a short time, but
Aquila and Priscilla applied what they had learned about planting a church in Corinth to
their new situation in Ephesus.
Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria,
accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at
Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left
Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
According to these verses, Paul only stayed in Ephesus for a short time, but
trusted Aquila and Priscilla to pioneer a new church in that important city. Sometime
later, on Paul’s third missionary journey, he visits Ephesus and stays for a longer period.
By this time, Aquila and Priscilla have established a church and he says that there is “a
great door for effective work” open to him.
1 Corinthians 16:8-9, 19
But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, 9because a great door for effective work
has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you
warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.
We can see from these examples that normal people (even tentmakers!) can help
to plant churches through various circumstances in their life. The people who started the
church in Antioch were running away from persecution in Jerusalem, and then they
started sharing Jesus with their friends and neighbors. Aquila and Priscilla were in a
similar situation after being expelled from Rome and meeting Paul. They simply opened
their lives to what opportunities God had for them.
Ephesians 3:10-11
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be
made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal
purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Local churches are vital to world evangelization. Local churches take care of new
believers, train disciples, preserve the right doctrine, and send apostles. If we do not
understand the critical role of the local church in world evangelization, then we may
think that we can evangelize the world only through radio or television programs, or by
holding concerts and other large gatherings, or through short-term missions. All of these
things are good, but they cannot be done without the local church.
At New Hope International Church, we want to help establish new local churches
all over the world. We believe it is not enough to simply get people saved—they need a
spiritual family in which they can grow, become strong disciples, and go out and plant
more churches. We believe this is God’s method for world evangelism—making disciples
and establishing local churches.
Discussion Questions
1. Please share one thing you learned through this lesson.
2. Why do you think church-planting is important for world evangelization?
3. How do you think a church could be planted?
4. Would you like to help to plant a church one day? If so, what are some things that
you need to do to prepare yourself?