Laity versus Vocational Leaders in the New Church

"Those who were scattered because of the persecution" in Acts 11:19 refers to the believers who had to flee the persecution but who wanted to preach the Gospel at Antioch (Bruce calls them "Hellenistic refugees from Jerusalem.") (Frederick Fyvie Bruce, ed., Paul: Apostle ofthe Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing House, 1991). So in Acts 11:20 it confirms that the Apostles were not the ones who started the church in Antioch but these laypersons. Antioch was a multi-cultural city and it took people from different areas and with different cultural backgrounds such as those fleeing the persecution to establish the church. Again, the Holy Spirit was at work, bringing these church starters to Antioch. It is important to note that the preaching of the lay church starters was confined to "no one except to Jews alone (Daniel R. Sanchez, Ebbie C. Smith, and Curtis E. Watke, Starting Reproducing Congregations (Denton: Moonlight Studios, 2001), 33). 

In an effort to promote lay involvement in church planting for their annual Week of Prayer emphasis, the North American Mission Board published a sermon outline in 2002 which was titled, "Multiplying the Message: Through People Like You." In those sermon notes the unnamed author addresses Acts 11:19 stating:

Even those lay people who had been scattered struggled with the implications that the gospel was for everyone, Jew and Gentile. Once again, God raised up additional missionaries, apparently other lay persons, who began communicating the message to the "ends of the earth." Isn't it interesting that the very first missionary movement was led by people we call lay people? Could it be that the Lord is taking us back to the way the very first church planting movement took place – lay people taking the gospel to the whole world? ("Multiplying the Message: Through People Like You." sermon outline for 2002 North American Mission Study (Alpharetta, GA: North American Mission Board), 2001).

As crucial as the laity is to new work, there are still needs that can be met by those called to vocational ministry. The "prophets and teachers" mentioned in Acts 13:1 were the ones in the church at Antioch who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to set Paul and Barnabas apart for a special mission (v.2) (Clark H. Pinnock, The Scripture Principle (New York: Harper and Row, 1984), 163. See also Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10,28; 14:1-5,24-25,31; Eph. 4:11).

It is not certain who laid hands on the missionaries but Best states that the action was a symbol of the congregation endorsing the work of the two apostles. They set them apart to perform a witness on behalf of the whole church (Ernest Best, "Acts 13:1-3," Journal of Theological Studies II (1960): 344-348). In modem terms, it would be best understood as a commissioning service to vocational ministry. Even though the Antioch congregation was planted by laity, they understood the need for those set apart vocationally for service. They realized that it was not an "either/or" proposition whether to use laity or vocationally called ministers for planting a church.

This is a significant issue for contemporary church planting strategies. If starting new churches depends only on using those who are specially trained and ordained, the church starting movement will never find long-term success. It is critical to also have laity commissioned and supported for the task of creating new congregations. Both types of leaders are essential for the Kingdom work of church planting to be successful.