Plant Churches Like Paul

The so-called pastoral epistles (leadership letters) are chock full of wisdom on the nature of spiritual leadership. But often when we study Titus or 1-2 Timothy, we fail to take them in full context. Paul wrote these letters to men he mentored and trained, but not just for their personal benefit. These were written for the sake of the Church as a whole. They for us provide snapshots of what church planting looked like in the first century. The Book of Acts gives us a clear view of how churches began, but these more situational letters from Paul demonstrate how churches were strengthened and established.

REFLECT: What does the fact that Paul wrote letters like these and that they were included in scripture tell us about the early church?

Looking at Titus 1:1-5 we can see five key aspects of how Paul and his friends went about starting new churches. All these are echoed and confirmed by other New Testament scripture, which we will take note of along the way.

First, Paul started churches by going to new people in new places. This point is obvious in that neither Paul nor Titus was from the island of Crete. Both men had gone there in obedience to Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus calls his followers to help everyone everywhere hear his message of love and forgiveness, become reconnected to God, and learn to follow His ways. No one can accomplish this mission simply by staying home or sticking to their established relationships.

Sadly, most church planting today is less focused on reaching new communities with the Gospel, and more so on building programs to house and attract those already inside the faith. Research shows that only 7.5-10% of churches grow through seeing new people come to faith in Jesus.[1] This means at least 90% of so-called church growth is just “shuffling the saints.” One can’t help but wonder how many of the American church’s problems might trace back to this fundamental deficiency.

However, taking Jesus’ command seriously to “GO” doesn’t have to look like crossing oceans or national borders (although it can and often should). In our atomized and individualistic society, spiritually needy people are often only two or three houses down the block. A coffee shop down the road could qualify as a new place.

Paul and Titus originally met in the diverse ancient city of Antioch. Paul was already on mission when he arrived there, originally being from Tarsus. Titus came to know Jesus and first got involved in serving God through Paul’s ministry. Together they built new and exciting spiritual community in this Antioch, but eventually God called them to take their work elsewhere (Acts 13:1-3). We don’t know exactly when the church in Crete started, but it was likely right before or shortly after Paul’s imprisonment in Rome in 60-62 A.D.

Second, Paul planted churches by living out his own special role and calling. In Titus 1:1 he calls himself “a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.” Contextually, the kind of servant role that Paul is referencing wasn’t coerced slavery. This same word is used to refer to Moses, one of Israel’s greatest leaders (Hebrews 3:5). Jesus is also called “the Servant” in reference to messianic prophecy (Matthew 12:15-21). Both Moses and Jesus were willing to lay down their lives and do God’s will. Similarly, Paul viewed himself as someone who’s life had been handed over to God’s purposes.

Paul also calls himself an “apostle.” This term is generic in extant Greek literature, simply meaning “one who is sent.” Paul however imbued it with special meaning and connected it to the idea of being an ambassador or emissary from God. In Paul’s case, being an apostle meant being sent by God for the specific purpose of telling others about Jesus and his ways (Titus 1:1-2).

What ambassadors and servant leaders have in common is that they don’t wield any kind of innate authority. They do have delegated responsibility. But as mere representatives, they can’t claim any special power. Therefore, being a Christian leader of any kind shouldn’t be like being a CEO or politician. Christian leaders are empowered but also accountable to God. They don’t first serve a financial bottom line, and their guiding motive shouldn’t be to further their own goals. They also don’t need to be overly concerned with what people think or trying to enhance their own reputations.

This perspective on spiritual leadership is critical for church planting. Those involved in the work need to be brave and confident, but also accountable and humble. If we take a right view of our role and calling like Paul, we will prioritize character, faithfulness, and love in our own leadership – always keeping our eyes fixed on God and his approval.

CONSIDER: Why else would it be important to understand spiritual leadership as a delegated type of authority?

Third, Paul started churches by teaching God’s Word. He says in Titus 1:3 that God “…has brought [the Gospel] to light through the preaching entrusted to me.” When writing to his other disciple, Timothy, Paul says “in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:1-2).

Communicating God’s truth is the core and indispensable activity of any new Jesus centered community.

You can build organizations and businesses with money, charisma, and slick ad campaigns. Granted, it seems a lot of modern churches get built this way too. But we should be wary of growth that appears to come by worldly means.

True Christian community is founded primarily on the truth of God communicated, believed, and then lived out. Spiritual transformation doesn’t happen because of our winsome personalities, brilliant programs, or novel ideas. It happens when people come into direct contact with the mind of God and are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul also wasn’t a one man show. He planted churches by partnering with others. He might have been the lead singer, but what is a band without a reliable bassist, or a drummer who can keep the beat? Paul didn’t just mentor people from on high like some kind of guru. He developed them to be his co-laborers in ministry and shared responsibility. In Titus 1:4 he calls Titus his “true son in our common faith.” This implies their relationship wasn’t just instructional, but personal and trusting.

Paul’s letters to Titus and Timothy tell us much about his method of developing the spiritual gifts and abilities of others. We see in these letters Paul emphasize Christ-like character and servanthood as the premier marks of a leader. But he also teaches them practically how to lead and do ministry. He did his best to speak to the many difficult and nuanced situations they faced.

Finally, he encouraged them to do the same thing for others that he had done for them: “the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2).

We also see Paul willing to work with all kinds of people. He wasn’t just thinking about the the men he personally trained. Pricilla and Aquilla are examples of strong believers Paul partnered with but didn’t originally mentor. Apollos was another exceptionally gifted teacher whom Paul worked alongside to plant the church in Corinth.

Bottom line, Paul was all about being on a team with anyone who shared his love for Jesus and devotion to building God’s Kingdom. Wise church planters understand the power of network and will develop similar Gospel partnerships.

Finally, Paul planted churches by raising up local leaders. He wasn’t interested in leading these groups from afar. We see an early example of how he did this in Acts 14: 21-23. “They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith….Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”

It's notable that appointing elders was among the last things Paul and his friends got around to doing. Even in Titus 1:5 we see that Paul left Titus behind specifically to “put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town.” We also see Paul warn Timothy not to be hasty in raising up leaders (1 Timothy 5:22). There was real risk of moving too quickly and making the wrong decisions.

Ultimately, however, Paul knew these new churches needed their own local empowered leadership in order to be healthy and sustainable. He frontloads both his letters to Titus and Timothy with instruction on how to identify who God is choosing for these roles.

DISCUSS: Why would this be one of the last things Paul and his friends would do when planting a new church?

The leadership structure Paul prescribes is remarkably simple, especially when compared with many of the complicated church hierarchies that exist today. Elders were an accepted and basic form of leadership in both Jewish synagogue culture and gentile villages. There is some evidence as well that synagogues had deacons, or a second tier of leaders who worked alongside the elders. So, Paul was adapting a familiar form for the purposes of the church.

Interestingly, Paul doesn’t mention deacons in his letter to Titus. Was this because the churches there were too small to warrant them? We don’t know for certain. He also doesn’t prescribe how many elders are needed in either setting. Just a plurality.

What we can take from this is that while there are important New Testament principles for us to imitate, there is also room for flexibility in how churches are organized depending on their context. As an example, the elder and deacon structure doesn’t necessarily preclude other formal roles (like a pastor or counselor). But what we read in Paul’s letters should cause us to question church structures that are overly complex or center too much authority around only one person.

We should want to plant churches like Paul. You may be reading this and be thinking “well wait a minute, I am not a church planter.” But that really depends on how you understand Christian calling to ministry. We are all responsible for building up our local Body of Christ and making-disciples.

If you are active in a growing church, then in a sense you are participating in the planting process. We saw that Paul planted churches by going to new people and new places, understanding his role and calling, teaching God’s Word, partnering with like-minded people, and raising up local leaders. Isn’t this what we are all doing together (or should be doing) in the local church? We may not get to do it all on the same scale as Paul. But we can still eagerly pursue building God’s Kingdom together in our place and time.

Paul’s letters to Titus and Timothy show us that churches need Godly leaders at multiple levels. We should pray for this process in our own churches, support one another, and spiritually prepare to step up in ways that are necessary.