By Jeff Cranston

The establishment of the church at Antioch was arguably one of the most significant events in the history of Western civilization. It led to the distinctiveness of the Christian church apart from the Jewish synagogue, in that it blended together in one body both Jews and Gentiles. It was game-changing. It was here that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. It was from here that we assumed our identity.

Game-Changers Reach Out

Read Acts 11:19-30. Antioch was the third-largest city in the Roman Empire, behind Rome and Alexandria. It was a center for commerce and a crossroads for travel and trade between Europe and the East. This made the city a melting pot of various races, including Romans, Syrians and Jews. The city was infamous for sexual immorality. Five miles outside of town was the grove of Daphne, where worshipers of Artemis and Apollo pursued their religion of pleasure with temple prostitutes.

In this secular, pagan environment, common Christians—not trained pastors or missionaries—began telling the simple gospel message of Jesus Christ. These Christians had no plan. They had no program. They had no ministry budget. They just had this overwhelming zeal for the Lord. The church of Antioch got started because these so-called “nobodies” witnessed to their neighbors. They were game-changers, and we are called to do the same. The church of Antioch was literally birthed from effective, one-on-one evangelism. The same gospel that is the power of God for salvation to the Jews proved to be the power of God for salvation to these pagan Gentiles as well.

Game-Changers Grow and Give

As the church at Antioch grew rapidly, news of the Gentile conversion reached the mother church in Jerusalem. They sent Barnabas to verify the work of the Holy Spirit in Antioch. Along the way, Barnabas found Paul, and they both went to Antioch together, where they spent a year teaching the new Christians.

Then, in Acts 11:28, a prophetic man from Jerusalem, Agabus, comes and tells about a famine that’s going to hit. And while most people in Antioch would probably start stockpiling stuff for themselves, these new Christians do something completely different. They do the exact opposite. They collected goods and funds and relief to send ahead to the believers in Judea. They were selfless and they were generous. Verse 29 tells us that each of the disciples gave according to his ability, which means they no doubt were tapping into some of their reserves, and they just had enough faith and trust that God would take care of them if that famine reached up into Antioch.

And you know what else? Their ministry was corporate—they did it as one, together. The Antioch church was reaching out and caring for another group of believers who were different from them culturally, different from them ethnically and geographically. But isn’t that a beautiful demonstration of God’s love and unity in Christ?

I love what the church of Antioch models for us and how they changed the game. Game changers reach out, they grow in the faith, and they give generously to others and the ministry

Don’t underestimate the power and the significance of sharing the gospel to your friends and neighbors. It still works. It still makes an impact. That’s what game-changers do. The gospel is the greatest game-changer of all.

Jeff Cranston is lead pastor of LowCountry Community Church in Bluffton, S.C.

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