Every Member on Mission

July 26, 2026 | Every Member on Mission | Acts 8:1-4

JD Cutler

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This morning we are continuing our disciplemaking series through the book of Acts. Our prayer is that as we study the early church and the way they discipled that we might come to a better understanding of our call to make disciples who make disciples.

So far, in that effort, we have looked at chapter 1 under the heading Spirit-Empowered witness where we noted that the early church’s discipleship was not based on human strategy but Christ’s commission and the Spirit’s power. Then we looked at how Luke described the early church at the end of chapter 2 under the heading Formed in Covenant Community where we noted that the early church’s discipleship was not something extra or an additional event or program that they did, but rather it happened within the ordinary rhythms of the corporate Christian life. Then looking at chapters 3 and 4 under the heading Faithful Witness under Pressure we noted that the early church’s disciple-making brought them into conflict and to experience pressure and opposition. Following that we looked at chapter 5 and the story of the church’s first struggle for purity under the heading A Holy Church. There we noted that the holiness of a church contributes to its disciple-making efforts and overall health.

If we were to summarize what we have seen so far, it would be that in Acts 1 we saw Christ empowering his church, in Acts 2 we saw Christ forming his church, in Acts 3 and 4 we saw Christ strengthening his church, and in Acts 5 we saw Christ purifying his church.

Today in chapter 8 we see Christ scattering his church as we see the disciple-making effects of the church expand beyond Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria.

This week many of our children, volunteers, and leaders have spent several days at Basecamp talking about God's mission to make His glory known among the nations. We've been reminding our kids that missions doesn't begin with getting on an airplane. It begins here. Mission begins with worship, and every follower of Christ has a part to play in making Him known. As we come to Acts 8 this morning, we're going to discover that this wasn't just true for a select group of apostles—it was the heartbeat of the entire early church. Christ intends for every member to be on mission.

Up to this point, the church has remained largely in Jerusalem. Jesus had commissioned His disciples to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Now, through persecution, Christ begins moving His church into the next stage of that mission.

As we will see, what looked like the greatest setback in church history or even the defeat of the mission, actually became one of its greatest advances in the early church. We don’t have a very long text today, but go with me to chapter 8 as we look at these verses under the heading Every Member on Mission.

As you turn there and we prepare to read it together.

Chapter 8 picks up in the middle of the story. One of the first seven men chosen to serve the widows, what we know as the proto-deacons of the early church had been brought before the Sanhedrin, he had proclaimed the gospel beginning with Abraham and ending at their guilt in putting God’s chosen righteous one to death. His faithful proclamation of the truth cost him his life.

But not before Christ graciously showed himself to him by giving him a vision of heaven opening and Christ standing at the right hand of God. His final words, as he was being murdered was, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit followed by Lord, do not hold this sin against them. We open immediately after that tragic but beautiful scene. Acts 8, verse 1.

Acts 8:1–4 ESV

1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

This morning we are going to look at three truths concerning the mission. The first is…

I. CHRIST USES DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES TO ADVANCE HIS MISSION

Notice where the chapter begins.

And Saul approved of his execution.

Luke begins with tragedy. Stephen is dead. Saul approves. The forces that oppose the church have now had a taste of blood and violence and begins what Luke calls ‘a great persecution’ against the church in Jerusalem.

Just as a side note, don’t miss what Luke does there. He could have just said the church. I mean there is only one and it has been confined to Jerusalem up until now.

Why add ‘in Jerusalem’?

Because he is setting us up to understand that even though the church is scattering, it is still the church. Luke wants us to understand that the church isn't disappearing, it's multiplying. It is still one church, but it is no longer confined to one city. The church that once gathered only in Jerusalem is now spreading into Judea and Samaria.

What does this great persecution look like?

Houses are raided, families are ripped apart, men and women are put in prison. The intensity of the persecution is summed up in this statement ‘Saul was ravaging the church’.

ravage- to treat shamefully or with injury, to ravage, devastate, ruin

In English, to ravage something is to cause severe and violent destruction or bring ruin to a place. I cannot think of a better terminology for what Saul was doing.

If you were standing in Jerusalem in those early days. No one would fault you for thinking that the church was done for. The church who was once gathering daily in the temple and going from house to house sharing meals is scattered. Those same homes, many functioning like what we would call these days small groups. Believers fellowshipping, discipling, encouraging one another. Those same places are now places of fear as Saul goes from house after house, dragging off men and women to prison. Believers flee.

Humanly speaking.

Everything looks like failure.

How could the church possibly survive this?

Yet Luke quietly reminds us...

Acts 8:1–4 ESV

they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria,

Calling to mind what we heard Christ say in Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jerusalem...Judea...Samaria...Now it's happening.

The church is not failing, the church is moving forward in its mission. The persecution didn't derail Christ's mission, it became the very means by which He fulfilled His promise.

Up until this point, Jesus' commission has almost felt delayed. Seven chapters have passed. Pentecost has happened. Three thousand have been saved. The church has exploded and was growing daily.

Yet they are still in Jerusalem. We are not told why, whether it was because they were comfortable, because there was more work to do in Jerusalem, or because the timing simply hadn’t come yet, one thing is clear. Christ had promised the gospel would move beyond Jerusalem.

The church didn't abandon Jerusalem because they wanted a new strategy.

Christ moved His church according to His own timetable and he did it in his way.

What Acts chapter 8 teaches us is that God often accomplishes His purposes through circumstances we would never choose.

Not one of the apostles would have planned the spreading out of the church this way. Not a one of the Christians would have thought, you know what we need right now? Persecution.

But sometimes the thing we call interruption...God calls direction.

Sometimes our scattering...is Christ's sending.

Sometimes Christ sends us by opening doors.

Sometimes He sends us by closing them.

Sometimes He sends us through unexpected opportunities.

Sometimes He sends us through suffering.

But however He sends us, His mission continues.

We often quote Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Acts 8 shows us that all things include suffering and persecution and that the good God is accomplishing is ultimately His redemptive purpose and kingdom.

The good is that through every circumstance Christ is conforming us more and more into His image, and as He does, He uses us to advance His mission.

The last time we were in our Acts series I said, the more we become a disciple-making church, the more we should expect opposition from the world. Opposition always brings difficulty. We don’t know when difficulty is going to come. We don’t know when a great persecution might arise again. But we do know that it won’t be the end of the story.

The church has never advanced because it avoided suffering. It has advanced because Christ has always been Lord over suffering.

The next truth I want us to see is…

II. EVERY BELIEVER IS SENT TO PROCLAIM CHRIST

Look at verse 4 again. Acts 8:4 “4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”

This isn’t exactly what we would have anticipated if we were reading this account for the first time.

The first believer is martyred, a great persecution begins, men and women are being drug out of their houses and thrown in prison.

We would expect Luke to write…

…Now those who were scattered went into hiding.

…Now those who were scattered gave up.

…Now those who were scattered kept their faith private so as not to draw attention.

But what does he write?

They went about preaching the word!

Now, notice who is scattered. At the end of verse 1 Luke tells us the apostles did not leave Jerusalem. The Christians that are scattering are not apostles, they’re not pastors, not vocational missionaries or famous Christians. Luke doesn't even tell us their names except for a few.

They are ordinary church members. Ordinary Christians.

A mother gathering her children after hearing Stephen has been killed.

A father packing his family up and looking around the house one last time before leaving Jerusalem.

People leaving behind businesses, livelihoods, friends, homes, memories.

This is one of Acts greatest disciple-making moments.

What prepared these ordinary Christian to be able to preach the word when they were surprisingly scattered?

We aren’t told that the apostles had started a seminary to train preachers. We aren’t told about any formal training being held for anyone who felt called.

No, these ordinary Christians had been prepared by the ongoing, day by day, ordinary ministry of the church by which they had been discipled in the Christ’s instruction on following him.

The reality is that they didn’t begin preaching the word that day, they simply took what they were already doing to new places. Acts 8 wasn't the beginning of their witness, it was the relocation of their witness.

Many people hear "preaching the word” and immediately think: standing behind a pulpit or preaching on the street. The word translated preaching is the greek word for bringing good news. When we look at the accounts that Luke shares, bringing the good news of the word is synonymous with preaching Jesus.

Just a few verses later Luke describes one of the scattered believer’s ministry in Samaria. Listen to what he says.

English Standard Version Chapter 8

12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Proclaiming Christ. Sharing the gospel.

They simply kept talking about Jesus.

Wherever early disciples went, they preached the word, and the message remained constant—they preached the Lord Jesus.

The impulse to communicate Christ’s message permeated the early Christian community.

The early church not only survived, but thrived because ordinary believers understood that they had extraordinary news that the world needed to hear.

Jesus is alive, salvation is possible, repent and believe and you can have everlasting life.

This week we've reminded our children through studying Psalm 96, that the mission doesn’t belong only to missionaries. The mission belongs to all of God’s people. Acts 8 shows us that truth beautifully.

The mission God gave Israel, to declare His glory among the nations, is now being fulfilled as Christ's church carries His gospel into Judea and Samaria.

Every believer. In every home, every workplace, every neighborhood, every classroom, all places where we can declare the glory of God to all the peoples.

We wanted our kids to understand…

…you don’t have to cross an ocean to be on mission. You simply have to be faithful where Christ has placed you.

…you don’t have to have a special degree to tell people about Jesus. You simply have to declare what he has done and who he is to others.

…you don’t have to be a pastor, or Sunday school teacher, or even an adult to be on mission. You simply have to serve God where you are right now.

We have reminded our kids this week that some of them may grow up to be pastors or missionaries. Others may become teachers, mechanics, business owners, nurses, farmers, or stay-at-home parents.

Whatever Christ calls them to do...They are called to do it on mission.

Why? That brings us to our last truth this morning…

III. THE MISSION GOES WHEREVER GOD’S PEOPLE GO

Notice Luke's emphasis. Not simply: They scattered.

But:They scattered preaching.

Persecution might have changed where they were, but not who they were.

Disciple making didn’t stop because it got harder or more inconvenient.

It continued, because Christ’s commission to make disciples was never limited by geography. It is an ongoing, every member mission that takes place wherever God’s people find themselves.

They didn't stop being disciples or making disciples because they had to leave their church. Why? Because disciple-making isn't merely a program that happens when the church gathers. It is the ministry of the church carried out through believers wherever Christ sends them.

In our morning worship time at camp we have asked one question a day. The question this morning is ‘How does the story end?’ or asked another way. ‘When is the mission over?’

Our students are going to be studying Revelation 7 tonight in our Bible study, so I don’t want to get too far ahead but for our purposes this morning the answer is simply, when Christ returns.

If these first century believers had confused location with the mission, they would have been devastated when they were forced to leave.

If these first century believers had confused leadership with the mission, they would have been lost without the apostles.

If these first century believers had confused convenience with the mission, they would have been derailed by persecution.

The fact is, the mission continued because the mission goes wherever God’s people go.

Mission isn't primarily a place. Mission is a lifestyle of faithful witness.

In our day and age the reality is that just the people in this church cover far more ground than the early church had access to. We have people from Gladewater to Kilgore, from Ore City to Gilmer. God has already scattered His church throughout this community. Our students learned that God gathers his people to worship him, to encourage one another, and to be sent out.

This morning, this church will scatter. Into different neighborhoods, in a few weeks, different schools, different vocations, ball fields, grocery stores, etc…

The question isn’t will Emmanuel scatter this week. It will.

The question is will we scatter as witness sharing the mission of God to make him known among the nations?

Those who were scattered... Notice Luke doesn't say:"...preached in churches." He says:...went about preaching."

The gospel isn't confined to the places where the church gathers because Christ's people carry it wherever they go.

This morning we have looked at three truths.

Christ Uses Difficult Circumstances to Advance His Mission.

Every Believer Is Sent to Proclaim Christ.

The Mission Goes Wherever God's People Go.

This week at Basecamp our children have been learning some wonderful truths as well. That mission begins with worship, that God's people declare His glory, that God's people gather to worship, encourage one another, and to be sent, and that one day every nation will worship King Jesus.

Church, that isn't just a lesson for our children.

That is the calling of every follower of Christ.

When we gather each Lord's Day, it's like coming back to Basecamp. Here we worship Christ, we are nourished by His Word, we encourage one another, and we are equipped for the work He has called us to do. Then we scatter again to carry out His mission wherever Christ has placed us.

Wherever Christ, in His providence, sends us, we carry the gospel with us. Because the mission of Christ is never confined to a building, it goes wherever His people go.

Let's hear once more the words of our Lord:

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Christ has empowered His church. Christ has formed His church. Christ has strengthened His church. Christ has purified His church. Now Christ sends His church.

This morning we gathered to worship. At the conclusion of our gathering we will scatter to witness. This evening and on into tomorrow morning, for many of us may just feel like we’re simply returning to work or our neighborhoods, to our daily routines. But how differently would our week look if we realized that our scattering is actual being sent?

May Christ find us faithful wherever he sends us.

Let us pray.