Missionary Journeys of Paul and learnings

June 12, Thursday 

In these days, we are listening to the experience of Paul, the apostle, during his missionary journeys. 

Today’s letter to 2 Corinthians was written during Paul's third missionary journey. The missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul offer many valuable lessons for our journey of Delegation.

1. Forming disciples is the primary work of the early church: 

• First Council of Jerusalem, one of the main tasks is to form/produce the disciples. 
• Paul was convinced that to achieve the best long-term results, ministry includes training leaders and building sustainable churches. 
• Paul formed collaborators around him; never a soloist in his mission, Timothy and Titus, Barnabas, Silas, and Apollos. male and female collaborators; he preferred to call them coworkers.
• For Paul, Evangelisation is not just about conversion alone, but about forming communities of faith or individual persons.
• Paul appointed elders and revisited churches to strengthen them (Acts 14:23).
• Criteria to be his disciples; most of them were non-Jews, Timothy had a Greek father. Priscilla and Aquila from Rome: all of them should be rooted in scripture. 
• Passion for vocation promotion, the soul of our mission, the reason for our hope, 

2.   Paul’s formation is giving Training Through Suffering and Perseverance

• Paul modelled Christ-like living through his actions. Disciples learn more by watching a life well-lived by the apostle in his life and preaching. Paul prepared disciples to face hardship as part of their ministry.
• The prison doors opened during an earthquake, and all the prisoners' chains were loosed, but Paul and Silas, despite the opportunity to escape, chose to remain in the prison. Paul and Silas's stay in the prison. Teaching the disciples to learn from our sufferings
• 2 Timothy 2:3 – “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”
• Pruning is vitally important for the plant to grow high and bear fruit. John 15:2, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit. We cannot think of an easy life. 

3.Disputes, disagreements and controversies are possible in our life of mission. We need to be Collaborators for the common mission.

Peter and Paul had a hot discussion on the issue of circumcision during the Council of Jerusalem. 

• Paul and Peter
• Paul and James had different theologies around the issue of salvation. Paul emphasized salvation by faith alone, while James would say faith without works is dead. 
• Paul and Barnabas on John Mark

Study: Paul did not get along with the other apostles because of his nature. 

The differences of opinions and , disagreements and controversies are all things possible among saints. The saints have not "fallen from Heaven". They are people like us, who also have complicated problems; these are things that make us human and realistic. 

What makes us holy is not the absence of fights. Holiness lies in the capacity for conversion, for repentance, for willingness to start again and, especially, for reconciliation and forgiveness.

Everyone has a different task in the field of the Lord: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.... we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building" (I Cor 3: 6-9).

We need to go out of the assembly with this spirit; one for all and all for one, common goal- common passion- Gospel- Paul and Peter, different ministers of activity, director, formator.