As individual disciples in the local church collaborate together to accomplish the Lord’s work (1 Cor. 12:12-27), in like manner autonomous churches collaborate to accomplish a much broader range of God’s mission. Paul’s letter to the Romans is addressed to all the “saints” (hagioi) in Rome rather than to a specific “church” (ekklēsia) individually (1:7), and greetings are then sent to multiple church assemblies (16:5, 14, 15). His request to be assisted in his missionary work by “you” (plural) is directed to all these congregations as a cooperative enterprise (15:24).
With congregational autonomy understood, we see in the NT individual churches cooperating in collaborative efforts such as benevolence (Acts 11:27-30; Rom. 15:26; 1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8:1–9:15), edification (Acts 11:20-26; 14:21-22 [cf. 13:1-3]; 15:22-31, 36, 40; Col. 4:16), and evangelism (2 Cor. 11:8-9; Phil. 4:15-16; Rom. 15:24). Multiple churches in different geographical areas can and should pool their resources to accomplish the work the Lord has commissioned us all to do (note, e.g., 2 Cor. 8:1-4; 11:8-9). When missionaries are sent and supported to make disciples and establish and grow new churches, this necessarily involves the cooperative efforts of (a) the sending church and its leadership; (b) the supporting churches and their leaderships; and (c) the newly planted church and its leadership (incl. the missionary team and developing local leaders).
Paul and his seasoned coworkers mentored and trained young evangelists (Acts 13:5; 15:40–18:5; 19:22). While helping to establish the church at Ephesus, Paul taught in a local synagogue and then in the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:8-9). Years later, as Timothy worked with the same congregation to deal with problems and help get them back on track, he was instructed: “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2, NKJV).
As discipleship and ministerial training continue in modern times, how is it to be accomplished? There are no specific instructions or guidelines or exclusive NT pattern, so churches must decide the most expedient ways to effectively get this good work done in view of their own circumstances, resources, capabilities, and opportunities. If a single congregation does not have adequate resources to efficiently do this work, but the combined resources of multiple congregations do, there is a solid biblical precedent for the work to be done as a cooperative effort.
Similar to sending relief aid or funding a missionary effort, a congregation may choose to have a centrally-located school for training preachers, evangelists, and missionaries, with the added support of sister congregations committed to the same work but incapable of doing it alone. As the designated work of a local congregation (albeit with outside support), the oversight of a qualified eldership guards the biblical and practical soundness of the program, instilling confidence in prospective supporters and students.
--Kevin L. Moore
Related Posts: Institutions and Cooperation, Training Biblically Balanced Preachers
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