The first-century church began with the encounter of Pentecost.
"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:4, NKJV)
Peter went out to the inquisitive Jews and explained what was happening. His message was so anointed that three thousand people were saved and immediately baptized. (Acts 2:14-16)
Luke wrote about a process that, when implemented, resulted in the first-century church that turned the then-known world "upside down." (Acts 2:42-47)
The experiences that Peter and Luke witnessed can be replicated in your church today.
An Acts 2 Journey
In 1988, Alton Garrison began to put together his thoughts on a strategic process that eventually became the Acts 2 Journey. He did this as a new pastor in a church that had plateaued for 30 years. Garrison developed his process based on the empowerment of the Spirit to produce spiritual fruit in the lives of people, as outlined in Acts chapter 2.
He identified five Spirit-empowered functions in Acts 2:42-47:
CONNECT with fellowship and evangelism.
GROW through discipleship.
SERVE using ministry gifts, outreach, building up the body, and caring for the community.
GO in discipleship evangelism and missions.
WORSHIP by corporate praise, prayer, teaching, and singing.
Planning And Power
Some leaders mistakenly assume leading a church is an either/or proposition. Either we are strategic and have a plan, or we are Spirit-led and spontaneous. Typical Pentecostals embrace the spontaneous approach. The problem is the either/or perspective isn't correct; it's both/and.
For a church to be where God wants it to be, both planning and power are essential. The 1st-century church was empowered by the Spirit, but Jesus had a plan for those he was leaving behind. He reveals that plan through the power of his Spirit, and he accomplishes the plan through the Spirit's power. Every church needs both the power of the Spirit and a process of growth.
An Acts 2 Journey is a process that helps to:
assess the church's current reality
discover a renewed sense of vision
clarify the values that will drive you toward God's preferred future
emerge with properly aligned systems
develop a plan to communicate the vision to the congregation
Team-based
One of the keys to Garrison's process is what he calls a "vision team," a group of 8-12 people drawn from a board, staff, department leaders, newcomers, new converts, demographic representatives of the local community, and age group representatives from young to older. The vision team is critical to the process as it takes on ownership of the Acts 2 Journey and helps plan and launch the strategy that emerges.
The vision team works together over the course of 12 months to answer ten strategic questions:
Why do we exist? (Mission)
Where are we going? (Vision)
How should we behave? (Values)
How will we get there? (Strategic Plan)
How will we engage new people? (Evangelism/Go)
How will we treat them when they arrive? (Fellowship/Connect)
How will we disciple them? (Discipleship/Grow)
How will we train them to serve? (Ministry/Serve)
How will we involve them in local and global missions and church planting? (Go)
How will we help them to encounter God? (Worship)
Pastors on the Journey use as their textbook A Spirit Empowered Church, by Alton Garrison.
Results
We need a paradigm shift. Pastors, especially in smaller churches, face tremendous pressure from unrealistic and unbiblical expectations. During the Acts 2 process, pastors are equipped to move from doing tasks to developing people, a fulfillment of Ephesians 4, which sees the pastoral purpose as equipping believers for ministry work. One paradigm shift helps believers see themselves as full owners of ministry and not just well-intentioned helpers alongside a pastor.
When Alton Garrison began pastoring in 1988, there were 500 people in his church. Few were involved. When he left, there were over 1,500 people, and 1,000 were involved in serving.
The Acts 2 process is seeing results. 95% of pastors feel better equipped to lead their congregations after going through it. 88% see their teams functioning more effectively than ever before. Nearly 50% of churches that engage in an Acts 2 Journey have turned around and are growing.
The results you experience personally hinge on your willingness to embrace change. You must decide whether or not you will accept both the Spirit's empowerment AND the process God gives us in Acts 2.
If you're searching for ways to lead in the power of the Spirit, pass on the faith to the next generations, look more like your neighbourhood, and reach your full kingdom potential, the Acts 2 Journey is for you.
For more information on how you can take an Acts 2 Journey with your team, email bob@abnwt.com.
Bob Jones is the founder of REVwords.com, an author, blogger, and coach with 39 years of pastoral experience. Bob is also an Advance Coach with the ABNWT Resource Centre. You can connect with Bob here.