²⁰. . . The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe. ²¹After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, ²²strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” ²³When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

The apex of their mission tour brought them to a town called Derbe, with Luke simply noting the result of their preaching, “many disciples” were made there. Then they retraced their steps through the cities where they had previously preached to build up the believers. Luke calls them “disciples,” which we understand to be believers of the gospel message, followers of Jesus Christ. His message now was to “continue in the faith,” and that, despite persecutions that would unavoidably and necessarily come. Faith and suffering in the early church expansion period were inexorably linked, and so it is today as well. There will always be opposition to the gospel message and to the people whose lives and way of thinking have been radically changed by Christ.

Gospel faith is so completely different from any other religious, philosophical, or ethical system, and from every other way of life or worldview, that it will always invoke a strong reaction. The gospel asserts that humankind is sinful at the core and at odds with a holy and righteous God, but that God in His grace brings forgiveness to all who trust in His Son’s death on the cross in our place—and this idea strikes at the root of pride in the human heart. A free gift of grace will always be spurned by those too proud to admit they need it. They will do everything to prevent others from believing and entering the kingdom of God.

Besides “encouraging them to continue in the faith,” Paul and Barnabas also appointed leaders in each group of believers. This is the first evidence in Scripture of the apostolic mindset for church leadership. Gatherings of new believers are by definition churches. And churches must have recognized and appointed leaders. These leaders were called “elders” (plural) and were to be functioning in “every” church (no exception). But if all were new believers, how did Paul and Barnabas know whom to appoint? Two things: the Jewish believers and God-fearing Gentiles would have already had extensive knowledge of God and the Scriptures, some of them already in leadership roles in the synagogue. More importantly, Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted for God’s guidance in their selection of whom to appoint. Even new churches need godly leadership!

Lord, thank You for Your appointed pattern of leadership for local churches.