The Church That Changed the World | May 24, 2026

The Setup: Refugees With No Name, No Budget, No Plan

Sermon number thirty-one took the congregation four hundred miles north to the city of Antioch, and Pastor Justin walked through Acts 11:19-30 to show what happened when a group of ordinary, unnamed believers fully embraced what the Jerusalem church had only just finished arguing about the week before. These were refugees, scattered out of Jerusalem by the persecution that arose after Stephen's death, described only as men of Cyprus and Cyrene with no names, no budget, no sending ceremony, and no apostolic commission.

Some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, began speaking to Greeks as well as Jews when they arrived in Antioch, and Scripture tells us the hand of the Lord was with them as a great number turned to the Lord. Pastor Justin's first point was that God uses ordinary, unnamed people to do extraordinary things, quoting the fourth-century preacher Chrysostom's observation that it was not the apostles but the nameless, scattered ones who planted the most consequential missionary-sending church in Christian history. He pressed the congregation to name their own modern Hellenists, the neighbor, coworker, or family member they have already decided is too far outside the circle to reach.

When word reached Jerusalem, Barnabas was sent to investigate, and Pastor Justin paused to introduce him properly, a Levite from Cyprus whose given name was Joseph but whom the apostles nicknamed Barnabas, son of encouragement, because of his consistent generosity and his willingness to vouch for Saul when the rest of the church was still terrified of him. Rather than shutting down what he found, Barnabas rejoiced at the grace of God on display and encouraged the believers to remain faithful, eventually traveling to Tarsus to bring Saul in to help teach the growing congregation for a full year.

Pastor Justin's second point was that a healthy church is built on teaching, generosity, and genuine life change. A full year of sustained teaching gave the Antioch believers the kind of depth that produces durability, and when the prophet Agabus foretold a famine that later history confirms actually happened, the believers determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to their brothers and sisters in Judea, a young Gentile church with no obligation choosing radical generosity anyway. It was in Antioch, Luke tells us, that the disciples were first called Christians, a name given not because of politics or building or worship style, but because their lives were so visibly changed that outsiders needed a new word for them.

Pastor Justin's third point was that the church that changes the world is the church that recognizes and celebrates God's grace at work, pointing to Barnabas's gladness rather than territorial suspicion when he saw a movement he had not started or controlled. Jeremiah 29:7 and Colossians 1:13-14 tied the whole message to The Crossings' own identity, that the church is not separate from its community but exists within it, seeking its welfare, and that people delivered from darkness into God's kingdom are exactly the kind of ordinary, unnamed believers God has always used.

This Week's Application

So this week, are you waiting for a title, a platform, or a fully-formed plan before you start talking about Jesus with the people already around you? We would love for you to join us this Sunday as we continue walking through Acts together.

The Crossings Community Church is an evangelical church plant in Brunswick, Maryland, led by Pastor Justin Wyckoff. We meet Sundays at 11:00 AM. Learn more at thecrossings.cc.