Recap:
On October 8, 1732, two young men stood on a dock in Copenhagen preparing to sail to the West Indies. One was a potter and the other a carpenter. Both were in their early twenties, and both carried a burden for enslaved people who had never heard the Gospel.
They were told it was impossible. People mocked them and said the slaves were not worth the sacrifice. But these young men believed every person mattered to God. They were so determined to reach them that they offered to sell themselves into slavery.
As their ship pulled away, they waved goodbye to their families and shouted, “May the Lamb receive the reward of His suffering!”
They were saying, “Our comfort and even our lives are nothing compared to the worth of Jesus and the importance of people knowing Him.” They were all in.
And I wonder, ConnectKC, whether we still have that kind of fire. Are we churches that simply gather in comfortable rooms, enjoy worship, hear a sermon, and then go home? Or are we a people who will look at the lost and hurting around us and say, “Whatever it takes, we are all in”?
Nearly all of us know someone who does not follow Jesus. They are our children, parents, coworkers, neighbors, and friends. That reality should grip our hearts. Jesus suffered, bled, and died so people could be rescued from sin and brought into eternal life. The Lamb is worthy.
In Acts 13, we find the church at Antioch. It was started by ordinary, unnamed believers who had fled persecution. They arrived in one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire and began telling people about Jesus. God moved, the church grew, and the people of the city began calling them Christians—little Christs—because their lives looked like Jesus.
The leadership of that church was incredibly diverse. Barnabas was wealthy. Simeon was called the Black man. Lucius was a refugee. Manaen was a political insider. Saul had once persecuted and killed Christians. Without the Gospel, these men would never have been in the same room.
But that is what the Gospel does. It brings together people who would otherwise remain divided. Our wealth, race, influence, and past are no longer the most important things about us. We are Christians first.
Your past does not own you. Your mistakes do not define you. The blood of Jesus cleanses you and makes you new.
We live in a digital world full of noise, screens, social media, and distraction. Sometimes we forget that every person has an eternal soul. The people we work with, laugh with, live beside, and pass every day will exist forever.
There are people all around us who have money, careers, success, and possessions, but they are still empty. A screen cannot satisfy them. Success cannot save them. Only Jesus can fill the human heart.
Around 70 percent of Johnson County is unchurched. Hundreds of thousands of people around us are not following Jesus. They do not live thousands of miles away. They live next door. We are living in our Antioch, and we cannot become so distracted by politics, culture, and division that we forget what matters most: people need Jesus.
While the leaders at Antioch were worshiping and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” God drew a circle around them and said, “They belong to Me. I have a special work for them.”
If you belong to Jesus, God has set you apart too. You are chosen. You are His possession. You were bought with a price. Your life, home, career, money, abilities, and future all belong to Him.
God did not rescue you so you could simply sit comfortably and wait for heaven. He gave you a purpose. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” God placed you in your neighborhood, workplace, and family so your life could point people toward Him.
But there is no sending without sacrifice.
The young men who sailed to the West Indies understood that reaching people would cost them something. The church at Antioch understood that sending Barnabas and Saul would cost them something. And as ConnectKC churches, we must understand the same thing.
We are not called only to gather. We are called to send. We are called to become churches that plant churches that plant churches. We give away finances, resources, and people because the Gospel matters more than our comfort.
You may say, “I am not a pastor or evangelist. What can I do?” William Carey once told a group of friends that India was like a deep, dark mine. He said, “I am willing to go down into the darkness, but I need you to hold the ropes.”
Some people are called to go, and others are called to hold the rope. When you pray, give, serve, encourage, and remain committed to the mission, you are holding the rope. What you do matters.
Someone you love may have stopped listening to you, and you have prayed, “God, send somebody into their life.” Church planting helps send that somebody.
At ConnectKC, we do not just talk about planting churches. We do it. Pastor Nick and Desiree Adams and their family have answered God’s call to plant a new church in downtown Olathe, launching in the fall of 2027.
We love them, and we would love to keep them close. Sending them will cost something. It will require people, finances, prayer, and sacrifice. But the Lamb is worthy, so we release them with open hands.
Some will go with them. Others will give, pray, encourage, and hold the rope. Every one of us has a part to play.
May God protect their family, give them wisdom, bring the right people around them, and use this new church to heal broken hearts, restore families, break chains, and bring people out of darkness.
We are set apart. We have been given a purpose. We are called to sacrifice. And we freely give because Jesus is worthy.
May the Lamb receive the reward of His suffering.
We are all in.
Group Questions:
Icebreakers
- What is one place you would love to travel to if cost and time were not an issue?
- Who is someone who “held the rope” for you during an important season of your life?
- What is one thing you have gone “all in” on—whether serious or fun?
Discussion Questions
- The two young missionaries were willing to sacrifice everything so others could hear about Jesus. What part of their story challenged or inspired you most?
- Nearly everyone knows someone who is not following Jesus. Who has God placed on your heart, and what makes it difficult to talk with them about faith?
- Acts 13 describes a diverse group of leaders who probably would not have gathered together without Jesus. How should the Gospel affect the way Christians respond to racial, political, social, and economic differences?
- The sermon says, “Your past does not own you. Your mistakes do not define you.” Is there something from your past that you still struggle to release? How does knowing you are made new in Christ change the way you see yourself?
- We can become distracted by screens, politics, cultural arguments, and everyday responsibilities. What distractions most often cause you to forget that people have eternal souls?
- Read 1 Peter 2:9 and 1 Corinthians 6:19–20. What does it mean to be set apart and belong to God? How should that affect the way we use our time, money, homes, careers, and abilities?
- Jesus said that His followers are the light of the world. Where has God specifically placed you to represent Him right now?
- The sermon says, “There is no sending without sacrifice.” What might God be asking you to release, rearrange, or sacrifice for the sake of someone else knowing Jesus?
- William Carey needed people to “hold the rope” while he went into the mission field. What are some practical ways we can hold the rope for church planters and missionaries?
- Some people are called to go, while others give, pray, serve, and encourage. Which role do you believe God may be asking you to take in this season?
- What excites you about planting a new ConnectKC church in downtown Olathe? What concerns or questions does it bring up for you?
- What would it look like for our group to say, “We are all in,” rather than simply agreeing that church planting is important?