Mission 120

This past January, I was privileged to speak at the Church Leaders Seminar hosted by Person-to-Person Ministries (P2P). Alex Eddy, Executive Director of P2P, and his team always do a great job with this event. I was asked to do six one-hour seminars entitled “Positioning Your Congregation for Biblically Sound Growth.”

At the end of the conference, I challenged the churches to embrace Mission 120. As you recall, on one of the days between the ascension of Christ and the Day of Pentecost, 120 people gathered. This group of zealots was faithful to the message of Jesus and in and around Jerusalem during the start of the church. One writer put it this way, “What began with 120 disciples spilled into every corner of the world: Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, Rome, and eventually the world.”

Now think about this: it all started with the 120, along with the leadership of the twelve apostles. These were individuals committed completely to the task before them—to go into all the world and preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. They took seriously Jesus’s charge to make disciples of all people, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What started as a small group became a universal revival that swept the globe.

I wonder what would happen today if every Christian Church and Church of Christ would strive over the next four years to average 120 in attendance every Sunday. Beginning now and using the next four years to achieve this goal, we could literally see thousands of people led to a completely changed life. For those churches in our brotherhood that average well over 120 in attendance, what if they would commit to baptizing 120 souls into Christ over those same four years? We are suggesting the four-year goal period because without a hard goal and fixed timeline, we typically lose the sense of urgency. Now, perhaps more than ever, I believe there must be a sense of urgency for the Lord’s church, especially regarding making disciples.

Statistically speaking, seventy percent of our churches run under 100. Many of our churches have experienced little to no growth, both numerically and spiritually, for many years. We at the CRA are launching this program, complete with tools and biblically sound methods, to empower God’s people to expand and grow. Please go to the Christian Restoration Association website and click on the link Mission 120 for more helpful tools to begin this program in your congregation. I am also available to coach your church leadership through this noble venture. I am very grateful to say that several churches are already engaged in the program. My email is included at the end of this article, so let me know if I can help in any way.

This may also be a good time to remind our readers just why the Christian Restoration Association exists:

Firstly, the reason the Christian Restoration exists is to help [educate] churches in our brotherhood through annual conferences and symposiums, and a variety of resources suitable for congregations to properly educate their members as to the fundamentals of New Testament Christianity.

Secondly, the CRA is committed to the timeless principles of the Restoration Movement. We do this by acknowledging the Bible as the only authority for the faith and practice of every Christian. One command we have been given is to grow. We see it modeled so beautifully in the early church. Acts 14:1 says, “Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.” Again, Acts 9:31: “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.”

Thirdly, the CRA exists to help churches engage in opportunities to fellowship and share how God is moving within their local congregations. I know I speak for John Mitchell, our director, and I know I certainly love to hear and see how God is moving and blessing so many of our congregations across the world.

Fourthly, we want to continue the rich traditions of the CRA to constantly provide ways to equip churches with the tools to grow both spiritually and numerically. We do that with such programs as Mission 120, Recycled Riches (a no-interest financial loan program to help congregations fund facility construction and upgrade programs within the church), The Restoration Herald (a fantastic monthly periodical), and The Restoration Herald Africa (a sister publication published in Zimbabwe and distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa), a magazine that is put out in the United States and Africa. In addition, we have an active publishing service offering the best material for churches big on biblical education.

We want to prepare churches to properly prepare individuals for eternity. I believe this new vision and revival of fire will challenge church leaders, from elders to the evangelist, to the flock itself, to begin taking growth seriously. Let’s pray for another Acts 4:31 experience in our churches: “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
James C. Book is the Associate Director of the CRA and serves on the board of directors for the Advance Center for Ministry Training. He is a former minister with Kissimmee Christian Church, Kissimmee, FL. Contact him at jim@thecra.org.