Throughout the Bible there is a concept of God using messengers to commu nicate with his own people and others. Whilst he speaks directly to key ind ividuals, those individuals are regularly used to convey the message to a l arger audience, like Moses and Jonah. As the New Testament unfolds, John th e Baptist’s message of repentance prepares the way for Jesus. Progressing t hrough the New Testament, we encounter a variety of messengers, people like Paul, Timothy and Titus, who take messages between churches. In Acts 15, t he church in Antioch selects some messengers to go to Jerusalem to explore the key question of gentile conversion. By the end of the council, the chur ch in Jerusalem selects Judas and Silas as messengers who travel to other c hurches, telling them what has been agreed.
This year at our Assembl y, October 26-27, we are asking churches to think of the people they send a s messengers rather than delegates! People whose primary role will be to sh are an encouragement, challenge, story or opportunity that flows from the m inistry of your local church. Messengers who can also return to your church with news, challenge and opportunities that have been discovered during ou r time together.
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