Revisiting “Who Really Sent the First Missionaries”

The Role of the Local Church in the Sending of Missionaries

Abstract

Fifty years ago, Dr. Harold Cook, newly retired esteemed and long-tenured Professor of Missions at Moody Bible Institute, wrote an article published in the Evangelical Missions Quarterly (Fall, 1975) that raised eyebrows in mission circles. That article, entitled, “Who Really Sent the First Missionaries,” was written by Cook as a corrective to the then current and increasingly prevalent thinking about the role of the local church in the mission sending process. Centered on the example of the church at Antioch described in its sending action found in Acts 13:1-4, Cook’s premise was that although the church at Antioch was important to the sending of Barnabas and Saul, it was neither central nor supreme. By implication, neither should it be today. 

In this paper a grammatical examination the Acts 13:1-4 passage will be conducted by way of four primary considerations: 1) the consideration of the church’s involvement vs. solely the prophets and teachers; 2) the two uses of the word “sent”; 3) the consideration of the imposition of hands; 4) the consideration of the phrase “set apart for me.” It is hoped that a balanced picture will emerge between the role of the Holy Spirit and the local church in the sending of missionaries today.