Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing." Acts 15:35-36
Two things: First, Paul and Barnabas’s commitment to their local church. Second, Paul and Barnabas’s commitment to the local church.
Paul and Barnabas’s were committed to their local church—in Antioch. You will remember that this is the church that sent them on their first missionary journey. Upon completion of that first journey, they returned to their sending church to report on what the Lord had accomplished through them.
Then they remained there serving in their local church “for some days.” Their commitment to their local church is exemplary. How long they were in Antioch is uncertain, because the phrase “for some days” does not refer to literal “days,’ but is rather a figure of speech meaning “for some time” of an indeterminate period. They were there long enough to engage in the ministry of teaching and preaching. The point is not how long they remained in Antioch, but that they engaged in the ministry of the local church. Let us remember our individual commitments to our local churches and the commitment of local churches to their missionaries.
In time, “after some days,” the Lord put it on the hearts of Paul and Barnabas to take a second missionary journey, not only to plant churches in new locations, but to follow up on the new local churches they had just planted. Don’t miss that New Testament missions is not limited to evangelism, but also includes planting and strengthening churches. Why? Because new believers need to be connected to a local church. Let us not think that evangelism ends with sharing the gospel or even with conversions! The newly converted need to get plugged into a local church. It is one of the ways the Holy Spirit grows us in Christ.
Just as a newborn baby needs loving nurture, so do new believers!