Tuesday 5 May 2026

Psalm 39

Background
An African, an Asian, two European Jews and an Arab went to a prayer meeting…

This isn’t the start of a joke, but the start of Acts 13. These five Christians were the first multicultural church leadership team. Barnabas was a Levite from Cyprus. Simeon was a black African, and Lucius an Arab African (Cyrene is in modern day Libya). Manaen was a Jew from Palestine, but having been brought up with Herod (the ruler of Galilee) he would have had a heavily Romanised education, alongside learning about his Jewish culture.

Saul is the one we know the most about. He was a highly educated Jew from Tarsus (in modern-day Turkey), who had previously been so zealous about the Jewish law that he went around persecuting Christians. He had dramatically encountered Jesus and converted to being a Christian while travelling on the road to Damascus, and would soon change his name to Paul, and go on to write much of the New Testament.

This multicultural group of church elders led the first truly multicultural church, sharing the gospel message with all the many different nationalities who lived in Antioch (in modern day Syria). This was truly pioneering mission, so much so that we learn it was in Antioch where believers were first described as 'Christians'. Elsewhere they had been ‘followers of the way’, and congregations all had large Jewish majorities. In Antioch they were reaching a multicultural environment, and the membership and even the elder team reflected that diversity. There was clearly no racism as a bar to becoming a senior leader: if you were anointed and gifted then you were welcomed on to the team.

So this elder team was pioneering in its makeup. And they became pioneering in their work, sparking a huge new missions movement. It was as they were praying, worshipping and fasting together that God called Barnabas and Saul to mission work beyond Antioch. The pair undertook a number of missionary journeys, planted numerous churches, and laid the seeds for the future growth of the Church across Europe. All that came from a multicultural prayer meeting.

To Ponder:

• How much time do you spend praying, worshipping and fasting, seeking God and discerning God's direction for your life?
• How much time do you spend doing these activities, or other types of Christian fellowship, with believers from different racial and cultural backgrounds to yourself?
• What work is God calling you to? What has God said to you when you have spent time in the above two activities?

Prayer
Lord Jesus, please guide my life. Guide me in how to best spend time with you, and guide me to the Christian sisters and brothers that you want me to worship alongside and seek you with. If you are calling me to any new work, or want to reconfirm me to any existing work, please speak to me. Your servant is listening. Amen.

Bible notes author: Mark Williamson
Mark Williamson works for One Rock International, helping Christian leaders to start up and scale up mission projects. Methodist lay leaders are invited to join the next online One Rock Institute course of training and coaching in Christian leadership, starting in September 2026 – see https://onerockinternational.com/institute/.  Mark is also chair of Fresh Expressions UK, a local preacher, and a member of Methodist Central Hall Westminster.