Sending Church—The church at Antioch serves as a prime example of
a sending church. Key principles related to the importance of a send-
Seven Steps for Planting Churches
37
4Step
ing church are found in Acts 13:1-3. The church at Antioch was compelled
by the Holy Spirit to send both Paul and Barnabas as an extension of their
responsibility to fulfilling the Great Commission (v. 2). They intentionally
set Paul and Barnabas aside for this work and sent them off to accomplish
this task. This implies an ongoing relationship and responsibility between
the church planter and the sending church (vv. 2-3).