By Larry Wood

The third of five value statements of BMA Missions says, “While multiplication is the process that fulfills the Mission of God in the New Testament, local congregations are both the source (sending) and the goal (planting) of that multiplication. Missions offices do not reproduce, churches do.” This value stands on Jesus’ command to the church to “go ye into all the world . . .” We have been eyewitnesses to the soundness of this value and its absolute necessity in planting churches at home and around the world.

To say that we could not have gotten to the mission field in Ukraine and accomplished the work of church planting without our sending church would be a gross understatement. Farley Street Waxahachie is not only our home church but our sending church. They helped to prepare us and supported us, and continue to do so, in many ways. Their decision to be an integral part of missions and church planting in Ukraine was necessary for the work to be effective. 

Why is the church’s role necessary? Because it is God’s plan. God never intended the missionary to go alone. While some go, God intends for the church at home to be an active participant in the spreading of the gospel and church planting. In 1793, the Particular Baptist Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen held a farewell service for William Carey as he prepared to leave for India as a missionary. Carey had a meeting with the four leaders of the society who promised him “as he went forth in the society’s name and their Master’s, they should never cease till death to stand by him.” One of the men, Andrew Fuller, described the meeting with this analogy. He said that the mission to India seemed like a few men who considered going into a deep, unexplored mine. It was as if Carey said, “Well, I will go down, if you will hold the rope.” The meeting, in Fuller’s mind, was as if he and the other brethren gave their word that “whilst we lived, we should never let go of the rope.” This rope analogy expresses a biblical truth: New Testament missions was designed by God to be a team effort. For every missionary that goes on the field there must be churches at home holding the rope.

How do churches “hold the rope?” Financial support is an obvious and essential means, but it is not the only thing missionaries need to be effective church planters. We need the church to remain faithful to the Word of God. We need the church to be a place where those called to missions are discipled and trained. We need the church to be prayer warriors and encouragers. We need the church to take mission trips, to come and see what God is doing. We need the church to hold the rope because without you the work will not be accomplished.

As we moved to Ukraine and settled in the city of Lutsk, a local Ukrainian church partnered with us for the purpose of planting churches. Fimiam Baptist Church extended an invitation to us to come to Lutsk and help them plant churches in their city and region. While Fimiam did not have the ability to provide financial support for a church plant, they did have a staff member who would become the Ukrainian pastor, and they sent some of their members to start the new church. The church, Fimiam, desired to start a new church plant because they realized this new church would reach people they would never reach. Fimiam realized a strong, evangelical church in another part of town would result in more people hearing the gospel and becoming followers of Christ. A church that would minister to local people, share the gospel, and disciple those people who would then reach more people for Christ. 

Because churches in the United States and a church in Lutsk, Ukraine, were obedient to Jesus’ command, a new church was born. Water of Life Baptist Church had her launch service in November 2019 with over one hundred people in attendance, many of those members of Fimiam, who came to support the new congregation on her first day. Water of Life averaged fifty to sixty people each week in the beginning. God has continued to bless the church under the leadership of Pastor Sasha Grebenyuk and now has over two hundred people in worship every Sunday. One result of planting Water of Life has been the reestablishment of a sister church in Volodymyr. This church was ready to close her doors but is now a thriving congregation because other churches came alongside her. Now there are other church plants beginning throughout Ukraine, all because churches followed the command of Jesus to “go ye into all the world…” This is only one example of churches and missionaries working together as a team. There are many churches around the world that have been planted because churches sent and missionaries went. Missions doesn’t work without the church being involved. The church is a vital part of God’s plan. Is your church “holding the rope?” If so, does it have a good grip?