SEEING THE HOME AS THE HEART OF CHURCH GROWTH

By: Gary McDade

A wonderful and commendable example of love for Christ and His church was set by Eunice, the mother of Timothy. Paul knew the genuine faith which dwelt first in his grandmother Lois and then in his mother and was confident that their faith had been impressed upon Timothy through their godly lives and effective teaching of God’s Word to Timothy from his childhood (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15). It is quite probable that Timothy had become a disciple of Christ when Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel in his home town of Derbe or Lystra in the Lycaonian Region of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) on his first missionary journey (Acts 13-14; A.D. 47-48). As thrilling as the advancement of the gospel of Christ was into that region so that “a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed,” equally emotional was the attack led by the unbelieving Jews who “stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren” (Acts 14:2). The miracles, signs, and wonders done by Paul and Barnabas, including the healing of a lame man who had never walked, capriciously were swept away from the consciousness of the observers by the persuasion of the Jews to stone Paul.

To the point of this study, Eunice and possibly even Timothy had been witnesses to these events, yet Eunice remained convinced that the very best development a kind providence had provided her son to serve the living God was for her to let him go with Paul as he proceeded on his mission to spread the gospel of Christ. Acts 16:1-5 details both Paul’s desire to take Timothy with him and the implication of Eunice’s agreement to let him go. “Seeing the home as the heart of church growth” emerges out of this narrative. The application of the training Timothy had received at home included the courage of his mother to send him with Paul. The risk and apparent personal danger to Timothy notwithstanding, Eunice concurred with the apostle’s desire for one like no other to attend him in evangelizing the world (Colossians 1:23; Philippians 2:20). Successful efforts toward the growth of the church begin in a Christian home and at an early age.

Paul wrote two epistles to young Timothy which even today serve as the foundational and specific teaching required for a man to be a preacher. One thing Paul taught Timothy was, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (2 Timothy 4:16). The choice Eunice made that day not only saw the church grow under his efforts but also became instrumental in the salvation of her son, Timothy.