Does the church exist to care for people or to send them? What if the answer is both?

Welcome to Week 9 of Ecclesia: The Church Can Change the World at Sozo Kyle Church. In this message, Chris Ball looks at the two expressions of ministry on display in the Antioch church: pastoral ministry, which helps people become healthy in Christ, and apostolic ministry, which helps healthy people become fruitful in Christ's mission. Barnabas spent a whole year teaching and caring for the church before anyone was sent out, and it was Antioch's one message, Christ crucified, risen, and the kingdom come, that earned believers the nickname "Christians" in the first place.

This message shows what happens when one is missing. Pastoral care without sending produces comfortable spectators. Sending without care produces exhausted sheep. And every believer, not just church staff, can learn to ask the Holy Spirit a simple question in the moment: does this person need care, or do they need a challenge?

In this message, we look at:

• Pastoral and apostolic ministry in Acts 11: what each one does and why Antioch needed both
• The danger of too much of either: comfortable spectators or exhausted sheep
• Care or challenge: Job's friends, Jesus restoring Peter, and Jesus with the woman in John 8
• How to ask the Holy Spirit what love requires in the moment
• Acts 11:26 and the nickname that stuck: why the first Christians were called "little Christs"
• Disciples versus believers: the secret sauce of Antioch
• Acts 20:20: teaching publicly and from house to house
• Colossians 1:24-29 and Galatians 4:19: preaching to form Christ in people, not to transfer information
• An activation: who is the Holy Spirit highlighting to you, and what does love require?

Don't just receive the message. Be the messenger.

Our goal at Sozo Kyle is simple: a family on mission, re-presenting Jesus to the world around us.

📖 Acts 11:19-26
📖 Acts 20:20
📖 Colossians 1:24-29
📖 Galatians 4:19
📖 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
📖 Job 2:11-13
📖 John 21:15-17
📖 John 8:1-11
📖 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

#Ecclesia #TheChurchCanChangeTheWorld #SozoKyle #Church #PastoralAndApostolic #Discipleship #KingdomOfGod #Christianity #Jesus #CareAndChallenge

What if the enemy's best strategy was never to destroy the church, but to keep it unarmed?

Welcome to Week 8 of Ecclesia: The Church Can Change the World at Sozo Kyle Church. In this message, Chris Ball unpacks one of the most overlooked verses in the Old Testament: "Now no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel." The Philistines didn't need to out-fight Israel. They only needed to remove the people who made the weapons. This message shows why that same strategy still plays out today, and why the church was never meant to be a crowd watching a few people play.

From Jonathan climbing the hill with his armor bearer, to Jesus walking through a locked door and sending His disciples, this message calls every believer to be a blacksmith: someone who passes on what they carry and equips the people around them.

In this message, we look at:

• 1 Samuel 13:19-22: why the Philistines took the blacksmiths, and why Babylon did the same in 2 Kings 24
• Why a stadium of thousands watching a few play is the wrong picture of the church
• 1 Samuel 14: how Jonathan's climb mirrors what Jesus did at Calvary
• Three lies that keep us in the cave: "I'm not qualified," "it's the pastor's job," and "my story is too messy"
• The sword is the Word: Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12, and Revelation 19
• Colossians 2 and John 20: Jesus disarms the enemy and sends us out
• Using the sword well: trained, tailored to you, and carried in love and gentleness
• Many ways to wield the sword: blacksmiths, distributors, trainers, champions, demonstrators, armor bearers, supply line givers, intercessors, sharpeners, pioneers, and the next generation
• Why a sword is for the forgiven, and an invitation to become a son or daughter

Nobody gets left in the cave. Nobody is destined to be a spectator. Every person is a sent one.

Our goal at Sozo Kyle is simple: a family on mission, re-presenting Jesus to the world around us.

📖 1 Samuel 13:5-22
📖 1 Samuel 14:6-23
📖 2 Kings 24:14-16
📖 Ephesians 6:17
📖 Colossians 2:13-15
📖 John 20:19-21
📖 Hebrews 4:12
📖 Nehemiah 4:17
📖 1 Peter 3:15
📖 Ephesians 4:11-12

#Ecclesia #TheChurchCanChangeTheWorld #SozoKyle #Church #SwordOfTheSpirit #KingdomOfGod #Christianity #Jesus #Discipleship #EquipTheSaints

What if your church's culture is shaped as much by what you allow as by what you promote?

Welcome to Week 7 of Ecclesia: The Church Can Change the World at Sozo Kyle Church. In this message, guest speaker Dustin West (Sozo San Marcos) asks what kind of culture a church is building, and why the answer has to come from the King, not from us. He starts with the gospel Jesus actually preached, the kingdom of God come near, and what it means to repent: to change the way you think about everything. Then he walks through Acts 13:1-3 to show five marks of the culture that made Antioch a church that sent people out to change the world.

Culture is a combination of what we build and what we guard. This message is a challenge to do both, and to ask what part you play in building it.

In this message, we look at:

- Why culture is what we promote and what we allow
- Mark 1:14-15: the kingdom of God has come near, and what "repent" really means
- A five-fold culture: Ephesians 4 and Jesus giving Himself to His church
- A culture of worship and prayer: Exodus 33, Paul and Silas in prison, Peter's release
- A culture that hears and obeys the Spirit: why it's "probably God," not "probably just me"
- An empowering culture: the priesthood of all believers and laying hands on Paul and Barnabas
- An apostolic culture: sending our best, and why you are on assignment wherever you are
- Your kingdom calling and your part in building what God is doing in this region

A kingdom culture doesn't just build a church people want to come to. It builds a church people are sent from.

Our goal at Sozo Kyle is simple: a family on mission, re-presenting Jesus to the world around us.

📖 Mark 1:14-15
📖 Acts 13:1-3
📖 Ephesians 4:7-13
📖 Exodus 33:15-16
📖 Acts 16:16-34
📖 John 10:27
📖 Matthew 28:18-20
📖 Numbers 11:24-29

#Ecclesia #TheChurchCanChangeTheWorld #SozoKyle #Church #KingdomCulture #KingdomOfGod #Christianity #Jesus #Worship #ApostolicChurch

Every multiplying church needs a Barnabas and a Paul. Which one are you?

Welcome to Week 6 of Ecclesia: The Church Can Change the World at Sozo Kyle Church. In this message, Chris Ball looks at two of the most important figures in the early church and the two qualities every church family needs in order to multiply: the encourager who takes a risk on people, and the pioneer who refuses to quit.

From Branch Rickey betting his career on Jackie Robinson to Barnabas vouching for the most feared man in the early church, this message shows what it looks like to risk, invest, and release the people God puts in front of you. The real mark of maturity is not how many people are under you, but how many you have sent out, and how far past you they go.

In this message, we look at:

- Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson as a picture of the Barnabas spirit
- Acts 4:36 and why Joseph became "Barnabas," the son of encouragement
- Acts 9:26: Barnabas risks his reputation to vouch for Saul
- Acts 11:22-26: the year Barnabas spent investing in Paul in Antioch
- Acts 13: the shift from "Barnabas and Saul" to "Paul and his companions," and why the student passing the teacher is the goal
- The pioneering spirit of Paul (2 Corinthians 11) and Hudson Taylor's push into inland China
- Acts 15: when Paul and Barnabas disagree, and how one journey became two teams
- 2 Timothy 4:11: the redemption of John Mark
- Why we need both the Barnabas and the Paul, and how to grow in both

The mission of the church was never about building a crowd under one leader. It is about lifting people up, believing in them, and sending them further than you went.

Our goal at Sozo Kyle is simple: a family on mission, re-presenting Jesus to the world around us.

📖 Acts 4:36-37
📖 Acts 9:26-28
📖 Acts 11:22-26
📖 Acts 13:1-3, 13
📖 Acts 15:36-41
📖 2 Corinthians 11:24-27
📖 2 Timothy 4:11

#Ecclesia #TheChurchCanChangeTheWorld #SozoKyle #Church #Barnabas #Paul #Discipleship #KingdomOfGod #Christianity #Jesus

What if the Great Commission was never a manual handed to you, but an invitation to join what Jesus is already doing?

Welcome to Week 5 of Ecclesia: The Church Can Change the World at Sozo Kyle Church. In this message, Chris Ball challenges us to stop simply agreeing with the Great Commission and start living it. Drawing from Isaiah 6, Psalm 40, and Psalm 148, he shows that a mission-carrying life starts with seeing God. When you see how big He is, "Here am I, send me" stops being an obligation and becomes the only thing that makes sense.

From a Hubble deep field image of 10,000 galaxies to the song of the stars, this message paints a picture of a God who is far bigger than we imagine, who steps into the pit with us, puts a new song in our mouths, and invites us to carry His mission to a broken world. We close with a fresh word about the season we are in and a time of prayer for breakthrough.

In this message, we look at:

- Why the Great Commission is an invitation to join Jesus, not a duty to earn His approval
- Psalm 40: God steps into the pit, puts a new song in our mouths, and many see and put their trust in Him
- Isaiah 6: seeing God leads to transformation, and transformation leads to "send me"
- A God bigger than global: a Hubble deep field image and the song of the stars
- Psalm 33 and Psalm 148: all of creation is already praising Him
- Why worship starts with seeing, not with a song
- Romans 1:5: receiving grace and receiving apostleship go together
- A word for this season: prayers answered and dead things resurrected
- Testimonies of breakthrough and a time of prayer

Don't just agree with the Great Commission. Live it. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and you will want nothing else than to go on the journey with Him.

Our goal at Sozo Kyle is simple: a family on mission, re-presenting Jesus to the world around us.

📖 Matthew 28:18-20
📖 Psalm 40:1-3
📖 Isaiah 6:1-8
📖 Psalm 33:6
📖 Psalm 148
📖 Romans 1:1-6
📖 Micah 2:13

#Ecclesia #TheChurchCanChangeTheWorld #SozoKyle #Church #GreatCommission #KingdomOfGod #Christianity #Jesus #Breakthrough #Isaiah6

Is the church a cruise ship built for comfort, or a troop carrier built for mission?

Welcome to Week 4 of Ecclesia: The Church Can Change the World at Sozo Kyle Church. This week, guest speaker Joel (Sozo San Marcos) unpacks what it means for the church to be apostolic—not in title, but in function. Using the true story of the S.S. United States, a ship built to carry 2,000 passengers in luxury or 14,000 troops on mission depending on its purpose, Joel challenges us to ask what the church is actually designed for: comfort, or capacity.

Digging into the Greco-Roman roots of the word "apostle" (sent one), the original apostles in Scripture (including women like Junia and Priscilla), and Paul's teaching in Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12, this message lays out the core difference between a pastoral church and an apostolic church—not as an either/or, but as a question of what leads. One gathers people to care for them. The other equips people to send them. Both matter. But only one keeps building.

In this message, we look at:

- The S.S. United States: same ship, two purposes—luxury liner or troop carrier
- Why "apostle" is military language, not religious language
- The original apostles—including Junia and Priscilla—and the role of women in the church's apostolic history
- Ephesians 4:11-13 and the "until" that defines the purpose of the five-fold gifts
- The pastoral church vs. the apostolic church: gathering vs. sending, attendance vs. multiplication
- Governing, pioneering, and fathering apostles—Peter, Paul, and Barnabas as three different apostolic types
- Why the mission is bigger than the church, and the church exists to serve the mission—not the other way around
- What it looks like to be apostolic without needing a title

The church Jesus is building isn't a cruise ship carrying religious consumers. It's a people on mission—equipped, empowered, and sent to change the world.

Our goal at Sozo Kyle is simple: a family on mission, re-presenting Jesus to the world around us.

📖 John 1:1, 14
📖 John 20:21
📖 Hebrews 3:1
📖 Ephesians 2:19-20
📖 Ephesians 4:1-13
📖 1 Corinthians 12:27-28

#Ecclesia #TheChurchCanChangeTheWorld #SozoKyle #Church #ApostolicChurch #KingdomOfGod #Christianity #Jesus #ChurchLeadership #Ephesians4

What if the disruption in your life isn't a detour from God's plan—but the clearest setup He's ever given you to become a mission carrier?

Welcome to Week 3 of Ecclesia: The Church Can Change the World at Sozo Kyle Church. In this message, Chris Ball unpacks Acts 8 and the scattering of the early church following Stephen's death—showing how what looked like tragedy became the very thing that birthed the Antioch church and launched the mission to the Gentiles. From the Great Chicago Fire to Joseph's story in Genesis to the Cajun Navy's response to Hurricane Harvey, this message explores a pattern that runs throughout Scripture and history: God doesn't waste disruption—He multiplies through it.

This is not a message that explains away pain or suggests God causes our suffering to teach us a lesson. It's a message about what becomes possible when ordinary people, scattered by circumstances outside their control, carry what they've been given—not a title or a resume, but a history of having been with Jesus.

In this message, we look at:

- The Greek word "diaspora" and why Luke used a farming term to describe persecution
- Why God doesn't waste disruption—and never has
- Acts 8 and how Stephen's death scattered the Jerusalem church into their mission
- The Great Chicago Fire and the innovation that rose from the ashes
- Joseph's story (Genesis 37-50) and the providence found in repeated disruption
- Israel's captivity in Babylon and how it set up Paul's missionary journeys centuries later
- Paul's shipwreck on Malta and the church birthed out of disaster
- The kingdom progression: gathered, scattered, sent, reproduced
- The Cajun Navy and Hurricane Harvey as a modern picture of ordinary people responding to disruption
- The cross as the ultimate disruption—and the pattern of resurrection on the other side of it

Settled things don't reach new places. Only scattered things do. If you're in a season of disruption right now, this message will help you ask a better question than "why did this happen"—and instead ask, "God, what are You up to in this, and what am I carrying?"

Our goal at Sozo Kyle is simple: a family on mission, re-presenting Jesus to the world around us.

📖 Acts 7
📖 Acts 8:1-4
📖 Acts 11:19-26
📖 Genesis 37-50
📖 Acts 27
📖 Acts 28

#Ecclesia #TheChurchCanChangeTheWorld #SozoKyle #Church #Disruption #KingdomOfGod #Christianity #Jesus #ChurchLeadership #Resurrection

What if the people God uses most aren't the most qualified—but simply the ones who've been with Jesus?

Welcome to Week 2 of Ecclesia: The Church Can Change the World at Sozo Kyle Church. In this message, Chris Ball explores the story of the Antioch church—a movement started by ordinary, unnamed men and women that became the launching pad for the Great Commission. He unpacks what Scripture calls "the revolution of the ordinary man" and why the qualification for kingdom impact was never credentials, background, or accolades—it's proximity to Jesus.

The church isn't waiting on the "who's who" to advance the mission of God. It's built by ordinary people who've encountered Jesus, been transformed by Him, and are sent out to make disciples.

In this message, we look at:

- The Antioch church and why we don't even know who started it
- Acts 4:13 and the original meaning of "ordinary men"
- Why being with Jesus—not credentials—is the qualification for the mission
- How proximity to God transforms ordinary people into world-changers
- Isaiah's encounter with God: from "I am ruined" to "Here am I, send me"
- Abiding in the vine (John 15) as the secret to fruitful, effortless ministry
- Why missional churches produce disciples, not just members
- Ephesians 4:11-12 and the five-fold ministry's real purpose: to equip and send
- The Chinese house church movement and John Wesley's class meetings as modern examples
- Why great leadership is measured by who you send, not who follows you

The church God is building isn't reserved for the super-spiritual or the seminary-trained. It's a family of ordinary people who've been with Jesus—and that's more than enough.

Our goal at Sozo Kyle is simple: a family on mission, re-presenting Jesus to the world around us.

If you've ever felt like you're "just" an ordinary person with nothing special to offer, this message is for you.

📖 Acts 11:19-26
📖 Acts 4:13
📖 Isaiah 6:1-8
📖 John 15:1-8
📖 Ephesians 4:11-12
📖 Acts 13:1-3

#Ecclesia #TheChurchCanChangeTheWorld #SozoKyle #Church #OrdinaryPeople #Discipleship #KingdomOfGod #Christianity #Jesus #ChurchLeadership