“Propempo” – it’s all Greek to me! (Part 1)

“Propempo” = Greek = προπεμπω

Romans 15:20-24

The name of our mission is Propempo, which comes from the Greek word, προπέμπω. It means, “to send forth”; “to send forth with practical material help”, “to fit someone for their journey, sending them off”; “to send fully equipped”; “to assist and help one on their way”. It is made up of two words, “pro” = “forward”, “before”, “in advance of”; and “pempo”, which means “to send”.

The New Testament word “Propempo” [to send forward] encompasses the nurture, resourcing, and sending of servants to advance the Gospel. See usage in: Acts 15:3; 20:38; 21:5; Romans 15:24; 1 Corinthians 16:6, 11; 2 Corinthians 1:16; Titus 3:13; 3 John 1:6

The simple word for send, “pempo”, along with another word for send, “apostello” is used in John 20:21; “As the Father has sent (apostello) Me, so I am sending you.” You can see the first word for “send” is the verb form of the word, “apostle”, “a sent one”.

One of the most strategic passages that this word “Propempo” is used in is by the apostle Paul in Romans 15:24 in the context of sharing his vision and plans to go to Spain, a frontier mission field in those days. The pioneering spirit he has is like the old 1960s Star Trek TV show intro, “to boldly go where no man has gone before!”

“I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.”

So, he is talking about taking the gospel where it has not gone before. The great apostle says he needs help from a local church. The local church is to be a sending church. Paul and his apostolic team were sent out from a local church in Antioch. (Acts 13:1-4) They first submitted to leadership and taught in the local church and were accountable and involved in the local church. How about you? Are you committed to your local church? Christ loved the church and died for her. (Ephesians 5:25) The local church is dear to God, and local churches are His instruments of being salt and light in the world. (Revelation chapters 2-3) The Apostle Paul is asking the local church in Rome to help him on his way to Spain, the frontiers. That has been our vision and desire for many years. We have spent the last 16 years ministering among a people group who did not have much gospel light for centuries.

Paul calls this vision and desire, to go to Spain, where Christ is not named, an “ambition” in Romans 15, verse 20. He says, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.” And in Verse 21, Paul backs up his godly ambition with an Old Testament quote, from Isaiah 52:15, “Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”

What is your ambition in Life? What is your churches’ ambition? Does your church even have an ambition? An ambition to reach an unreached people group?

Another Greek word!? Come on, Ken!

Usually, we think of “ambition” in completely negative terms, like power hungry business Executives and ego seeking politicians. Like the lawyer character in the John Grisham novel, The Firm, played by Tom Cruise in the movie based on that book. Pride, power, money, wealth, controlling people, influence, — these are concepts that come to our mind when we think of “ambition”. And the New Testament uses a different Greek word for that selfish ambition in Philippians 2:3 and James 3:14 and 16. The English word comes from the idea of “canvassing for a promotion”. But the Bible says there are also godly ambitions. Pleasing God in our lives; and working hard and earning a living and not being a busybody, which is what the Thessalonians were doing. The Greek word for “ambition” φιλοτιμέομαι (philotimeomai) comes from two other Greek words, “love” (phileo) and “honor” ( timae ). The love of honor or the intense desire to see true honor exalted. A godly ambition is the intense desire for God to be honored and glorified in this world.

The word is used three times in the New Testament: 1. 2 Corinthians 5:9 “Thus we have as our ambition, to be pleasing to Him” 2. I Thessalonians 4:11 “make it your ambition to live a quiet live and to mind your own business and work with you hands . . . “ 3. Romans 15:20, our text before us. “I have always had as my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ is named, so that I might not build upon another man’s foundation.”

Have you considered the ambition of being a church-planting missionary?

“Thus I have as my ambition to preach the gospel not where Christ is named, in order that I might not build on another man’s foundation . . . “

Have you or your church as a whole, considered Paul’s ambition in life to be a pioneer church planting missionary where the gospel is not known?

All true Christians should have the apostolic vision and ambition without necessarily being the ones who are called to do the church-planting task. The great commission was given to the disciples as a group. (Matthew 28:18-20) The vision and goal is for the whole church. You can go, pray, equip others, or give and send others to go. We should all find our satisfaction and joy in Christ and His glory being spread to un-reached people groups.

There are no more Apostles today, as one of the qualifications for an Apostle was to have seen the risen Lord. (see Acts 1:21-22; I Cor. 9:1) The office of Apostle closed with the death of the last Apostle. The word “apostle” means “sent one” and our English word, “missionary” comes from the Latin translation of the concept of an “apostle”. But the gifting and vision of “apostleship” (being sent out on a mission) still exists today in the tasks of extending the gospel into new peoples and areas, in church-planting, in the pioneer, frontier missionary.

How do we gain Paul’s vision of seeing the gospel spread to all nations? How do we join other churches in helping them send out other missionaries?

In a future blog entry, we will seek to answer that question by noticing the Apostle Paul’s four motivations in the Romans 15 passage.

Re-blogged from an earlier post.