How to Strengthen Your Church Through Everyday Faithfulness | Acts 18

🎧 Listen to this episode: Sermon Notes Podcast – Acts 18:18–23
💬 Share it with your small group, a fellow leader, or someone walking through a season of doubt or discouragement.

 

What makes a church truly strong? In this episode of the Sermon Notes podcast, Jay Strother and Brandon Hayes unpack Acts 18:18–23 to answer this question. Spoiler: it’s not flashy programs or packed events—it’s the slow, intentional, Spirit-led rhythm of everyday faithfulness.

Whether you’re a pastor, group leader, or everyday believer, this conversation offers a powerful reminder: strengthening your church starts with strengthening disciples.

Strength Over Size: Why Acts 18 Matters

The episode begins by addressing why Acts 18:18–23, a relatively “understated” passage, was chosen to close the For the Church series. While it doesn’t have the drama of a prison break or a fiery sermon, it reveals a crucial pattern in Paul’s ministry—strengthening the church through consistent presence, discipleship, and gospel-centered relationships.
As Brandon Hayes puts it, “We don’t drift toward mission—we drift away from it. That’s why intentionality matters.”

Everyday Faithfulness: Ministry in the In-Between

Much of ministry happens between the big moments. Jay and Brandon discuss how Acts gives us not just slow-motion snapshots of major events but time-lapse views of real, day-to-day ministry. Paul traveled, worked, preached, stayed in hard places, and invested deeply—not for immediate impact, but for long-term fruit.

“Strength doesn’t happen overnight,” Brandon says. “It takes repetition. A rhythm. Paul stayed in Corinth a year and a half. That’s a long time for him!”

What Does It Mean to Strengthen the Church?

The word “strengthening” appears 11 times in Acts. It’s not a special event—it’s a lifestyle. For Paul, strengthening the church meant:
  • Staying in places long enough for relationships to grow.
  • Teaching regularly and building up leaders.
  • Returning to “sending churches” to encourage and give updates.
  • Investing in communities, even through hardship.
It’s about firming up what’s already been planted—solidifying foundations before moving forward.

Spiritual Rhythms: Strengthening Follows Expansion

The hosts explore a biblical rhythm seen in Acts: gospel expansion is often followed by intentional strengthening. Just as Paul launched missions from Antioch and returned to build up believers, churches today must balance growth with depth.

“We haven’t launched a new campus in a couple of years,” Jay shares. “But this has been a season of strengthening—shoring up health, encouraging partnerships, and waiting for the Spirit to reveal the next move.”

Everyday Practices That Build Strong Churches

So what can you do to help strengthen your church today? Jay and Brandon point us back to the basics:
  • Prayer: Devoted, communal, and Spirit-led.
  • Bible Study: Not just reading, but letting the Word shape us.
  • Biblical Community: Real friendships that challenge and encourage.
  • Discipleship: Helping others grow and receiving help ourselves.
“Most people who feel distant from God,” Brandon observes, “have fallen off the rhythm of prayer, Scripture, and community.”

Gospel Friendship: A Hidden Superpower

One of the overlooked themes in Acts 18 is the gift of gospel friendship. Paul’s partnership with Aquila and Priscilla was more than convenience—they shared life, mission, and trade (tentmaking). These kinds of relationships offer encouragement in the grind of ministry and strengthen us in our personal walk.
“Don’t underestimate the gift of a kindred spirit,” Jay reminds us. “Ministry is exhausting. You need people who pour into you—not just the ones you pour out for.”

Discipleship Is a Two-Way Street

The story of Apollos at the end of Acts 18 shows what humility and healthy correction look like. Priscilla and Aquila pulled Apollos aside and clarified his theology—not publicly shaming him, but gently guiding him toward truth. Apollos, in turn, received their input with grace.
Strong churches are full of people willing to give and receive truth in love. That’s real discipleship.

Faithfulness Over Results

One of the episode’s most compelling takeaways is this: leave the results to God. Like Paul, Apollos, and Stephen, we may not always see the fruit of our labor—but God is always at work. Our job is to stay faithful.

About the Speakers

Jay Strother is the Senior Pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church. With a heart for disciple-making and leadership development, he helps guide a multi-campus congregation toward gospel growth and impact.
Brandon Hayes is the Campus and Teaching Pastor at The Church at Harpeth Heights. His passion is equipping believers for everyday faithfulness and encouraging churches to grow stronger from the inside out.