When I teach people about our ministry’s vision, I explain that we have adopted the vision to see no place remain, no place left where we can work.

That probably sounds crazy. It certainly seems that way to me. Can you imagine a scenario where we would, at the end of our work, find that there is no place that remains for us to continue doing our work?

Actually, we didn’t make this up on our own. In fact, that was Paul’s vision as well…and he accomplished it. We don’t see that he said that was his vision, but at the end of his work, he proclaims that he has finished his work in these regions. There is no place for him to work here where he has been working, so he wants to move on. Take a look at what he says here:

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 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. Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”

This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.

Romans 15:18-24

Let’s understand what Paul is saying here. In verse 19, he says “from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum” is the area where he did his work. We can probably pretty easily understand where Jerusalem is on the map. But where in the world is Illyricum?

Check out this map:

The darkened area is Roman province of Illyricum.

So Paul is saying that, from Jerusalem all of the way around to Illyricum, which today would be Bosnia in the southern part and Slovenia in the northern part – or just to the east of Venice, Italy! – Paul no longer has any place left where he can work.

Hmmm… What does that mean?

Judging by today’s geography and political maps, Paul is, at the least, saying that he has covered all of Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, and more. Paul had done his work. There was nothing left for him to do. He was moving on…

Paul had spent approximately 15 years to start movements in at least three different regions within the areas described above.

In his first journey, he planted churches in at least four different cities in the area of Galatia and Phrygia that themselves went on to spread the word of God across the entire region.

In his second journey, Paul began training Timothy and others to do the work that he was doing, traveling into the areas of Macedonia and Achaia in the city of Corinth.

And finally, in his third journey, Paul once again visited the Galatian churches, but was able this time to head down to Ephesus so as to see amazing fruit from his ministry, teaching and training the disciples who, it seems, went themselves to share the Gospel and plant churches in nine different cities all across the province of Asia, or present-day western Turkey.

So, at the end all of all of this work, Paul now says that there is no place that remains for him to continue his work in these regions. Amazing!

Anytime that we develop a vision, that vision drives the direction in which we go and the form of what we intend to do will take. In Paul’s case, he was not satisfied with the idea that he would plant one church. Paul looked to glorify God with entire regions of people who would hear the Gospel, entire cities of people who would be part of the city church from house to house, who would go on to tell others as well.

In other words, Paul worked to saturate an entire area with the Gospel, and so as we learn from him, our desire is to do the same thing. Our team is focused on sending workers to start new work amongst people who do not know Christ, and then, from amongst the people with whom we have initially worked, we can work alongside the local team to strengthen and build up the local church, making disciples and teaching them to take ownership of their own walk with Christ, taking ownership in helping others walk with Christ, and teaching them to take ownership of their own church.

In this way, our desire is to one day say, just as Paul says here in Romans 15, that we have no place that remains for us to continue to do our work. Instead, we can call people into service of our king, making disciples and planting churches amongst those who do not know him!