"Legacy: The Faith to Go First: Pioneering for the Kingdom” | Emmy Roberts
The Faith to Go First: Pioneering for the Kingdom
"Faith doesn't just maintain what is — it steps into what could be and builds what does not yet exist."
Last week, Pastor Julie Hamilton gave us a word about maintainers — the faithful, intentional people who sustain the house of God, preserve its rhythms, and prepare the next generation to carry the faith forward. That role is essential. The church cannot function without it.
But a healthy church doesn't only maintain. It also moves.
This week, Emmy Roberts continued the Legacy Series with a message for the pioneers — the people God is calling to step into territory that does not yet exist.
Scripture: Acts 18:24–28
The sermon opens in an unexpected place: with a man named Apollos.
Apollos was impressive by every visible measure. Learned. Eloquent. Fervent in spirit. Scripturally grounded. He was already speaking boldly in the synagogue — and yet, something was incomplete. He knew only the baptism of John.
Enter Priscilla and Aquila.
They didn't correct him publicly. They didn't sideline him. They invited him home and explained the way of God more adequately. And Apollos — this capable, gifted, bold man — received it. He let himself be taught.
What happened next tells the whole story.
"When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah." — Acts 18:27–28
Apollos went where he wasn't expected to go. He arrived somewhere new and became a great help to believers who were already there. He vigorously defended what he had only recently received more fully. He pioneered — not out of confidence in himself, but out of conviction about Christ.
What Is a Pioneer?
A pioneer is someone who intentionally sees and pursues what could be, even when it does not yet exist — courageously stepping into new territory, learning as they go, and trusting not in their own ability, but in Christ working through them to build and expand the Kingdom.
The pioneer is not reckless. They are not simply restless or change-hungry. They are people who have seen something — something God is building — and have said yes to going first.
Emmy offered four marks of what that looks like in practice.
A Pioneer Is Faithful
"See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord." — Colossians 4:17
Before you can pioneer forward, you have to be faithful with what is already in your hands. This is not a word about new opportunities — it's a word about follow-through. Completing what was started. Finishing what was entrusted.
The pioneer doesn't abandon what they have been given. They use it — faithfully, completely — as the foundation for what comes next.
A Pioneer Is Expectant
"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" — John 6:9
John 6 is the feeding of the five thousand — and the question at the center of it is a real one. What you have looks insufficient. The need is enormous. How far will this go?
The pioneer's answer is not a confident calculation. It's an act of expectation. You bring what you have. You place it in Jesus' hands. And you believe that he can do with it what you cannot do on your own.
The pioneer doesn't wait until the math works out. They step forward with what they have, expecting that God can multiply what looks limited into something that exceeds every expectation.
A Pioneer Is Teachable
"I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." — 1 Corinthians 9:20–22
Like Apollos, the pioneer stays open. They do not arrive at their destination with every answer already in place. They learn as they go. They adapt. They receive correction without shutting down. They let people like Priscilla and Aquila invite them in — and they are better for it.
Teachability is not a weakness in the pioneer. It is one of their most essential traits. The person unwilling to learn cannot go far into new territory without getting lost.
A Pioneer Is Grounded in the Word
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." — Romans 12:2
Pioneers move into new places. They engage new cultures, new generations, new challenges. And the further they go, the more they need a stable center.
Scripture is that center.
The pioneer is not shaped by the territory they enter — they are shaped by the Word they carry. Their thinking, their direction, their values — all of it is anchored in what God has already said. That anchor is what allows them to move without drifting.
The Next Generation Needs Pioneers
Emmy shared something striking from the data.
Among Gen Z and Gen Alpha — the generations filling our youth groups, sitting in our confirmation classes, and walking across our stages at Celebration Sunday:
Over 40% of Gen Z don't feel worthy of being loved.
5 times more Gen Alpha young people say they have "no one" they trust than say they trust a faith leader.
1 in 3 learn more about faith online than in person.
57% of teens are going to youth group — but only 18% are active in their faith.
These are not statistics about a distant generation. They are describing the students we recognized this morning.
The question Emmy put to the congregation was direct:
"What do you wish your church knew about you or your generation?"
That question doesn't get answered by programming. It gets answered by pioneers — people willing to step toward the next generation, learn their language, ask their questions, and stay long enough to be trusted.
The Challenge
Last week, Pastor Julie asked: are you a maintainer?
This week, Emmy asks the follow-up:
Are you called to pioneer into what God is building?
What am I stepping into that doesn't yet exist?
Am I willing to go where God is going, even before I can see it clearly?
Am I expectant that God can use what I bring?
Am I teachable enough to be shaped by others along the way?
Am I grounded enough in Scripture to stay steady while I move forward?
Both roles matter. The church needs maintainers who hold the foundation. And it needs pioneers who build what comes next.
The Final Word
"A healthy church doesn't just preserve what God has done — it steps into what God is still doing.
We need maintainers to hold the foundation.
We need pioneers to build what comes next."
The Legacy Series continues at New Hope Church every Sunday in May. Watch this message → or join us this Sunday at 9:30 AM.
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