Wherefore also He said, He that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. That is, because the more part are wont at the beginning indeed to be vehement, but afterwards to faint, therefore says He, I require the end. For what is the use of seeds, flourishing indeed at first, but a little after fading away? (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 33 on Matthew)

Our Savior was not in the habit of making idle gestures. When called His Apostles for His mission, there is absolutely no biblical evidence to suggest that this mission was to end with either Jesus' death & resurrection or the death of the last apostles. Instead, Christ instituted a perpetual (Lk 1:32-33, Mt 16:18, Jn 14:16) apostolic (Jn 15:16, Jn 20:21, Lk 22:29-30, Jn 10:16, Eph 4:11, 1 Tim 3:1) and authoritative church (Mt 28:18-20, Lk 10:16) - one that would grow like the mustard seed. As Newman once remarked, the best proof of life is growth, and Christ's church grew with Peter and his successors for all generations to become the "pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Tim 3:15). The Church's infallibility stems from a divine source, not of her own merit, as Irenaeus wrote, "For where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God, and where the Spirit of God, there the Church and every grace. The Spirit, however, is Truth." (Adv Heres 3:24:1)

Parable of the Sower - seeds sown by the Farmer naturally grow; find quotes about “by your fruits you will be known”, etc

Mystical Body of Christ:

Jesus invokes the image of the vine which is a living, growing thing (Jn 15:4-5), the growth of a seed (Mk 4:26,29) and the mustard seed (Mk 4: 30,33)

there would be weeds among the wheat, bad fish among the good in the net, foolish virgins as well as wise ones

Jesus took on human flesh in his Incarnation, and grew from an infant to and adult;

Paul uses the analogy of a body - with feet, ears, head, etc: these had to develop (1 Cor 12: 12,13,28)

The church is the fullness of Christ “As the earthly Christ grew in age and grace and wisdom…[His] Body reached its perfect stature, humbled itself in death and was exalted to glory” Fulton Sheen, The Mystical Body of Christ, p. 63. New York: Sheed & Ward, MCMXXXV

J seems to recognize the natural state of growth: with regard to the origin and growth of the 2×2s, “seed will not germinate unless both soil and climatic conditions are favorable” (520)

“John Long, Fred Hughes and William Irvine decided to launch out ‘by faith’…others joined them” (524), soon joined by “Ben Boles, William Gill, Tom Turner and John Sullivan” (524). “in 1900 another group joined forces with them” (524), “within three years of joining forces, their assembly produced six persons who sold their possessions and went into the ministry” (524) and “some of the lay people, as well as the itinerants, did some evangelizing…which resulted in a number of converts being won” (524) and “In 1901 a number of Todd’s Christian workers joined forces with the ‘Tramps’ or ‘Go-Preachers’” (524) and “In the ensuing decades of the twentieth century more than four hundred men and women left Ireland to labour in distant lands” (525) and “Subsequent conventions at Crocknacrieve, in County Fermanagh saw a couple thousand gather each year and attracted much public attention before World War I” (525) and “the numbers attending [the annual convention at Crocknacrieve starting in 1904] grew each year, soon reaching several thousand, including 300 preachers. By 1913, the attendance reached just under four thousand and it was decided to organize several smaller annual conventions” (528) and “the movement expanded beyond the Irish counties” (528) and according to George Walker’s presentation to the American Selective Service “as a result of this step, many people expressed their desire to be in fellowship with such preachers and this led to regular gatherings together of small assemblies in homes for worship and study of God’s word” (529). Walker also proved that the 2×2s had spread to the USA in 1903 and in Canada in 1904 “in these and subsequent years through the preaching of the Gospel, assemblies were formed in homes as already described” (529) and by the year 1906 “the first annual conventions were held in North America” (529) resulting in the growth of the number of ministers “to over nine hundred” and the home assemblies growing to “over nine hundred” and annual conventions growing to “over one hundred”

J quotes Edward Cooney’s companion August Gustafson, a Norwegian evangelical who accompanied him on several journeys overseas as saying “the movement grew and spread rapidly” (531)

Also in 1903-1904, Workers began traveling to “Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas and crossed over to the European continent. Several saw a parallel with the spread of the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire in the first century” (531)

“The 1920s and 1930s saw geographical expansion” and “The post-World War II witnessed even greater expansion” (532)

“The conviction that Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles left behind a model ministry, a model church and revealed teachings…on this foundation Christianity was to be propagated throughout the world” (536)

J refers to to the early church that it was “more like an organism than an organization” (37)

Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 33 on Matthew. translated by George Prevost and revised by M.B. Riddle. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 10. Edited by Philip Schaff. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight