Romans 16: The Forgotten Chapter That Could Change How You See Church Networks
How Romans 16 quietly reveals a Spirit-led web of relationships that fueled the early Church’s explosive growth.
Romans 16. It’s just a list of names… right?
That’s what I used to think, too. One day, as I read it slowly, I saw something I’d never seen before.
Romans 16 isn’t just a farewell or a shoutout—it’s a snapshot of a Spirit-formed network, operating across households, churches, cities, and relationships. It’s a living web of co-laborers, collaborators, and leaders. And in it, we glimpse something that looks surprisingly familiar to those of us working to multiply disciples, leaders, churches, and yes, networks.
Romans 16 is a network in action.
The Chapter Everyone Ignores—But Shouldn’t
Let’s be honest: after fifteen theologically rich chapters in Romans, chapter 16 feels… anticlimactic. Paul is done arguing. He’s done explaining. Now he wants to say hi to some friends.
And that’s precisely why it matters.
Because in this list of greetings—this long roll call of names—we find the DNA of how the early church functioned. Not just what they believed, but how they moved. What we see is not a static structure or a top-down institution.
What we find is a relational, collaborative, and mission-driven network.
This is a Network of Real People, Not a List of Titles
Paul mentions 26 people by name, as well as numerous others by household or role. These aren’t generic greetings. They are highly relational signals:
“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me.”
“Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.”
“Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow prisoners… outstanding among the apostles.”
“Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me too.”
This is not the voice of a distant authority figure. It’s the language of a network leader—someone deeply embedded in relationships, celebrating the contribution of others.
These greetings reveal trust, history, sacrifice, leadership, and love. They reflect the relational glue that holds missional networks together.
Multipliers Takeaway: Relationships are not the side dish of mission. They are the infrastructure.
It’s Not Just About Individuals—It’s About Households, Churches, and Clusters
Paul doesn’t just greet people—he greets households:
“Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus…”
“Greet those in the household of Narcissus…”
“Greet also the church that meets at their house.”
This tells us something important. The early church wasn’t just a bunch of scattered individuals. It was a network of micro-communities—churches in homes, families coming to faith together, people embedded in real-life social networks.
These weren’t just gatherings. They were relational clusters, and Paul honored them by name.
Multipliers Takeaway: Networks scale not only by adding but by multiplying communities.
The Mission Is Shared
Again and again, Paul uses language like:
“my co-workers in Christ”
“worked very hard in the Lord”
“served the Lord”
“approved in Christ”
This isn’t a spectator church. It’s not professional clergy plus passive congregants. It’s a movement of co-laborers, united in Christ, working side-by-side for the sake of the Gospel.
Phoebe is referred to as a deacon and a benefactor. She likely carried this very letter from Corinth to Rome. Priscilla and Aquila aren’t just hosts—they are missional leaders. Junia and Andronicus are “outstanding among the apostles.”
In Romans 16, Paul is not the lone hero. He’s one among many leaders in a web of spiritual contribution.
Multipliers Takeaway: A network thrives when everyone plays a part. A distributed mission is a durable mission.
Paul Isn’t Building a Brand—He’s Leading a Movement
When we zoom out from Romans 16, a pattern emerges.
Paul plants churches. He apprentices leaders. He entrusts the ministry to others. He moves on. He maintains strong relational ties, but doesn’t centralize control.
His work in Rome is a perfect example. He didn’t plant the Roman church. Others did. But he’s deeply connected to its leaders, households, and rhythms. He’s part of the network, even if he’s not the founder.
And when he writes to them, he doesn’t command. He encourages, commends, affirms, and connects.
He’s not trying to build Paul Inc. He’s catalyzing a Spirit-led ecosystem of multiplying communities.
Multipliers Takeaway: Network leaders aren’t empire-builders. They are gardeners of Gospel movements.
This Network Crosses Social, Gender, and Ethnic Barriers
Romans 16 includes:
Women (Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia, Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis)
Jews and Gentiles
Wealthy benefactors and house church hosts
Former prisoners and apostles
Mothers, sisters, and entire households
It’s an intergenerational, intercultural, and multi-gifted network. That’s not accidental. It’s a kingdom design.
Paul’s network is held together not by sameness, but by shared purpose and mutual love.
Multipliers Takeaway: Diversity isn’t a threat to networks—it’s their strength
The Aha Moment:
Romans 16 is What the Church Looks Like When It’s Moving
Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
Romans 16 isn’t a detour. It’s the destination. It shows us what happens when the theology of Romans 1–15 takes root in real people, in real places, living on a real mission.
This is a networked church, not a siloed one.
This is a decentralized, Spirit-led, people-empowering mission.
This is how the Gospel spread across an empire.
And it’s how it will again.
If You’re a Network Leader Today…
You may feel like you’re swimming upstream.
You don’t have a denominational map or a million-dollar budget. You have relationships. You have a prayer. You have a vision for multiplication. And sometimes that feels… fragile.
Romans 16 says: You’re not alone.
It states: This is how it has always worked.
It says: what you’re building might look small, but it carries the seeds of movement.
You’re in good company.
So keep going.
Keep blessing.
Keep connecting.
Keep calling out leaders.
Keep writing the next Romans 16.
Let’s reimagine the Church not as a building or a brand, but as a network of mission-driven relationships, just like the one Paul honored in Rome.
Patrick
Beautifully framed, Patrick. Your reading of Romans 16 as a Spirit-woven network affirms what I sensed long ago but lacked words for: I was living the Gospel before I recognized it. Today I call it Symbiotic Networks—or what I now see as New Wineskin networks: decentralized, Spirit-led ecosystems rooted in households, where relational infrastructure replaces control, communities multiply, vocation outweighs title, and the Church reclaims its identity as movement, not brand.
Like the early Church under empire, we face global fragmentation. The paradox: we must renew the Church from within and also build mediating structures that reconnect it with neighborhoods and civil society.
This grassroots model transcends Left/Right divides—prioritizing compassion, community, and the least among us. When churches foster community resilience, they can model an alternative to empire: decentralized networks of care, culture, and local economy. I’d love to learn more about your work and explore how I can support it.