Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David, as proclaimed by my gospel, for which I suffer to the extent of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained! (2 Tim. 2:8-9)
The fact that Paul was imprisoned did not weaken the power of the Gospel. There is no circumstance, no power which can diminish its force. Men try to silence the Word of God--what Paul calls, "suppressing the Truth in unrighteousness" (Rom. 1:18)--as they always have , but it cannot be chained or silenced.
Whatever happens to us here and now is of secondary importance, what matters most is loving Christ, His Truth, and following through. Paul commended the church in Thessalonica for "sounding forth the Word of the Lord" (1 Thess. 1:8). Amazingly he wrote those words within 18 months of having been there. Think of it. No cell phones, no internet, no radio, no mass printing of tracts, yet the Christians had sounded forth the Word to the extent that their reputation preceded them (1 Thess. 1:9).
Their collective effort as a local church to teach the Gospel allowed many souls to hear the Truth. We never know how far the Word of God will go or who it will reach–we're to simply scatter the seed.
We may never meet the many folks who have the Word or know if they obeyed the Gospel in this life–as Jesus said, "For in this case the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true" (Jn. 4:38). The seed can't be scattered from Temple, TX without you.
"How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?" (Rom. 10:14).
Men still need salvation and the Gospel still reveals it. It is still God's power to save sinners (Rom. 1:16). It is still sufficient to make a man all God would have him be (2 Tim. 3:17).
Local churches are teams of saints "striving together for the cause of the Gospel" (Phil. 1:27)–each individual member in their different roles.
The Philippians "from the first day" had fellowship with Paul in the Gospel (Phil. 1:5-7). They were a local church united in spirit and jointly working together to accomplish their God-appointed goal. The only sense in which God's Word can be chained is in man's rejection of it, and the failure of His people to spread it. Not allowing the Truth free course in our own hearts or failing to teach it to others are both fatal mistakes.
"They said to one another, 'We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go...'" (2 Kgs. 7:9).