Of them it was said – Acts 8:4. We can get to the essentials with four sets of four. All Scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. In the first few chapters of Acts we are told how the early church centered her ministries in the city of Jerusalem. Specific Cases Of Strengthening faith and strength Growing Going To Church Strength And Faith Faith, Growth In Many In The Church. 3. A. The Book of Acts tells the story of the Early Christian church in the First Century AD, with particular focus on the ministry of the apostles Peter and Paul, who are the main figures of the middle and later chapters of the book. The following outline is intended to be used while studying the book. 2. A. In fact, the body of the saved grew “day by day” (2:47). The Unhindered Gospel. Acts 2:42-47 is the first of several assessments of the state of the church. This was done by the church in the book of Acts. Then “many... believed, and the number of the men was about 5000” (Acts 4:4).Later, “believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women” (Acts 5:14). Our remarks for this article will come from Acts 4. T he Book of Acts in the Bible, written around 62-63 A.D., may be best described as a history of the founding and growth of the early church. The book of Acts is a story of mission, church planting and church growth and underlines that growth through the church is a significant part of the wider Kingdom growth. Acts is the story of God’s grace flooding out to the world. It's here we encounter the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, see the church become established, watch the disciples grow as leaders, meet the apostle Paul, and see the church spread outside of Jerusalem. Growing churches project an aggressive image. 1. Acts chapter six is a great chapter because it shows that the church was growing and that the troubles caused by the growth were easily solved by the church. 4 We should first note that our text 5 begins and ends with a statement about the unusual growth of the church. Acts 14:1 Acts 14:1 And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. Within a very short time, the number of men alone was about 5,000 (Acts 4:4). In the end, church growth is about recognizing and capturing your unique opportunities. The pastor establishes the image of the church. This article presents the concept of 'church growth' alongside evangelism mainly in the book of Acts. Be that as it may, the church was off to a roaring start. For an example of one church growth writer's use of Acts, see C. P. Wagner, Strategies for Church Growth (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1987) 47-49. Whereas the Old Testament depicts evangelism as people coming to God, the Lucan perspective demonstrates that God’s servants will go to His people. Verse Concepts. Selected Answer: Three Question 2 2 out of 2 points The book of Acts is the second volume written by Luke. Making These Church Growth Strategies Your Own. 1. The natural principles of church growth as well as the spiritual factors stem from God. Frank Stagg has described the Book of Acts as “the story of an unhindered gospel.”1 He takes his cue from the unusual adverb ἀκωλύτως (“unhindered,” Acts 28:31) with which the book ends. Provides a history of the early church. American King James Version × — Paul and Barnabas taught in the synagogue in Iconium. This article presents the concept of ‘church growth’ alongside evangelism mainly in the book of Acts. The testimony of Acts is not so much that persecution causes church growth but that church growth and the spread of the gospel tends to cause persecution, as religious and political leaders rise up and try to stop this movement that has "caused trouble all over the world and has now come here" (Acts … It is the historical link that joins the life of Christ with the growth of the Christian church. Acts 1:8 is the key verse of Acts and also a key verse of the mission of the early church. Life Development Groups. Church Maintaining Faith Growth Church, Increasing Council of Jerusalem Additions Serving The Church. Selected Answer: True Question 3 2 out of 2 points What member of the Jewish Sanhedrin was converted to Christ on the road to Damascus. 2. 3. The title of the book of Acts comes from the Greek word praxis, a word often used in early Christian literature to describe the great deeds of the apostles or other significant believers. Mission of the church is spread the gospel to the whole nations and makes disciples. To be able to do these things God sent his Holy Spirit to empower the believers in mission. So if church growth is a given, let’s explore HOW. The prayer meeting in Acts 13 marks the turning point of Acts, as the central sending base for mission shifted from Jerusalem to Antioch. Question 1 2 out of 2 points The book of Acts traces the growth of the church in _____ concentric circles. Whereas the Old Testament depicts evangelism as people coming to God, the Lucan perspective demonstrates that God's servants will go to His people. ... Find your key people, develop them, and use them. C. Persecution arose at Jerusalem, and the disciples had to leave for safety. As the gospel was scattered abroad where these disciples went, the church flourished. 6. Jesus promises a geographic expansion at the outset (Acts 1:8), and Acts follows the news of his death and resurrection as it spreads from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the faraway capital of Rome. In the Book of Acts, we discover the exciting story of the church's birth. It is a thrilling exercise to trace the amazing growth of the primitive church as that expansion is revealed in the book of Acts. Growth is … Church Growth and Outreach in Acts The assurance that the church will grow and expand is clear in Acts: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Early on in the expansion of the churches, it is clear in Acts that networks began to form: the Jerusalem Council, the letter to the churches from the Council, the gift collected for the Jerusalem churches from the Gentiles churches, the network of letters circulated, etc. Acts has been called a transitional book because it serves as a bridge between the gospels and the epistles. Rick Warren Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church, one of America's largest and most influential churches.He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life.His book, The Purpose Driven Church, was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century.Pastor Rick started The PEACE Plan to show the local church how God … If it makes sense to start trying out these ideas, do so. Selected Answer: three Question 2 2 out of 2 points The convert Saul would eventually exchange his Jewish name for the Greco-Roman name _____, as he expanded his ministry to the Gentiles. (2.) ... could be a major key to drawing non-Christians to your church. Churches were planted in all the great cities of Asia Minor and Macedonia. The book of Acts serves as a handbook for conversion. It might seem strange to even ask of the book of Acts ought to “apply” to the modern form of the Church. The book of Acts tells us on that day the God of Heaven launched the Church of Christ. Acts tells us how the Christian movement came into beginning. 6 Bible Verses about Growth Of The Church ... Acts 16:5. It will help to keep the whole of the book before you as you work your way through each section. The Book of Acts and the Epistles show how striking were the results. To my knowledge, however, no church growth book with a complete focus on Acts has been written. Up to this point, the book of Acts recounts the Church’s growth among Jews in Jerusalem and Judea. Allison A. Trites. The book has more to tell us about the rapid expansion of the church than about historical peculiarities of the early church. For example, if the church has volunteer opportunities, make sure the application and communication process is a good experience. In Acts 8 we read about Philip, one of the seven leaders called to assist the Twelve (see Acts 6:5 ), who taught and baptized many Samaritans and a man from Ethiopia (see Acts 8:5–7, 12, 26–40 ). Verse 42 lists four of the activities to which the church devoted itself; verses 43-47 serve to further define these four activities. Understanding their unique needs and ensuring their needs are met – within the scope of the vision – is critical to church growth. DIVINE EMPOWERMENT OF THE EARLY CHURCH MOVEMENT AND RAPID GROWTH IN THE APOSTOLIC AGE EXEGETICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK OF ACTS XAVIER BECERRA Using an aspect of exegetical socio-rhetorical criticism, this paper identifies four principles of empowerment found within the Book of Acts in chapters 1, 2, 4, 6 and 15 that are very different Church Growth in the Book of Acts . ACTS TOTAL CHAPTERS: 28 ACTS TOTAL VERSES: 1,007 TOTAL WORDS: 24,250 DATE WRITTEN: 61 AD AUTHOR: Luke ACTS THEME: Growth Of The Church. Professor of New Testament Studies Acadia Divinity College, Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The Acts of the Apostles, often referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament. If we were to employ these same factors, we too, can have church growth. The church begins as a people limited to the Jews and concludes with it emcompassing every race in the ancient world. In his book Understanding Church Growth, he began by saying that church growth is faithfulness to God , no mere sociological process , and basically a theological stance . The Spread of the Gospel: The history of the labors of the apostles and of the foundation of the Christian Church. Quiz #6 Bible 104 Question 1 2 out of 2 points The book of Acts traces the growth of the church in _____ concentric circles. growth is not negotiable. Understanding any case of growth or non-growth involves three important sets of factors: (1) Contextual factors; (2) Institutional factors; and (3) Spiritual factor. It charts Christianity's spread from the city of Jerusalem to the city of Rome, the capitol of the Roman Empire. In the same way, Luke seems to emphasize that this expansion was a work of the Spirit rather than giving us a definitive, normative description of … By Acts 19 the center would be Ephesus, in modern day Turkey. The spiritual factos of the rapid growth od the church in the book of Acts were the five pusposes of the church from Acts 2: worship, teaching, discipleship, ministry, evangelism and mission. Here are three lessons we can learn about missions from this inspiring book: 1. An Overview of the Book of Acts The life of the early church is recorded and preserved for us in the book of Acts and the epistles. Growth of the Early Church. 6 The Holy Spirit makes a point to tell us that at Pentecost about 3000 were added to the church and that the Lord added to the church daily. BSac 145:578 (Apr 88) p. 162. 3 G. W. Peters, A Theology of Church Growth … The real question is whether the Church in the book of Acts is a model for the modern church to follow. 4 Dimensions of Growth Acts are obedience of the disciples to Great Commission of Jesus. They had not ventured out as Jesus had commanded in Acts … Nothing is more prominent in Acts than the spread of the gospel. 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