From a small group of persecuted refugees, the church in antioch saw large numbers of people come to christ. Rick warren asserts that the new testament itself is the most profound book written for the church growth. Now that we have scriptural leadership in this congregation it is appropriate to begin talking about growth. Intro to acts biblica the international bible society. The beginning of the church and its growth t he book of acts records the growth and progress of the church in the first century. As a second volume to lukes gospel, it joins what jesus began to do and to teach 1. Church growth statements in the book of acts barnes bible charts 2.
Acts begins with jesus teaching the apostles about the kingdom of god outside jerusalem, and ends, about thirty years later, with paul teaching gentile christians about the kingdom of god in rome. In the first few chapters of acts we are told how the early church centered her ministries in the city of jerusalem. Tiie biblical approach to church growth through personal evangelism hokyung kim liberty baptist theological seminary, 2000 mentor. This is about principles not techniques for healthy church growth. Ludlowthe book of acts was written by luke after his gospel as the second part of a great twovolume work on jesus christ and the early christians. Biblical strategy and shift to spiritual driven church growth. The book of acts tells the story of the beginning of the church of jesus christ. Church growth thinking is often criticised as just about numbers. It is not a record of all of the acts of all of the. Frank stagg has described the book of acts as the story of an unhindered gospel. But the reason this church experienced such remarkable growth was not that the leaders employed the latest church growth principles. The key to healthy church ministry is that it is the continuing ministry of jesus.
Church growth in the book of acts a church of christ can and will grow spiritually and numerically when it is faithful to the word of god. It would appear that the apostle luke was trying to point to what is to come later in the book of the acts of the apostles. The biblical approach to church growth through personal. A quick overview of church growth in the book of acts. We then move on to the 3rd principle, where the question is whether the distribution of spiritual authority via the.
Oct 18, 2012 lyle schaller, considered one of the best church consultants in the world, states in his book, the very large church, that the two most comfortable church sizes are under 45 people and under 150 people, likely making them two of the hardest thresholds to pass through, in addition to the 800 mark. This is a theologically solid, albeit basic, survey of church growth principles. The book of acts tells us on that day the god of heaven launched the church of christ. Support missions, testimonies prove god blessed churchs mission support. At nearly twenty years of age, the book has become dated in places, yet many principles still apply. Old testament, when god had given him to a select few, prophets, priests, and kings. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt. Whereas the gospel of luke focuses on the life and ministry of jesus christ, the acts of the apostles builds upon what jesus did and taught see acts 1. The growth of the church was directly related to the fear awe of the church in the lord. But not the kind of growth that would simply satisfy our craving for more members, but the kind of growth that is the result of saving souls. They see the book of acts as a church planting manual drawing a number of principles that can be useful today such as holy spirit, leadership and training, vision, prayer, cultural differences. By that time israel had already gone into captivity over 100 years before. Church growth theology is based on the fundamental principle that. Five biblical principles of church government page 2 the local level to various spiritual persons.
Repentance, nature of many in the church conversion, nature of revival, corporate. Philips only requirement was that the man believe the message philip proclaimed to him. Lets begin with the way luke used summary statements. In joshua, god expected the people of god themselves to execute the judgment upon the offender. It is following a biblical pattern for churches to set aside times for prayer. There is real and needed place for organization in the church. They had not ventured out as jesus had commanded in acts 1. It is the duty of all christians to preach the gospel to the world. If we echo the actions of the early church, we can expect gods blessing on our church as much as those ancient leaders saw a blessing on the church in jerusalem. The first seven chapters deal with the spread of the gospel in jerusalem. I generally quote the new king james version, unless otherwise indicated. In some cases, rainer was prophetic, anticipating what church life would be like in the 21st century.
Aug 25, 2015 nelson searcy is an experienced church planter, coach and church growth strategist, working with churches in over 45 denominations. Unfortunately, this seems to be a pervasive attitude among. So the church throughout all judea and galilee and samaria enjoyed peace, being built up. Therefore, it is the mission of the church to go out and preach the gospel.
One finds embedded in acts a record of christian defenses made to both jews e. In the past, people looked to the west for examples of growing a church. Principles of evangelism from the book of acts truthonlybible. Nelson is also the founding and lead pastor of the journey church, with locations across new york city and in san francisco and boca raton, fl. Persecution arose at jerusalem, and the disciples had to leave for safety. We arent all about the numbers like some other churches. In my former book, theophilus, i wrote about all that jesus began to do and. Second, we will look into the pattern of church growth that appears in acts. Up to this point the apostles had been through a lot already. Prayer in the early church patterns in acts focus online. In noticing the comparison between the incident of ananias and sapphira and achan in the book of joshua, it is interesting also to look at the contrasts. May 23, 2018 the book of acts is a record of the growth of the early church, started by jesuss disciples and then expanded by the apostle paul.
The church acts 2 records the beginning of the church. Our remarks for this article will come from acts 4. To my knowledge, however, no church growth book with a complete focus on acts has been written. Its an exciting ride, from the coming of the holy spirit at pentecost, to shipwrecks and imprisonments, to life changing sermons delivered by exfishermen. Recently however, people shifted to the east as well for examples of church growth. 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. David shenk and ervin stutzman write extensively in their book creating communities of the kingdom about the importance of acts for church planting. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church. Needless to say, righteous living was an unmistakable and natural consequence of such awe faith always manifests itself in faithfulness. As with his previous books, elmer towns wrote praying the book of acts in poetic style, combining modernday language with a lyrical twist. Later, believers were the more added to the lord, multitudes both of men and women acts 5. A practical strategy for the 21st century church growth of baptist. A church growth study of three churches in kottayam digital. The speeches of kings of evangelism helped the members to learn how to invite.
Stay tuned for second half of this post where we will address 5 more key principles of church planting from the book of acts. The objective of this section is to present a number of the more basic and generally accepted church growth principles, and to do so as objectively as possible. Good leadership will develop a good plan for growth and how to use new members and existing members in the work of the church. When you look at the book of acts, you find at least eight characteristics of the early church that positioned them for this kind of blessing from god. The you are there narration provides deep insight and understanding of the times in which the acts of the apostles and the general epistles were written. Unless otherwise specified all bible verses are taken from the king james version. Its narrative supplies a bridge connecting the life and ministry of jesus to the life of the church and the witness of the earliest believers.
Commentary on the book of acts bible study lessons. Amershamonthehill, eng scripture press, 1987, c1986 bv3790. To prove this point, let us take a quick look at church growth in the book of acts, with a special view to the church in jerusalem. We will accent what builds scriptural churches, not what inflates by human ingenuity.
Study guide for acts 5 by david guzik blue letter bible. Bible verses about church growth official king james. The exemplars discussed here, though not exhaustive, may. This article presents the concept of church growth alongside evangelism mainly in the book of acts. It shows how the early church coped with pagan and jewish thought, the roman government and hellenistic society. The apostle paul as a model for church growth and evangelism abstract the purpose driven church, the simple church, good to great, and the natural church are just a few of the models todays clergy are looking to in order to define their ministries. In some cases, rainer was prophetic, anticipating what church life would be like in the. As noted above, when peter was imprisoned, constant prayer was offered to god for him by the church acts 12. 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 how all believers receive the holy spirit. The book of acts is a record of the growth of the early church.
Phil sanders, instructor 4 nsop church growth, fall 2003 a study of the growth of the church in early church history acts 2. But in acts, god took this type of judgment out of the churchs hand and did it himself. In fact, three times luke underscores the large numbers 11. Church growth church growth is a very popular topic that even nonchristians heard of this term before.
The apostle paul as a model for church growth and evangelism. Bible verses related to church growth from the king james version kjv by relevance sort by book order acts 2. When the grecian widows were neglected in the care offered by the. If we were to employ these same factors, we too, can have church growth. Join me as we explore and understand the precepts and principles of the. Oct 10, 2017 the book of acts also teaches us that prayer is an authorized work of the church. In addition to the history, various kinds of the epistles to the churches record the words regarding the church growth. The book of acts provides a detailed, orderly, eyewitness account of the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel immediately after the resurrection of jesus christ. Professor of new testament studies acadia divinity college, wolfville, nova scotia. It can happen today principles of church growth from the. Growth religious awakenings hand of god additions progress gods hand.
But in the book of acts there is a verse that speaks of growth, and factors are named there that helped this growth occur. Everyone was filled with awe was the ethos of the church acts 2. First, we will explore the prominent pattern of repeated summary statements. Commentary on the book of acts bible study notes and comments by david e. So, the 2nd principle addresses the question of whether god has entrusted church leadership to the clergy or a priesthood.
Foundational principles of growth in the kingdom of god. Acts is a history of the early church and of the spread of the gospel note 1. As the saying goes, you plan the work and work the plan. Gods mighty acts, the miracles, and the plagues were a. The acts and words of god in both testaments are foundational. Whereas the old testament depicts evangelism as people coming to god, the lucan perspective demonstrates that gods servants will go to his people. Scripture is the major source of church growth thinking. Jan 12, 2012 the book has more to tell us about the rapid expansion of the church than about historical peculiarities of the early church. Phil sanders, instructor 1 nsop church growth, fall 2003 syllabus for church growth the study of church growth encompasses both a study of scripture and the methods of our time that lead to spiritual and numerical growth of the kingdom of god.
So then, we do not salute the bible as a general source of religious. Lyle schaller, considered one of the best church consultants in the world, states in his book, the very large church, that the two most comfortable church sizes are under 45 people and under 150 people, likely making them two of the hardest thresholds to pass through, in addition to the 800 mark. Five reasons the early church grew acts 4 forthright. Because of these elements many wonders and signs were done by the apostles verse 43. The acts of the apostles often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. Within the acts of the apostoloi there are theoretical and practical exemplars which the contemporary church may pattern to navigate a pathway to fruitful evangelism and sustainable growth. Frank schmitt the greatest commandment of the lord is preaching the gospel all over the world. Topics and verses are autogenerated from user searches. For an example of one church growth writers use of acts, see c. Acts is not just the acts of the apostles but the empowering continuing work of jesus. Pdf evangelism and church growth in the book of acts. The book of acts displays many structural patterns, but for the sake of time we will focus on two facets of the structure of acts.
930 866 951 398 1525 1585 336 800 415 193 316 1289 765 1435 115 1542 1373 1193 62 402 489 249 1210 1139 561 280 1155 1260 853 464 355 136 283 43 200