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. As a result, the lord added to the church daily such as should be saved acts 2. Witness is a key word in the book of acts and is used twentynine times as either a verb or a noun. Church growth statements in the book of acts barnes bible charts 2. You can either give up or continue in steadfast perseverance until god moves in your situation. Many in the church conversion, nature of revival, corporate turning to god growth religious awakenings and the hand of the lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to. 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. Acts thus affords the preeminent picture of church growth in the nt, and so it is.
A quick overview of church growth in the book of acts. Everything great for the kingdom of god or for jesus christ. In reality, real numerical growth only occurs when people are added to the church through obedience to the gospel. The explosive growth of the early church is testimony to the nature of the church to grow. Church church growth statements in the book of acts.
Church growth, church growth principles, church growth factors. One of the lessons of the book of acts is that the church is a living, dynamic organism and all organisms are wired for growth. Our remarks for this article will come from acts 4. Sermon preached at christ church duesseldorf, th january 20. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries. The book of acts tells us on that day the god of heaven launched the church of christ. Persecution arose at jerusalem, and the disciples had to leave. The book of the acts is an amazing story of the explosive growth of the early church. Pdf evangelism and church growth in the book of acts. Persecution arose at jerusalem, and the disciples had to leave for safety. The book of acts is a key historical record of what the early church believed and practiced. Whereas the old testament depicts evangelism as people coming to god, the lucan perspective demonstrates that gods servants will go to his people. Free access to sermons on church growth, church sermons, illustrations on church. They focus so much on numbers that their definition of obedience to the gospel gets skewed.
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. 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. And then peter preaches his sermon, and at the end verse 36, acts 2. The book of acts gives a unique glimpse into the life and practice of the early church. More than likely, luke completed the book before either of these events occurred, sometime between ad 60 and ad 62, while paul sat in prison, awaiting the resolution of his appeal. When you read through the book of acts, you see numerical growth. In fact, three times luke underscores the large numbers 11. From a small group of persecuted refugees, the church in antioch saw large numbers of people come to christ. But the reason this church experienced such remarkable growth was not that the leaders employed the. The church the establishment of the church 1 the establishment of the church acts 2 introduction.
But in the book of acts there is a verse that speaks of growth, and factors are named there that helped this growth occur. I am sure each of us yearns to see our churches grow. Jul 08, 20 god is at work in our world part 1 series. Nor is there salvation in any other name by which we must be saved acts 4. A witness is somebody who tells what he has seen and heard acts 4. Every time i turn around there is another book, blog, study or conference being promoted to help churches grow. They had not ventured out as jesus had commanded in. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament.
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. 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. Preaching and church growth sermon outlines, free sermons. This article presents the concept of church growth alongside evangelism mainly in the book of acts. 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. 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. Its an exciting ride, from the coming of the holy spirit at pentecost, to shipwrecks and imprisonments, to life changing sermons delivered by exfishermen. A list of sermons in the book of acts leadership resources. In a world of so much religious confusion, we must be interested in finding out just when and where the church of the new testament was established. Greens evangelism in the early church,l the subjects of evangelism and church growth in the book of acts have been unaccountably neglected in recent years. Frank stagg has described the book of acts as the story of an unhindered gospel. Professor of new testament studies acadia divinity college, wolfville, nova scotia. Nelson is the author of over sixty churchgrowth resources.
There are a number of sermons teachings, messages, and proclamations found in the book of acts. When strong members remember their duty toward the weak a. Up to this point the apostles had been through a lot already. The church really comes into existence in the second chapter of acts with 120 people, then it begins to grow. It describes the coming of the holy spirit at pentecost in acts 2, the spread of the gospel outside of jerusalem in acts 8 and to the gentiles in acts 10, how the church made decisions in regards. 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. Church growth has been a buzz word for quite some time in evangelical and church circles. The book of acts, also called the acts of the apostles, is the companion volume to the gospel of luke.
John macarthur routinely preaches a sermon more th. Take, for instance, the leadership and organizational. In the first few chapters of acts we are told how the early church centered her ministries in the city of jerusalem. When it is presented as good news it attracts and growth is spontaneous. To view it that way assumes that what we read in acts was an account of the pure church before history and change messed it up. A church of christ can and will grow spiritually and numerically when it is faithful to the word of god. The following sermon transcript does not match the video version of the sermonit matches only the audio version. Principles of church growth from the book of acts scottsdale. I believe there at least four reasons why we ought to be concerned about.
Whether the church is a brand new plant, 15 years old or into its 5th generation of members, pastors ask this question. Its possible to double, triple or quadruple the size of a church. Verse 42 lists four of the activities to which the church devoted itself. In the book of acts, we see nothing short of explosive, exponential growth. Acts is the only biblical book that chronicles the history of the church immediately after jesuss ascension. As god word increased, the church in the book of acts increased. They will accept anyone and everyone into the body. Every pastor at some time or another has asked this question. It records the establishment of the early church under the leadership of the apostles, and the activity and growth of the church during the middle of the first century.
Whether the church is 25, 525 or 2025, pastors ask this question. Because of these elements many wonders and signs were done by the apostles verse 43. And maybe we can begin to correct some of the doctrinal problems and division so prevalent in the church of our time by trying to find the church in the book of acts instead of the alien sinner. Acts shows what the early church believed and practiced. The language of growth in acts can be grouped into two broad categories. While the definition of what constitutes a sermon and the precise number of them may be open for debate, i put the number at eleven. Such church growth could even be called the word of the lord spreading as it was in acts 19.
The exemplars discussed here, though not exhaustive, may. Many in the church conversion, nature of revival, corporate turning to god growth religious awakenings and the hand of the lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the lord. Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. At the club meeting each week, a different member told a little about his job. Now thats the story of the growth of the church in acts. Ludlow 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. Church, we have started to follow the first missionary journey of barnabas and paul. It is to assume that to become a better church we should simply do what the ancients christians did because they had it all correct. If we were to employ these same factors, we too, can have church growth. We might even be successful in converting more sinners by practicing what we used to preach. Christocentric preaching peter, inspired by the holy spirit, recalled christs adjuration, that in the.
Commission there will be a tremendous increase in church growth. The book of acts which chronicles the emergence and growth of the young church focused on peters preaching on the occasion of pentecost as the time of the first quantum leap in growth by the church. The growth of the church in the book of acts ryan wentzel. A church growth strategy 16 of 17 by robert dawson. The early church had great preaching as its sanctified midwife. To my knowledge, however, no church growth book with a complete focus on acts has been written. From ideas on sermon topics to how to develop church growth to insight on ministry life, preaching helps pastors develop every area of life and work in ministry. Whenever i read through the book of acts im struck with the number of times luke comments on the growth of the church.
Among my favorite new testament books for preaching on church growth themes is the book of acts. But the reason this church experienced such remarkable growth was not that the leaders employed the latest church growth principles. Started in 2002, this groundbreaking church sees the majority of its growth coming from new believers and currently has locations in manhattan, queens, san francisco and boca raton, fl. The paperback bible presents the bible by the book and is designed to be portable, readable, and truly personal with ample margins for notations. The scriptures tell us how a new testament church should grow. As we study this book we find sound principles of church growth and see the way in which temptation and trials are overcome by the grace of god. So if the above is all trueif church growth is from god, then what difference should that make in our churches and in our lives. Dynamic, explosive growth is gods will and design for the church down to its very dna. But let me also warn you that explosive growth is difficult. Pdf the depiction of church growth in acts ben wilson.
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