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Evangelism in the Early Church

Evangelism in the Early Church. FSJ. The importance of listening carefully. Morris , an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical. A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm. 

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Evangelism in the Early Church

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  1. Evangelism in the Early Church FSJ

  2. The importance of listening carefully • Morris , an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical. A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm.  • A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said, 'You're really doing great, aren't you?'  • Morris replied, 'Just doing what you said, Doc: 'Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.''  • The doctor said, 'I didn't say that.. I said, 'You've got a heart murmur; be careful • (A. Song)

  3. Acts 1:8 • 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 farthest parts of the earth (Act 1:8) • The presence of witnesses of Jesus

  4. Expansion of the Church (Peter) Judea [1], Galilee [2]  Samaria [3]  Jerusalem [4] Lydda [5] Joppa [6] Caesarea [7] Jerusalem [8]

  5. Expansion (Philip) Jerusalem [1] Judea [2]  Samaria [3] City of Samaria [4] Gaza [5] Azotus [6] Caesarea [7]

  6. Church in Antioch Cyprus [1] Cyrene [2] (Syrian) Antioch[3] Jerusalem [4]  (Syrian) Antioch[5]  Tarsus [6] (Syrian) Antioch[7] Jerusalem [8] (Syrian) Antioch[9]

  7. Paul’s Missionary journey

  8. Numerical growth • That day about three thousand (2:41) • The number of the men came to about five thousand (4:4) • The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly (6:7) • the church increased in numbers (9:31) • A great number who believed turned to the Lord (11:21) • A large group of both Jews and Greeks believed (14:1) • many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men (17:12) • All who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord (19:10)

  9. Minimal growth in some places • There he met an Ethiopian eunuch (8:27) • [In Cyprus] … the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed (Act 13:12) • Then Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia (Act 13:13) • But some people joined him and believed (Act 17:34)

  10. Numerical growth • “Within the first century there were an estimated million Christians, comprising less than one per cent of the total world population” (Chris Park 2000, Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion. London: Routledge)

  11. The Roman World • Roman peace • Roman roads and availability of maritime travel • Greek • The presence of the Jews • The ‘mystery religions’ • Persecution

  12. The resources of the early church • The power of the Holy Spirit • The Word of God • The apostolic witnesses to the resurrection of Christ • Unified prayers • Witnessing in deeds • Miracles

  13. Evangelistic Methods • Literature evangelism • Mass evangelism • House to house witnessing • ‘Marketplace’ evangelism • Evangelistic campaigns • Personal witnessing • Public debate • Jewish synagogues • House groups • Public preaching

  14. Lessons? • No strategy specified • Spirit led opportunities • What should we do?

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