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A key reason for the early church's rapid growth was the dispersal of believers into new cities and areas. In chapter 8 of Acts, new believers were "scattered" throughout Judea and Samaria amid great persecution.
Scattered:
In Acts 8:1, Luke states that "On that day, a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria."
The persecutor, Paul, was on a mission to stop and silence the church, and yet his efforts actually propelled the church to thrive in new cities and among many new people.
Note the repetition of the word "scattered" in Acts 8, verses 1 and 4. Scattered does not seem like a flattering word, and it does not usually correspond to growth. However, God needed His people stationed in multiple places in order to win the multitudes. God was able to use an apparent setback in order to move His mission and organization forward.
Take a closer look at who was scattered in the early church. The verse teaches that "all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria."
All but the Apostles:
In God's wisdom, He used the wickedness of those who sought to persecute Christians to propel them into new places and find new opportunities to bring eternal light and the salvation message to new people. God has the power to use any setback as a breakthrough!
Leaders today should consider what strategies they can implement to expand their organization's reach. Leaders should be inspired by cultural or market changes to discover new thoughts or ideas that will impact their organization to have greater reach.
Who preached everywhere:
Acts 8:4 shares the early Christians' response: "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went."
These new converts were bold proclaimers for God in all circumstances and in every new location. These unprepared believers believed in the mission and the message they had been given.
Because of their convictions, they were motivated to use their new locales as an opportunity to create "brand awareness" for their organization. These early Christians were the best ambassadors for the church because of their commitment to the purpose of Kingdom impact in all they did. The early church grew rapidly, and it grew everywhere.
During the pandemic, churches and organizations have shut down to varying degrees, and in a sense they were scattered.
As 2021 greets us, will we see 2020 as the year Christians "preached everywhere they went"?
 | Ken Gosnell is CEO and Servant Leader of CXP (CEO Experience). CXP is a premier coaching and executive roundtable business that serves Christian CEOs in Washington DC, Maryland and Florida. Ken serves leaders by helping them and their teams to have great experiences that both transform the leader and their organizations to go further faster. Learn More » |
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