Acts 19: Moving On

As Christians, we are called to share the good news of Jesus, but we are also given a method for doing so. The work of the apostle Paul in Acts 19 offers a window into one method he used in Ephesus:

⁸ Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

Paul began with those most likely to listen–fellow Jews at the local synagogue. When rejected there, he left, focusing his time on those who did believe and desired to learn more. Through this group of disciples, the entire province of Asia (modern day Turkey) heard the gospel message within three years.

What will it take for you and I to reach our local communities with the love of Jesus in three years? Sharing Jesus with anyone who will listen, while also focusing most of time on those most eager to learn and live the Christ life. Jesus modeled this approach with his Twelve disciples. Paul simply continued the tradition.

Still today, the winning strategy is not a stadium, but a committed few who love God and are willing to take great risks to further the spread of the faith. May we be among those who are disciples and develop other disciples in order to reach our communities with the love of Jesus.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author or co-author of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of the New Testament in 2011 at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com