Acts 1: 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
The mandate to witness stands as the theme for the whole of Acts. It comes directly from Jesus himself-- in fact, it is his final and conclusive word to his disciples before his ascension.
The Christian church is a missionary church that responds obediently to Jesus' commission, operates on Jesus' behalf in the extension of his ministry, focuses its proclamation of the kingdom of God in its witness to Jesus, is guided and empowered by the selfsame Spirit that directed and supported Jesus' ministry, and follows a program whose guidelines for outreach have been set by Jesus himself.
In the Book of Acts we find the spread of Christianity and the history of the mission of the church-- beginning with the disciples. The Roman Empire and its capital Rome aided in the rapid growth of the church. The history of the mission of the church does not end in the Book of Acts-- it still continues NOW with EVERY BELIEVER.
The mandate to witness stands as the theme for the whole of Acts. It comes directly from Jesus himself-- in fact, it is his final and conclusive word to his disciples before his ascension.
The Christian church is a missionary church that responds obediently to Jesus' commission, operates on Jesus' behalf in the extension of his ministry, focuses its proclamation of the kingdom of God in its witness to Jesus, is guided and empowered by the selfsame Spirit that directed and supported Jesus' ministry, and follows a program whose guidelines for outreach have been set by Jesus himself.
In the Book of Acts we find the spread of Christianity and the history of the mission of the church-- beginning with the disciples. The Roman Empire and its capital Rome aided in the rapid growth of the church. The history of the mission of the church does not end in the Book of Acts-- it still continues NOW with EVERY BELIEVER.
