Explosive! That’s the way Luke describes church growth in the book of Acts. He uses phrases like, “adding to their number day by day,” “multitudes . . . were constantly added to their number,” “number of the disciples continued to increase greatly,” and “the churches were . . . increasing in number daily.”

Explosive growth indeed! The gospel was carried to the farthest parts of the known world in the relatively short span of 20 years. The proclaimers of this good news were Spirit-filled, ordinary men and women who were fresh converts themselves. There was something burning inside them that they could not keep to themselves.

There are many reasons given for this rapid growth, and I don’t want to understate the powerful role the Holy Spirit played. But we find two key ingredients in the lives of people who are participators in this type of church growth. In Mark 1:17, Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will show you how to fish for men!” So the two key ingredients are (1 Follow Jesus, and (2 fish for men. Fishing for men happens when a disciple of Christ is consumed with Jesus and focused on following Him. Their love for Jesus is so deep, and their desire to see His name glorified is so profound that they can’t help but make His name known in all the earth. This strategy was passed down from one generation of converts to the next in Acts: follow Jesus, fish for men. Everyone did it, and the results were, well . . . explosive! Please pray for our family as we follow Jesus and learn from Him how to fish for the Gogodala.

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