History and Survey of Missions Part 1

1. History and Survey of MissionsPart 1 The annals of history record the events that mold our lives and times. This course will review the amazing steps that global evangelists have taken to finish the Great Commission. First Century Church

2. Introduction • Demographic estimates come from tradition, historical records and mathematical estimates. • Records are few because they were destroyed • The spread of Christianity in the Early Church was not planned by leaders or churches • Church’s part was encouragement, occasionally gave support, received reports (Acts 13:2-3;14:26-27) • It happened because individuals believed the truth and were willing to die to share it First Century Church

3. Learning from history • Avoid projections of contemporary into past • Accept the limitations (travel, technology, textual duplication, etc.) • Understand the circumstances First Century Church

4. Gentile beginnings AD 38-40 (Acts 10) • Without a special revelation Peter never would have gone to a Gentile (Acts 11:19) • No evidence of other Gentile evangelism except by Paul until AD 49 • Most of 12 died martyrs at hands of Gentiles • 1 Cor 4:9, “men appointed to death” First Century Church

5. Hellenists • Jews in the diaspora or dispersion • 40 – 50,000 living in Rome • Synagogues taught Jewish culture and religion • Proselytes were Gentiles who accepted circumcision and became Jews • Pauline complete strategy not practical today • Initially targeted Jews, Hellenists and proselytes open to OT messianic fulfillment • Secondarily other Gentiles w/o Jewish background First Century Church

6. Links to animated trips of Paul • Paul’s evangelistic trips. First Century Church

7. Paradigm shift: First Evangelistic Journey (AD 45-48) • Gentiles did not have to become Jews first • Circumcision of the heart (Jer 9) more important than external rites • Gentiles should be sensitive to not offend Jewish brethren First Century Church

8. 2nd Evangelistic Journey (AD 50-52) • Started because Paul wanted to follow-up on earlier trip • God opens doors and closes doors, sometimes briefly • The transition from Asia to Europe First Century Church

9. Third Evangelistic Journey (AD 53-57) • A new strategy in Ephesus: Resident teaching ministry for 2 years (19:8) • Paul was adapting and applying new techniques • Word of mouth through disciples was most powerful sharing gospel from Galatia to Gaul • Greek, not Latin was the language of early Celtic Church in Gaul (France) • Primary method was to evangelize, disciple, then leave small group of believers bound to obey God’s revelation, then move on • Possible with Jewish believers who had background. Not as easily possible with Gentile believers. First Century Church

10. Paul’s Arrest • Forces believers to act independently • Narrates travel risks, why? • 6-7 years of imprisonment • Released, travels, captured, beheaded in AD64 First Century Church

11. History and Survey of MissionsPart 2 The annals of history record the events that mold our lives and times. This course will review the amazing steps that global evangelists have taken to finish the Great Commission. First Century Church

12. Travel in Empire • 53,000 miles of Roman roads • 4 mph normal march (3 mph casual walk), thus 20 miles per day was maximum • Couriers could make 50 miles a day on horse • Rome to Palestine in 46 days • Overnights were inevitable • Inns were horrible with gamblers, prostitutes, bugs, etc. • Hospitality of friends, families and believers was primary option First Century Church

13. Travel by ship • Ships were cargo ships (usually grain) from Egypt to Rome • Rome required 200,000 to 400,000 tons per year • Huge ships could carry 1,200 tons • Safe travel only between June and September • Archaeologists have identified 538 ship wrecks in the Mediterranean. First Century Church

14. Imperial persecution • Initial persecution was from Jews against Jewish Christians • Christians were blamed for burning of Rome AD 64 • Destruction of Jewish nation in AD 70 scatters Jews and Jewish Christian • By then, most Jewish Christian leaders had been martyred or scattered • Boldness of persecuted leaders, and the obligated change of hands to others helped mature the churches • By AD 79 the Coliseum in Rome was constructed and killing events in the Arena began. • Persecution continued sporadically until the 10-year persecution under Diocletian was ended by the Edict of Tolerance in AD 311, then legalized in 313 by the Edict of Milan. First Century Church

15. Apologists and Scripture • Defense of the early Church Fathers became the chief means of explaining the faith • By AD 170 the OT canon was accepted • In AD 90 Clement of Rome wrote that the entire Empire had been evangelized • Early defenders of the faith were Origen, Tertullian, and Justin Martyr First Century Church

16. Rome • First city to reach 1 million pop. • 60% of pop. were slaves • In the fall of Rome the population would reduce to 250,000 by AD 450 • Center of Christianity until AD 325 • This was not Paul’s priority since others were already there • Church already established • Spain was his real goal First Century Church

17. Spain in 45 AD = “regions beyond” First Century Church

18. Roman empire in 117 ad First Century Church

19. A Strategy in place • Believers continued to expand the gospel awareness and the organized church • Mostly urban focused • Preaching and teaching of evangelists • Personal witness of all believers • Acts of kindness and charity • Faith in the face of persecution • Intellectual reasoning of early apologists First Century Church

20. Known Churches at AD 100 First Century Church