I Have Many People in This City
When the Apostle Paul arrived in Corinth, he encountered substantial opposition. Of course, that opposition was no surprise. He encountered opposition in most places he brought the Gospel. But in Corinth, God changed the usual pattern.
Normally when he established a beachhead for the Gospel in a town and serious opposition arose, Paul was called to move on. He established the local leadership or left one of his co-workers behind to help the church get grounded, and Paul himself traveled to the next town.
But in Corinth, God gave a different call. Jesus spoke directly to Paul in a vision; “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So, rather than move on, “Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.” (Acts 18:9-11)
A year and a half was a rather long settled ministry for Paul. Only Ephesus, with three years, was blessed with so much continuous ministry from the wandering apostle.
It seems odd that God would have Paul minister only briefly in so many cities and then park for extended times in a couple of places.
Jesus explained His motives for keeping Paul in Corinth despite opposition, “I have many people in this city.” In other words, Christ saw an unusually responsive population in Corinth, and He wanted the apostle to give focused time and energy to assuring that harvest was fully brought in.
This demonstrates a principle that Donald McGavran, the founder of the modern Church Growth movement, emphasized. The principle: Prioritize resources and energies to those groups who are most open to the Gospel.
Thousands of American churches are giving their best resources and energies to ministry to the desires of people who have been Christians for decades while giving almost no thought or effort to reaching those who are outside or new to the faith. The typical shrinking congregation in the US is only attractive to post-retirement people who are already long-established believers. Others are only welcome if they will devote themselves to the maintenance of the current style of ministry.
The typical growing congregation in America has sought and found a population of people who are responsive to the Gospel, and then given itself to reaching those folks with a style of church that attracts, converts and matures those responsive people into committed followers of Jesus.
Normally when he established a beachhead for the Gospel in a town and serious opposition arose, Paul was called to move on. He established the local leadership or left one of his co-workers behind to help the church get grounded, and Paul himself traveled to the next town.
But in Corinth, God gave a different call. Jesus spoke directly to Paul in a vision; “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So, rather than move on, “Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.” (Acts 18:9-11)
A year and a half was a rather long settled ministry for Paul. Only Ephesus, with three years, was blessed with so much continuous ministry from the wandering apostle.
It seems odd that God would have Paul minister only briefly in so many cities and then park for extended times in a couple of places.
Jesus explained His motives for keeping Paul in Corinth despite opposition, “I have many people in this city.” In other words, Christ saw an unusually responsive population in Corinth, and He wanted the apostle to give focused time and energy to assuring that harvest was fully brought in.
This demonstrates a principle that Donald McGavran, the founder of the modern Church Growth movement, emphasized. The principle: Prioritize resources and energies to those groups who are most open to the Gospel.
Thousands of American churches are giving their best resources and energies to ministry to the desires of people who have been Christians for decades while giving almost no thought or effort to reaching those who are outside or new to the faith. The typical shrinking congregation in the US is only attractive to post-retirement people who are already long-established believers. Others are only welcome if they will devote themselves to the maintenance of the current style of ministry.
The typical growing congregation in America has sought and found a population of people who are responsive to the Gospel, and then given itself to reaching those folks with a style of church that attracts, converts and matures those responsive people into committed followers of Jesus.
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