In comparison consider that just … The local church was not something that needed to be abolished or repaired so that church growth could occur. None if it mattered because he knew what and who was waiting for him. To lay down his life first to care for the widows, then literally as he stood by his belief in Christ unto death. John Calvin was the most important figure in the second generation of the Reformation, and his interpretation of Christianity, known as Calvinism, deeply influenced many areas of Protestant … Peter dominated the community for nearly fifteen years following the Resurrection; it was he who raised his voice and preached at Pentecost, the day when the Church came into being, he served as an advocate for the apostles before the Jewish religious court in Jerusalem and he led the others in extending the Church, going first to the Samaritans, then to the Mediterranean coast where he introduced Gentiles … The Word of God kept spreading. Western Civilization: A Brief History. What are the factors that contribute to the growth of the early church? This is an amazing number of books given the fact that the North American Church Growth Movement is only forty-one years old. They met in private houses, where they sang hymns, listened to readings from the Holy Scriptures and partook in a sacrificial meal in memory of the last supper of Jesus with his disciples. While Christianity was conquering the world, the believers in its doctrines were grouping themselves into communities or churches. Augustine contributed to the spread of Christianity by writing about it. However, as he approached Damascus, he was struck blind. Peter dominated the community for nearly fifteen years following the Resurrection; it was he who raised his voice and preached at Pentecost, the day when the Church came into being, he served as an advocate for the apostles before the Jewish religious court in Jerusalem and he led the others in extending the Church, going first to the Samaritans, then to the Mediterranean coast where he introduced Gentiles into the Church (Pollock 18). Through the Holy Spirit, he performed miracles and spoke God’s truth to all who would listen. When a local church spreads to other cities to have more local churches, we call it the spreading of the churches. Caste System In India, Hinduism And Buddhism, Liberalism, The “Best” Political Philosophy, Forms of government in England and France. Early European History. The aupport of the pope as head of the Catholic Church A vast road system linking urban areas in Europe The invention of the printing press and improvements in literacy Economic changes and the growth if towns following the Renaissance. Another enactment required that magistrates, city people and artisans were to rest on Sunday; this was the first Sunday law (Webster 220-221). Read Acts 6:7. New York: T & T Clark International, 2003. The legal authority includes the canon of Holy Scripture, the writings of the church fathers and the canons of the church. a portion of Jerusalem was constituted a city-state or “polis”, which is defined not by its physical formation but by its Greek/Hellenized citizenship and way of life; during the Hellenistic period, the Temple State and the subsequent Jerusalem State was a theocracy in which the High Priest ruled (Thomas & Jayyusi 80). There was two factors that helped in the growth of Rome, the Mediterranean and the Roman army. He was a Christian theology writer who wrote about the original sin and predestination. These sources were and still are most important criteria for the religious and moral life of the Church (Meinardus 40). Stephen's story seems so foreign to today but, at the same time, really strikes a chord. Ignorance and imagination. Wave after wave of persecution was unleashed to squash it. possibly to end the Roman’s invasion of his homeland, Thrace (Fields 28). The religious and moral norms of the Christians are largely determined by three different forms of authority: the legal authority, the traditional authority and the charismatic authority. The church increases locally and spreads universally. He truly believed that Jesus was the promised Savior. (Source: http://www.4to40.com/culture/index.asp?p=Christianity_Disciples). This is one of the ancient poems that preserved the beautiful legends during the Aegean age (around 1100 B.C.) 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