Reading the letters of the New Testament (including 1 Peter), we notice how widespread the Christian faith had already become just 20-30 years after the death of Jesus. How did that happen?

1. 1 Peter 1:1
[1] Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who reside as aliens,
scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia, who are chosen

2. “Progress Report”
Passages in Acts

3. Acts 2:41,47
[41] So then, those who had
received his word were
baptized; and that day there
were added about three
thousand souls.
[47] … And the Lord was adding
to their number day by day
those who were being saved.

4. Acts 4:4
[3] And they laid hands on them
and put them in jail until the
next day, for it was already
evening. [4] But many of those
who had heard the message
believed; and the number of
the men came to be about
five thousand.

5. Acts 5:14
[14] And all the more believers
in the Lord, multitudes of men
and women, were constantly
added to their number,

6. Acts 6:1,7
[1] Now at this time while the
disciples were increasing in
number, a complaint arose…

7. Acts 6:1,7
[7] The word of God kept on
spreading; and the number of
the disciples continued to
increase greatly in Jerusalem,
and a great many of the
priests were becoming
obedient to the faith.

8. Acts 8:4
[3] But Saul began ravaging the
church, entering house after
house, and dragging off men
and women, he would put them
in prison. [4] Therefore, those
who had been scattered went
about preaching the word.

9. Acts 9:31
[31] So the church throughout
all Judea and Galilee and
Samaria enjoyed peace, being
built up; and going on in the
fear of the Lord and in the
comfort of the Holy Spirit,
it continued to increase.

10. Acts 12:24
[23] And immediately an
angel of the Lord struck him
because he did not give God
the glory, and he was eaten
by worms and died.
[24] But the word of the
Lord continued to grow
and to be multiplied.

11. Acts 16:5
[5] So the churches were
being strengthened in the
faith, and were increasing
in number daily.

12. Acts 19:20
[19] And many of those who
practiced magic brought their
books together and began
burning them in the sight of
everyone; … [20] So the word of
the Lord was growing mightily
and prevailing.

13. Acts 28:31
[30] And he stayed two full years
in his own rented quarters and
was welcoming all who came to
him, [31] preaching the kingdom
of God and teaching concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ with all
openness, unhindered.

14. How Did They Do It?

15. The Gospel was passed
on by Christians’…
Public Preaching

16. Acts 2:14
[14] But Peter, taking his stand
with the eleven, raised his voice
and declared to them: “Men of
Judea and all you who live in
Jerusalem, let this be known to
you and give heed to my words.

17. Acts 17:19-20
[19] And they took him and
brought him to the Areopagus,
saying, “May we know what this
new teaching is which you are
proclaiming? [20] “For you are
bringing some strange things to
our ears; so we want to know
what these things mean.”

18. Acts 19:8-9
[9] But when some were
becoming hardened and
disobedient, speaking evil of
the Way before the people, he
withdrew from them and took
away the disciples, reasoning
daily in the school of Tyrannus.

19. The Gospel was passed
on by Christians’…
Household Teaching

20. Acts 18:7
[7] Then he left there and went to
the house of a man named
Titius Justus, a worshiper of
God, whose house was next
to the synagogue.

21. 2 Timothy 1:5
[5] For I am mindful of the
sincere faith within you,
which first dwelt in your
grandmother Lois and your
mother Eunice, and I am sure
that it is in you as well.

22. The Gospel was passed
on by Christians…
Personal Conversations

23. Acts 8:29ff
[29] Then the Spirit said to Philip,
“Go up and join this chariot.”
[30] Philip ran up and heard
him reading Isaiah the prophet,
and said, “Do you understand
what you are reading?”

24. Acts 17:17
[17] So he was reasoning in the
synagogue with the Jews and
the God-fearing Gentiles,
and in the market place every
day with those who happened
to be present.

25. The Gospel was passed
on by Christians…
Writings

26. John 20:31
[31] but these have been written
so that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God; and that believing you
may have life in His name.

27. Luke 1:1-4
[3] it seemed fitting for me as well,
having investigated everything
carefully from the beginning, to
write it out for you in consecutive
order, most excellent Theophilus;
[4] so that you may know the
exact truth about the things you
have been taught.

28. The Gospel was passed
on by Christians…
Prayer

29. Acts 4:29-31
[31] And when they had prayed,
the place where they had
gathered together was shaken,
and they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak
the word of God with boldness.

30. Ephesians 6:19-20
[19] and pray on my behalf,
that utterance may be given to
me in the opening of my mouth,
to make known with boldness the
mystery of the gospel,
[20] for which I am an
ambassador in chains; that in
proclaiming it I may speak
boldly, as I ought to speak.

31. Colossians 4:2-4
[3] praying at the same time for
us as well, that God will open
up to us a door for the word, so
that we may speak forth the
mystery of Christ, for which I
have also been imprisoned;
[4] that I may make it clear in
the way I ought to speak.

32. Final Phrases to Put
in Our Lives
Live and
Speak

33. Final Phrases to Put
in Our Lives
Be Ready

34. Final Phrases to Put
in Our Lives
Everybody In

35. Final Phrases to Put
in Our Lives
Our Main
Purpose

36. Final Phrases to Put
in Our Lives
God Through
Us