Itinerant Ministry in the Book of Acts

Recently as I was reading the Book of Acts, it really caught my attention how the apostles did their ministry in the places they went. I noticed several patterns in each city. These patterns include things like public evangelism, open-air preaching, speaking in synagogues, lodging with believers, proclaiming the Word of God with boldness, and the active involvement of the Holy Spirit. It is such a blessing to get to study the biblical example of real, Spirit-led ministry since we live in a Church age of such falsehood, hypocrisy, and man-led ministry. Oftentimes I find myself saying in my disappointment, "I just want the real thing." I pray you will be blessed by seeing both the power and the simplicity of the ministry of the early apostles.

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Samaria: Philip – Acts 8:4-25

• "Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ" (8:5)
• "the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did" (8:6)
• "unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed" (8:7)
• "there was much joy in that city" (8:8)

Damascus: Paul – Acts 9:19-22

• "For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus" (9:19)
• "immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues" (9:20)
• "all who heard him were amazed" (9:21)
• "Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ" (9:22)

Jerusalem: Paul – Acts 9:26-30

• "he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord" (9:28)
• "he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists" (9:29)

Cyprus: Paul & Barnabas – Acts 13:4-12

• "being sent out by the Holy Spirit" (13:4)
• "they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews" (13:5)
• "they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos" (13:6)

Antioch: Paul & Barnabas – Acts 13:13-52

• "on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue" (13:14)
• "the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath" (13:42)
• "many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas" (13:43)
• "The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord" (13:44)
• "Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly" (13:46)
• "as many as were appointed to eternal life believed" (13:48)
• "the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region" (13:49)
• "they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium" (13:51)
• "the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (13:52)

Iconium: Paul & Barnabas – Acts 14:1-7

• "they entered together into the Jewish synagogue" (14:1)
• "spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed" (14:1)
• "they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands" (14:3)

Thessalonica: Paul & Silas – Acts 17:1-9

• "they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews" (17:1)
• "Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures" (17:2)
• "explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead" (17:3)
• "some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women" (17:4)
• "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also" (17:6)

Athens: Paul – Acts 17:16-34

• "his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols" (17:16)
• "he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there" (17:17)

Corinth: Paul – Acts 18:1-17

• "they were tentmakers by trade" (18:3)
• "he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks" (18:4)
• "Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus" (18:5)
• "many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized" (18:8)
• "he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them" (18:11)

Ephesus: Apollos – Acts 18:24-26

• "being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John" (18:25)
• "began to speak boldly in the synagogue" (18:26)

Achaia: Apollos – Acts 18:27-28

• "he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus" (18:28)

Ephesus: Paul – Acts 19:1-10

• "he entered the synagogue" (19:8)
• "for three months spoke boldly" (19:8)
• "reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus" (19:9)
• "continued for two years so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord" (19:10)

Macedonia & Greece: Paul – Acts 20:1-12

• "he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement" (20:2)
• "he spent three months" (20:3)

Tyre: Paul – Acts 21:3-4

• "having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days" (21:4)

Ptolemais: Paul – Acts 21:7

• "we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day" (21:7)

Caesarea: Paul – Acts 21:8-14

• "we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him" (21:8)
• "He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied" (21:9)

Jerusalem: Paul – Acts 21:15-23:30

• "some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge" (21:16)
• "When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly" (21:17)

Rome: Paul – Acts 28:11-30

• "he called together the local leaders of the Jews" (28:17)
• "From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets" (28:23)
• "He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him" (28:30)
• "proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance" (28:31)

Open-Air Preaching in the Book of Acts:

• Jerusalem (Pentecost): Peter – Acts 2:14-41
• Jerusalem (Solomon's Portico): Peter – Acts 3:12-26
• Lystra: Paul & Barnabas – Acts 14:14-18
• Athens: Paul – Acts 17:22-34
• Jerusalem: Paul – Acts 21:37-22:21

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Acts 8:4 - Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

Acts 8:40 - But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Acts 18:23 - After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.