Church Erosion

In the Book of Acts, chpt 19 vs. 8-10, Paul revisit’s the Church at Ephesus on his third mission trip.  He entered the synagogue and  spoke boldly for three months.  But when some were becoming disobedient, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him.  He “reasoned daily”  in the school of Tyrannus for two years and “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord,  both Jews and Greeks”.

I like how Charles R. Swindoll describes this in his book “The Church Awakening”:

“No demographic study underpinned the founding of this Church.  No secular marketing, neighborhood canvassing, or fleshly methods for enlarging the numbers occurred.  There was no manipulative technique to induce people to  give more of their money.  There was none of that!  Paul simply taught the Word of God for more that two years…..and God validated His Word with miracles (see Acts 19:11-12).  Paul was consistently faithful to preach with accuracy and clarity and practicality….and as a result, the message spread as the congregation grew deeper and larger.
When promotion receives more emphasis than the essentials - the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer - then the tail is wagging the dog.”