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The Bible Knowledge Commentary

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Evangelism in the Early Church
[Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, November 14, 1985] by Joel L. Pless

The primary mission of the Christian Church is to preach the gospel to all nations, it is to win souls for Christ. The fact that there are approximately one billion at least nominal Christians in the world indicates that Christ’s Great Commission has been at least partially carried out. This monograph will research how and by whom was the Great Commission enacted in the “early days” of the Christian church, during its first four centuries (100-500 A.D.) This research paper will not contribute creatively to the study of theology or methods of evangelism, but it will rather compile from a representative bibliography facts concerning evangelism in the early Church. Granted, research on this topic has been undertaken before by individuals with far greater academic credentials than the writer of these lines. But this monograph will attempt to condense the vast amount of material written on this topic into a monograph on evangelism in the early Church which is long enough to adequately cover the subject but still short enough to be interesting. This essay will approach the topic by asking the basic questions, why?, what?, who?, to whom?, and how?( William C. Weinrich, “Evangelism in the Early Church,” in Concordia Theological Quarterly, vol. XLV, (January-April 1981), pp. 61-74.) When possible, primary sources from the early Church fathers will be quoted in translation. The ultimate objective will be to bring to light the evangelism methods used by Christians of the early Church which can be used effectively to spread the kingdom of God in the twentieth century.
Why did the early Church evangelize unbelievers, beginning at Pentecost? Was it out of obedience to Christ’s Great Commission, out of gratitude and love for the Savior, or out of concern for mens’ souls? While all

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