Pioneering Movements: Leadership That Multiplies Disciples and Churches

by Steve Addison

The same religious leaders who opposed Jesus also opposed Peter. They accused Peter and the apostles of filling Jerusalem with Jesus’ teaching (Acts 5:28). Peter overcame his fear and endured threats, beatings and imprisonment with boldness and conviction. Luke tells us that the church grew in strength, and, living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers (Acts 9:31). Under Peter’s leadership, the churches spread throughout Jerusalem, Judea, Galilee and Samaria, and on the coastal plain to the west—in Lydda, Joppa, Caesarea, Ptolemais and maybe Ashdod (see fig. 3.1). Peter was not the pastor of these churches but an apostle commissioned by Jesus to reach Jews and Gentiles.13 Through a ministry focused on prayer and the Word, Peter multiplied and strengthened disciples and church communities wherever he went.