1.

Which habits of the early church do you think are still consistently practiced in today's
church?

The early church started with 120 members (Acts 1:15) and grew to 3000 (Acts 2:41). This
growth was simply due to the work oI the Holy Spirit through a sermon preached by Peter. As
the early church grew in number, they were Iour particular habits that sustained the momentum.
They were continually devoted to the apostles` teaching, to Iellowship, to the breaking oI bread,
and Iinally to prayer (Acts 2:42). These Iour habits were the marks oI the early church. In
today`s church, the habits that are consistently practiced are prayers and breaking oI bread. All
churches that I know pray and practice the Holy Communion. I am not sure about the teaching oI
the apostle and Iellowship. Today`s church has a long way to go in some oI these areas.

2. Is the priority of the church to engage the laity in ministry and witness? What do you
consider the best way to do this?

II the church mandate is to multiply as Jesus recommends it (Matt 28:19), then engaging laity in
the church is one oI the ways to move it Iorward. Church leaders need to Iind, equip and deploy
lay people. They can be employed in witness and ministry. Robinson was correct when he wrote,
'Total participation oI God in ministry and witness will have to be the Iocus oI the church iI it is
to happen (1997, 96). 'There are two things that every Christian can do, continue Robison,
'Minister and witness to people in the name oI Christ (Ibid). One oI programs that I am
planning to implement at my church is to take the youth members out every Saturday morning to
witness to people making weekly errands. However, the enlisting process presents some
diIIiculties but it is moving in the right direction.

3. What ministry and witness opportunity ideas have you found especially effective?
I Iind the caring ministry very eIIective. It actually kills two birds with one stone. As one meets
the need oI a lost person, the opportunity to witness to that person increases many Iolds. During
winter, some oI the young men at church stand by the grocery store and invite elderly people to
get into their car Ior a ride Ior Iree. They help out with their grocery bags. The more we practice
this ministry, the larger the church attendance on Sunday. This also has an impact on the elders`
children who sometimes visit the church with their parents or grandparents. Robinson understand
the double eIIect oI caring ministry when he noted, 'Caring ministry aIIirms gospel witness. It
opens the door Ior Christians to lead people to new liIe in Christ (1997, 179).

4. Where do you see most churches today on the bell curve of the Ephesus Tendency?
According to Robinson, there are three growth stages that a church can be at. It may be at the
growing stage, plateaued, or declining stage (1997, 191). Due to the Iact that today`s churches
are not witnessing as boldly as they used to during the Great Awakenings, they end up being in a
papleaued stage leading to a declining stage. I count on my Iingers the number oI churches with
evangelical goals in my county. The pastors are more concerned with the collections plates on
Sundays than winning a soul Ior Christ. Actually, one oI them told me that it is very expensive to
evangelize. That pastor was reIerring to the cost oI an evangelical crusade that I held in August
2010. Robinson correctly noted, 'Our nation is Iull oI Iormerly growing churches (1997, 192).

. Based on the articles from Dr. Rod Dempsey and the information provided in this
module, how would you define a true biblical disciple? What part does biblical
multiplication play in becoming a disciple?

I agree with Dr. Rod Dempsey when he deIined true biblical disciple to be 'a person who has
trusted Christ Ior salvation and has surrendered completely to Him. He or she is committed to
practicing the spiritual disciplines in community and developing to their Iull potential Ior Christ
and His mission (Lecture Notes). Biblical multiplication allows a disciple to make use oI his or
her spiritual giIts, talents and abilities in IulIilling Christ mission.

REFERENCES
Robinson, Darrell. 1997. Total Church-LiIe: How to Be a First Century Church in a 21
st

Century World. Nashville, TN: B&H Books.
Early, Dave and Rod Dempsey. 'Lecture Note: On Being A Disciple Based Upon Scripture
www.bb7.liberty.edu, (Accessed on November 21, 2011)