Following the Apostles' Vision for disciple-making, church-planting movements

Recapturing their vision for today

by Peter Roennfeldt

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This Paperback version of Following the Apostles' Vision is also available as an eBook and Audiobook.

A vision for reaching every district with the gospel.

The apostles planted new faith communities in pagan gentile cities, sometime staying only a few weeks or months before departing to do the same in another place.

Their mission was urgent and the scope of their vision was staggering.

This book re-reads the letters of Paul to these new churches, disciples and team members, discovering a biblical master-plan for an integrated district disciple-making model that is relevant to every culture and context.

Essential reading for making disciples in your city, neighbourhood and region.

From small and unlikely beginnings in Jerusalem, the message of Jesus seemed to explode across the Roman world within only a few decades. It was powered by the Holy Spirit and the passion of those first men and women who had spent time with Jesus, but this remarkable success also came with self-sacrificing determination, hard work and innovative mission strategies.

Re-reading the pastoral letters of Paul—written to the respective churches within the first 10 years of their planting—offers valuable insights into the focus, energy and methods of Paul and his ministry teams. And it must challenge our vision and practice of church, ministry and mission today.

Contains 16 study guides for person or small group study.

Reviews and Endorsements


[Endorsement]

“Building on Following Jesus and Following the Spirit, this third book provides another important piece to the missional movement puzzle.” —Nick Kross, discipleship team Youth Specialist, Sydney, Australia


[Endorsement]

“Every now and then a book comes along that speaks with clarity and breaks new ground. This is such a book—a fresh look at Acts and Paul’s letters, examining how the apostles planted such mature churches so quickly and successfully. Expect your paradigms to be challenged. This vital biblical reflection will reverberate for a long time, as required reading for all disciple-makers and movement-leaders who want to look beyond traditional assumptions, to see a continuation of the book of Acts in our world today.” —Dave Lawton, Praxeis—Making Disciples, Melbourne, Australia


[ Bookshelf Review ]

Rome—then Spain. The vision of these places filled Paul’s mind during his stay in Corinth. Writing to the believers in Rome, Paul said that there was no place left for him to work in Asia (see Romans 15:23). He was looking ahead, excited to witness the message of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit exploding throughout Europe too. But what did he mean? Surely, there were still new believers to disciple in Asia, plans to pursue, churches to counsel and strengthen? How could he move on? Following the Apostles’ Vision examines the mission, message and methods of Paul and his ministry teams to discover more about how they worked. This third book in pastor and church-planter Peter Roennfeldt’s “Following . . .” series is a scholarly but easy-to-read study of the book of Acts and Paul’s epistles. He contends that four factors were important for the explosive growth of the early church: relationship-focused mission, home-based churches, mission hubs and movement vision. The book is broken into 16 study guides that explore these factors from the Bible, with stories from history and churches that are trying to put these principles into practice today. The implications that Dr Roennfeldt draws from his study are disruptive to our conventional ways of thinking about church, discipleship and mission. However, he is not prescriptive, and questions at the end of each guide prompt the reader to make their own study of the Bible and to reflect on how to apply its principles in their local context. Following the Apostles’ Vision provides a call to action for those who feel a sense of responsibility for discipleship and church growth to pray, study and wrestle with how to use biblical methods for mission today. After all, there is still work to do and places to go. —Lauren Webb, Assistant Book Editor, Signs Publishing