Mobile Ed: CH361 Evangelism in the Early Church (2 hour course)
Overview
The early church saw unparalleled growth in the early centuries. Despite persecution and other obstacles, the church grew from zero to twenty percent of the world’s population by AD 500. What accounts for this growth and what can we learn from it?
In Evangelism in the Early Church (CH361) Dr. Sean McGever looks at this period of incredible growth. The course covers the growth from the book of Acts to the conversion of the emperor Constantine. Dr. McGever focuses on both the advantages and challenges encountered by the early church because of its location within the Roman Empire. He explores the persecution of the early church and addresses the misperception that it was continual and universal until the time of Constantine by examining the four principle eras and locations of persecution. Dr. McGever also addresses the evangelistic methods of the early church comparing and contrasting their methods with evangelistic methods used by the church today.
Upon successful completion you should be able to:
- Cite the growth rate per decade for the first three hundred years of the church
- Identify contextual elements of the Roman Empire that aided in the establishment and growth of Christianity in the period of the early church
- List challenges to Christianity in the Roman Empire based on misunderstanding
- List challenges to Christianity in the Roman Empire based on Christian and Jewish ethics
- Counter the mythological exaggeration of the persecution of Christians in the early church
- Identify elements of lifestyle and action that provided the primary evangelistic method of the early church
- Identify and describe the four general steps in the process of conversion in the early church
Introduction
- Introducing the Speaker and Course
Unit 1: Growth of the Early Church: Significant and Nuanced
- Numeric Growth of the Early Church: Starting and End Points
- Numeric Growth of the Early Church: Midpoints
Unit 2: Evangelism in the Roman Empire
- Advantages
- Challenges
- The First and Second Waves of Persecution
- The Third and Fourth Waves of Persecution
Unit 3: Evangelistic Methods: Not What You Might Expect
- Lifestyle and Actions: A Primary Evangelistic Method of the Early Church—Care for Others
- Lifestyle and Actions: A Primary Evangelistic Method of the Early Church—Supernatural Works
- Five Evangelistic Methods Rarely Used in the Early Church
Unit 4: Conversion Journey: The Experience of the Early Church Convert to Christianity
- Introduction to the Process of Early Church Evangelism
- Step 1: Evangelism: Encountering Christians, Finding a Sponsor
- Step 2: Catechumenate: Hearing the Word
- Step 3: Baptismal Preparation: Hearing the Gospel; Step 4: Baptism, Church Membership, and Eucharist
Conclusion
- Reviewing the Course
- Title: Evangelism in the Early Church
- Instructor: Sean McGever
- Publisher: Lexham Press
- Publication Date: 2021
- Product Type: Logos Mobile Education
- Resource Type: Courseware, including transcripts, audio, and video resources
- Courses: 1
- Video Hours: 2
Partially includedSean McGever (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is area director for Paradise Valley Arizona Young Life and adjunct faculty at Grand Canyon University. He trains Young Life staff and volunteers internationally.