Interview 118: Four Features of Church Growth in Acts

Today I’m joined by my friend, Dave Huffstutler. Dave wrote an article for the July/August edition of FrontLine which was about growing churches: “Built to Grow: Understanding and Advancing the Mission of the Church.”Dave’s article is about “Four Features of Church Growth in Acts.” Dave isn’t giving us “four principles for success” or “the Acts formula” for church growth. Rather he is observing features of growing church life in the book of Acts that parallel the kinds of church life we want to foster in our own churches.We had a wide-ranging discussion on many aspects of church life. It was a blessing to talk to Dave about it, then to think through it again in the editing process. In the interview, I mentioned our own church’s upcoming 40th anniversary celebration. Well, that “upcoming” turns out to be last Sunday, so we are moving now into our 41st year. The things we talked about in the conversation are things we have tried to do in our church and, really, every Bible-believing church tries to do all the time. It’s helpful to think about them again and ask ourselves questions about how we are doing and how we could be perhaps doing a little better in some areas of our own church life.Well, that’s enough from me. I’ll get into my conversation with Dave in just a moment, but first, let me remind you that Dave’s article is available on our Substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.And now for my interview with Dave Huffstutler.The Article:Four Features of Church Growth in Acts: Rediscovering the New Testament PatternThe Contents & Editorial for the July/August FrontLine:FrontLine: Built to Grow: Understanding and Advancing the Mission of the Church Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe