The Church: First Thirty Years: Exposition of Acts

This book traces the first thirty years of the church with a particular emphasis on the mission and ministry of the church. The mission of the church is to make disciples and teach the whole counsel of God. The ministry of the church is to prepare the saints (the people of God) to understand the purpose and engage in the mission of the church. In recent church history, Evangelical churches have devoted an extraordinary amount of time, effort, and money on “church growth” methods rather than on the biblical mission and ministry of the church. The first thirty years of the church reveals “church growth” from a biblical perspective. “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

Martin Murphy has a B.A. in Bible from Columbia International University and a Master of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books including The Essence of Christian Doctrine and A Westminster Catechism.