PAUL’S MISSION STRATEGY IN ACTS 9-20

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A Paper

Presented to

Dr. Tony Maalouf

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

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In Partial Fulfillment

of the requirements for MISSN 3363

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by

James Johnson

January 6, 2009

PAUL’S MISSION STRATEGY IN ACTS 9-20

The apostle Paul stands as one of the most influential figures in the

first century of Christianity – particularly its expansion. As such, his strategy

for spreading the gospel throughout the Mediterranean region both informs

and provides a potential blueprint for modern missions endeavors. In this

particular instance, two specific strategic thrusts will be observed: Paul’s

focus on cities and cultural centers, and his priority of preaching the gospel

in the synagogues and public forums in those cities.

Paul’s distinct metropolitan focus is quite evident in both of his

missionary journeys. After spending a period of time in Damascus and

Jerusalem following his conversion, Paul set out from Antioch and visits the

entire island of Cyprus before making his way to southern Asia Minor, and

eventually returning to Antioch. His second journey (chapters 16-20) begins

in Jerusalem and continues throughout Asia Minor and southern Greece,

following a similar strategy: the focus of these passages highlights and

focuses on Paul’s interactions in the various cities mentioned in the

Scriptures. While he doubtless spoke to many on the roads and in the

countryside (especially while visiting the entire island of Cyprus), the text

specifically highlights his interactions in the larger metropolitan areas and

cultural centers. Many reasons for this particular strategy are plausible –

ease of transportation between major cities, higher concentration of

potentially receptive prospective converts, more developed religious

practices and beliefs, etc. – but regardless the reasons, Paul followed the

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Holy Spirit and preached the gospel boldly in cities and more densely

populated areas as opposed to villages and hamlets in the country.

The second major strategic thrust that is readily apparent throughout

the chapters in view is Paul’s priority of preaching the gospel in the

synagogues in the cities he visited (see Acts 9:20; 13:5,14; 14:1; 17:2, 17;

18:4, 19; 19:8). Again, the reasons for this strategy are potentially quite

numerous – Jesus’ priority to the ‘lost sheep of Israel’ (Mt. 10:6, 15:24),

familiarity with basic tenets of Judeo-Christianity, concentration of religious

leaders, etc. – the text seems to specifically point out that Paul made a

concerted effort to go immediately to the synagogues in each of the cities

that he visited.

Having seen these two particular strategic thrusts in Paul’s missionary

endeavors, the question begs answering: What significance do/should these

observations have in modern missionary efforts? Culturally, cities play an

immensely influential role in a nation – for example, in the United States the

major cultural areas are in the most populated areas (New York, Los Angeles,

etc.). If Christians were to develop a significant presence in those cities,

they would begin to have massive opportunities to share the gospel with a

wider range of people via various business and communication enterprises

than the same presence in a more rural area. Therefore, following Paul’s

example by concentrating missionary efforts into the larger cultural centers

of various people groups seems to be the more profitable and efficient

approach to reaching various people groups. Similarly, when Paul goes

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directly to the synagogues, he is approaching the religious leaders and

spiritually hungry people in the city by peaceably attempting to use the

established platform for the advancement of the gospel. He boldly proclaims

the gospel truth in public religious forums, clearly presenting those with

religious/spiritual mindsets with the Truth about the one true God. Engaging

religious leaders and spiritually hungry people with a humble boldness

should be a hallmark of modern missions. All people do need the gospel of

Christ Jesus, and perhaps an effective and efficient strategy for the modern

missions movements would be to use the social and religious platforms

already in place to feed spiritually hungry crowds with Truth.

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