ABSTRACT: How does the book of Acts apply to modern missions? By examining first what Acts is (theological narrative history) and what it is for (to encourage the church in bearing witness to the gospel in the whole world), we see that Acts does not offer a missionary manual, but it does provide principles and patterns that inform how the church pursues its mission. Among other principles, Acts reveals that the gospel must be defined by Scripture, the work of missions aims at God’s glory in local churches, and the scope of the task is global.
For our ongoing series of feature articles for pastors and Christian leaders, we asked Matt Bennett (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), associate professor of missions and theology at Cedarville University, to explain how the book of Acts informs contemporary missions practice.
