Evangelism in Acts 11: Peter Returns and the Church at Antioch Begins

Engage Your World Evangelism Podcast

Evangelism in Acts 11 is the tenth episode in our series looking at the evangelistic encounters found in the Book of Acts. In this episode, Matt and Joshua discuss the return of Peter from his interaction with the house of Cornelius the Centurion and the start of the church at Antioch.

In the first section Acts 11, Peter returns from sharing the Gospel with the household of Cornelius. Peter receives rebuke from members of the circumcision party for eating with gentiles. Peter shares of his vision from God about the unclean animals that God had called clean. He then tells of how the Holy Spirit fell on the household of Cornelius just as it had on the disciples at Pentecost. This interaction was a key point in understanding that the gentiles were also being offered forgiveness through the Gospel of Christ.

The second half of Acts 11 we read about the beginning of the Church at Antioch which began with the conversion of Hellenists after men from Cyprus and Cyrene had preached about Jesus. The leaders in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to support the church at Antioch and he also brought Saul to help. We discover this is where the followers of Christ are first called “Christians.”

When we developed our training approach for Engage 360, we did not focus on what verses can be used to explain the Gospel. Instead, we looked to the Bible and asked the question, “What did they actually do?” Below is the summary of their approach.

• G: Gauge your audience
• O: Offer common ground
• S: Shift to Christianity and the Gospel
• P: Provide evidence
• E: Explain the Gospel
• L: Leave with a clear next step

After listening to our podcast on Evangelism in Acts 11, if you would be interested in our team coming to your church or group to provide more training on biblical evangelism and how to apply it today, please fill out our contact form.

To access all past Engage 360 Podcasts click here.