Massive Prayer
The first churches in the book of Acts began in prayer (Acts 1:14, 10:9, 13:2-3). The early believers were constantly praying, both individually and corporately (Acts 2:42, 12:5,12, 16:16,25). Prayer both initiated the work and sustained it. Prayer led to greater breakthroughs.
Holy Spirit Power
The early believers in Acts were filled with the Holy Spirit and sought to hear and obey God so they could walk in the Spirit's power. (Acts 1:8, 2:4, 4:8,31, 8:26-40, 13:2-4, 18:9-11). Jesus told his disciples to "wait until you be endued with power from on high." Knowledge alone was not sufficient for the mission.
Persons of Peace
Apostolic leaders followed the pattern of mission that Jesus laid out in in Matthew 10 and Luke 10 and sought out "people of peace" by watching for open doors and evidence of God working in an individuals life. Some people were discovered because of their interest (Acts 8:26-40, 10:22-24, 16:30) and others were identified when God worked miracles, signs, or wonders among them (Acts 2:1-13, 3:6-10, 8:5-8,13, 9:32-35,40-43).
Clear Proclamation
The early church shared the message of salvation through Jesus with others boldly (Acts 4:13,31, 8:4-5, 11:19-21) while emphasizing grace, forgiveness, and the true nature of God. (Acts 14:3,15-18, 15:11, 17:22-31, 2:22-36, 10:36-43). They focused on the responsive (Acts 13:46-52, 18:6-11, 19:8-10), explained miracles when they happened (Acts 14:8-18), dealt with syncretism (Acts 8:14-24, 19:18-20, 4:12) and gave the message to people in culturally appropriate ways (Acts 2:14-39, 3:12-26, 7:2-53, 13:16-41, 16:3, 17:2-3,11, 18:4,19, 19:4-8, 14:15-17, 17:16-34). Evangelism was abundant so that everyone had the opportunity to hear the message (Acts 2:40-41, 4:4, 5:28,42, 6:7, 19:10).
Immediate Baptism
Those who believed the message proclaimed were immediately baptized as a first step of obeying Jesus as Lord. (Acts 2:41, 8:12-13, 36-39, 19:1-7) Philip was asked by the Ethiopian eunuch what might prevent him from being baptized. Philip's only requirement was that the man believe the message Philip proclaimed to him.
Stay tuned for second half of this post where we will address 5 more key principles of church planting from the book of Acts. In the meantime, feel free to comment below.