Paul Cunningham, my pastor during my impressionable college years, often challenged our congregation at College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe, Kansas, to go out into our world from the Sunday services and partner with God in writing the narrative of Acts 29. The first time I heard him make that statement I quickly checked my New Testament and my memory. Yes, the book of Acts only has 28 chapters, so what did he mean?

Creating new chapters

God wants to write new chapters in church history as He partners with us in ministry, just as He did 2,000 years ago with those first Christians. That's what my pastor reminded us of. The same Holy Spirit who empowered the church in Acts 2 and expanded it from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the world of biblical days wanted to empower us to share the good news of the gospel with our world.

Our pastor went on to say that he preferred to call the book “the Acts of the Holy Spirit” since God empowered the early church in all it accomplished.

Today as I read through the articles of this issue, I hear the words of my pastor alive and at work in ministers and lay people throughout out the church. Through the decades, each according to their own unique set of gifts and graces, I see them writing verse after verse of Acts 29 by the Holy Spirit’s power.

Holding things together

Only the Spirit can call men and women into a life of full-time Christian service and give them the strength and ability to hold steady through the difficult circumstances of tough situations. Only the Spirit can call the great host of laity who remain committed to local church situations, pay the bills, teach Sunday school classes, lead small-group Bible studies, and hold things together by God’s help when difficulties arise. Only the Spirit can ask ministers and laity to be willing to head down any road and pay any price for His sake.

Here you will read perspectives of ordained women who serve in the Church of the Nazarene. We have always welcomed women in ministry in our denomination from our beginning days. They offer important insights into the spiritual journey.

The work of the community of faith must be accomplished almost completely by volunteer lay efforts. That means we must attempt to be heading in the right direction at all times so as not to waste efforts. We want to respect everyone’s time and effort as we use volunteers wisely.

Determining our direction

When it comes to the ministry of the church itself, you’ll want to pay particular attention to the questions every church should answer. They compare to an annual physical at the doctor’s office just to make sure your church is at the peak of health.

One of this issue’s articles, written especially for laity to read, considers the importance of churches granting time for pastors to take sabbaticals from their ministerial responsibilities.

When I taught in the university classroom, I found it can enrich and extend a pastor’s effectiveness in ministry across a lifetime of productive service.

Resolving our conflicts

Does being a part of an Acts 29 faith community mean folks are never going to have disagreements or conflicts? No. We’re still human with our own personal opinions, personality traits, and preferences.

Read the article here on conflict resolution that offers important truths for Christian communities.

The book of Acts illustrates the Holy Spirit on the move in the world.

In that ancient time the church found itself moving in high gear just to keep up. Now, we must find ways to engage people and proclaim the gospel message in fresh ways as we continue to partner with God in writing Acts 29.

Frank M. Moore serves as general editor for the Church of the Nazarene and editor in chief of Holiness Today.

Please note: All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of original publication but may have since changed.