What if we’ve been overlooking a key component of how the early church grew? Church planting movements and disciple making movements often focus on people of peace—individuals receptive to the gospel who help spread it within their communities. But what if the early church also relied on places of peace—natural spaces where people gathered, shared ideas, and formed relationships? After all, is this not what Jesus referenced in Luke 10:5, a place (oikia) and its people (oikos)?
By looking at archaeology, history, and the Book of Acts, we can uncover a fascinating picture of how the first Christians spread their message. The early church didn’t start with constructing buildings. It started with people in marketplaces, lecture halls, sports arenas, and trade guilds—places where culture, commerce, and ideas intersected.
If we want to understand how the gospel moved from a small Jewish sect to a global faith, we need to ask:
- Who heard the gospel?
- Where did they hear it?
- What was the message?
- What does this mean for us today?
Let’s explore these questions and see what they reveal about our mission today.
Who Heard the Gospel?
At first glance, this seems like an easy question. Jews and Gentiles, right? But the social landscape of the Roman world was more complex than that. Gentiles were not a monolithic ethnic group. The gospel reached distinct peoples, each with different expectations, cultural frameworks, and barriers to belief.
1. The Jewish Audience
The Jewish people were at the heart of the early Christian mission. Paul consistently went to the Jewish place of gathering first when entering a city (Acts 17:1-2). But Diaspora Judaism was far from uniform. Many Jews had adapted to Greco-Roman culture, creating a more diverse and complex religious landscape than we often assume.
2. God-fearers and Proselytes
Some Gentiles were drawn to Jewish monotheism and morality. Some converted, the so-called proselytes, but others didn’t fully convert—often because conversion required circumcision, a significant social and personal commitment. These God-fearers (σεβόμενοι τὸν Θεόν) attended Jewish places of prayer (Philo called them προσευχήν), observed Jewish customs, and were an ideal audience for the gospel.
3. The Theosebes—Another Category?
A lesser-known group, the θεοσεβής (theosebes), also appears in Greek inscriptions. While God-fearers might be specifically tied to Judaism, theosebes referred to people who revered a deity—any deity. This term appears in pagan religious contexts, suggesting that even some Diaspora Jews who worshiped YHWH accommodated aspects of Greco-Roman religious practices and revered other gods, like the inscription at the theater in Miletus might suggest. We know the Jews honored emperors with dedications as well as sacrifices (see Philo, Embassy to Gaius). Perhaps these accommodating Jews were who Jesus referenced as from the synagogue of Satan (Rev 2:9).
4. The Broader Pagan World
Paul’s audience included Romans, Greeks, and people from various ethnic backgrounds. In Asia Minor alone, multiple ethnic groups lived side by side. The gospel wasn’t just crossing religious boundaries—it was moving through a multiethnic, multicultural world where religion, politics, and economics conflated into a profound identity.
Where Did People Hear the Gospel?
If you envision the early church as meeting only in synagogues and homes, you’re missing part of the picture. The gospel spread in the places where people naturally gathered.
1. Marketplaces
The agora was more than a shopping center—it was the heart of public life. Philosophers walked with their disciples, merchants traded, and travelers exchanged news. Paul reasoned daily in these spaces (Acts 17:17) and engaged people in conversations about what shaped the culture. We have many instances where Christian graffiti marked places of business in market areas that most assuredly became gathering places for Christ’s followers.
2. Philosophical Schools and Lecture Halls
Paul’s famous dialogue at the Areopagus (Acts 17:22-31) shows that he engaged with the leading thinkers of his day. He also spent time in the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9-10), which functioned as a space for philosophical and rhetorical training. Some missionary like to think that Paul trained church planters there—certainly an anachronistic thought. These intellectual arenas became fertile ground for gospel conversations. The places where they met became places where Christians talked about the teachings of the apostles, fellowshipped, cared for one another, and ate meals together (Acts 2:42-47). It is no overstatement to say that first century people would hardly see the difference between a gathering of Christians and a philosophical school. The peripatetic model of philosophical schools of the day would naturally result in the gospel being carried to other cities in Asia Minor.
3. Political Spaces
Paul’s relationships with high-ranking officials (Acts 19:31) suggest that he was present in places like the Bouleuterion (council chamber) in Ephesos. Engaging with city leaders wasn’t just about legal or political matters—it was about influencing cultural and civic life with the good news of Jesus Christ.
4. Sports Arenas
Athletics were a major part of Roman life. Paul frequently used sports metaphors (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, 2 Timothy 4:7-8), likely because he moved in circles where such imagery resonated. Sports arenas were not just entertainment venues—they were social gathering spaces where ideas spread.
5. Synagogues – Or Trade Guilds?
We often assume that every reference to synagogue (συναγωγή) in the Book of Acts means a Jewish place of worship. However, archaeological evidence challenges this assumption.
In Greek literary records and epigraphic inscriptions, synagogue referred to a variety of gatherings:
- Jewish places of gathering (worshipping is too strong of a word to associate with συναγωγή in the first century)
- Christian assemblies (συναγωγή in James 2:2)
- Trade guilds and professional associations
- Philosophical schools
- Pagan religious groups
One second century BC inscription discovered in Bithynia depicts an honorific sacrifice to the mother of the gods. The location of the sacrifice: the synagogue (συναγωγή) of Zeus! Not only do we possess inscriptions in reference to the worship of Greek deities at a συναγωγή, we also possess inscriptions where συναγωγή is a trade guild. On a 1st-2nd century AD altar excavated at Perinthos-Herakleia in Thrace, an inscription reads “synagogue (συναγωγή) of small-wares dealers.”
Interpreting the archaeological discoveries in Corinth and Ephesos suggest that what Luke calls synagogues may have actually been trade guilds—associations where Jewish artisans and merchants gathered. If so, Paul’s strategy was not just religious—it was deeply embedded in the economic and social fabric of the Roman world.
What Was the Message?
The gospel message in the Roman world was a polemical parallel—a direct challenge to the prevailing cultural narratives. It wasn’t just that Christianity was different from Roman religion; it presented a better alternative, truly good news.
1. Jesus as the True King
The Priene Inscription (9 BC) describes Augustus Caesar’s birth as the “beginning of the good news (εὐαγγέλιον) for the world.” Sound familiar? Luke tells Theophilos of the angelic declaration that good news has come for all people (Luke 2:10-11). Early Christians were making a radical claim—Jesus, not Caesar, was the true εὐαγγέλιον.
2. Jesus as Lord and God
Inscriptions from Pergamon and Athens refer to emperors as “Lord of the earth and sea” and even “Savior.” Against this backdrop, the Christian declaration that “Jesus is Lord” was politically and religiously revolutionary.
3. Christian Symbols in Public Spaces
Early Christians used visual symbols to declare their faith:
- The Eight-Spoked Wheel – Found all over the Roman Empire, this symbol encoded the Greek letters for Ἰησούς Χριστός Θεός (Jesus Christ God) in what we call a Christogram.
- Christian Graffiti – In places like the cryptoporticus in Smynra, Christians left subtle but bold declarations of faith.
- One remarkable graffito in Laodicea shows a menorah with a cross emerging from it—perhaps evidence of Jewish believers embracing Christ while maintaining their cultural heritage.
4. The Gospel as a Call to Allegiance
Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…” takes on new meaning when we realize that an early house church in Laodicea was marked by a Christogram at its entrance. Jesus wasn’t just knocking metaphorically—he was present where believers gathered, inviting them to remain faithful amid cultural and religious pluralism. That once complacent church which Jesus warned He would spit out of His mouth (Rev 3:16) became an example of steadfast Christians declaring their allegiance to Jesus Christ God.
What Does This Mean for Us Today?
The early church’s mission was deeply adaptable. Paul and the apostles didn’t create a separate subculture—they engaged the public sphere in ways that were relevant, relational, and revolutionary.
So, what can we learn from them? Let’s ask these three questions:
- Are we present in the places where culture is being shaped? If Paul were alive today, he wouldn’t just be preaching in churches—he’d be in coffee shops, universities, boardrooms, and online forums. And in those places, he would gather with Christians and non-Christians.
- The early church used familiar terms and symbols but redefined them in light of Christ. How can we communicate the gospel in ways that resonate with contemporary audiences?
- Early Christians didn’t just oppose Roman culture—they presented a compelling vision of something better. How can we embody the gospel in ways that address the deepest longings of our culture?
The story of the early church isn’t just history—it’s a roadmap for mission today. May we, like Paul, immerse ourselves in the spaces where people gather and embody the gospel in a way that is both faithful to Scripture and compelling to the world.
Adapted from the lecture, “How Did the Church Begin?” To dive more deeply into church planting in the New Testament, check out Dr. Cooper’s Movemental Ecclesiology.
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