Message Overview: From our last message in the series, The Church with Open Doors, Pastor Ben Thiel looks at Acts 18 where we meet Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos who work along-side Paul, Silas and Timothy as the gospel continues to spread amid continued opposition. We see God remind Paul in a dream that many in the city of Corinth belonged to Him. Paul had a continual desire to re-visit where he had previously preached to continue strengthening the believers. It is clear that Paul had preached the gospel and many had believed, but his heart drove him back to old friends as he continued to teach believers. Paul spent a year and a half in Corinth, a city where full commitment to his teaching seems to have come more slowly based on what we read in his later letters to this church. While Paul always seems to have kept his passion for front line Gospel engagement with people who were far from God, we see the multiplication of leaders and sustained teaching of believers as his ministry matures. It is important to note the warm encounter between Aquila and Priscilla as they help Apollos with a better understanding of Gospel truth.

Prompting Questions: How has God brought the spiritual and physical change and growth to both Lighthouse and Bluffton Community these last few years? How do we prepare the congregations to use the wide variety of spiritual gifts given to the believers who are part of our churches? How does a rapidly growing church effectively identify and minister to people who are spiritually dead, infants, children, young adult and parents?