Journey Through The Bible
    Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 1-4
    New Testament Reading: Acts 19

But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord (Acts 19:9-10).

When opposition in the synagogue became so strong that Paul could no longer carry on a fruitful ministry, he left. But Paul’s ministry in Ephesus was not ending; it was just beginning. Taking the believers with him, he held daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus, which Paul probably rented for this purpose. Today, many Christians have started churches in school gymnasiums or empty store buildings, following this example of Paul. You don’t need a steeple on top of the building to worship God and minister effectively for him.

Paul carries on a ministry for two years in the Tyrannus lecture hall, and three years in total at Ephesus (Acts 20:31). His ministry lasted longer in Ephesus than he stayed in Corinth or any of the other cities on his missionary journeys. This ministry proved to be a victorious one, for people from all over the province of Asia, both Greeks and Jews, heard the gospel.

During this period, while Paul taught in Ephesus, the disciples he taught went out into the surrounding cities to preach the gospel and start churches. The church at Colossae, to whom Paul would write a letter from his Roman imprisonment, was most likely started during this time as Paul never visited the city but had heard of their faith. The seven letters dictated by Jesus to the seven churches in the second and third chapters of Revelation include Ephesus and six other churches in the area. Likely, those six churches were all started during this time by the disciples Paul taught.

So often we think of Paul’s missionary journeys as a time when Paul and his companions evangelized and formed churches. That they were the ones doing all the work of ministry. But here in these two short verses, we get a clearer picture of how Paul ministered once he had established some believers in the city. Later, when Paul wrote from prison in Rome to this church in Ephesus, he reminded them, And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Eph 4:11-12).

It is the work of evangelist, pastors, and teachers to equip the saints. It is the work of the saints to go out and do the work of ministry. God never intended His church to be a place where the saints gather to collect an offering to pay a pastor to do the work of ministry for them! If we today would follow the example of the church at Ephesus—what an impact for Christ we would make in our cities and surrounding communities.