Early Church Growth at a Glance

Yale Professor of History, Ramsay MacMullen, was very curious how Christians were able to survive and thrive in The Roman Empire without political power or social prestige. Christianity was even illegal for some of the years between 100-400AD.  He found that the Christianity did not grow primarily because of erudite teaching or persuasive apologetics but rather because of power evangelism. Miracles, often physical healings and demonic deliverances, were catalytic to the growth of Christianity. He documents this in page 62 in his book "Christianizing The Roman Empire" published in 1986.

Professor MacMullen,  was the recipient of a lifetime Award for Scholarly Distinction from the American Historical Association. The citation begins, "Ramsay MacMullen is the greatest historian of the Roman Empire alive today."

I thank God for the work of a credible scholar, albeit a secular one, recognizing the role of God's supernatural workings in Christianity's formative years.