WordPressing my Twitter Tweets #1:
Last night, I asked this simple question on twitter: “In the New Testament, how much of “ministering to the needs of the saints” occurred in what we would call a church setting?”
The first 2 replies were “none” & “a whole lot of it.”
What would you say? How would you back up your answer with scripture? Connect with me on Twitter @Missionaries
Missionary in the Andes Mountains Cloud Forest Region of Ecuador. My last name, "Labrador," is the word that's used for "Vine Worker" in the Spanish Bible, and it's OK with me. 
Chris Jefferies on Leading Edge Missiology and Ecclesiology?
Carlos on Leading Edge Missiology and Ecclesiology?
To the degree that the Lord has freed a believer, and a group of believers, from knowing one another and Jesus after the flesh, we will share Him as the bread of life, everywhere, always.
Healthy families don’t minister in the way churches have rebranded simply loving one another because they are united in soul and hopefully in spirit in Christ. Scripture doesn’t speak of ministry as we have come to practice what the early church calledone anothering. I don’t use many of the words I used to because I’ve found the words and phrases the NT writers used to describe life in Christ express Him better than our “me” centered language. Using our words, based on our subjective experiences tends to limit Him to the box that we can explain, and teach didacticly. Doing so has drawn us away from faith in Him to knowledge of and about Him, which can be a pseudo relationship, and often is. I prefer to use the word “know Him” which is the word used to describe married love. If we spoke to young converts of knowing Him right from the start, they would start life with Him with the idea that our ultimate purpose in creation and salvation is to have a sons relationship with God, and a deep and family like daily relationship with all and any of Gods people. As history bears out, an emphasis on working for Him has produced a servant/master culture and language paradigm rather than a sonship culture, and Holy Spirit power and wisdom.
Miguel, though you are so far away, I feel a kindred spirit-ness with your passion to help Gods people see Jesus in His wonder and glory.
Blessings
Greg
Greg,
Thanks for your thoughtful and kind words. I intend to reply to your comment specifically, but I’ll email you so we can exchange contact info.
Here are all the raw material that I could find in Acts that seem to have any bearing on the questions. I think any resolution will have to lean on other epistles, since Acts doesn’t have much to say about the functioning of the groups other thn when Paul first arrived to preach and form a church. A key part of the issue is what constituted the early church. Aside from the early days where the feeding of widows was an issue, there is little indication of what ‘the church’ did in terms of ministering to physical needs aside from sending relief to Jerusalem on one occasion. All the references suggest the early church existed wherever believing individuals gathered together (anywhere?).
Act 2:44 All who believed were together and held everything in common,
Act 2:45 and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need.
Act 2:46 Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts,
Act 2:47 praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.
Act 4:32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common.
Act 4:33 With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all.
Act 4:34 For there was no one needy among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them and bringing the proceeds from the sales
Act 4:35 and placing them at the apostles’ feet. The proceeds were distributed to each, as anyone had need.
Act 5:14 More and more believers in the Lord were added to their number, crowds of both men and women.
Act 5:15 Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets, and put them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow would fall on some of them.
Act 5:16 A crowd of people from the towns around Jerusalem also came together, bringing the sick and those troubled by unclean spirits. They were all being healed.
Act 5:42 And every day both in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus was the Christ.
Act 6:1 Now in those days, when the disciples were growing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews against the native Hebraic Jews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
Act 6:2 So the twelve called the whole group of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables.
Act 6:3 But carefully select from among you, brothers, seven men who are well-attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this necessary task.
Act 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Act 6:8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
Act 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced peace and thus was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church increased in numbers.
Act 9:32 Now as Peter was traveling around from place to place, he also came down to the saints who lived in Lydda.
Act 9:33 He found there a man named Aeneas who had been confined to a mattress for eight years because he was paralyzed.
Act 9:34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Get up and make your own bed!” And immediately he got up.
Act 9:35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
Act 9:36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which in translation means Dorcas). She was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity.
Act 9:37 At that time she became sick and died. When they had washed her body, they placed it in an upstairs room.
Act 9:38 Because Lydda was near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Come to us without delay.”
Act 9:39 So Peter got up and went with them, and when he arrived they brought him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him, crying and showing him the tunics and other clothing Dorcas used to make while she was with them.
Act 9:40 But Peter sent them all outside, knelt down, and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
Act 9:41 He gave her his hand and helped her get up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her alive.
Act 9:42 This became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
Act 11:25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for Saul,
Act 11:26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught a significant number of people. Now it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
Act 12:10 After they had passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, when at once the angel left him.
Act 12:11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from everything the Jewish people were expecting to happen.”
Act 12:12 When Peter realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.
Act 12:13 When he knocked at the door of the outer gate, a slave girl named Rhoda answered.
Act 12:14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she did not open the gate, but ran back in and told them that Peter was standing at the gate.
Act 12:15 But they said to her, “You’ve lost your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was Peter, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!”
Act 12:16 Now Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were greatly astonished.
Act 12:17 He motioned to them with his hand to be quiet and then related how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place.
Act 13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen (a close friend of Herod the tetrarch from childhood ) and Saul.
Act 13:2 While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Act 13:3 Then, after they had fasted and prayed and placed their hands on them, they sent them off.
Act 14:26 From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
Act 14:27 When they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported all the things God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles.
Act 14:28 So they spent considerable time with the disciples.
Act 16:4 As they went through the towns, they passed on the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the Gentile believers to obey.
Act 16:5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number every day.
Act 19:11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands,
Act 19:12 so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body were brought to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
Act 20:7 On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul began to speak to the people, and because he intended to leave the next day, he extended his message until midnight.
Act 20:8 (Now there were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.)
Act 20:9 A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, was sinking into a deep sleep while Paul continued to speak for a long time. Fast asleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead.
Act 20:10 But Paul went down, threw himself on the young man, put his arms around him, and said, “Do not be distressed, for he is still alive!”
Act 20:11 Then Paul went back upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he talked with them a long time, until dawn. Then he left.
Act 20:12 They took the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.
Act 20:17 From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church to come to him.
Act 21:3 After we sighted Cyprus and left it behind on our port side, we sailed on to Syria and put in at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there.
Act 21:4 After we located the disciples, we stayed there seven days. They repeatedly told Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.
Act 21:5 When our time was over, we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us outside of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying,
Act 21:6 we said farewell to one another. Then we went aboard the ship, and they returned to their own homes.
Act 21:17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly.
Act 21:18 The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were there.
Act 21:19 When Paul had greeted them, he began to explain in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
Act 21:20 When they heard this, they praised God.
Tom,
What an exhaustive list. Thanks for looking so deeply into it. I think if we all looked into it as deeply, we would all likewise be surprised by what we find.
Wherever the need of the Saint.