The Community of Believers: A Place for All

By David Miller

The growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire was greatly hampered by persecution in the 1st century A.D. In the beginning, the Roman Government did not make any distinction between Judaism (the religion of Jews) and Christianity. Since all of them were of Jewish origin. As a result, the Christians were not persecuted. They enjoyed the freedom of worship that the Roman government granted the Jews. It was not until riots broke out between the two religions that the Roman Government saw Christianity as a separate religion from Judaism, and withdrew the freedom of worship it had granted to Christians. From that time there was a great persecution against the Christians in the Roman Empire. This affected the growth of the Church as a great number of Christians gave up their faith for fear of persecution. They were tortured and killed most cruelly. The persecution stopped when one of the Roman Emperors, Constantine became a Christian. He gave Christian religious freedom and recognition throughout the Roman Empire. By the 2nd Century AD, Christian European missionaries had established Churches in France and parts of North Africa such as Egypt. Between the 2nd and 8th centuries, Christianity expanded to Europe. Very soon there were many more Churches all over European countries such as Italy, Britain, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Germany. Later, Churches were established in America. The European missionaries then took the gospel to other continents: Asia, Australia, and Africa. From the middle of the Nineteenth Century to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Christianity witnessed the greatest growth or expansion in all the five Continents of the world. In the beginning, there was only one Church called the Catholic Church. The word Catholic means: Universal. Later, as a result of a great movement called the Reformation, the Church was divided into two, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Protestant Churches. The Catholic and the Protestant Churches are known as the Orthodox (beginners) or mainline Churches. The Orthodox Churches sent missionaries who established Churches in all parts of the world including Nigeria in Africa.
The first missionaries to come to Nigeria were Europeans from the Roman Catholic Church. They came some five hundred years ago. Their initial attempt to preach the gospel to the people failed because the weather was hostile; there was a language barrier and they needed interpreters; while the chiefs were hostile because they were afraid if they allowed their people to become Christians, the people would no longer follow their traditional religion. Some of the early missionaries were Hope Waddle, Mary Slessor, David Hinderer, Henry Townsend, Father Coquard, Father Joseph Cutz, Thomas Bowen, Rev V. Bingham, and Dr. Karl Kumm. The second attempt some three hundred years later was successful because some Africans had become missionaries who joined to preach the gospel in Nigeria. Among the African missionaries were: Samuel Ajayi Crowther, Reverend Thomas Birch Freeman, and William de Graft from the Gold coast (now Ghana). Churches were built in the major towns and cities throughout Nigeria. After the Europeans and African missionaries had formed their Orthodox Churches in Nigeria, some of the Nigerian Christians left the mission Churches to form their African Churches. These New Religious Movements became known as the: Indigenous Churches or the Independent African Churches. We have the Pentecostal Church in Nigeria. Here, one is made to confess his or her sins, and accept Jesus Christ as his or her personal Lord and Savior. One promises to be faithful to Jesus to the very end, of his or her life. One learns how to speak in tongues. The Pentecostal Churches have become popular in Nigeria and are growing every day because of their charismatic activities.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0C9SJJQKZ
• ISBN13: 9798851324277
• Release Date: July 2023
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"