The growth of the church through the centuries: an analysis of its history and its positive and negative aspects
Keywords:
Growth, Christian Church, Qualitative Growth, Quantitative Growth.Abstract
The present article briefly surveys the growth of the Church through out the centuries, including its positive and negative aspects. The first part deals with the growth of the Church in the first three centuries AD, then in the times of the Imperial Church, and finally in modern and contemporary times. The second part describes the movement of the growth of the Church with its different aspects. The third part focuses on the negative aspects of the stress on quantitative growth in the Adventist Church. The conclusion emphasizes the need for qualitative as well as quantitative growth in order to reach the complete fulfillment of the “Great Commission”.
Downloads
References
Barret, David (1982). World Christian Encyclopedia (Vol. 4). New York: Oxford University Press.
Barro, Jorge Henrique (2002). De cidade em cidade – elementos para uma teologia bíblica de missão urbana em Lucas-Atos. Londrina, PR, Brasil: Descoberta Editora.
Bíblia Sagrada. (2 ed.) (1993). Revista e Atualizada no Brasil. Barueri, SP: Sociedade Bíblica do Brasil.
Curtis, A.; Henneth. Lang; J. Stephen. Petersen, Randy (2003) Os 100 acontecimentos mais importantes da história do cristianismo. São Paulo, SP: Editora Vida.
Deiros, Pablo A. (2005). Historia del cristianismo: los primeros 500 años. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Ediciones del Centro.
Ekström, Bertil (2001). História da Missão. A história do movimento missionário cristão. Londrina, PR: Descoberta.
González, Justo L. (1997). Uma história ilustrada do cristianismo: a era dos gigantes. São Paulo, SP: Edições Vida Nova.
González, Justo L. (1998). Uma história ilustrada do cristianismo: a era dos mártires. São Paulo, SP: Edições Vida Nova.
McGavran, Donald A. (2001). Compreendendo o crescimento da igreja. São Paulo, SP: Editora Sepal.
Monteiro, Rafael Luiz (2004). Discipulado: caminho de renovação e crescimento para a igreja. Engenheiro Coelho, SP, Brasil: Unaspress.
Nichols, Robert Hastings. (1992). História da igreja cristã. São Paulo, SP: Casa editora presbiteriana.
Padilla, C.René (2005). Missão integral. Londrina, PR: Descoberta Editora.
Tertuliano. Sanguis martyrum, semen christianorum! ¡La sangre de los mártires es semilla de nuevos cristianos! Recuperado em 19/12/2007 da página http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/homilies/2001/documents/hf_jpii_hom_20010311_beatification_sp.html.
Miranda, Juan Carlos (1991). Manual de crescimento da igreja. São Paulo, SP: Edições Vida Nova.
White, Ellen G. (1969). Obreiros Evangélicos. Santo André, SP: Casa Publicadora.
White, Ellen G. (1972). Caminho para Cristo. Tatuí, SP: Casa Publicadora Brasileira.
White, Ellen G. (1978). Evangelismo. Santo André: Casa Publicadora Brasileira.
White, Ellen G. (1998). Parábolas de Jesus. Tatuí, SP: Casa Publicadora Brasileira.
White, Ellen G. (2004). O desejado de todas as nações. Tatuí, SP: Casa Publicadora Brasileira.
White, Ellen G. (2004a). Testemunhos para a igreja. V. 5, Tatuí, SP: Casa Publicadora Brasileira.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright Statement
In summary, authors who publish in Kerygma must agree that:
-
Once accepted for publication, the copyright of the articles is transferred to Kerygma.
-
All third-party materials used in the text must be properly referenced.
-
Authors must hold the rights or permissions for the use of images, tables, and other graphic materials.
-
Authors guarantee that the submitted manuscript is original, of their own authorship, and has not been submitted or published elsewhere.
-
The opinions and ideas expressed in the texts are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the journal.
-
The editors reserve the right to make textual revisions and adjustments in accordance with the journal’s editorial standards.
-
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
-
Authors authorize the reproduction and adaptation of the material by Kerygma, with the authors’ participation or express authorization when required.
-
The journal may distribute, store, archive, and make the articles available through any physical or digital means, whether free of charge or paid.
-
Authors may enter into separate agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work, provided that the original publication in Kerygma is acknowledged.
-
Full or partial reproduction of the texts in other publications requires prior written authorization from the editor.
-
Authors are permitted and encouraged to publish and distribute their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or personal webpages) before or during the editorial process, as this may increase the visibility and citation impact of the published work.




