Do any fundamentalists evangelize as the early church did?

Question

Since many fundamentalists tend to idealize the "early church", I'm curious as to how they think the Gospel was preached and the faith spread in those days, and how that contrasts with some of today's approaches.

Were the early evangelists contemptuous of others' beliefs, pronouncing them unsaved and hell-bound, or did they present and live out the Gospel in love for all created in the image of God?

Was a Jesus-and-me faith resulting from a personal born-again moment of greater importance than all believers being the body of Christ?

Was "soul-winning" in large numbers their main preoccupation, or discipling believers?

What was it about them, personally, that made what they had to offer -- the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- irresistable to so many (as evidenced by how quickly Christianity spread), though they had no complete New Testament to carry around and quote from? And does anyone exemplify that today?

JC is the Man -- I like that list. I'm familiar with most of the backup Scriptures, but a refresher course never hurts. E-mail them if you'd like.

Answer 1

Thank you Granny:

I fully believe that if the gospel were preached (lived) as it should be, it would still prove to be irresistible.

Answer 2

All nontrinitarians take the position that the doctrine of the earliest form of Christianity was not Trinitarian. Typically, nontrinitarians explain that Christianity was altered as a direct and indirect consequence of the edicts of Constantine the Great, which resulted in the eventual adoption of Trinitarian Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Because it was at this time of a dramatic shift in Christianity's status that the doctrine of the Trinity attained its definitive development, nontrinitarians typically find the doctrine questionable. It is in this light that the Nicene Creed is seen by nontrinitarians as an essentially political document, resulting from the subordination of true doctrine to State interests by the leaders of Catholic Church, so that the church became, in their view, an extension of the Roman Empire.

Although Nontrinitarian beliefs continued to multiply, and among some people (such as the Lombards in the West) it was dominant for hundreds of years afterward, the Trinitarians gained the immense power of the Roman Empire. Nontrinitarians typically argue that the primitive beliefs of the Christianity were systematically suppressed (often to the point of death), and that the historical record, perhaps also including the Scriptures of the New Testament, was altered as a consequence.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontrinitarianism


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Answer 3

Yes there are many churches that do exemplify that today. I believe the Resotration movement churches (the more liberal/contemporary ones) are doing an awesome job of just that. The Christian Church is probably the best example of the Restoration Churches.

They seek to be like the 1st century Christians they emphasize community as well as personal devotion to God.

I think what made the 1st century Christianity so "irresistable" is the following:
A community focus that:
Accepted One Another
Loved One Another
Patient With One Another
Beared Each Other's Burdens
Worked with One Another
Forgave One Another
Generous with One Another
Teached One Another
Lived at Peace with One Another
Prayed for Each other
Thankful for One Another
Rejoiced with One Another

I have scriptures to back up each one of these 1st century church realities.

Answer 4

AMEN ! and AMEN !

Among the Christian churches, only the Catholic Church has existed since the time of Jesus. Every other Christian church is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. The Eastern Orthodox churches broke away from unity with the pope in 1054. The Protestant churches were established during the Reformation, which began in 1517. (Most of today’s Protestant churches are actually offshoots of the original Protestant offshoots.) Only the Catholic Church existed in the tenth century, in the fifth century, and in the first century, faithfully teaching the doctrines given by Christ to the apostles, omitting nothing. The line of popes can be traced back, in unbroken succession, to Peter himself. This is unequaled by any institution in history: Even the oldest government is new compared to the papacy. The Catholic Church has existed for nearly 2,000 years, despite constant opposition from the world. This is testimony to the Church’s divine origin: Any merely human organization would have collapsed long ago. The Catholic Church is today the most vigorous church in the world (and the largest, with a billion members: one sixth of the human race), and that is testimony not to the cleverness of the Church’s leaders, but to the protection of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ Church is called catholic ("universal" in Greek) because it is his gift to all people. He told his apostles to go throughout the world and make disciples of "all nations" (Matt. 28:19–20). For 2,000 years the Catholic Church has carried out this mission, preaching the good news that Christ died for all men and that he wants all of us to be members of his universal family (Gal. 3:28). Nowadays the Catholic Church is found in every country of the world and is still sending out missionaries to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19). The Church Jesus established was known by its most common title, "the Catholic Church," at least as early as the year 107, when Ignatius of Antioch used that title to describe the one Church Jesus founded. The title apparently was old in Ignatius’s time, which means it went all the way back to the time of the apostles.

Answer 5

Our church visits Door to door weekly. Goes to several cities and street preaches 3-5 times a week. Goes to the super bowl, daytona 500 and like to preach to those masses. Goes to Utah twice a yr to preach. We preach ion jails, rescue missions, nursing homes etc. We have world wide evangelism going on. The bible says to go into all the world and preach the gospel. And I'm here preaching. goto jamesknox.com to find out about more ways to witness

Answer 6

no JWs have to do the "dirty work" of preach door to door as Jesus command.

Acts 20:20 "while I did not hold back from telling YOU any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching YOU publicly and from house to house"

and the message is in Matthew 24:14 "And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come. "

Answer 7

Hmmm...

sounds like you have the answers already.....

god bless

Answer 8

i do