The great mystery among the many mysteries revealed in the Bible is Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:32). Likewise, to know Christ and the church is the great blessing Christians can experience in this age. It is thus no wonder that Christ and the church comprise the central theme of the Bible. Because Christ so loves His church, the Bible devotes approximately twenty chapters of the book of Acts to chronicling the early history of the church and her expression in numerous cities through the local churches.

The first church to be established was in the city of Jerusalem; hence, it was known simply as the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1, 5:11). Its early history is recorded in Acts chapters 1 through 8. According to this account, the ministry of the Apostle Peter was instrumental in establishing the church in Jerusalem. Soon afterward, due to “a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem…all [the believers] were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles” (Acts 8:1). These believers announced the gospel wherever they were scattered, and as a result, additional churches sprang up in the regions of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria (Acts 9:31). Their histories are recorded in Acts chapter 8.

The second time that the word “church” is mentioned in Acts in conjunction with a particular city is in the case of Antioch (Acts 13:1), whose early history is recorded in Acts chapter 11. The ministries of Barnabas and Paul were instrumental in raising up the church in Antioch (Acts 11:26).

Acts chapters 13-14 and 16-21 record the histories of many of the churches established by the Apostle Paul and his coworkers during their three journeys. We know that there were churches in at least the following cities: Iconium (Acts 14:1, 21, 23), Lystra (Acts 14:8, 21, 23; 16:1, 5), Derbe (Acts 14:20; 16:1, 5), Philippi (Acts 16:12, Philippians 1:1), Thessalonica (Acts 17:1, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:1), Corinth (Acts 18:1, 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1), Ephesus (Acts 18:19, Ephesians, Revelation 1:11), Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea (Acts 19:10 and Revelation 1:11 refer to the last six cities listed, all of which were located in Asia; Colossians 4:16 applies to Laodicea), and Colossae (Acts 19:10; Colossians 4:16). Paul’s epistles to some of these churches reveal that they continued to benefit from his ministry years after they were established.

Through these accounts, it becomes evident that not only the church in general, but even the history of each local church is important to the Lord. With this is mind, some of us in the local churches would like to share a brief history of how we began meeting as the church in our city as well as some more recent developments. The ministries of two servants of the Lord, Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, have helped us in knowing Christ and the church.

These church histories are listed alphabetically by the name of the city in which the church is located. For more information, you may contact us at histories@churchhistories.org.