The Monday After • Nov 10, 2025
Paul’s Not So Large Churches
Darren Carlson
How large were the Christian gatherings that the Apostle Paul taught? My guess is no larger than 50-100.
In the New Testament, we don't really see Paul preaching to very large Christian gatherings. If anything, his biggest audiences were either curious unbelievers or hostile crowds.
Consider the scenes Luke records. Paul addresses an angry mob in Jerusalem (Acts 21–22). He reasons with philosophers at the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17:22–31). In Ephesus he teaches daily in the hall of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9–10)—a space used for evangelistic reasoning and ongoing instruction, likely a mixed setting of seekers and new believers.
By contrast, the explicit moments of Paul preaching to Christians are small and personal: an evening gathering in Troas where Eutychus nods off (Acts 20:7–12); the tearful farewell to the Ephesian elders at Miletus (Acts 20:17–38); and the pattern of house churches that frame his letters (Rom. 16:3–5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philem. 2). The pattern skews toward homes, rented spaces, and elders' meetings rather than large Christian assemblies. Even where Luke says "many" were taught (e.g., Antioch, Corinth), the venues (houses, halls) still suggest modest-scale gatherings or multiple meetings rather than a single huge crowd.
While we can't prove Paul never addressed more than 50–100 believers at once, the narrative weight of Acts and the house-church footprint of his letters suggest that most Christian instruction happened in modest rooms. The apostolic strategy seems intensely local, relational, and repeatable: public proclamation to the city, patient reasoning in accessible spaces, and deep formation in living rooms.
Please don't read this as an apologetic for house churches or a critique of churches larger than 100 (including mine!). Christians could not easily find places to worship. They had not built any buildings. The places they could worship were limited by their situation. Size, by itself, isn't virtuous or suspect. I'm simply pressing on our assumptions about how the early church actually operated—often in homes and smaller gatherings—so we can let Scripture speak.
When you picture Paul's ministry or the early church gathering together, how many people were there? Weigh that against what Acts describes.
Many years ago, a network of churches in Wisconsin's Hudson River Valley partnered with a local counseling center in northern Uganda that cared for children rescued from war. As they worked with these children, they discovered a serious problem: most of the local pastors had received little to no theological training. These pastors wanted to shepherd well, but they lacked the tools to interpret Scripture faithfully or preach clearly.
Recognizing this need, the churches invited Training Leaders International to come and help. TLI sent a team of pastors who began offering theological training—teaching biblical interpretation, preaching, and foundational theology. Over time, a dedicated team from Wisconsin returned again and again, investing deeply in the same site. What began as a single training trip has now grown into a multiplying movement.
Graduates of those early classes are now launching their own cohorts to equip other pastors in how to study and preach God's Word. The ripple effect has spread far beyond the original group. The fruit of long-term investment is visible not only in pulpits and churches, but in communities transformed by faithful preaching.
Some of the most meaningful moments, however, didn't happen in the classroom. They came outside of it—over meals, laughter, and prayer, as friendships blossomed across cultural lines. When the teams and students part ways, tears often follow. The visiting pastors are not just teachers—they are brothers and sisters who have come to learn and love alongside those they serve.
I love reading stuff by Alan Noble. This week, let me direct your attention to a free article on his Substack, Forgetting What Lies Behind. I've been pondering it in my mind for nearly a month now. Here is a preview:
What I expect Paul to do once he is converted on the road to Damascus is to go to every Christian he ever harmed, every family of every Christian he ever voted to put to death, and make amends. Maybe he did some of that. I don't know. The Scriptures don't record a Reconciliation Tour.
Thanks for checking in.
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