I’m fairly confident that most churches would in some way want to call themselves a ‘New Testament church’, because there really shouldn’t be any other sort. But what do we even mean by that? For many churches, and especially church planters, it’s a kind of shorthand for an attempt to find a model or pattern to follow, often, and especially, from the Book of Acts. It is, after all, the only narrative description of the New Testament Church that we have.

It has certainly worked that way for me in my church planting efforts. Changes made in method and form between the first and second church were as a result of learning first from the church in Acts and then from the different context we’re in. Here are 6 characteristics that I see in Acts church, please add your thoughts in the comments on things I have missed or you see differently.

The Primacy of Christ

The first church believed that God had done something unique through the person of Jesus Christ. Their absolute conviction was based in an unwavering insistence that God had raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The resurrection fuelled everything. They preached Christ, prayed to the God of Jesus Christ, believed that his resurrection proved He was the author of life, the Jewish Messiah, the judge of the living and the dead, the ruler of the nations and significantly that He was coming back. Their devotion to Christ was such that in Antioch his followers began to be called after the one they followed, Christians. (Acts 3:15; 4:12; 11:26)

Here’s a question: How could we tell that Christ really is central in your church?

Dependence on the Holy Spirit

From the first sentence to the last paragraph the Holy Spirit’s activity, influence, power & presence is unmistakable in Acts. It is like a gift received, a wind blowing, a jar being filled, a person being baptized, a fire coming down. Jesus baptises, sends, empowers, equips and prepares his people all through the work of the Holy Spirit. Being ‘full of the Spirit’ open doors for you (Acts 6:3-5, 7:55) but lying to the Holy Spirit can close the coffin lid. The early church was a church that depended on the Holy Spirit from first to last.

The call to repentance & baptism

From the day of Pentecost, to the Ethiopian eunuch, to Ananias visiting Saul in Damascus, from the house of Cornelius, to Ephesus or Philippi – the message and accompanying sign was simple, powerful and straightforward: ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins’. (Acts 2:38, 3:19, 5:31, 8:22, 11:18, 17:30, 20:21, 26:20)

Repentance should not be skipped over or done lightly. We are not sinners in general but sinners with very specific sins. It firstly forces us to face our brokenness and sinfulness and then comes the act of baptism (Acts 2:41, 8:12-16, 8:36-38, 10:47-48, 22:16) that dramatically signifies an old life that is dead & buried and assures us of a new forgiven, cleansed one, united with Christ.

The centrality of breaking bread

There aren’t quite as many verses here but they are richly weighted. Acts 2:42-47 talks of how they were devoted to the breaking of bread (twice) in their homes and ate together. Breaking bread & eating together was central to the fellowship of believers. There is no stronger sign of the unity that the Jews & Gentiles had together than Peter eating with Cornelius & his household (Acts 11:3) for which he took a lot of heat. By the end (Acts 20:7) as Paul and his band are in Troas it says ‘on the first day of the week we came together to break bread.’ The early church ate together and broke bread together to remember who they were united, Christ, and who they were united with, each other.

A commitment to prayer

Luke specifically says that the early church was devoted to prayer and you certainly see that throughout Acts. Peter & John went to the temple to pray (interesting), after their arrest they gather to pray, the apostles focused on prayer (Acts 6:4), we repeatedly find Peter praying, and when he is arrested the church is at prayer (Acts 12:12). Prayer accompanies everything they do, the visions, the missions, the healings, the preaching, the appointing of elders (Acts 14:23). Prayer, prayer and more prayer.

Care for the poor

The first church was remarkably generous. Homes & possessions were shared (Acts 2:45), beggars healed (Acts 3:6), widows provided for (Acts 6:1-3), slaves seen & helped (Acts 16:18). They went so far as to be able to say ‘there was no needy person among them’ (Acts 4:34). This happened because from somewhere the believers found a radically new attitude towards their possessions and assets (‘no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own’ – Acts 4:32).

This community of love & care certainly began to mark the church as different from the wider society in their care for the least, last and lost.

There are, for sure, other features that we can discern from Acts but these six things give every church a powerful foundation from which to build.