Paul as a Preacher of the Gospel

In each place Paul comes to on his missionary journeys, the first thing he does is to find accommodation. He then lives and works as a tent-maker there. At the same time he tries to convert as many people as possible.

Through his preaching, small groups of Christians arise in each city. When he moves on, he remains in permanent contact with them.

Paul’s home and work place is usually just a room in a kind of apartment complex. There he makes tents out of leather (Acts 18:3). He provides for himself by this means (1 Corinthians 9). He tells people about Jesus Christ when they come by to buy something. Sometimes they then come back to Paul to hear more of his message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

According to the book of Acts, wherever Paul is, he first goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath. It is only when the Jews will no longer listen to him that he turns to non-Jews. These people are more open to his message (Acts 18:4-7; Acts 19:8-10; Acts 28:25-29).
Everywhere that Paul preaches the gospel, people come to faith. Together they form small groups of Christians, “congregations”, which meet on Sunday evenings. They then eat together, talk about the faith and pray, sing and read from the books of the Old Testament, etc (1 Corinthians 11–14).

Paul feels a bond with the people who have become Christians through his preaching. So he remains in constant contact with them. He tries to visit them regularly. If that is not possible, he sends one of his co-workers to them or writes them a letter.
In his letters he calls on the Christians to keep believing and to live as God wants them to live. Only then will they be saved by God at the end of time.