About this episode

Peyton Jones interviews Dr. Michael Cooper about the early church and the insights archaeology provides into first-century Christianity.

In this episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Peyton Jones sits down with Dr. Michael Cooper to talk about his new book, Gods, Emperors, Philosophers, and a New Movement . Building on his work in Ephesiology , Michael explores how archaeology helps us better understand the early church, the spread of the gospel, and the world Paul and the first Christians inhabited. From Ephesus to Laodicea, they discuss house churches, public gathering spaces, Christograms, the Hall of Tyrannus, and the evidence of Christian movement in the first centuries. The conversation also challenges church planters to think beyond simple church growth formulas and recover the kind of patient, contextual, culturally engaged mission we see in the New Testament. The early church adapted to real places, engaged real people, and took the time to make disciples who could carry the gospel into new spaces. If you want to understand first-century mission, think more deeply about church planting, and learn how history and archaeology can sharpen disciple-making today, this episode is for you. Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode: Gods, Emperors, Philosophers, and a New Movement NewBreed Training Thanks…

People in this episode

Host: Peyton Jones

Guest: Dr. Michael Cooper

Topics covered

• early Christianity
• archaeology
• church planting
• gospel spread
• first-century mission
• discipleship

Keywords

• early church
• church growth
• house churches
• public gathering spaces
• Christian movement
• contextual mission
• disciple-making

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Gods, Emperors, Philosophers, and a New Movement, Ephesiology

Places: Ephesus, Laodicea, Hall of Tyrannus

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