Hakikat Pertumbuhan Gereja Berdasarkan Kisah Para Rasul 2:41-47 - Adi Putra (BIA': Jurnal Teologi dan Pendidikan Kristen Kontekstual, 2020)
Abstract: This research is a study of the text of Acts 2: 41-47 in order to understand the lifestyle of the early church to discover the nature of church growth. Because of the research that has been conducted by the Bilangan Research Center Foundation with the conclusion that the growth that occurs in the church is due to movement factors and very small presentations are due to evangelism. That is what applies to using qualitative methods, especially the literature review of the text of Acts 2: 41-47, and some conclusions are drawn. First, the pattern of life of the early congregation that can be used as a model for the congregation or churches today that can experience growth, namely: they persevere in building up the Apostles, they persevere in fellowship, they persevere in breaking bread, they persevere in prayer, even they too. love god. So that they were liked by many people and God increased their numbers. Second, the essence of church growth, namely: the Word of God / sermons on Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, and church fellowship and unity. Third, church growth must start from growth in quality then to quantity.Keywords: Destructive, Church, Qualitative, Quantitative. Abstraksi: Penelitian ini merupakan kajian terhadap teks Kisah Para Rasul 2:41-47 guna memahami seperti pola hidup jemaat mula-mula untuk menemukan hakikat pertumbuhan gereja. Oleh karena seperti kesimpulan penelitian yang telah dilakukan oleh Yayasan Bilangan Research Center dengan sebuah kesimpulan bahwa pertumbuhan yang terjadi dalam gereja mayoritas disebabkan faktor perpindahan jemaat dan sangat kecil presentase disebabkan penginjilan. Itulah sebabnya dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif khususnya kajian literature terhadap teks Kisah Para Rasul 2:41-47 maka diperoleh beberapa kesimpulan. Pertama, pola kehidupan jemaat mula-mula yang dapat dijadikan contoh model bagi jemaat atau gereja masa kini supaya dapat mengalami pertumbuhan, yakni:  mereka bertekun dalam pengajaran Rasul, mereka bertekun dalam persekutuan, mereka bertekun memecahkan roti, mereka bertekun dalam doa, bahkan mereka juga suka memuji Tuhan. Sehingga mereka disenangi banyak orang dan Tuhan pun menambahkan jumlah mereka. Kedua, hakikat pertumbuhan gereja yakni: Firman Tuhan/ khotbah tentang Yesus Kristus, Pekerjaan Roh Kudus, dan persekutuan serta kesatuan gereja. Ketiga, pertumbuhan gereja harus dimulai dari pertumbuhan kualitas barulah kepada kuantitas.Kata Kunci: Pertumbuhan, Gereja, Kualitatif, Kuantitatif.