What started at Philipi?
“Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi . . . Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” ( Philippians 1:1-2 ) The church at Philippi was birthed on one of Paul’s missionary journeys. He was summoned there in a vision by an unidentified man in Macedonia (now Greece) pleading for him to come and help them ( Acts 16:9-10 ). Recognizing the call was from the Lord, he went immediately. Paul’s European ministry began with the conversion of Lydia, who worshipped God and readily followed Paul’s teachings ( Acts 16:14 ). Paul soon traveled to Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens, where he encountered much hardship and persecution. But the work he had begun in Philippi continued, eventually spreading throughout the continent. The intensely personal letter he later wrote to the Philippian church contains some of the most important doctrinal truths concerning Christ and our victorious lif