Conclusion Jesus said, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No. He pours new wine into new wineskins. His point was simply that some actions are inappropriate. Some church practices are also inappropriate. If we compare the new wine to our new lives in Christ, then the wineskin could be likened to what we do when we come together as God's people, ecclesiology. The most appropriate wineskin is arguably found in the dynamics of New Testament church practice. The growth strategies of the ancient church were simple – a family atmosphere, participatory worship, weekly fellowship, over food with friends who love Jesus, servant leaders, and the in-depth discussion of Scripture. Economist E.F. Schumacher said, any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a lot of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. The growth strategies of the ancient church were strategic. God's people got involved in church meetings through participatory worship that stirred up good deeds. Loving relationships were formed through the weekly agape. and a strong commitment by the leaders to build congregational consensus promoted unity. Overflowing love and unity is a powerful witness to the watching world. The growth strategies of the ancient church were scriptural, based on Jesus's teachings, clearly seen in the Bible, practiced by first century believers. and prescribed in the New Testament. They constituted a divine design for making disciples of all nations. Who knew better than the apostles, the best church practice wineskins? Aren't their traditions worthy of our consideration? About the author. Stephen E. Akerson, Master of Divinity, Mid-America Baptist Seminary, helps church leaders discover simple growth strategies given by Jesus to the early church. For over 30 years, he has worked with evangelists, missionaries, church planters, and pastors in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Africa He is one of the pastors of a Southern Baptist church he planted in 1991 and is president of the New Testament Reformation Fellowship, ntrf.org. About NTRF. The New Testament Reformation Fellowship is a fellowship of pastors who seek the reformation of today's church through the adoption of New Testament church practices. We aid in church leaders recapturing the intimacy, simplicity, accountability, and dynamic of Spirit-led, first-century church life. The essential tenets of the faith to which we subscribe are identical to those found in the doctrinal statement of any sound evangelical institution. Our favorite statement of faith is the First London Baptist Confession of 1644. In particular, those of us associated with NTRF agree with the doctrines of Grace, New Covenant theology, the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, the 1987 Danvers Statement, and the 2017 Nashville Statement. My mother passed away from cancer during my freshman year of high school. What had become of her? Where had she gone? Would I ever see her again? After much inquiry about life after death, I discovered that obtaining eternal life is not based on how good we are, but on the goodness of Jesus. Although I had heard of Jesus since my earliest memory, My belief in Him was not unlike my belief in Albert Einstein. I believed He existed but did not look to Him to do anything for me. I mistakenly thought heaven my destiny simply because I sincerely tried to be a good person. No matter how good I was, it would not be good enough. God is so holy that just one sin is all it takes to separate us from Him. That was bad news. The good news is that Jesus, who is God in human form, died on the cross in order to pay for sin. Since He is infinite God, Jesus was able to suffer in a finite amount of time on the cross But it would have taken me, who am finite, an infinity of time to suffer in hell. After dying and being buried, Jesus literally, bodily rose from the dead on the third day. He conquered death. He then ascended to heaven, and from there Christians await His return. When I realized the truth, I consciously transferred trust for my eternal destiny from me and anything good in me over to Jesus. I confessed the same thing that Thomas, an early believer, confessed. my Lord and my God," John 20, verse 28. After trusting in Jesus, He gave me a desire to learn about and obey His teachings. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14, verse 15. My appeal is that you look to Jesus for eternal life. Worship Him as your Lord and God. Call on Him while He is near. Now is the day of salvation. To learn more, find the Gospel of John in the Bible. Read it a chapter at a time. At the end of each chapter, ask yourself two questions based on that chapter. Who is Jesus? Number two, what does He want from me? There are 21 chapters in John's gospel. Will you accept a 21-day challenge and read a chapter a day?