[529 words] To answer these questions, we must go back to the book of Acts. It is there in Acts 2 that we read of the establishment of the Church on the Day of Pentecost, just as had been prophesied by the Old Testament prophets. While there are many things that we could say about the beginning of the church, two things in particular stand out as being especially relevant to the topic of how the church can prosper today. First, the church was established through the preaching of the gospel. Second, the church grew because people with honest hearts, who were seeking the truth, obeyed the gospel. When it comes to the growth of the church today, these are two factors which can easily be duplicated by faithful Christians and those seeking the truth. As has been said before “sometimes to get to where we want to be, we…