Acts 11:21-30
11:21 The
hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed
turned
to the Lord.
11:22 A report
about them came to the attention
of the church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas
to Antioch.
11:23 When
he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true
to the Lord with devoted hearts,
11:24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people
were brought to the Lord.
11:25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for Saul,
11:26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.
So
for a whole year Barnabas and Saul
met with the church and taught a significant number of people.
Now it was in Antioch
that the disciples were first called Christians.
Famine Relief for Judea
11:27 At that time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
11:28 One of them, named Agabus, got up and predicted by the Spirit that a severe famine was about to come over the whole inhabited world. (This took place during the reign of Claudius.)
11:29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
11:30 They did so, sending their financial aid to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.