If we date the conversion of Saul/Paul as about A.D. 35, then what is stated about the churches in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria transpired sometime in the mid-30’s of the first century. That was a few years after the beginning of the church in Jerusalem.

Let us focus specifically on the churches that were in Galilee at that time. In the first century, the land between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River was divided into three areas: Judea (south), Samaria (central), and Galilee (north). In the last twenty-three books of the New Testament, which would be from Acts to Revelation, how many times do we read about the churches/Christians in the territory of Galilee? Only once – in Acts 9:31. I find that fascinating! Jesus grew up in Nazareth of Galilee, performed His first earthly miracle in Cana of Galilee, did many things during His public ministry in Capernaum of Galilee, and preached extensively in the villages throughout Galilee. Yet, in the Holy Spirit’s record of the activities of the church in the first century, there are a total of two sentences about the churches of Galilee.

That, of course, leaves us with several unknowns. How many local churches were there in Galilee, and where were they? Josephus, a Jewish historian in the first century, noted that there were over two hundred villages in Galilee in Jesus’ day, yet we have no biblical record of where the churches assembled in Galilee. How interesting that we can identify several of “the churches of Asia” in the first century, but cannot do the same with the churches of Galilee.

And what about the number of members in those local churches in Galilee? The Bible is silent on that topic. What were the names of the members in Galilee? We know some of the names of saints in Corinth, Rome, Thessalonica, Philippi, and Rome, but can only speculate about who were the members in Galilee. At what point did they appoint elders in those Galilean congregations? Again, we just do not know.