The Churches in the Roman Province of Asia

Because of Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus, many churches were started in cit- ies throughout the Roman province of Asia. Acts 19:9- 10 reads, “Because Paul taught daily for two years, all the Jews and non-Jews who lived in the Roman province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.”

Many of the Christian disciples Paul trained in Ephesus became missionaries throughout Asia. Although the book of Acts does not tell us in what cities these churches were started, we can be rather sure that they included Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Hierapolis, Colossae, Aphrodisias, Troas, Assos, Tralles, Magnesia, Nysa, and Metropolis. The book of Revelation was later written to seven of these cities.