earth.” (It is often said that this command of Jesus in Acts 1:8 was put in motion by Acts 8:1 when “a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”) Later, Paul took up the missionary mantle, a calling that became almost an obsession. But others joined the cause as well—Barnabas and Silas and John Mark, most notably. What role the original disciples played is less certain. There is no doubt, however, about the