Acts 14:20-21

Acts 14:20-21

[20] Howbeit,  as the disciples  stood round about  him,  he rose up,  and came  into  the city:  and  the next day  he departed  with  Barnabas  to  Derbe.  [21] And  when they had preached the gospel  to that  city,  and  had taught  many,  they returned again  to  Lystra,  and  to Iconium,  and  Antioch, 

What does Acts 14:20-21 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Paul and Barnabas next moved about60 miles farther to the southeast to Derbe (meaning juniper, modern Kerti Hyk) on the eastern border of the Galatian province. [1] Many more people became believers and disciples there (cf. Acts 20:4). Luke did not record what the apostles experienced there, but this was the home of Gaius, one of Paul"s later companions ( Acts 20:4). Perhaps Gaius became a convert at this time.
The larger towns of Antioch and Iconium seem to have produced more influential churches, but the smaller ones of Lystra and Derbe contributed more young men who became leaders (i.e, Timothy and Gaius).
This is "a pattern not altogether different from today, where the larger churches often capture the headlines and the smaller congregations provide much of the personnel." [2]