Session 6: The Church Grows

 

Last session we learned about St. Stephen, who is considered the first Christian martyr. Today we are 

going to examine the story of the conversion of St. Paul. St. Paul, who was born with the name “Saul,” 

wasn’t always a Christian. In fact, he was an aggressive persecutor of Christians who was present at 

St. Stephen’s execution. Let’s look in the Bible to find that. 

 

In the Bible, find Stephen’s Martyrdom- Acts 7:58-60 

*Note:If you are going to the Bible link online, you may have to scroll down to the right verse. 

 

Remember it was Stephen who was killed by a mob because he was teaching about Jesus. The 

“young man named Saul” present there would later become St. Paul!

 

Why did Saul hate Christians? 

Let’s talk about who Saul was. He was a highly educated Jewish person, part of a sect called Pharisees,

who were known for their strict adherence to Jewish laws. The idea of Jesus as the Son of God would 

have been shocking to Paul. He would have considered it blasphemy. What is blasphemy? Look here for

a definition.  

Now let’s look at how Saul behaved before his amazing conversion. Go to: Acts 8:1-3.

 

By the world’s standards at that time, do you think most people thought Saul was a bad 

person? Do you think Saul understood that what he was doing was wrong? Why or why not? Has 

there ever been a time when you thought something was right, but you turned out to be wrong?

 Now let’s read about Saul’s amazing conversion. Go to: Acts 9:1-22 

Then, watch this dramatization of Saul's conversion. 

Let’s think about Paul’s blindness. Why did Jesus take away his sight temporarily? What could Paul’s 

new sight signify symbolically? Do you think Jesus reaches people who have fallen away from God in a 

similar way today? How?  

 

 After Paul is blinded, a Christian named Ananias received a vision that he should go to Saul and baptize 

him. Ananias remembered how brutal Saul's reputation was for persecuting Christians, and he was 

scared. Ananias was challenged to have trust in God. Saul would change his name after his baptism to 

Paul. 

What role did Ananias’ obedience towards and trust in God have in Saul’s conversion to the Great 

St. Paul? Let's watch a dramatization of St. Paul's baptism.

What sacrament did Saul the Persecutor of Christians receive that gave him the new identity as Paul 

the Evangelist? (An evangelist teaches others about Jesus.) 

Have you ever witnessed someone change that drastically?

 
By our baptism, we are called to act on our faith.  If St. Paul would have said nothing to anyone about

Christianity after his baptism, he would not be known today as one of the great missionaries of the 

Church. God welcomed Saul into His family through Baptism, and taking on a new name, like you will do

in Confirmation, symbolized that Saul would now have a new mission in life. His mission would be for 

God. St. Paul went on to write letters to early Christian which would form half of our New Testament in

the Bible. He is still teaching modern people about Jesus!

Do you believe that the same thing happens to you through the sacraments of Baptism and 

Confirmation? What mission might God be inviting you to accomplish?  

Read Acts 9:26-27 

Who helped Paul spread the faith? Who has helped you grow in faith? 

 

 

St. Paul taught that the love of God is being poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who is the 

source of all love. The Holy Spirit creates a bond between us and God like children bound to a father. 

Even though we are weak, the Holy Spirit helps us stay faithful (and close) to God. The Holy Spirit’s help 

is otherwise known as grace. Paul was especially called to bring the message of Jesus Christ to people 

who were not Jewish, otherwise known as Gentiles. He traveled to the Greek cities of Corinth, Philippi, 

Ephesus, Athens and finally into Rome, Italy. In about 49 AD, the early church leaders got together and 

debated whether or not non-Jewish people could be full members of the Church. Paul argued that they 

should be equal members with Jewish people of the new Christian church. This meeting was called the  

Council of Jerusalem, because it took place in the city of Jerusalem. 

 

Jesus never addressed this question, but because he gave authority to the apostles to take over his 

Church, and God the Father sent the Holy Spirit to guide the decisions of Peter and the other apostles,

the decision that this council made became “doctrine” or a teaching of the Church  The Catholic Church

still makes decisions in this way today, by gathering, debating and praying. Pope Francis, the leader of 

the Catholic Church today, stands in the authority of St. Peter, who was the first Pope. How cool is that?

FYI- St. Paul was arrested and executed during Nero’s persecutions of Christians around 67 A.D. So he 

is considered a martyr. 

 

Before you leave this lesson, click on the EXIT TICKET to share your new knowledge about St. Paul's role

in the growth of the early Christian Church.