Aquila and Priscilla show us a fascinating example of serving well together. Join rural church-planting wives, Denna Busenitz (Sandhills of NE) and Madelyn Fox (Allakaket, AK) for their Friday Flowers devotional series.
Aquila and Priscilla are always mentioned together in the Word of God and were close friends with the Apostle Paul. We find that at least 18 years pass in the life of this couple from the time Paul meets them in AD 49 until he mentions them shortly before his martyrdom in AD 67.
Be encouraged as we look at the lasting legacy of this ministry couple through eight life-actions recorded in the Scriptures.
- They moved together (Acts 18:2)
- They worked together (Acts 18:3)
- Traveled together (Acts 18:18)
- Counseled together (Acts 18:26)
- Risked their lives serving together (Romans 16:4)
- Hosted Paul (Acts 18:3) and church (Romans 16:5) in their home together
- Cheered others on together (1 Corinthians 16:19)
- Left a legacy together (Romans 16:3-4, 2 Timothy 4:19)
Life-Action 1:
They moved together (at least 4x in Scripture)
Acts 18:2, “And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them.”
I heard the words,
“we’re moving”
five times and to three different states by the time I was eight years old. I look back on five additional moves since I married my farmer-called-to-be-a-pastor husband in 2001:
- The old farm home in KS as we raised missionary support going into rural church-planting
- The yellow house on the corner in NE where we were mentored by a church-planting couple
- The tiny house on the Snake River where God called us to help plant a rural church
- The newly renovated home on a ranch many miles from a town
- Our current home where we serve two locations/one church-plant
Have you ever asked your Pastor’s Wife how many times she has moved? The people, places and ministries she has said goodbye to?
Yes, we pack memories and belongings, say our goodbyes then move with our husbands to the next place God calls.
How did Priscilla handle the news of this move? She and Aquila were tentmakers by trade with no spare time to uproot their own tent pegs and move on. Priscilla was from Italy while Aquila was a native of Pontus. They were leaving her hometown.
My Grandma Halulko (DiBacco) was 100% Italian. Her parents grew up around the Abruzzo region of Italy, moving to small-town PA in the USA in the early 1900’s, birthing 14 children. They left a fun-loving, creative-with-pennies, generous-with-pasta legacy.
‘Mama Mia’ might’ve been something both women said when they were overwhelmed packing!
In much the same way, Priscilla and Aquila said goodbye to all things favorite and familiar in Rome, Italy and moved 992.97 km/536.16 nautical miles to Corinth, Greece. I think she packed her favorite wall hanging, ‘Bloom where He plants.’
Have you been there? Saying goodbye to all that is familiar?
Yet, even in both of their moves, God used them. The Apostle Paul heard about this couple’s arrival and went to see them.
The first thing Priscilla and Aquila did after their unplanned move was open their hearts and home to new friendships and Kingdom-building adventures God had planned.
Their legacy as a ministry couple was just beginning.
