This is the third statement of the progress of the Christian churches that Luke has so far given (see 6.7; 9.31). By use of his favorite particle (translated so in Good News Translation), Luke brings down the curtain on this act of the Christian drama. This is the same particle referred to in 1.6 and used frequently throughout the book.

As has been pointed out in several other passages, it may be necessary to translate churches as “members of the churches” or “people who belong to the churches.” This is necessary in some languages since only people can be made stronger. Even the term stronger must, in some instances, be recast as “to become more firm,” “to be made to stand steady,” or even in a negative expression, “not to change in their faith.”

The churches … grew in number every day must be rendered in some languages as “there were more and more believers each day,” or “more and more persons believed each day,” or “the number of persons who believed was larger each day.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .