The early Church was forced to disperse after the stoning of Stephen, “for on that day a great persecution broke out against the Church at Jerusalem.” (Acts 8:1)  Because they no longer had the support and encouragement of the Body of Believers around them they could of given up, gone into hiding, and denied their faith…but they didn’t.  For it tells us in this verse that wherever they went they declared the Word of the Lord to those around them.  They refused to allow persecution to silence them, and instead became Itinerant Evangelists sharing the Good News of Jesus.