Aquila and Priscilla were an amazing couple. They were not missionaries or ministers. They were tentmakers (or leather workers) by trade—laypeople who were used mightily by the Lord. They moved from Rome to Corinth, where Paul met them. He was also a tentmaker, so he lived and worked with them.

After some time, Paul moved on to Ephesus, and Priscilla and Aquila went with him. Paul didn’t stay long, but they remained and served the church there. When Apollos, a highly educated new believer, came, he was quite effective in ministry, but his teaching about Jesus needed some correction. So Priscilla and Aquila invited him to their home and helped him get on track. Apollos later proved to be a helpful teacher of the good news.

From the greetings in Paul’s letters, we know that a church in Ephesus met in Priscilla and Aquila’s home (1 Corinthians 16:19). They returned to Rome, and a church also met in their home there. Paul adds that they were his coworkers and had risked their lives for him (Romans 16:3-5). Later they were back in Ephesus again (2 Timothy 4:19).

Aquila and Priscilla moved a lot, and wherever they went, they opened their home so that people could worship together. They mentored other leaders while working behind the scenes. God needs people like them in his mission today too. Could you be one?