How long did Paul and Barnabas minister together at the Gentile congregation in Antioch?
Paul and Barnabas ministered together there at the Gentile congregation in Antioch for 18 months. This recorded period followed Barnabas seeking Saul and bringing him to Antioch, and it precedes the transition in chapter 12 to Peter's imprisonment in Jerusalem.
Les explains that Barnabas, God's man at the right time, saw that God was beginning to deal with Gentiles. He went looking for Saul, not just accidentally running into him, and when he found him he brought him back to Antioch. There Paul and Barnabas ministered to that Gentile congregation for 18 months. Then, as typical of a transition, the account leaves Paul and Barnabas for a little bit and returns to Jerusalem and Peter, where Peter ends up in prison and Jewish believers pray for him.