adult bible study for global church planting sunday

7/30/2019 Adult Bible Study for Global Church Planting Sunday

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But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses inJerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.Acts 1:8

When Jesus delivered this command to His disciples, He was about to end His earthly min-istry and ascend to heaven. For three years, Jesus twelve disciples had ollowed Him whileHe taught, established His divine identity, and poured out His love and compassion. At thetime Jesus spoke these words, He had already accomplished His missionto seek and save

those who were lost and oer all humanity an eternal relationship with God. Having ulflled Hispurpose, Jesus gave His disciples their missionto take the good news o the gospel to theends o the earth and build His church. In a short period o time, Jesus small group o ollow-ers grew to over three thousand in Jerusalem, then to many thousands spread out over Judea,Samaria, and the nation o Israel. Today, Christianity is the largest religion in the world with ap-proximately 2.18 billion believers.

Jesus calls all o us to same mission He gave his frst ollowersto reach every nation, createdisciples o Christ, and build His worldwide church. The best way or us to respond to JesusGreat Commission is to join together, because it is when we come together that we are themost eective at growing and strengthening the church.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows andbuilds itself up in love, as each part does its work.Ephesians 4:16

Global Church Planting Sunday is a way we can join together to ulfll the mission Jesus hasgiven us. By praying, increasing awareness, raising fnancial support, and casting a vision orulflling the Great Commission, you and your church can make a dierence!

GETTING STARTED

Open in prayer.

QUESTION 1: Think o a time when you started something new or were involved in creatingsomething new. Share the story with your group. What motivated you, what challenges did youexperience, and how did everything turn out?

QUESTION 2: Share with your group how and why you frst came to the church youre now at-tending. What drew you to that church, and what caused you to stay?

PLANTING CHURCHES HERE,

THERE, AND EVERYWHERE

ADULT BIBLE STUDY


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BIBLE STUDY AND DISCUSSION

Read Acts 2:4227.

QUESTION 3: This passage describes the frst Christian church in the time just ater Jesusresurrection. What are some o the specifc activities in this church? Read through the passageagain and then write down a list o everything these frst Christians did.

QUESTION 4: Do you see some or all o these same activities in your church? What is similarbetween your church and this one? What is dierent?

QUESTION 5: In what ways does attending church aect your lie, your relationship with God,and your relationship with others? I you could not attend a church, how do you think thatwould aect you?

Did You Know?

There is much more to be done to ulfll Jesus command to witness to the ends o theearth. Did you know there are hundreds o millions o people who do not have a Christianchurch within a reasonable traveling distance? There are thousands o unreached peoplegroups who do not have a Bible or a single local church. Since 1970, the number oChristians worldwide has increased by one billion, an increase o 83 percent. Yet thenumber o new churches has increased by only 19 percent. This is a heartbreaking realitythat has let many new Christians without a church home where they can be discipled,grow in their aith, and help reach others.

Read Acts 1:8.

QUESTION 6: Do you believe this command applies to us today? Why or why not?

QUESTION 7: The areas Jesus listed in this passage had meaning to His ollowers. Jerusalemwas the city they were in. Judea and Samaria were the larger, surrounding areas. I you were toulfll this command to be Jesus witness in Jerusalem (your own city or community), in Judeaand Samaria (the surrounding area), and to the ends o the earth, what might that look like?Use the table below to write down some ways you can witness or Christ in these three areas.

In Acts 1:8 Meaning for MeHow I Can Be Jesus Witness

in This Area

Jerusalem My city or community

Judea and Samaria My state or province

Ends o the earth Throughout the world

Read John 20:21, Mark 16:15, and Matthew 28:1920.

QUESTION 8: These Scriptures are all the words o Jesus, and they have a common theme. Inyour own words, summarize what Jesus is saying in these Bible passages.


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APPLICATION

QUESTION 9: In James 1:22, the Bible tells us, But be doers of the word, and not hearersonly, deceiving yourselves(ESV). When you consider the three Bible passages you just read,would you say you are a doer o the word or just a hearer? In other words, are you carryingout Jesus command to go out into the world and share the good news o the gospel?

QUESTION 10: Name at least one specifc way in which you can respond to Jesus words inJohn 20:21, Mark 16:15, and Matthew 28:1920.

Next Steps

Every church and every Christian can be involved in the planting o new churches. We see thisrom the start o the very frst church, described in Acts 2. During the frst century, the ApostlePaul devoted himsel to planting a number o churches. New churches are particularly eectivein reaching people or Christ, because they are outwardly ocused and working to grow. Thestarting o new churches is a key, biblical method o ulflling Jesus command to go and makedisciples o all nations. Did you know there are many ways you can support church plantingaround the world? Below are fve great ways you and your church can make a dierence.

1. Pray. Pray or God to raise up church planters, train them, and provide or them. Here are

specifc ways you can pray:

Select a church-planting leader from your church or denomination and pray for them, their

amily, and their ministry.

Pray about your favorite country or countries using information from OperationWorld.org

as a guide.

2. Give. For just a dollar a day, you can help train church planters who will start new

churches all over the world. For more inormation and to sign up, go to the Global Church

Planting Sunday website at: www.churchplantingsunday.com/give

Or ask your pastor or church leaders how you can support the church planting effortsstarted by your church or denomination.

3. Raise Awareness by talking to others about the need or new churches or by posting a link

to the ChurchPlantingSunday.com on your Facebook page or through your Twitter account.

4. Plant Churches. Talk to your church leaders about how you can be involved in planting a

local church or participating in a mission trip to another country.

Or, if you believe God is calling you to be actively involved in planting churches, visit DCPI.orgor more inormation on how you can receive inormation and training.

CLOSING

Prayer Requests: Beore closing your time together, have everyone share at least one prayerrequest.

Close in prayer. Pray or each other and or church planting eorts and leaders throughout theworld.

adult bible study for global church planting sunday

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