You Y’all will be my witnesses.

FOUNDATIONS

OVERVIEW

  1. Share and Explore - How do people hear the good news? 6-7min

  2. Watch - Madison and Chandler (Welcome)   4 min

  3. Discuss - Let’s talk about family  5-7 min

  4. Read - Biblical foundations  2 min

  5. Read And Discuss - Let’s talk about Salvation  5 min

  6. Read And Discuss - Let’s talk more about family,   10 min

Today’s Practice

1. Foundations

▼ Watch together.

Meet your hosts

Madison and Chandler

Madison and Chandler are college students in Boston with roots in Texas, Arkansas, and Germany. They will get us started at the beginning of each practice we are learning together.

Let’s begin.

How are people currently encountering the gospel on our campus?

▼Discuss together

3-4 min discussion

God reaches people through relationships.

Let’s look at three relational contexts— or modes, through which people came to Christ in the ministry of Jesus and his disciples.

▼Read and Discuss

ministry mode

  • “MINISTRY MODE” - planned ministry outreach.

    JESUS’ EXAMPLE

    In Luke 10:1-24, Jesus trains and sends 70 disciples to share the gospel in nearby towns.

    EXAMPLES ON CAMPUS

    • spiritual interest surveys

    • tabling on campus

    • any plan to go and share the gospel with someone available to talk— whether it’s a stranger or someone you know

natural mode

  • “Natural mode” - our intentional outreach to others in the natural flow of our lives.

    JESUS’ EXAMPLE

    In John 4:5-30, Jesus turns a natural encounter with a Samaritan woman at a well into a gospel conversation that results in the woman and others in her community coming to faith in Christ.

    EXAMPLES ON CAMPUS

    • a conversation that turns spiritual with a friend

    • a chance interaction at a coffee shop or work

body life mode

  • “Body mode” - the shared life and witness of a Christian community. People are drawn not only to a message, but to a community shaped by the gospel.

    JESUS’ DISCIPLES’ EXAMPLE

    Acts 2:42-47 portrays a Christ-centered community shortly after Jesus’ death and resurrection:

    This is Body Mode in Action. People were drawn not just to a message, but to a community that embodied that message.

    EXAMPLES ON CAMPUS

    • Whenever a non-Christian encounters the gospel as it is spoken and lived out in the communal life of a group of Christians.

    • Experienced over a shared meal together

    • Whenever an outsider is invited into the life of a Christian community

Our training focus for this series:

BODY LIFE WITNESS

“Whenever someone who is not a Christian encounters the gospel as it is spoken and lived out in the communal life of a group of Christians.”

The Fellowship of the Believers

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

  • What jumps out as you read this passage?

  • Describe how the gospel spread.

  • Why do you think people were “daily being saved” by this community’s witness ?

  • Think back to the three modes of evangelism.

    • Ministry Mode // Natural Mode // Body Mode

  • Which way of sharing the gospel do we most intentionally practice within our movement?

▼Read and Discuss Acts 2 together

Our gospel witness is healthiest

when all three ways

are present, growing, and working

together within our community.

We begin by looking at how the Bible describes God’s plan to rescue and heal the world.

We need to understand the bigger story and our role in that story.

It begins and ends with family.

BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS

▼ Read aloud.

▼ Choose someone to read the following section for your whole group.

One of the Bible's foundational themes is God's formation of a people—a family

in this world, for this world.

I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. . . and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

— Genesis 12:2-4

From the formation of the family of Israel

to the formation of Jesus' band of disciples

“Father, I pray that all who believe in me can be one. You are in me and I am in you. I pray that they can also be one in us. Then the world will believe that you sent me. ”

— John 17:21

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

— 1 Peter 2:9-10

to the formation of the church by the Holy Spirit.

This one unifying theme of the salvation and formation of a family of God knits 1600 years and 66 books of the Bible in one continuous narrative.

▼ Choose another reader and keep reading below.

From me and Jesus to we and Jesus

SALVATION

We often think of salvation as "inviting Christ into my life."

But what if salvation is also an invitation from Jesus into something much greater?

Something like this.

▼ Watch this 1:35m video

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee student Kate Seymour put her animation skills to use with this cool interpretation of Body Life Witness. You can see more of Kate’s work here.

▲ How would you describe what is happening in the illustration above?

Let’s talk a bit more about family

▼ read and discuss together.

Our families form and shape us. Think about your own family. What is a tradition, a value, or a family story that has shaped you?

REMEMBER: God’s plan is to save people into His family— and through his family to bring salvation to the world.

Consider the “family values” of the Body of Christ that we’ve already read today:

  • Living according to Biblical teaching

  • generous giving and hospitality

  • praying and worshipping together

  • doing life together regularly

Which of these family practices played a role in your salvation story of coming to know Christ?

When the Body of Christ lives out God’s family practices, it becomes a powerful witness for the gospel.

How might a shift from:

  • individualistic “me and Jesus” mindset to a communal “we and Jesus” mindset change how we think about sharing the good news of the gospel as a movement?

Let’s talk our movement here on campus.

  • What are the family practices of our movement?

  • What practices might be missing?

  • How might these practices effect our witness for Christ

FOUNDATIONS:

BIG IDEA

God's plan to rescue and heal the world involves the formation of a family, the body of Christ.

When the Body of Christ lives out God’s family practices, it becomes a powerful witness for the Gospel.

Next time we meet…

A GREAT FAMILY PARADOX

Ever notice that we, as a Christian community, often want to put our best foot forward? We want to look perfect and put together.

The truth is, we still struggle with sin, doubt, addiction, anxiety, loneliness, and depression. What can we do to turn these examples of brokenness into a magnetic witness to the world?

Next Time: CONFESSION

Last, but not least

YOUR VOICE MATTERS

A diverse group of students and Cru staff designed what you just experienced. We need your help to continue making it even better.

Will you take just a few minutes to evaluate THIS PRACTICE?

Thank you!

What is the Gospel?

the essence of the good news story we share

  • God loves us and made us for life with Him

    • We were created to know God personally and live in His love as part of His family.

  • Our Sin Separates Us from God

    • By choosing our own way, we’ve broken our relationship with God and can’t fix it ourselves. Sin infects all of our key relationships.

  • Jesus Brings Us Back to God

    • Through His death and resurrection, Jesus paid for our sin and offers forgiveness and new life.

  • We Respond by Faith and Join His Family

    • We receive Jesus by faith. We begin by turning from our old ways, admitting that we need Jesus to forgive us and bring us into his new way.

      He gives us His Spirit, makes us part of His people, and calls us to share His love with others.