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Acts of The Apostles - Intro

This document provides an introduction to a Bible study on evangelization through the Acts of the Apostles. It will cover three areas: foundations of evangelization like the Church, Holy Spirit, and prayer; strategies seen in Acts that can be applied today; and practical ways to evangelize and share one's faith. The leader's roles are to pray for participants, create a welcoming environment, and facilitate discussion. The goals are deep life transformation, building intimate fellowship, and encouraging spiritual multiplication as group members lead their own Bible studies.

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Dante Julian
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203 views9 pages

Acts of The Apostles - Intro

This document provides an introduction to a Bible study on evangelization through the Acts of the Apostles. It will cover three areas: foundations of evangelization like the Church, Holy Spirit, and prayer; strategies seen in Acts that can be applied today; and practical ways to evangelize and share one's faith. The leader's roles are to pray for participants, create a welcoming environment, and facilitate discussion. The goals are deep life transformation, building intimate fellowship, and encouraging spiritual multiplication as group members lead their own Bible studies.

Uploaded by

Dante Julian
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LEADER’S

INTRODUCTION

The Big Picture

God’s word is alive and it should be embodied in our lives.

St. Ignatius of Loyola was the founder of the Jesuits and is one of
the great saints of the Church. During his lifetime, thousands of men
joined the Jesuits. As he would form them for their work to evangelize
the world, he would end every meeting with one phrase: “Go, set the
world on fire.”

The fire that Ignatius is talking about is, of course, the fire of the Holy
Spirit. Jesus commanded His apostles to make disciples of all nations.
Our Lord gave them the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to accomplish this
mission. In the Acts of the Apostles, we get to see some amazing
examples of how the Holy Spirit works through the apostles to reach
people throughout the world.

The purpose of this study is to give an introduction to evangelization


through the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles. We have determined
three areas of introduction that can be gathered from Acts:

First, evangelization requires some foundational principles.


Specifically, we will cover the Church, the Holy Spirit, and prayer.
Second, evangelization is strategic in nature. The Acts of the Apostles
reveals several gems of evangelistic strategy that we can apply today.
Throughout this section, your group will actively strategize how you
can evangelize on your campus.

Finally, the Acts of the Apostles reveals practical ways to evangelize


that we can put to use in our own life. We do not want you to finish
this study just knowing about evangelization; we want you to be able
to evangelize. The practical section will give you tools to lead your
group in developing evangelistic skills. As the leader, you will need to
know how to perform these practical skills yourself so that you are
able to teach them to your group.

These three sections are outlined below in the Table of Contents.

Table of Contents

Part 1 – Foundations for Evangelization


Chapter 1 – Evangelization in the Context of the Church
Chapter 2 – Evangelization and the Holy Spirit
Chapter 3 – Prayer as the Heart of Evangelization

Part 2 – Strategies for Evangelization


Chapter 4 – Preparing to Share the Faith
Chapter 5 – What’s God’s Mission for Your Life?
Chapter 6 – ‘Win, Build, Send’ Evangelization and the Spiritual
Multiplication Depth Chart
Chapter 7 – Learning to Articulate the Faith

Part 3 – Practicals for Evangelization


Chapter 8 – How-to Share Your Testimony
Chapter 9 – How-to Give a Gospel Presentation
Chapter 10 – Sharing the Gospel and Fear of Suffering
Introduction

Blessed John Paul II once said, “The saints have always been the source
and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church’s
history.” The Acts of the Apostles Bible study is meant to provide
examples of evangelization so that we are able to set the world on
fire even in these difficult moments in Church history. We need the
examples of the apostles and the saints to live out evangelization,
and your campus needs your example of evangelization to live it out
as well. If you need any help using this Bible study format, please see
the article below.

How FOCUS Equip Studies Work

Each FOCUS Equip study highlights one particular passage of


Scripture. As the leader, you guide a discussion about the passage,
which allows participants to discover truths within the passage for
themselves. This process is called self-discovered learning. Its format
can help participants learn about Scripture and the way to discover
Scripture on their own.

At the same time, you are not left alone to understand the Scriptures
by yourself. Each chapter will contain a section titled “What Do I Need
to Know about This Passage?” It will provide you with details about
the passage, along with summaries about the passage’s big picture,
how it applies to Jesus, and how it can apply to your group.

UNDERSTANDING

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW


ABOUT THIS PASSAGE?
The discussion guide supplies you with an opening question, some
background information to share about the passage, and a set of
example questions and answers on each passage to use with your
group.

DISCUSSION

DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR


YOUR BIBLE STUDY

Prepare by studying “What Do I Need to Know about This Passage?”


before the Bible study, and then use the discussion guide to direct the
conversation with your group.

How to Prepare Your Study

With all of this information at your disposal, you are all set and
ready to go. You just need to pass out the notes, ask each question
as it is written, and read the answers to the questions, right? Well,
not exactly. It would not make for a very engaging Bible study. This
material is a Bible study in a can: It is meant to preserve good-quality
Biblical content and allow for a broad distribution, but someone still
needs to take the material out of the can, spice up the content, and
serve it to your study. That person is you.

This is where the audience for your study is crucial; these are the
people for whom you are “cooking.” Whether you have a group that
has never heard the Gospel before or a group that attempts to live
out the Gospel each day, you can adapt the Bible study to the group.
Introduction

The flexibility of this format is what can make it so effective.

Most likely, however, you will have a group with both kinds of people.
Follow the example of my dance lesson: try to create a Bible study
where beginners can learn the basics while the experts can be
rejuvenated. Scripture is a great way to do this. St. Gregory the Great
once said, “Holy Scripture is a stream in which the elephant may swim
and the lamb may wade.” Both groups should be able to discover
something meaningful in the Scripture passage.

For more on How to Lead a Bible study, check out our resource
on FOCUSEquip.org. As a review, FOCUS Bible study leaders have
3 roles and 3 goals in each study.

Your 3 Key Roles

With all of the above information in mind, remember that you


have 3 key roles in this study. These 3 roles are your contribution
to the study, and doing these 3 things well will make the study
successful.

1. Prayer: Ultimately, it will be God Who changes the lives of


the participants. By personal prayer and praying for your
participants, you open the door for God to accomplish great
things. Please take time to pray for your group, talking with
God about each participant.

2. Hospitality: Effectively welcoming participants, getting


to know them, meeting them outside of Bible study, and
becoming real friends will be a great asset to the study.
Create an environment that is open and personal, allowing
participants to feel comfortable expressing their thoughts
and experiences.

3. Facilitator: A good discussion really enhances the fruitfulness


of a Bible study. Take the time to review the study and ask
good, relevant questions to your group. Guide the discussion,
allowing everyone to participate. Bring the discussion back
if it gets too far astray.

Your 3 Key Goals

There will, no doubt, be many questions and discussions that come


up throughout the study. You may even find yourself a bit lost here
or there. However, the goals listed below are what you are ultimately
trying to accomplish. Keeping these in mind throughout the study will
help you stay on course.

1. Deep Transformation: Through interaction with God’s word


and one another, it is our hope that the lives of your Bible
study members will be profoundly changed. The purpose of
a Bible study is not to simply learn information or to be a
part of a Bible study club, but allow the Lord to transform our
lives. Specifically, we hope that students, through Scripture,
are drawn more intimately to our Lord in the sacraments
and liturgy of the Church where they can most fully receive
the gift of God’s grace in their lives.

2. Intimate Fellowship: If people are going to be deeply


transformed, they will need others along the way, not only to
help this transformation, but also to make sure they continue
this transformation in the future. Your goal as a leader is
to take a group of people with various backgrounds and
Introduction

personalities and help them form authentic relationships


with one another.

3. Spiritual Multiplication: Another important dynamic of small


groups is their ability to be reproduced. As you lead, pray
that the Lord will raise up members of your small group to go
on to disciple others and to lead Bible studies of their own.

Final Note

One of the best ways to learn how to lead a Bible Study is to learn from
others. Consider observing someone else’s Bible study to learn how
they have been successful. Also, ask a missionary or your discipler
to come to your study and give you feedback on how you are doing.

The Challenge

To properly lead this study, you will need to prepare in advance and
apply God’s word in your own life.
NOTES
NOTES

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