Course Objective
To lead people to embrace the gospel, to learn to read and study the New Testament, and to gain an appreciation for its historical and theological context so that they will be better teachers, preachers, and leaders in fellowships among new disciples or church fellowships.
Course Description
This course begins with God’s plan to redeem the world by sending his Messiah at the right time in history, and goes on the show, through study of the gospels, how this Messiah, Jesus Christ, not only demonstrated his identity, but fulfilled all of God’s purposes in his birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection. It then traces the rapid expansion of the early church, the expression of God’s growing kingdom on earth, through the message of the apostles, including the apostle Paul, and examines the foundations of faith and salvation in Christ as expressed in the apostolic writings.
Learning Outcomes
Content: By the end of the course, the student will be able:
- To describe the centrality of the Messiah’s mission and appearance in the NT and show how it relates directly to God’s plan of redemption as it appears in the Old Testament
- To chart key people and events of the New Testament on a historical timeline
- To identify and briefly describe key New Testament figures
- To summarize the teaching of key New Testament books
- To identify key elements contributing to the early church’s growth and solidification as expressed in the book of Acts and the NT epistles
Character: By the end of this course, the student should:
- Embrace the gospel call to share the message of salvation in Christ, beginning in a local context, and in ever widening circles of influence
- Accept and embrace the radical transformation of life which acceptance of the gospel of the kingdom of God produces in a person’s life and surroundings
- Internalize key principles which guide church life and growth in the New Testament
Competency: By the end of this course the student will be able
- To explain the message of salvation in Christ, as presented in the NT, to an inquirer
- To recite from memory and explain key verses found in the NT
- To transfer the knowledge acquired about major themes of the NT to a disciple, study group, or local congregation
- To demonstrate the effects of a core principle learned in the class, and to communicate that change or activity to the rest of the class