MC2 07FN Foundations for New Believers and 7 Stories of Hope

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''In this session, you will experience helping new believers begin to follow Christ and fish for men. (Acts 2:42-47; John 10:22-30; Galatians 5:16-25; Luke 15:11-24)''

Looking Back (20-30 min)


NOTE: Place people in groups of 4-6 for the session. Give out participant notes.

Prayer and Care

 * Have each group discuss what they are thankful for this week.


 * Have each person share how they are doing and share 1-2 prayer requests with their group and then have them pray for one another.

NOTE: If someone needs extra help, set a time after the meeting to help meet those needs.

Celebrate Faithfulness

 * Encourage loving accountability to obey Jesus.


 * Appoint a small group leader who will facilitate group members in sharing what happened as they trusted God for their goals and their “I will by when” statements.


 * Ask if anyone would be willing to tell the entire group.

Vision Casting
Cast vision for who they can become in Christ or what God can do through them.

'You are following Christ. You are fishers of men! Helping others grow is a critical part of the Great Commission. And we are partnering with God in this work. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants, nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” As we faithfully share the Word of God, we can rest knowing that it doesn’t depend on us, but God brings growth.'
 * For example:

Activity #1 Introduction to Foundational Bible Study #1

 * Hand out Foundational Bible Study #1 (Assurance of Salvation, John 10:22-30) to participants


 * Have each group read through the different sections of the lesson and discuss:

What did you like best? Why?


 * Ask for volunteers to share what they discussed in each group.

 Summary 

As we begin training new believers, we are using the same 3/3 format that you have been using because it is a best practice to enable us to see the outcomes of MC2 training: multiplication, generations and Acts 2 characteristics.

'Helping new believers understand how to be sure that they are children of God is foundational to their new lives in Christ. Their eternal destiny is secure because they are wrapped in the hands of the Father and the Son. Nothing can take them out of the safety of their new relationship.'

Activity #2 Demonstration of Foundational Bible Study #2

 * Choose 4-5 participants to take part in the demonstration.


 * Hand out Foundational Bible Study #2 (Relationship and Fellowship, Luke 15:11-24) to participants who will observe the demonstration.


 * Tell them that they will be given a chance to practice lesson #3 and Ask them to take notes on the following: facilitating the Bible discussion and the 4 “RED” parts


 * You, the trainer, demonstrate leading the Looking Up section of the study.

What did you like best? Why?
 * After the demonstration, have the small groups discuss the participant’s answers to…

 Summary 

'Facilitating a discussion on God’s Word allows the Spirit to teach new believers as they discover new truths together. It is made up of the following: a context to the passage, hearing God’s Word, discovery discussion questions, the retelling of the story and a summary to highlight the important truths to remember.' 'Learning how sin affects our relationship to the Father is foundational to a new believer’s life in Christ. It is important to understand that although sin affects our fellowship with the Lord, our heavenly Father is willing to forgive His children.'

Preparing for the Mission

 * Sometimes people have heard the Gospel and haven’t receive it but want to meet to understand better, so 7 Stories of Hope help people to make the decision to follow Jesus. Practice first of the 7 Stories of Hope (Hope for the Rejected: The Sinful Woman – Luke 7:36-50)

What did you like best? Why?
 * After the practice, have the groups debrief their experience by answering…


 * Each person should share their answers with their small group.


 * Be sure to explain how they can get a copy of all the Foundational Bible Studies and 7 Stories of Hope

Going on the Mission

 * Have each person review their Network List and add new people they have met.


 * Remind them to identify any people who they shared the Amazing Question with and who displayed characteristics of a Person of Peace


 * Identify 5 people from your Network List who you will talk with this week.


 * Share the gospel with at least 3 of these people


 * With the remaining 2 people, continue practicing a skill from the previous lessons.


 * If someone has already put their faith in Christ, meet with them to start Foundational Bible Study #1.


 * If someone has not put their faith in Christ, meet with them to start 7 Stories of Hope.


 * Write “I will by when” statements and tell them to your small group.


 * Set a time and meet with your one-another partner. You may want to go together to meet with any new believers for starting a Foundational Bible Study. Evaluate the study time with each other.

Praying for the Mission
Commit everyone’s goals to the Lord. Ask the Lord to help us be faithful and use us to start a movement of disciple-makers.

For Further Study
Read Transferable Concept #1: How you can be sure you are a Christian