A new video-based Bible study produced by the Peoples Next Door N.C. ministry of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSC) aims to provide a biblical and theological foundation for reaching the nations around the world and right here at home.
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The Mission of God is a free, six-session study that explores God’s desire to see the nations of the world come to faith in Christ and the mandate He gives to believers to go and reach them. The series is available for streaming or download at ncbaptist.org/missionofgod.
“God’s heart is for us to reach the nations of the world with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,” said Chuck Register, the BSC’s executive leader for church planting and missions partnerships who helped develop the series. “Across the grand narrative of scripture, God has one primary purpose – to bring glory unto Himself as the nations are reached with the gospel.”
In the video series, Mike Griffin, assistant professor of cross-cultural studies at Palm Beach Atlantic University, walks through the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, showing God’s desire to see all of the earth’s people groups come to faith in Jesus Christ.
Each video is approximately 30- to 40-minutes long and includes both biblical teaching and thought-provoking discussion and reflection questions.
The series is designed so that it can be used in a number of ways, Register said.
The series could be used as a church-wide Bible study during Sunday or Wednesday night services, or it could be used by a Sunday School class or small group. Individuals may also utilize the series for personal study.
Pastors should also find the material beneficial for personal study or as an aid in sermon preparation for messages related to God’s heart for the nations. Additional resources related to the Mission of God series, including a corresponding small group leader guide and student guides, will be released later this summer.
Register said many individuals from countries and lands that have little or no access to the gospel are now living right here in North Carolina. And while the Great Commission mandates that believers take the gospel to the ends of the earth, Register said God’s people have a tremendous opportunity to reach people here.
“What we’ve discovered in North Carolina is that the nations have now come to us,” Register said.
“As we think about God’s heart for the nations, we want to reach them wherever we find them.”
Peoples Next Door N.C. is a ministry designed to do just that – equip churches to discover, engage and disciple individuals from the unreached people groups in North Carolina.
The Mission of God video series is just one of several resources offered by Peoples Next Door N.C.
Other resources include a manual to assist individuals and churches to discover and engage people groups in their cities, articles and email newsletters that offer practical tips on engaging individuals from other backgrounds and beliefs and a prayer map of North Carolina that spotlights unreached people groups who live in different parts of the state. To learn more about Peoples Next Door N.C., visit peoplesnextdoornc.org.
“Seeing and understanding God’s heart for the nations that is revealed throughout the pages of Scripture should encourage and motivate us to be on mission for Him,” Register said.