Lifeway President Mandrell releases first Bible study on biblical community

By Lauren Pratt, Lifeway

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP) — As a pastor of 17 years and now Lifeway’s president and CEO, Ben Mandrell has seen increasing loneliness and a decreased sense of belonging among Christians. This growing trend is one of the main reasons why Mandrell wrote his first short-term adult Bible study, “Together,” to recapture God’s vision for biblical community within the local church.

In this six-week study, Mandrell seeks to challenge believers to step out of surface-level relationships and into the deeper, familial community the early church displayed. By anchoring the study in Acts 2, Mandrell challenges Christians to move beyond exchanging surface-level pleasantries to pursuing deep friendship within the local church. Pursuing biblical community, he argues, includes investment, sacrifice and love.

“The first generation of believers embraced the idea of church in a way that impacted every aspect of their lives and empowered the gospel to spread far and wide,” Mandrell said. “The early church humbly shared their hurts, struggles and failures, and their willingness to do so increased the power of their witness and deepened their connection with one another.”

The aftereffects of the pandemic coupled with the larger state of apathy toward organized religion in America are a few reasons why isolation among American Christians may be on the rise. According to a poll from NORC at the University of Chicago, 88% of Americans do not trust organized religion or religious leaders even though the same population believes in a higher power or spirituality. 

Even within the local church, people seem to be growing apathetic in their commitment. Lifeway Research found that 66% of Americans say worshiping alone or with one’s family is a valid replacement for regularly attending church and 75% of pastors identified “people’s apathy or lack of commitment” as a significant concern.   

“God’s vision for unity in the local church is crystal clear,” said Mandrell. “For the church to carry out this vision, it’s vital for each member to be fully devoted to one another. This study lays the foundation for God’s vision and purpose for the local church and how this is lived out in the context of teaching, fellowship, forgiveness and prayer.”

This study includes six video sessions, group discussion guides and personal study opportunities for ongoing spiritual growth, with each week focusing on a different aspect of what it means to be committed to the local church. This study also invites believers to challenge their distinctions between attending church and actively pursuing biblical community.

Additionally, Lifeway is releasing “Together for Teens,” which will be released alongside the adult edition. The teen study focuses on how students are not just the “future of the church” but addresses how students can see that they have a vital role in the church today. The teen study includes six group sessions, six weeks of personal study and a leader guide that encourages students to pursue a deeper understanding of God’s vision for the local church.

Drawing from his experience of planting Storyline Fellowship in Denver, Colorado, Mandrell described how a shared love of Christ and his mission to reach the lost strengthened the relationships within the church plant. “We were in it together, we were on mission together and we had each other’s backs,” he said. 

“We’re together in different circumstances. But God’s vision for his church today is the same as it was for the early church in its very first days,” said Mandrell. “As he was then, the Holy Spirit is at work now — in us, through us and around us. The question is, will we open ourselves up to Him as He does that work?”

“Together” will be released on Jan. 2, 2025, and is now available for pre-order. For more information, visit Lifeway.com.

IMB prison ministry sees prayers answered

By Sue Sprenkle, IMB

LUSAKA, Zambia (BP) — God answered the prayers of Southern Baptists who asked God for someone to work alongside International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries in a prison ministry in Lusaka, Zambia. He didn’t just send one Zambian believer. He sent three!

The hearts of Charity, Florence and Ivey broke when Kimberly Windham and Jane Thompson, IMB missionaries, told them about the spiritually lost women in this prison. Charity and Ivey said no one ever thinks about those in prison. They knew someone needed to encourage the prisoners.

“These women often feel that no one loves them, but they are not outcasts. God loves them,” Ivey said. “How will they know this if we do not go?”

The Baptist women and missionaries visit once a week, partnering with the prison chaplain. Thompson noted this prison is special in the fact that it is home to many who are mentally ill, have been abused or suffer from addictions. They receive care and counseling.

Many inmates dream about freedom, Florence explained. The ministry team teaches Bible stories and shares the gospel.

“Even when they feel incarcerated here, they can have freedom in Jesus Christ,” Florence said. “And some are responding. They accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They are free even when they are in prison.”

Charity pointed out the lessons go beyond the inmates but also apply to the guards, nurses and other workers at the prison. They hear the Bible stories and answer questions, too.

The Baptist women and prison chaplain ask for continued prayers:

• Pray for the hearts of female inmates to open to the Holy Spirit. The goal is to introduce the gospel and disciple the women, so they take the Bible stories back to their villages upon release.

• Ask God to send someone to work with the male inmates on a regular basis.

• Pray for more Zambian believers to see these men and women as worthy of hearing the gospel and respond to God’s call to share with all peoples.