Disciples - The Next Generation

“Disciples—The Next Generation” is a study designed to continue the story of the development of the Christian faith after the events in the Bible come to an end.  The study uses the Disciple Bible Study format.  While participation in Disciple is not a prerequisite, this study uses an adaptation of that format (i.e. daily reading assignments from the Bible and church history, videos, interactive weekly sessions, etc.)  It is especially recommended for those who have done one or more of the Disciple studies.  These sessions are somewhat shorter (approximately 2 hours each week), the duration is shorter, and the daily readings are somewhat shorter.

The complete study is divided into 4 shorter studies; and participants may register for the entire series of 28 sessions; or you may sign up for 1, 2 or 3 of them.

1. From Christ to Constantine—The Trial and Testimony of the Early Church (6 sessions) 
   This study looks at the growth of Christianity from the time of Christ to the 4th Century—when Christianity became the dominant  religion in the Roman Empire (days of persecution and turmoil).  It introduces persons and events that helped to form the Christian church and the scriptures that inspired those early Christians.
2. The Cloud of Witnesses (12 sessions) 
   This section of “Disciples—The Next Generation” looks at the key persons and events that were major influences during the next thousand years of the development and expansion of the Christian faith—from the acceptance of Christianity by the Roman emperor (Constantine) down to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.
3. The Reformation (8 sessions) 
   This section of “Disciples—The Next Generation” looks at the key persons and events responsible for the Reformation of the Christian faith in the 16th century.  It also includes the persons and events that prepared the way for the Reformation and the scriptures that inspired these persons.
4. Cotton Patch Gospel (2 sessions) 
   This 20th century musical puts the message of the Gospel into a contemporary context.  In preparation for the two sessions, we will read the Biblical passages which the musical presents in a new context in order to get a fuller awareness of the message as it is presented.