as well as many other kinds of ministries.
As a Bible teacher in a local church, I'm looking for teaching resources that really help adults understand the Bible, but also equip them to get engaged in evangelism and personal discipleship. Can you help me?
I also teach the Bible to adults. I'm looking for Bible teaching resources that balance Bible content with learning activities that get adults inolved in learning the Bible, in creatively interactive ways. Can you help me?
These are the kinds of questions we hear quite often. Our answer is, “Yes, Good Soil can help.”
Bible curriculum for Adult Sunday school classes, Adult Bible fellowships (ABFs), Wednesday or Sunday night adult Bible studies, and other Bible teaching opportunities for ministry with adults.
We have developed a curriculum plan for teaching The Story of Hope in a class setting. Lots of people were teaching it that way, so we decided to make it easier for them and others who would want to do so. A generous donor provided funds so that we could have the class facilitator's guide professionally created and offer it to you FREE—the entire 120 beautifully designed pages!
Missionary on home ministry assignment in CanadaI have just finished teaching The Story of Hope to a group of leaders in a large local church in the area, of which I am NOT a member, and not supported. It was a big step of faith for me and God is using it. They run an alpha program and there are Chinese people there who are about a -10 to -8 on the Good Soil E&D Scale. They barely speak English. About 40 The Story of Hope books have been “sucked up” into this church already, so let’s see what happens. There were four key (nexus) women in the class, women with a high level of understanding. They will definitely take hold of this tool. It’s already out of control and they are now already ordering their own copies, downloading leader’s manuals etc. The Story of Hope is an excellent tool. The leader’s manual is most helpful, well thought out, and absolutely necessary. The transition from Story of Hope to Way to Joy is viable and strong.
The Way to Joy was originally developed to be a one-on-one or small group basic discipleship study. But, many churches found it very useful for teaching in class settings. Now, we have a FREE resource that provides the adaptation and curriculum design work done for you—for teaching a The Way to Joy class. Thanks to a generous donor, we are now able to offer this professionally designed resource to you for FREE.
A fun way to teach a basic discipleship class and train believers to make disciples
Everybody loves a good story! And this missionary story teaches many of the Good Soil evangelism and discipleship concepts. It's a good way to get adults thinking about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with their friends, family, and others. It's training in a narrative format!
The audio book can be downloaded to your phone or pad. Audio clips from the audio book can be used to spice up teaching sessions.
The FREE Leader's Guide for teaching the contents of this book in 12 or more class sessions. See the FREE resources below.
Gaining Ground with Good Soil
Want to understand more about Good Soil Evangelism and Discipleship? This is the place to start! NEW Visually Enhanced 2016 Edition - An evangelism and discipleship training narrative that is a scaled-down version of the Good Soil E&D seminar in a narrative format. Full color throughout.
Gaining Ground with Good Soil - Audiobook
A 4 hours and 7 minutes audio narrative that will help you understand worldview-relevant evangelism and discipleship and their importance in a world of competing faiths and cultures. A professionally produced audio book version of Gaining Ground with Good Soil.
The activities for teaching Hooks are FUN for students of all ages, even the teachers.
And there are FREE instructional helps.
The 12 "Hooks" for Hanging the Old Testament Storyline
The 1 + 12 "Hooks" for Hanging the New Testament Storyline
Ariel, Filipino visiting in New JerseyMy latest Hooks for Hanging the Bible’s Storyline workshop was last Saturday in a Bible study in the home of the owner of Sam Ash Music Stores in Bayonne, NJ. Several very diverse cultures were represented in the group (Filipino, Russian, German, American, African, Hispanic, Arab, and Jewish). They were amazed and enjoyed it - and everyone understood. Some said, “I finally got it!” “I’ll read my Bible again.”
Chronological Bible curriculum, unfolding the BIG Story of the Bible in 100 events and packed with FUN learning activities. 50 Old Testament lessons and 50 New Testament lessons—two full years of Bible curriculum.
Read a Story About The Roots of Faith in a Local Church
Complete Instructor’s Guide for each course and access to an online Instructor’s Resource Center for teaching-learning activities, lesson commentary, and more.
Full Certification
Image of a TROF OT Class at ABWE - FUN Learning
Image of a TROF NT Class at ABWE - Interactive & Engaging Learning
Provisional Certification
106 Professionally Designed Pages - FREE
Designed for evangelism with people who enjoy stories and story telling. Connects “where they are in life” to major redemptive story events in the Bible.
Perfect for informal small groups. Activities engage participants in learning key Bible stories well enough that they can tell the stories to others. Each session also focuses on learning about God—the God of the Bible—who He is, what He is like, and what He has done.
71 Professionally Designed Pages - FREE
Designed for basic discipleship with Christ-followers who love to learn through hearing or telling stories. A complete curriculum plan for small group gatherings. Loaded with creative FUN activities.
Participants compare their own struggles and steps of spiritual growth with characters in the Bible. Questions-activities provoke them to think of their own lives and what they can do to become more-committed followers of Jesus.
Certified Good Soil E&D trainers are equipped, resourced, and certified to teach the contents of the Good Soil Basic Seminar in their ministries—church, mission agency, or other organization. Although we teach it in two full days, in May and October at ABWE - the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, near Harrisburg, PA, you can vary the schedule however it best suits your own ministry: an hour or so a week for several weeks, etc.
Begin by attending a Good Soil Basic Seminar
Then participate in a Good Soil Trainer Certification Workshop
Teaching and Training
“The FUN theory” says that FUN is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better. In 2009, Volkswagen came up with this theory: “People prefer fun activities over virtually identical activities that are not as much fun.” Then, they set out to prove it by setting up a FUN stairway side by side with a normal escalator. The experiment: Would people rather ride up a boring escalator or walk up a stairway that is FUN? Here’s what they learned.
Read moreTeaching and Training
It probably does not surprise you that the rate of Biblical literacy is decreasing steadily in North America. But what may (or may not) surprise you is that Biblical ignorance among regular church attenders is following the same pattern. Here’s a scary thought: What happens to evangelical Christianity in general, and our churches in particular, if Biblical literacy among Christians continues to decline—if we fail to stop the erosion of Biblical knowledge among our fellow believers and in our churches? But how do we teach the Bible to TEENS and ADULTS so they will understand it, and even enjoy it?
Read moreHow to Share Your Faith
“We are seeing a great appetite to read and understand the Bible.” --Roy Peterson, President of the American Bible Society Secularization (“religion isn’t important”) and religious pluralization (“all religions are equally true and valid”) are specters that intimidate Christians and church leaders in North America: “People aren’t interested in the Bible or Jesus anymore!” “How can we share the gospel, since Americans don’t believe in the Bible now?!” “So many people have their own religious beliefs now and don’t want to hear about Christianity.”
Read moreStories
The Roots of Faith Old Testament and New Testament courses – will they work in a local church? The response has been tremendous, as many people who had been Christians and regular church attenders for many years eagerly joined in along with folks who had had little Bible teaching. During the first 40 lessons the Sunday school attendance increased and people regularly commented on how much they were learning.
Read moreSet your country and language
We will add support for new countries and languages in the future.