| Barbara & Gary Baldridge Adult
• 4 Sessions of Learner’s Materials
• 4 Sessions of Teaching Materials
• 1 Handout
1. Acts 1:1-11
2. Luke 4:40-44
3. Psalm 82
4. Romans 15:14-21
The risen Christ offered the following mandate to the apostles: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This study follows the progression of the church on mission from its first base of operations in Jerusalem, to the countryside in Judea, on to Samaria, and to the rest of the world—finally exploring how Christians today might take this mandate and adapt it to their own situation, wherever they might live.
What does it mean to be a church on a mission? The lesson of Acts 1:8 is that we must simultaneously carry out Christ’s mandate at home, in our region, in places that have been our blind spots, and around the world. Only when we truly see the world as a whole will we have the mind of Christ for the work of spreading the gospel.
A part of the NextSunday Resources line of adult Bible studies, The Church on a Mission contains four lessons for use as individual study or group discussion. Each study contains lessons on the biblical material, combined with an additional commentary from an alternate, but complementary, viewpoint.
Barbara and Gary Baldridge are the authors of The Church on a Mission and they served as missions coordinators for CBF for five years before leaving to pursue full-time writing. They served as missionaries to Zambia and other countries for seventeen years. The Baldridges both enjoy reading French and keeping up with their three children: Lydia, Erin Ruth, and Micah.
Gary E. Parker is the commentary writer for The Church on a Mission. He is a Ph.D. graduate of Baylor University, former pastor of FBC Decatur, Georgia, the proud husband of Melody, and dad to Andrea and Ashley. He is the author of numerous books, including Secret Tides, Fateful Journeys, and Distant Shores.
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