Kerygma, An Adult Bible study

Kerygma is an adult Bible study that was founded in 1977 with one course of study. These quality resources continue stimulating faith and challenging minds! Kerygma courses will transform and revitalize adult Bible study in your congregation. With Kerygma, participants and leaders will:

• Learn the basics and complexities of the Bible
• Develop skills for interpreting Scripture
• Apply learning from the Bible to personal and corporate life in today's world.

Kergyma currently offers 26 courses of study: Three foundational courses are for in-depth study of the whole Bible and 23 studies focus on a particular theme, topic or book of the Bible. Each course offers a resource book and leader's guide.

What you need
For each class you will need a leader's guide, resource book and Bible for the leader and a resource book and Bible for each participant.

The leader's guide is designed to create opportunities that stimulate discussion and illuminate the biblical material through small group encounters. The results are often dramatic, encouraging in life changes, personal decision making and building congregational unity. The resource book is for participants as well as the leader(s). The resource book is written by a scholar in a "reader-friendly" style and is used along with the Bible.

In the Kerygma program, leader is preferred to teacher, the leader being a learner among learners. The leader or group facilitator prepares for each session with the leader's guide as well as the resource book. The leader's guide is written by an educator to unpack the resource book's content into winning strategies for lively, interactive session. Our leader's guide suggests a rich variety of learning strategies and offers multiple options for session planning.

Planning and Promotion

Making Kerygma Successful
Solid, creative resources and intentional planning are essential to an effective education program. To assist churches in the planning and implementation of successful programs in their church, the following are suggested guidelines:

• Decide that adult Bible study is a priority; that it will reward participants with personal growth and congregations with renewed vitality.
• Select a course (or courses) of study to be offered.
• Identify the leader or leadership team, assuring them that their leader's guides provide leader friendly step-by-step guidance.
• Schedule wisely.
• Develop a registration process that includes the purchase of a resource book by each participant.
• Ask for commitments to home preparation and regular class attendance.
• Publicize the significance and benefits of study and promote the courses offered.

Scheduling considerations may include treating materials in short-term modules or biweekly sessions with seasonal breaks, although many congregations choose to complete a course in one year's time. Experience shows that there are persons in every congregation who will make long-term commitments if offered the opportunity.