New Anabaptist History Study Guide from Faith Builders: If Anyone Would Follow Me

[mike]

Faith Builders has published a new Anabaptist History study guide called If Anyone Would Follow Me. It is set up in 13 lessons so it can be used in place of a Sunday school quarterly. I got a copy and I really hope our church can make use of it in some way.

The lessons are really concise and good, and the study questions are excellent. It was especially prepared for the 500th anniversary of Anabaptism.

You can download a nice preview from Christian Light

The 500th year anniversary of the Anabaptist movement is coming up in January of 2025! This milestone provides an opportunity for Anabaptist churches to reflect on the stories and values of their history and to be encouraged, challenged, and instructed as they consider the direction for their future.

We’re delighted to commemorate this anniversary with the release of If Anyone Would Follow Me, a new 13-lesson “Anabaptism at 500” study guide. This book is designed to be used by Anabaptist churches in group study settings like Sunday school, small groups, prayer meetings, or similar kinds of settings. The thirteen lessons give an overview of the Anabaptist movement, from the soil that gave rise to the movement up through the major developments of the last century. The lessons note the unique emphases of various streams of Anabaptism, and at the same time illuminate the beliefs and values that have been essential to nearly all Anabaptists over the centuries. Seeing history as an inspiration and a warning to build on the foundation of Christ, the course shows the weaknesses as well as the strengths in the history of the Anabaptists.

This study guide is designed to be accessible to youth as well as adults. No previous knowledge of this history is needed in order to understand and benefit from its content. It would be advisable where possible for the course to be taught by someone with interest in and knowledge of this subject. A teacher’s supplement containing additional notes, background information, and discussion ideas is also available.

180 pages, paperback.

Is anyone else using this or planning to use it?

Available from:

Christian Learning Resource (Faith Builders), volume discounts apply

Christian Light

[barnhart]

Thanks for the heads up. I will look into this.

[ohio jones]

We are planning to combine all of the adult and youth Sunday School classes for the next quarter to use these lessons.

[mike]

We are planning to combine all of the adult and youth Sunday School classes for the next quarter to use these lessons.

Fantastic. That's a great idea.

[joshuabgood]

Faith Builders has published a new Anabaptist History study guide called If Anyone Would Follow Me. It is set up in 13 lessons so it can be used in place of a Sunday school quarterly. I got a copy and I really hope our church can make use of it in some way.

The lessons are really concise and good, and the study questions are excellent. It was especially prepared for the 500th anniversary of Anabaptism.

You can download a nice preview from Christian Light

The 500th year anniversary of the Anabaptist movement is coming up in January of 2025! This milestone provides an opportunity for Anabaptist churches to reflect on the stories and values of their history and to be encouraged, challenged, and instructed as they consider the direction for their future.

We’re delighted to commemorate this anniversary with the release of If Anyone Would Follow Me, a new 13-lesson “Anabaptism at 500” study guide. This book is designed to be used by Anabaptist churches in group study settings like Sunday school, small groups, prayer meetings, or similar kinds of settings. The thirteen lessons give an overview of the Anabaptist movement, from the soil that gave rise to the movement up through the major developments of the last century. The lessons note the unique emphases of various streams of Anabaptism, and at the same time illuminate the beliefs and values that have been essential to nearly all Anabaptists over the centuries. Seeing history as an inspiration and a warning to build on the foundation of Christ, the course shows the weaknesses as well as the strengths in the history of the Anabaptists.

This study guide is designed to be accessible to youth as well as adults. No previous knowledge of this history is needed in order to understand and benefit from its content. It would be advisable where possible for the course to be taught by someone with interest in and knowledge of this subject. A teacher’s supplement containing additional notes, background information, and discussion ideas is also available.

180 pages, paperback.

Is anyone else using this or planning to use it?

Available from:

Christian Learning Resource (Faith Builders), volume discounts apply

Christian Light

We have 30 of them that I am going to use in the school context here at EMS. I have read through about half of it already. This quote jumped out at me in light of the recent convo on the other thread. In my judgment they are a really nice resource.

They elevated Jesus' clear teaching in the Sermon on the Mt above the OT. When Jesus said, "It has been said...but I say unto you" He was giving a new covenant, a new charter for the church that the state cannot follow. We are called to love our enemies, not torture or kill them. (Page 14)

[Judas Maccabeus]

We are planning to combine all of the adult and youth Sunday School classes for the next quarter to use these lessons.

We are doing likewise from Intermediate on up. The Pastor and I are co-teaching. It will be part of other winter Bible schools in my circles.

[Signtist]

Our church has the books on order. It is yet to be determined how we will implement it. Some are very opposed to teaching history in a Sunday service. I am opposed to learning history on Wednesday evening with half my brain cells dormant. I am teaching youth guys Sunday School this year. They have specifically requested to NOT be put in with adults for this. So it looks like Yours Truly will get to teach it.

[mike]

Our church has the books on order. It is yet to be determined how we will implement it. Some are very opposed to teaching history in a Sunday service. I am opposed to learning history on Wednesday evening with half my brain cells dormant. I am teaching youth guys Sunday School this year. They have specifically requested to NOT be put in with adults for this. So it looks like Yours Truly will get to teach it.

I think it would be a great experience teaching this course to a group of youth guys. The questions in this guide are exceptionally good and will stimulate great discussions.

[mike]

I had a chance to teach lesson 11 from the book yesterday at one of our conference's other churches. There is so much content in one of these lessons that you can basically only touch the tip of the iceberg. I think this study guide is one of the better ways to bring up some of the larger issues about our faith tradition as conservatives. We don't really talk much about where we fit in the bigger picture, and that's one thing this guide helps us to do. Still hoping we get to go through this at our church at some point.

[ohio jones]

I taught lesson 10 yesterday (we skipped Sunday school one week) and agree that it's difficult to adequately cover everything. I tell people that for the lessons I teach, they have to read the book for background and I'll fill them in on the context and additional details. We have been streaming these to allow people to go back and catch up on things they might have missed the first time around.