Are you searching for a way to enrich and complement your biblical studies?

Are you and your faith community hoping to:

• find a fresh way to know Jesus better?
• deepen your faith?
• express your faith confidently and articulately?

Approaching the Gospels Together is a time-tested way of reading the stories of Jesus in a group setting, guided by questions to help each person discover for themselves the Good News of Jesus Christ.

This approach is for:

• Those who are suffering from over-familiarity with the text, to the point where it has gone dead on them.
• Those who know little or nothing about the text – who may actually be reading it for the first time.
• Those who want a firsthand experience of the Gospels, not a study about them.
• Those who are dissatisfied with traditional Bible teaching as they have experienced it.
• Those who, for whatever reason, have come to feel the need of an inner center for their lives, and want to search Scripture for it.

Approaching the Gospels Together is a small group approach for reading the story of Jesus, in a way that elicits fresh speech from the text.  Designed for text-centered reading and facilitated lively group discussion, this focus on the life and teachings of Jesus opens up opportunities for discovery, inspiration and spiritual growth.

 

Interested?  Come and see!

• Find out more about this approach:  CLICK HERE
• Find out how to start using this approach: CLICK HERE
• Find out how to start a Gospel study group: CLICK HERE
• Find out about opportunities to learn more in person:  CLICK HERE
• Find out about additional resources available to support you: CLICK HERE

 

 

ABOUT US

The Approaching the Gospels Together Network is a group of lay and clergy persons from many different congregations across the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania who are using this approach in our own churches and who are eager to share it with you.

We believe that the Good News has the power to transform lives and this approach is the most meaningful way we know for people to encounter Jesus through the Gospel text.

We are available to answer your questions, help you start a Gospel Study group and provide on-going support.  You can contact us HERE.

ABOUT THIS APPROACH

Approaching the Gospels Together uses the same approach to learning that Jesus used, in a way that elicits fresh speech from the text.  Designed for text-centered reading and facilitated lively group discussion, this focus on the life and teachings of Jesus opens up opportunities for discovery, inspiration and spiritual growth.

What is an “approach”?  In educational terms, an approach is a set of principles or ideas about the nature of learning.  When Jesus spoke to the crowds around him, he generally taught them by telling stories and asking questions, rather than lecturing or handing out rules.  Jesus knew that his listeners needed to reflect on his stories and to ponder his questions for themselves in order to fully grasp the lessons contained therein.

But as a verb, “approach” also means to get closer to something.  Approaching the Gospels Together is a time-tested way to get closer to Jesus, to get to know his story as told by the different Gospel writers.

Approaching the Gospels Together also uses a unique tool:  parallel Gospel text.  Viewing the Gospels laid out together on the same page highlights the similarities and differences between them, which helps the group dig further down into the meaning of the text.

Engaging with the Gospel text in a small group has multiple benefits.  We learn from each other in the group, hearing perspectives and responses that differ from ours, which encourages all of us together to see more of the fullness of the Gospel than we can see on our own.  These shared experiences provide the individuals in the group opportunities to know Jesus and to know each other better.

To learn about how to use this approach, click HERE.

To learn about the history of this approach, click HERE.

To read testimonials from Gospel study group participants, click HERE.

 

 

If you would like more information about Approaching the Gospels Together, especially if you want some help to start a new group, please use the form below to contact us.