Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:
The key is to let the context (location & people) inform your topic for teaching, and open up possible ways to present your chosen topic.
Here are some questions that might help you take off perception filters as you study your context:
What are prayer needs or thanksgivings the Holy Spirit places on your heart for this place?
Take a prayer walk in your ministry context location (building, etc.) and neighborhood. What are prayer needs or thanksgivings the Holy Spirit places on your heart for this place?
Who gathers in this place?
How well do the people know and experience Jesus and his gospel of love and grace in this place?
How are people taught about Jesus and his gospel in this place? In what location and environment does the teaching takes place?
How are Sunday worship and Christian education connected, if at all?
What do you hear, touch, feel, smell, or see, when you enter the space and interact with the people?
What are challenges and joys of people in this context?
Do people love each other in this place? Do they like each other? Do they know each other?
Who are the "outcasts" of this community? Is there any one or group who are not welcome or would not be welcome? Why?
What are rituals performed in this context that are almost unnoticeable they are so familiar?
How does this community relate to the larger neighborhood, city, and cultural contexts?
What are important practices--greeting, communion, prayer, preaching, baptism? How are they practiced? Why are they practiced in this way?
If you were to seek God's heart for the people in this ministry context, what would God long for them to know?
3000 words is your target (8-10 pages, double-spaced). You may feel bored as you describe the context/people in detail. Boredom is an invitation to look closer, follow your curiosity, and go beyond the surface. Even if it is a familiar place and people, you will notice new things.
2. Teaching/Learning Topic Ideas: Based on your description of the context and prayer over the context, what are some learning topics that God might be calling you to bring to your context? Write 100-200 words on possible topics.
