NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Writers and editors of Lifeway Christian Resources’ newest Bible study curriculum approached their task with a singular focus – to draw attention to Jesus.
While seemingly stating the obvious, there was much more to consider, said Trevin Wax, managing editor The Gospel Project, a new multigeneration, Gospel-centered Bible study.
“The Gospel Project is more than curriculum,” Wax said. “The church is God’s Gospel project; we are His project.”
“It’s possible to scour and search the Scriptures and miss the point,” he said. “It’s easy to come to Scripture looking for just new information or immediate application. We can even have Bible knowledge and not be focused on Christ.”
Wax explained that The Gospel Project examines the breadth of the Bible and seeks to reveal to participants how every story, every theological concept and missional truth points to Jesus.
Ed Stetzer, president of Lifeway Research, serves as general editor for The Gospel Project.
“Exploring the riches of what God has done for us in Christ takes effort, but the reward is incalculable,” Stetzer said. “In studying the Scriptures, we encounter Jesus Christ.
“The message we all need is the Gospel – and that message is for unbelievers and believers alike,” said Stetzer. “The apostle Paul says it’s the message ‘by which we are being saved.'”
According to Wax, “The goal of The Gospel Project is to provide a theologically driven study that points people to Jesus. The Gospel Project shows that the Gospel is central to our daily lives. Not that it just saves us, but it also sustains us.
“God uses the Gospel to move us along; He uses the Gospel in our hearts and lives to move our feet out ‘on mission,'” said Wax.
Stetzer and Wax brought together a team of church leaders and scholars from across the country who offered counsel regarding the development and direction of the curriculum.
“We brought together a group of scholars, pastors and church leaders to speak into this project at the outset,” Stetzer said. “We received direction regarding the topics we would cover, the approach we would take – Christ-centered, mission-driven, shaped around the narrative of God’s redemptive plan – and the level of accessibility we should strive for. It’s important to hear from people in a variety of contexts who are serving the local church, and the advisory council helped us think through important high-level issues at the outset of the curriculum’s development.”
Matt Chandler, pastor at The Village Church in Dallas recently said, “One of the things I love about The Gospel Project is that it is going to shine a light on so many of these great [Bible] stories that we know and show ultimately how they are leading us to worship God more for what He has done for us in Jesus Christ and what God accomplished in the Gospel for us.”
The release of The Gospel Project marks the first time in more than a decade that Lifeway will release ongoing studies for children, students and adults under one theme, Wax noted.
The Gospel Project, slated for preorder in June, will feature a three-year study plan with 13-week units, each using an age-appropriate voice, depth and course of study. Bible study resources will be available in multiple formats, such as print, downloadable, as well as e-reader and mobile app formats.
Samples of the new Lifeway Bible study are available at GospelProject.com.
by Jon D. Wilke, Communications Department
