Mini-Course Overview (N.T. Patterns)

By Stephen E. Atkerson

There are really only two ways to “do” church: 

1) The way the apostles originally did it.

2) sSme other way (you could join Frank Sinatra in crooning, “I did it my way”!).

Premise: Jesus equipped the first-century church with an ecclesiology designed to help Christians obey all that He commanded. The Apostles modeled these practices for us in the way they set up churches. The practice of the early church is not merely described; it is actually prescribed. Therefore, adopting the ecclesiology of the Apostles better allows the Spirit to create love, unity, community, and commitment in a body of believers.

It is impossible to play baseball in a forest. You can’t play it on a basketball court, either. You could play it on a football field, but the best place is on an actual baseball field. So too with making disciples; the best way is on the playing field of early church practice. Following early church practice is not a substitute for the hard work of disciple making. What it will do is put you in a better position to intentionally and personally make disciples.

Course Outcomes: 

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to: 

1. Understand why it matters how we do church 
2. Understand the best church framework for effective disciple making 
3. Understand how you can be imbued with empowerment, wisdom, supernatural enrichment, spiritual significance, and success in ministry by following the traditions of Jesus’ apostles 
4. Understand how to avoid a hurtful ecclesiology that ignores Jesus and his apostles 
5. Understand how Jesus knew the purpose of the church and how the apostles intentionally followed Jesus’ commands when they planted churches 
6. Understand that apostolic pattern is prescription, not mere description.

Post in the five assigned forums. You will get a completion check indicating you have posted reflections. Also, we encourage you to read and engage with the comments of others. 

Quiz

After you complete viewing the materials and posting your reflections, there is a feedback quiz. The quiz will help us evaluate the effectiveness of the mini-course.

Content Provider

"For over thirty years, NTRF has provided church leaders in the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania with resources and training in how the early church met together in community. The essential tenets of the faith to which we subscribe are identical to those found in the doctrinal statements of any sound evangelical institution. Our favorite statement of faith is the First London Baptist Confession of 1646. We advocate historic, orthodox Christianity poured into the wineskin of New Testament church practice as seen on the pages of Scripture. Our goal is to be Christ honoring and thoroughly biblical in every area concerning our church life."