Catholic Biblical School Ministry

This page is a long read. 10 minutes. An eternity in internet-time. Way longer than any web design expert would advise.

But, if you’re reading this page, it’s because you have an interest in adult faith formation and discipleship that hits at a deeper, more personal level than just picking out the next video series to show to a group.

We encourage you to come back to this page more than once (click here for a .pdf printable version carry with you to prayer). Pray with this invitation and listen for how God might be calling you. Then, reach out. As fellow teachers, we’re looking forward to meeting you, supporting you, and praying for you and your ministry.

If you’d rather listen, check out a 30-minute webinar version of this page.

1. First, who you are
2. Why you matter
3. Okay, now onto Lesson Guides and support
   1. How are others using Lesson Guides for live, in-person teaching?
   2. Examples
      1. The Jesus Challenge for Young Adults
      2. The Drama of Genesis: Sin and Salvation
      3. Set out on a journey to cover the whole Bible…
      4. DIY using the 112 lesson library
      5. High school theology & catechesis
      6. the Dominican Sisters of Ann Arbor: novices & postulants
   3. What’s in a Lesson Guide?
4. Support from the Biblical School Ministry
5. Next Step? Pray
6. And then? Contact us

First, who you are

More important than the content, resources, and support we can share with you, is who you are (and ultimately, who you are in Christ Jesus, and the calling and gifts he has bestowed on you in the Holy Spirit).

So, who are you? You might think of yourself as a teacher, catechist, speaker, leader, instructor, or presenter. You might formally be employed by a parish, arch/diocese, or ministry, you might be retired, or you might be a volunteer. You might be laity or clergy. You might have an advanced degree in theology, or you might not.

Amidst this diversity, we are united by a common is a desire to respond to Jesus’s call to “go and make disciples by teaching” what the Lord has commanded, “the words of God, expressed in human language” in the Scriptures, a wellspring of Divine Revelation (Mt 28:19-20; Dei Verbum, 9, 13). Together we desire to see more people know Jesus and his Church in deeper ways, becoming Jesus’ disciples who live out his mission in the world.

Why you matter

The Church reminds us, “It must not happen that the pressing need to proclaim the Good News to the multitudes should cause us to forget” the verbal proclamation of a message, “whereby an individual’s personal conscience is reached and touched by an entirely unique word that he receives from someone else” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 42, 46). Similarly, the Church teaches that when it comes to passing on the faith, “No method, no matter how well tested, can dispense with the person” who is communicating God’s message (General Directory for Catechesis, 156).

Your verbal proclamation, your teaching of the Scriptures is an essential part of how others hear God’s plan and grow in relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Your personal witness and authenticity bring the truth of the Scriptures alive in the context of real people, community, and relationships in Christ. By proclaiming, explaining, and applying God’s Word to real life from the heart of the Church you embody a disciple’s response to Jesus Christ and naturally apprentice others.

We live in a world both engrossed and exhausted by the sheer amount of digital content to consume. Real teaching, with real people, that tells the real story of God’s love for us from the Sacred Scriptures is what our hearts and minds yearn for.

Okay, now onto Lesson Guides and support

Adult faith formation and formation for discipleship have a wide range of meanings in parish life. But, learning to read and pray with the Scriptures “done in accordance to the Spirit who dwells in the Church” and in a way that “arouses a response of faith” is considered essential in eyes of the Church (General Directory for Catechesis, 71, 127, 175).

The Bible is a very long book, in fact, a collection of many books written across different cultures and millennia. How to present all of parts of the Sacred Scriptures at a speed that’s not so fast that it’s hard to understand, and not so slow that God’s unified message gets lost in the details? Starting with the ministry of Sr. Macrina Scott OSF in 1982 and continuing since 2009 in Michigan, we have developed 112 different Lesson Guides which together cover every book of the Bible from a fully-Catholic perspective, oriented toward forming disciples for today’s world.

Grouped by four themes flowing from the canon of Scripture: Covenant (the narrative books of the Old Testament), Encounter (Mark, Matthew, Luke, Acts, and Paul’s Letters), Prophets (the Old Testament prophetic books), and Wisdom (Psalms, Old Testament Wisdom literature, and John’s Gospel and writing), the 112 Lesson Guides are like a well organized, resource library.

How are others using Lesson Guides for live, in-person teaching?

“And such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigor, and the offspring of the Church as strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 131

What’s in a Lesson Guide?

Support from the Biblical School Ministry

Beyond the 112 Lesson Guides, we can share:

• Expertise. Many of our teachers have years and years of experience with helping adults understand the Scriptures in faith formation settings, we can provide coaching and reach back to help you work through challenges.
• Community. Opportunities to for collaboration and formation with other likeminded teachers using a Catholic Biblical School ministry approach.
• Promotional Materials. Websites and graphic designs for promoting your courses in print/digital forms.
• Administrative Tools. Not part of a parish or ministry with its own software services for forms, processing donations, and more? Working together, we can help fill those gaps.
• Not the right season of life for you to be a catechist/instructor in your area? Consider facilitating a Satellite Group. It uses Catholic Biblical School videos, so it’s less of a time committment and an excellent way to discern your own next steps.

Next Step? Pray

Ask the Lord if he is calling you to teach the Scriptures in your local area.