Supplies for this Youth Bible Study
You’ll need copies of Acts 2:41-47, large poster-sized sheets of paper, and markers. If you do the follow-up experience, you’ll need to plan for it.
Form teams of three or four, and ask teams to make plans for their own “exclusive club” from scratch. Give each group a big poster-sized sheet of paper and some markers. Encourage them to create a logo, a motto, and a basic set of rules for what makes their club the greatest ever. After 10 minutes, gather and ask:
• What unique features does your club have, and why did you include them?
• If your club became really popular and everyone wanted to join it, would it be good for the world? Why or why not?
• Why do people want to be a part of relational communities or clubs?
• What community groups—either face-to-face or digital—are you a part of, and why?
Say something like: The first followers of Jesus created a brand new community that went on to change the world. Let’s explore what made their community so attractive to people from every part of the world.
Read aloud Acts 2:41-47, then ask:
• What are aspects of the community that the very first followers of Jesus created?
• Look at verse 41—what would you like, and maybe not like, about living in a community like this?
• Look at verse 42—there are three things that mark the people of this Jesus-Centered community…
1. Teaching—What was it about the “teaching” that was so important to the backbone of this community?
2. Fellowship—What does great “fellowship” even look like? What are some examples from your own life?
3. Sharing in the Lord’s Supper—Why would this meal have been so meaningful to this new community?
• Now look at verses 43-47. What are the key things that people did as a result of being in this new community, and why?
• How are the characteristics of this first community of believers rooted in Jesus? How does Jesus exhibit these qualities?
• Tough question… How does your current church community compare to the community we’ve just explored—what are its strengths and weaknesses?
• What made the community of the early church so amazing that it spread all over the world?
Have teams get back together, then have them each turn over their poster-sized sheet of paper to the blank side and write “Experiencing Jesus Through Community” at the top. Then have teams list the main things they’ve learned in this study. After five minutes or so, gather back together and have teams each give a quick overview of their learnings—ask follow-up questions when necessary.
Before ending the study in prayer, ask your students to choose one of the things that made the early church so special (shared meals, prayer, teaching, sharing, serving, praising, and so on). Next, choose a time and place to share in this activity, either immediately after the study or as a small group (or large group) later in the next week.
Co-authored by Zach Castor. This is the fourth in a series of Youth Bible Studies that explains what it looks like to get closer to Jesus. Click the titles below for individual studies in the series:
One: Jesus Invites us to be close
Two: Closer to Jesus through prayer
Three: Jesus Revealed in Scripture
Four: Jesus Revealed in the Created World