Pre-Assembly Bible Study
A 7-Week Journey through Acts
We are inviting you to a 7-week pre-assembly Bible study looking at stories in Acts, beginning the week after Easter and wrapping up the week prior to the assembly. To facilitate this study, we are providing each congregation with a copy of Bearing Witness in Acts and Today, by Rev. Dr. Troy Troftgruben, the William A. & John E. Wagner Professor in Biblical Theology at Wartburg seminary.
The book uses the stories in Acts to wrestle with practices of evangelism and provides a grounding for the ways we are called to bear witness in the world. Each chapter includes discussion questions, resources for further exploration, and action steps for further consideration.
Our “Do you Understand?” theme for the 2026 synod assembly comes from the story of Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch in the 8th chapter of Acts. Our keynote presentations will focus on Fresh Expressions, a movement meant to “unleash new forms of Christian community in the wild and wonderful spaces of everyday life.”
This movement entails bearing witness in new ways to our neighbors. Our keynote speaker will be the Rev. Shannon Kiser, the Senior Director of Fresh Expressions North America and author of Opening Space: A Vision for Fresh Expressions of Church and Creative Mission.
The book uses the stories in Acts to wrestle with practices of evangelism and provides a grounding for the ways we are called to bear witness in the world. Each chapter includes discussion questions, resources for further exploration, and action steps for further consideration.
Our “Do you Understand?” theme for the 2026 synod assembly comes from the story of Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch in the 8th chapter of Acts. Our keynote presentations will focus on Fresh Expressions, a movement meant to “unleash new forms of Christian community in the wild and wonderful spaces of everyday life.”
This movement entails bearing witness in new ways to our neighbors. Our keynote speaker will be the Rev. Shannon Kiser, the Senior Director of Fresh Expressions North America and author of Opening Space: A Vision for Fresh Expressions of Church and Creative Mission.
How You Can Participate
You can engage with this material in several ways:
- As a congregational study
- As a study with your synod assembly voting members
- In collaboration with other conference congregations (e.g. as rostered leader colleagues or with synod assembly voting members)
Weekly Zoom Conversation
We will also be hosting a weekly conversation on Tuesday nights, starting April 14, at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom.
Meeting ID: 854 9042 0373 | Passcode: 819327
Weekly Discussion Guides
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APRIL 14
Introduction and Chapter 1: Embracing the Story (Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:48) APRIL 28:
Chapter 3: Embodying the Story (Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-37) MAY 12
Chapter 5: Conversing About the Story (Acts 8:26-40) |
APRIL 21
Chapter 2: Telling the Story (Acts 2:1-41) MAY 5:
Chapter 4: Making the Story Public (Acts 3-4) MAY 19
Chapter 6: Taking the Story to New Places (Acts 10:1-11:18) |
MAY 26
Chapter 7: Sharing the Story as a Way of Life and Conclusion
(Acts 17:16-34; Acts 28:16-31)
Chapter 7: Sharing the Story as a Way of Life and Conclusion
(Acts 17:16-34; Acts 28:16-31)
