Start> Becoming a Good Samaritan: An Important Study from World Vision and Zondervan
Had an opportunity to review Start Becoming a Good Samaritan, a powerful DVD-Driven study from Zondervan in partnership with World Vision. If you’re looking for a way to help your group members learn to love their neighbor as themselves, you might not find a better study.
The DVD features an amazingly diverse cast and includes Eugene Peterson, Philip Yancey, Matthew Sleeth, Jim Cymbala, Charles Colson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Brenda Salter McNeil, Kay Warren, Joni Eareckson Tada, Rob Bell, Shane Claiborne, and many others. In fact, every session is presented in magazine format and feels very much like a documentary. The message is communicated through a series of compelling interview segments.
While the 6 DVD sessions average 30+ minutes, somewhat longer than our 15 minute attention spans normally allow,somehow hold attention very well. In fact, there are moments in every session that will grip and change hearts.
The sessions cover:
- Becoming a Good Samaritan
- Caring for the Sick
- Seeking Justice and Reconciliation
- Honoring the Poor
- Tending to God’s Creation
- Loving the Forsaken
The Participant Guide provides the questions that make for a good discussion and a way to interact with the video, but there is so much more. There is an important bias toward first steps and action that will enable group members to move beyond being informed and step into application and transformation. And that’s the goal.
In addition to the in-session discussion guide, there is also a series of between session activities that provide concrete steps that move individuals and groups toward the life of a good Samaritan.
Providing additional resources, JustStart.org is packed with resources like sermon outlines, promotional materials, a leader’s guide, and much more.
Start> Becoming a Good Samaritan can be done by a single group. It can also be done as a church-wide study. Either way, this is a study that will open eyes, probably break some hearts, and hopefully compel action. I hope you’ll take a look at it. It will definitely move onto my recommended list!
