"New City Church, NC, Uses Casket Empty in Their Discipleship Program” by Guest Contributor, Tammy Medders
New City Academy’s Old Testament Class, 2024
New City Church, NC, Uses Casket Empty in Their Discipleship Program
An Introductory Note from Dr. Kaminski:
Last year I had the privilege of visiting New City Academy in Charlotte, NC. New City Church made the decision to use the Casket Empty curriculum as part of their discipleship program. Every Wednesday night more than one hundred people gathered to study the Old Testament using the Casket Empty Bible Study. It was a blessing to speak at their final week and to see so many people committed to learning the Old Testament! Praise God!
More recently, I heard from New City Academy Director, Tammy Medders, who let me know that people in the Old Testament class were now studying the New Testament. She also told me that her church was offering a second Old Testament class for a new group of people! Praise God!
I was greatly encouraged to hear this news, so I asked Tammy if she would be willing to write a blog about her experience at New City Academy using Casket Empty. I often hear from pastors and church leaders that discipleship is a key priority, yet it is not always easy to find the right resources. I hope you find Tammy’s blog helpful since Casket Empty has been a blessing to those who have participated in New City’s discipleship program.
The benefit of our Old and New Testament Bible Studies is that together they provide a 32-week curriculum that takes people through the entire Bible—from Genesis to Malachi—with Jesus as the center. Each week, people read a short introduction, along with four chapters from the Old or New Testament, and they answer questions related to content and application. You can be assured that people in your church will learn the Bible in these studies, yet the material is also accessible for those less familiar with it. We also have companion Bible study videos available on our website that are ideal for small-group leaders. If you would like to know more about how the Casket Empty Bible Studies can be used to disciple people in your church, feel free to email us at Casket Empty (using our contact form), and we can let you know more about the curriculum.
I hope you enjoy reading Tammy’s post!
Dr. Kaminski with New City’s Old Testament Class, 2023
New City Church, NC, Uses Casket Empty in Their Discipleship Program
At New City Church in Charlotte, NC, we have now taken two classes of students through the Old Testament and one class through New Testament. Casket Empty has been such a perfect curriculum for our core classes in our Academy Ministry. This ministry was started last year with the mission of making disciples and we felt that making sure our students understood redemptive history was the best place to begin.
In our classroom context, we ask students to read the weekly Scripture, answer the personal reflection questions in the Casket Empty Bible Study, and read the assigned pages in the Casket Empty Study Guide as their pre-work. During class, our teaching team teaches from the curriculum, making sure that our bottom line for the week is tied to the redemptive story. A student experiences live teaching, small group discussion around tables, and activities to help cement the learning.
One of the table activities we do in class at the beginning of our study is to give students a puzzle piece and have them describe it. We then ask them to try to determine what the whole puzzle might look like. It is fun to hear all the guesses. After showing them the full picture, the point is made that if we study only one section of Scripture without understanding the whole picture and where it fits, there will be a great deal of misunderstanding. We might miss the big picture if we only look at smaller parts.
Studying the whole redemptive story through Casket Empty has opened our students’ eyes to God’s love for us, how humanity has been impacted by sin, and how the Scriptures slowly unfold God’s plan to redeem humanity through the work of Christ Jesus. After completing the course, Scripture makes more sense. The parts are telling a whole story that our students now understand. As one student remarked, “I went to seminary, and I never understood the big story of Scripture.” Our students can now put each book of the Bible into the context of the bigger message.
We have had over 200 students go through Casket Empty. Carol traveled to North Carolina last year to speak at our final Old Testament class, and she was able to meet the large group of students who had just completed their study of the Old Testament. We have loved the curriculum and will continue offering “OT and NT Redemptive History” as part of our core curriculum.
Tammy Medders started in local church ministry in 1995 and has served in numerous areas of church ministry over the years. She has worked at New City Church in Charlotte, NC for the last 13 years and is currently Director of New City Academy. Tammy has been married to her husband, Jay, for 25 years and has three children. You can contact her at tmedders@newcity.us.
Thanks, Tammy, for sharing how New City uses Casket Empty Bible resources!