In December of 1996, I was asked to recruit a team of ministers, writers, editors and members to develop a Bible course for the United Church of God. Several men and women were approached to help with this exciting project and soon we had a task force ready to begin. One of the first questions we asked was, "For whom are we developing this study course?" We knew the answer to that question would help us in our approach to writing and producing the new Bible Study Course.

Our church history told us that the Bible courses of the past had been a powerful tool for educating people about the Bible and the teachings of the Church. It brought along new members to the Church as they became more familiar with God's Word and the doctrines the Bible taught. People developed a personal relationship with God and the Church through their study of the Bible with the help of these study courses. We concluded that the primary group we wanted to target with the new course would be new people God would call into His Church.

Many of us on the task force shared our own experiences in learning about God's truth through these study courses. Some of us pointed out that we grew up in the Church and learned a lot about God's way through these study courses. Not only did we want the course to be written for new people, we also wanted to develop the Bible Study Course for the young people who had grown up in the Church.

Now our task force had identified two groups for whom we would develop, plan and write the new study course: new people called into the Church and the young people who had grown up in the Church.

 It took us more than four years to plan, develop, write and edit the Bible Study Course. In January of 2001, the 12-lesson course was finally completed. Our Bible Study Course is truly a product of teamwork. We had several ministers, writers, editors and Church members contribute to the final product. It is now studied by many thousands of people around the world.

Since you young people are one of the groups of people we had in mind when we planned the Bible Study Course, I want to personally invite you to begin reading and studying our course. It was written for you. Lesson one, entitled, "Why the Bible Is the Word of God," is available on-line or by request from our home office.

This first lesson will show you why the Bible is so important to us today. It will also guide you through important concepts about God's existence, why He created man and His purpose for mankind. Start learning more about the Bible, the teachings of the Church and God's way by reading the Bible Study Course today!YU