Christianity Today launched the Global Gospel Project in 2011, setting out to create a common-ground catechism for today's church. In its second year, the project continues to present and prepare teachings that reach across evangelical traditions and across the world.

While catechisms—doctrinal teachings in question-and-answer form—have educated Christians throughout church history, they've never looked quite like this.

In a series of articles in Christianity Today, the Global Gospel Project poses questions like why we call God Father and why we look forward to the judgment day. Instead of short, pithy answers, expert theologians and writers offer deeply engaging, deeply Scriptural discussions of our faith's foundational truths.

"The best theologians across history have made theology pragmatic; they've made it practical. That's what we're trying to do," said Kevin Emmert, an assistant editor at Christianity Today and editorial coordinator at Leadership Journal who's dedicated the past year to compiling resources for the Global Gospel Project. "We are raising the kinds of questions people genuinely have …. It doesn't have to be ivory tower stuff."

The Global Gospel Project series began by exploring Jesus and God. Over the next three years, it will also address teachings on the Holy Spirit, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. For each topic and question, the focus remains on the beliefs and doctrines that unite evangelicals.

"We're feeling our way. Some (articles) have been really abstract; others have been particularly helpful," said CT editor Mark Galli, pointing out the accessible, narrative approach in apologist Alister McGrath's popular piece on Jesus' resurrection.

Particularly controversial issues, for which there may not be a strong consensus among evangelicals, still highlight common ground. For example, February's Global Gospel Project article on salvation explained Calvinist and Arminian positions on election as well as the shared beliefs on God that underline both.

The Global Gospel Project also plans to incorporate these practical questions of faith and discussions of common-ground theology into a resource-filled study Bible. "We want to show that all of doctrine rises naturally through Scripture," said Emmert.

The NIV Vital Faith Bible—being prepared by Christianity Today for an upcoming release by Zondervan—includes dozens of parables, charts, graphs, devotionals, doctrinal discussions and debates throughout the text. (The Global Gospel Project takes the "global" label seriously; around half of the contributors to the study Bible come from outside of North America.)

The Global Gospel Project, from its conception, set out to deepen Christian understanding of doctrine, and given today's evangelical sensibilities, that call is more relevant than ever. "We're very into religious experience, and we're very into practical application … Both need to be grounded in the truth of the gospel," Galli said.

The theme of the Global Gospel Project gets summed up in the overarching question: "How is it that God loves us?" The gospel, the good news of God's love, shines through in each teaching.

"It helps you grasp both in your head and your heart the love of God," Galli said.

Kate Shellnutt is editor of Christianity Today's Her.meneutics.