Announcing the brand new goodseed.com

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announcing the brand new goodseed.com

We’re still unpacking but please come in!

We’re excited to announce a brand new goodseed.com. Over the years, as our ministry has grown, we needed an easier way to keep you updated. The new website is designed to do just that.

You know when you move into a new home, it takes a while before all the boxes are unpacked and all the furniture is in the right place. So it is with our new website. We’re still fine-tuning and adding to it based on feedback. We have additional content coming soon: articles on how to be better ambassadors for Christ, online training and more. So check back often!

To get acquainted with our new website, why not take a three-minute video tour:

 

I don’t speak their language… how can I explain the good news?

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Missions Fest EdmontonIt was very good to be present at 2014 Missions Fest Edmonton. Many visitors stopped by the GoodSeed booth to check out our tools and ask us questions. We were very encouraged by the believers who had people in their lives with whom they wanted to share the gospel.

Bob* was one of the people who dropped by with a question. Some time ago, a young Chinese couple came by his office by mistake. They were actually looking for a clinic and mistook his office for it. Bob saw an opportunity to make friends and he not only helped them out, he kept in touch with them. Over the months, he met with them several times for coffee and a chat.

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Conferences and a workshop this weekend

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GoodSeed booth

There’s lots happening this weekend. If you have the time and are in the neighbourhood, why not drop by for the following events.

 

Missions Fest Edmonton
We have a booth (H1) at this year’s Missions Fest. Drop by to speak to our staff about upcoming TERM Seminars or learn how to use our tools to share the gospel with your friends and family. If you need to refill your Be Ready Box with resources, the booth has plenty of our materials.

On Saturday, Feb 22, we’ll also have a 50-minute seminar on “Ambassador: A lifelong lifestyle of sharing the Good News.” We’re schedule to speak at 4:15 p.m. so join us if you can.

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A letter from prison

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Man writing letter

(Editor’s note: We were reminded of the apostle Paul when our UK office received the following letter from a believer in prison.)

To Sir or Madam,

Hi how are you doing.

Can you please send me a leaflet and order forms and price list and some other information on Worldview Rethink the course so when I get out I can teach it to other people. I would be grateful if you could. I want to be one of your teachers who is teaching the word.

From your brother-in-Christ,
Raymond Carlton*

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TERM Seminar in Quebec

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TERM Seminar, Quebec

(Voir la description en français au bas de la page)

When it comes to sharing the gospel, many of us are unsure of what to say or whether we should even try at all. Some of us quote John 3:16 or pass out gospel tracts. We appeal to the fact that God has a wonderful plan for a person’s life. But in recent years our efforts have often been met with blank stares or harsh criticism. As to those who do confess Christ, it seems many fall by the wayside or show no fruit of understanding in their lives. Some believers secretly wonder about the power of the gospel and whether it even works.

The GoodSeed® TERM™ Seminar is a time to stop and rethink evangelism in the context of our diverse, ever-changing world. The seminar takes participants into Scripture to see what it has to say about evangelism methodology. In the process there springs to light an approach that Jesus used on the road to Emmaus. The architecture of The Emmaus Road Message (the message Jesus shared on the road to Emmaus) has proven effective—whether we are engaging the confused, the seeker or the hardened.

The facilitators of the seminar will show participants how to teach the gospel using the book By This Name and the accompanying workbook, along with visual aids, so that they in turn will be able to teach it to others.

Important note: This seminar in French will be held over two weekends. Participants must be able to attend all six sessions as the flow of material builds upon previous sessions.

Dates:
March 13, 14, 15 and March 27, 28, 29 (Six sessions in total)

Schedule:
— Thursday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
— Friday eveningsfrom 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
— Saturday froms 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Location:
Église Évangélique d’Aujourd’hui
1220, Avenue des Pensées
Bécancour, QC G9H 2T2
http://eglisedaujourdhui.ca/

Cost: $15 to cover the cost of the book and workbook. (Each participant is responsible for his or her own lodging and meals.)

Registration:
To register of for more information, please contact Gaetan or Ivy Pilon at
Phone: 1-888- 314-3623
Email: [email protected]
Online registration: please visit our Canada store.

(To register online, please add this seminar to your cart and proceed to check out. There will not be any charges. Please ensure you use a current email and phone number so we can contact you. Thank you.)

 


Cours de formation Par ce nom

Quand vient le moment de partager l’Évangile, souvent nous ne savons pas quoi dire ou même si nous devrions essayer de dire quelque chose. Certaines personnes citent Jean 3.16 ou distribuent de petites brochures d’évangélisation. Parfois, nous disons aux gens que Dieu a un plan merveilleux pour leur vie. Mais depuis quelques années, la réaction que nous recevons est un regard sans expression ou encore une critique sévère. Et ceux qui font profession de foi en Christ sont souvent laissés à eux mêmes ou ne manifestent aucun fruit dans leur vie, ce qui indique qu’ils n’ont pas vraiment compris le message. Certains croyants doutent secrètement de la puissance et de l’efficacité de l’Évangile.

Le cours qu’offre BonneSemence est une occasion de nous arrêter pour repenser l’évangélisation dans le contexte de la pluralité de notre monde changeant. Ce cours amène les participants dans la Bible pour voir ce qu’elle dit au sujet de la méthodologie de l’évangélisation. Ce faisant, une approche utilisée par Jésus sur le chemin d’Emmaüs en ressort. C’est une approche qui s’est montrée efficace pour communiquer l’Évangile à une diversité de gens : ceux qui sont perplexes, ceux qui cherchent et ceux qui sont endurcis.

Les animateurs du cours montreront aux participants comment enseigner l’Évangile en se servant du livre Par ce nom et du cahier d’exercices ainsi que d’aides visuelles pour qu’à leur tour les participants puissent l’enseigner à d’autres.

Remarque : Ce cours en français sera donné sur deux fins de semaine. Les participants doivent pouvoir assister aux six blocs d’enseignement, car chaque bloc s’appuie sur le bloc précédent.

Dates :
6 blocs d’enseignement
Les 13, 14 et 15 mars ainsi que les 27, 28 et 29 mars

Horaire :
— Le jeudi soir, de 19 h à 22 h
— Le vendredi soir, de 19 h à 22 h
— Le samedi, de 8 h à 16 h

Endroit :
Église Évangélique d’Aujourd’hui
1220, avenue des Pensées
Bécancour (Québec) G9H 2T2
http://eglisedaujourdhui.ca/

Coût : 15 $ pour le livre Par ce nom et le cahier d’exercices.
Chaque participant est responsable de trouver son propre logement et de payer ses repas.

Pour vous inscrire ou pour obtenir plus d’information, communiquez avec Gaetan ou Ivy Pilon.
Téléphone : 1-888-314-3623
Courriel : [email protected]

Pour vous inscrire en ligne, veuillez ajouter ce cours à votre panier et vous rendre à la caisse. Aucuns frais ne seront ajoutés à votre compte. Veuillez fournir une adresse courriel et un numéro de téléphone afin que nous puissions communiquer avec vous. Merci.

 

Christ pulled me from a dark hole

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Christ rescued me from a deep dark holeRecently we received a long email all the way from the UK. It was from a man excited to share his testimony with us. He had gone through the online version of The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus VideoBook and wanted to share the impact it had on his life and the life of his family. Here is Winston’s story.

Hello. My name is Winston* and I live in the UK. This how Jesus Christ pulled me from a dark hole.

Growing up I was a happy, faith-filled boy who enjoyed attending church and Christian school. As I grew into my twenties, though, that all began to fade. I found myself slipping deeper into a hole of despair and depression—feeling beyond help! As I tried to cope, I studied different religions and philosophies and poured myself into practicing martial arts. But Zen Buddhism left me unable to meditate. Hinduism left me confused and unable to focus. The deep philosophies of man just clouded my mind. Finally I fell to my knees, but I wondered, “Would God listen to me now after all this time?”

By now, I experienced what can only be described as a meltdown. I suffered severe numbness in my face and lips––the affects of stress and depression. I was given medical leave for about four months. The doctor prescribed anti-depressants and I was sent to the hospital for tests, but they found nothing neurologically wrong with me. My depression worsened and my decisions, regrettably, took their toll on my marriage and on our son and daughter.

One day my wife, Eliza,* met a customer named Janine* at the bank where she works. In passing, Janine invited us to visit her church. Eliza had only been to church for weddings, christenings and funerals, so the idea intrigued her and we chatted about it some.

Eventually the topic came up again and, when it did, we sent an email to Janine’s church inquiring about a visit. We chuckled when three replies came back immediately—one from the secretary, one from the associate pastor, and one from Pastor Hernando*—each email a warm invitation. Our first Sunday, however, we realized that we were at the “wrong” place. We had contacted the wrong church—Janine’s was across the street! But, we were so warmly received that we continued to attend. God had a plan to connect us with the right people.

Pastor Hernando invited me to study The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus VideoBook which was hosted on the church website. So I did––all 11 hours––from start to finish. I can honestly say it changed my life! I had never seen or experienced God from that perspective. Despite my upbringing and education in Christian school, the whole meaning and truth had passed me by. I just couldn’t believe that I had spent the last 12 years walking on my own, trying to fill the void in my life. I prayed the prayer of a broken man: “Lord, save me!” It was then that Christ reached down into that hole, picked me up and pulled me out.

After completing The Stranger, the pastor and I continued to meet regularly to learn more from the Bible, first studying through Ephesians and now the life of David.

My health? Well things are much better. I only get a slight numbness now and then after stressful events. In this respect I still have to continually be in prayer for guidance and strength.

Both Eliza and I were baptized together––“dunked” as my daughter calls it. Our son and daughter have been greatly impacted by the love of our church family. They both accepted Christ last year and have expressed interest in being “dunked” sometime soon.

Last year, Eliza and I launched a new course that combines physical instruction in martial arts with an invitation to learn about the Bible’s message. We have website that has a ‘Digital Syllabus’ for members only, so I embedded The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus VideoBook into that section.

It’s awesome to think how this started off a whole new chapter in my life. I’m thankful to God for saving me!

 

(*Names changed as per GoodSeed policy.)

I found the Bible daunting!

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The Great BibleWe received an email all the way from Malaysia. This older gentleman was recently given a copy of By This Name. After he read it, he was compelled to write to us. This is what he shared:

This well structured and cleverly written book by John R Cross played a great part in my knowing God and accepting His gracious gift of salvation through faith in His beloved son Jesus Christ. I had previously tried to read the Holy Bible but found it not only daunting to go through the first few chapters but also found the scriptural language difficult to understand. It would have been near impossible for me to read through the thousands of pages and make sense of them. On the other hand By This Name is presented in such a way that the modern-day non-believers’ doubts are quickly dispelled by addressing issues of science and why God is unique and is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow… and He always keeps his promises.

With these initial possible obstacles of the modern man addressed, John then narrated the Bible in simple English and in a comprehensible and cohesive manner so that the reader can easily grasp the essence (basic essentials) of the Holy Bible without having to plough through thousands of pages in the Bible. Of course it is imperative to know more deeply the Word of God in order to grow spiritually and to obey Lord Jesus’ Great Commission. However, the non-believer must first become a believer and that is by knowing what God’s grace is all about. The sooner he obtains this knowledge the sooner the Holy Spirit can then work on him.

I realize that what has worked for me may not work for another. But I have reasons to believe that there are others out there who are seeking to learn more about the Holy Bible who can be helped through the reading of By This Name. — Benjamin*

We never know what will happen when we give a friend a book. We thank Benjamin for taking the time to write to let us know the impact that By This Name has had on his understanding of the Bible. It was encouraging for our staff to receive his story. We pray he will continue to read the Word and grow deeper in his understanding and in his walk with Christ. Praise God for his testimony.

[*Name changed as per GoodSeed policy.]

See By This Name on our US Store or on our Canada Store.

Dinner at Denny’s

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Bible with Isaiah notes(Editor’s note: We received the following encouraging story and a prayer request from Ian.* Would you pray along with us?)

I’m currently studying at a Bible school and, one evening, I was having dinner at the local Denny’s. I was sitting at the walk-up table poring over my notes from my Isaiah class when, Stella*, the waitress noticed my heavily marked-up Bible. She made a comment that she was surprised to see all the notes and highlights.

This made me smile, as this was not the first time that I have had a waitress comment or ask about what I was reading or studying. Later that evening, when Stella was on her break, I felt compelled to show her Isaiah 40–a page that was heavily marked up. This immediately sparked a conversation! She eventually revealed that, though she had attended a Christian school, she did not really believe in the Bible. She only considered it a good book.

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