Articles, news and testimonies
It’s so easy to share the Good News. Just give it away!
I have a vintage collection of little books I inherited from my late father. Most were published in the 19th century. I enjoy gleaning literary morsels from their yellowed, sometimes fragile pages.
One book in particular, despite its small size, stands tall in my view. It’s titled, The Traveller’s Guide From Death to Life. Imagine my surprise to learn over five million copies of this book have been printed in various editions. That is a lot of books even by today’s best-seller standards!
Some months ago, John Cross met with a pastor over breakfast at a local diner. Their purpose in sitting down together was to become acquainted with each other and for John to share about the ministry of GoodSeed and how it might be of assistance to other ministries.
Before John could launch into his presentation, however, the pastor began blitzing him with questions regarding GoodSeed and its approach to teaching. At one point, John was explaining GoodSeed’s use of visual aids and how many ordinary believers have found them effective in helping people connect with the biblical worldview.
John pulled out a visual aid he had with him and placed it on the table between them. “Let’s see how long it’ll take for this to help launch a conversation with someone here in the restaurant.”
Continue reading “Indiana Jones and the power of a visual aid”
The journey of a person from knowing nothing about the God of the Bible to being able to put one’s trust in him for salvation takes many forms. Sometimes, it’s a straightforward journey; other times, it takes many believers along the way, each providing another piece of the puzzle—explaining a little more about who Jesus Christ is and what he accomplished on the cross for all people.
During a long journey, Jian Hui met Nick and Lisa,* a missionary couple on their way to Southeast Asia. They had a wonderful chat and agreed to keep in touch via email. Nick and Lisa wrote about their lives and Jian Hui described hers.
GoodSeed is all about equipping the body of Christ with the tools to be effective ambassadors. We are very glad when believers write to tell us how they’ve been using our resources to share the gospel message. Recently, Abby* wrote us the following email:
“I have taught the amazing The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus study numerous times since Sept 11, 2001. I have purchased multiple books, workbooks and the audio/visual aids. At this time, I have the opportunity to share the Easter message in a corporate office to a large group of financial investors! I would like permission to duplicate portions of your book, primarily Chapter 13, to distribute to these men and women in advance. Prayerfully, this will lead to an invitation to share the entire study with this group at a further date.Thank you for this consideration. I will wait for your most expedient reply.Blessings,Abby
Easter is fast approaching! Once again, believers are taking this natural opportunity to share the true meaning of Easter with family, friends, co-workers and neighbours. Churches too are planning Easter events for the community.
What are Christmas and Easter All About? and The Lamb are two GoodSeed resources that work well during Easter. Believers and churches give away copies or put up readings or dramas based on these two books.
Since the launch of The Story that Matters, we’ve seen individuals and churches give out hundreds and hundreds of the 64-page booklet. One reason people like to use this small book is that it provides background and information about the God of the Bible (who he is and what he is like), the problem of sin and the salvation that Jesus offers. For someone with no background about the Bible, the booklet uses a historical narrative to introduce God in a way that makes sense.
Recently, we received an email from Amanda.* She had ordered ten copies and passed several to her sister who helps care for an elderly neighbour. Amanda relates what happened:
Continue reading “Over 90 and trusting Christ for the first time”
Sometimes we have only a brief moment in time to share the gospel with an individual. Other times, as Peter* discovered, the opportunities for interaction may stretch over years.
Peter met Bill* under difficult circumstances. Peter himself had travelled quite a distance to the regional cancer clinic for a bone marrow transplant. Chemotherapy and radiation would later follow. Bill, on the other hand, was there to be by his wife’s side as she fought her own battle with cancer.
The first time the men met was in the elevator. The hospital served a wide area so it was only the common denominator of cancer that drew these two to the same location. As they made eye contact, Peter felt immediately that they would form a friendship.
Recently, we heard from Wesley* on our Facebook page about a story unfolding in his church.
He’d been approached by a lady in his church who was concerned for her grandchildren. Wesley described GoodSeed’s book, The Lamb, to her and the woman immediately requested four books. When she received them, she gave the books to her grandchildren and waited to hear their response.
The mother of one of these grandchildren began reading The Lamb to her son each night before bed. The father, an unbeliever, would be sitting across the room, listening in.
Continue reading “Boy puts his faith in Christ after reading “The Lamb””
Many of us desire to reach out to acquaintances with the gospel, but struggle to know exactly how to do it. Many of GoodSeed’s materials are ideal for people in just such a situation, equipping individuals with tools they can simply give away like a large gospel tract.
One such tool is our most recent booklet entitled The Story that Matters. Small, affordably priced and illustrated with modern, expressive line art, this sixty-four page book is an excellent tool to hand out to those you meet on the street or en masse to large groups.
Continue reading “Special sleeves for “The Story that Matters””
This is the second instalment in a two-part story. Read the first installment.
Paul encouraged Timothy to not “let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12 NIV)
In the following story, Jake* has modelled for me, a 30-some year-old believer, what it means to simply trust and obey the Lord as he provides opportunities to share the gospel.
Jake’s older brother, in turn, had earlier set an example for him by leading students through a simple explanation of the gospel in the schools he attended. Now, Jake is following in his brother’s footsteps, continuing to teach fellow students.