[God] has made every nationality . . . and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. Acts 17:26
Living Intentionally
No matter our New Year’s resolution, a significant agent of success depends on our “intentionality.” Am I going to purposefully work towards the goal I set at the beginning of the year?
Living life “on purpose” is a big component of accomplishing anything of value. We were created on purpose and for a purpose. Paul tells the Athenians in Acts 17 that God has determined both the period of time, as well as the location on earth in which each of us will live our lives. If this is the case, we’re here, now, for a purpose. We’re told elsewhere in Ephesians 2 that good works have been prepared in advance for us to accomplish.
In grasping that God specifically placed me in this time and place to accomplish certain things, I begin to consider seriously what it means to live as a Christ-follower during this time and in this place. “How should I think? How do I reach my neighbour? What is the best way to share the Good News with them?”
While we cling tenaciously to the unchanging truths of God’s Word, we must be willing to part with old methodologies that are losing effectiveness. We need to be sensitive to other worldviews, aware of the challenges of the current cultural climate and be willing to learn, flex and, above all, live with intentionality in the time and place in which God has placed us.
Sixteen-year-old Ethan would be the last one to “leave the nest.” Mark and Joy Thompson wondered how they could make his final years at home a meaningful time. So, they proposed three options to Ethan. “Would you like to study a certain Bible topic once a week as a family, watch a series on something about the Bible as a family, or would you like to use that night to do a Bible study with some of your non-Christian friends?”
After a short silence, Ethan responded, “The last one. Do a study with my friends.”
“Wow. OK. Cool,” Joy thought.
Ethan was tasked with speaking to his friends to gauge interest. A while later, when one of his friends asked about God, Ethan proposed the idea of doing a Bible study. His friend expressed interest, so Ethan quickly asked a few other guys. By evening, each one had indicated a desire to study the Bible.
The next day, Joy sent a note to all the parents letting them know what the boys wanted to do. She heard back quickly from them all, each one positive about the idea. So much optimism from both the young people and their parents took Joy by surprise, reminding her that God had been working in the situation long before the idea of a study was proposed.
“So much optimism from both the young people and their parents took Joy by surprise.”
Mark and Joy purchased The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus to guide their study. Each teen was sent home with their own copy so the parents could take a look at it and give their approval. Once again, the Thompsons received positive feedback, so they made plans to meet as a group.
At the last minute, a couple boys decided they wanted their girlfriends included in the study, so the study began with 8 teens, 6 guys and 2 girls.
Mark teaching the group the story of the Bible from creation to the cross.
The group would arrive at the Thompson home after school. “Can I tell you the noise and energy and hunger of six teenage boys and two teenage girls in a small dining area? Crazy, but so fun,” Joy describes.
Early on, the group said they wanted to have “tests” about what they were learning to ensure they understood. Joy joked about giving them stickers for the right answer. “Yes!” came the answer. So, with great laughter and fun, Joy came up with a chart that included stickers and prizes. Each session had a review game.
Putting stickers on a chart as a reward for correct answers
It reminded Joy of teaching VBS. “Noisy, team playing, being crazy answering questions from the last teaching, putting stickers on the poster… they loved it,” Joy said.
The group started out meeting once a week, but soon, once a week wasn’t enough. One fellow joked that he’d like to live at their house–go to school, play his sports, but then come back and do the study every night.
“What is happening?” Joy thought to herself at times. It astounded her how eager these students were to study God’s Word. Sure, they enjoyed hanging out together and eating homemade dinners. But she also recognized that more was going on behind the scene. Many were praying fervently for these young people. Others were giving the Thompsons money to help pay for the considerable amount of food they were going through; another took it upon herself to prepare a dessert for every meal. Clearly, the Lord was doing a work in many lives.
Starting in Genesis, Mark began sharing the story of the Bible. Each teen got a Bible and early on, Joy made a point of teaching them to use it. Since the stickers and chart had gone over so well, she decided to add sword drills to their evening. “It sounds nothing like what you would expect kids with driver’s permits to like, but what a joy to watch them now find passages in their Bibles, something that was completely foreign to them before,” Joy shares.
“They began to view the Bible as a place to turn to for answers.”
Early on, it became clear that while the students knew a few stories from the Bible, they had very little idea of what God was doing in those stories. As God the Creator unfolded in their minds, they were amazed at his power. Micah began to incorporate a phrase into his conversations: “Well, if God can make trees, then… [fill in the blank with all the thousands of other things he can do].”
Barrett frequently remarked about how much sense the Bible made. The group began to view the Bible as a place to turn to for answers.
When they discussed the story of God calling Moses to rescue the Hebrews from Egypt, Mark asked: “Would it be dumb for Moses to trust God?”
“It would be dumb not to trust God,” Micah replied.
When the sacrificial system was explained, one comment was, “I’d have to give a sacrifice every five minutes!”
Bit by bit, the Thompsons progressed through the Bible, receiving constant feedback: on the sinlessness of Jesus (“Dang! He’s a trooper!”); on the deity of Christ (“Wait. I thought Jesus was a separate thing. So Jesus is basically God walking the earth?”); and on the Trinity. (“We need to discuss this for like, hours until we figure it out.”)
“Does that mean I believe?”
The weeks of study provided many profound moments. One night the question was asked: “Do you think we are believing? I was thinking about this the other day. If God talked to me through this lamp (like Yahweh talked to Moses through the burning bush), I would do it. I would trust. Does that mean I believe?”
The statement came only halfway through the study, but even by then, it was clear that all the members of the group were believing what was being taught. By the end of the study, Mark and Joy could confidently say: “All seven kids have believed that only through Jesus’ sacrificial payment of death on the cross and his resurrection they are forever safe in Jesus’ arms. Praise the Lord for rescuing them!”
Since finishing the creation-to-Christ material outlined in The Stranger, the Thompsons have been teaching the group what it means to walk with God.
Barrett stated: “I want to be confident in my thoughts and confident in my decisions to do right.” Joy realized that, without knowing it, Barrett wanted to understand what it meant to live in the fact that Jesus has paid his debt.
Another recent conversation reveals the willing and tender hearts that have grown amongst the group:
Mark: “So because the Holy Spirit is our guarantee of what’s to come…” Barrett and Ellie: “…our goal is to please Him.”
Barrett: “We don’t have the right to sin.” Sarah: “It’s being selfish [to sin].”
Barrett: “All this…makes me feel I want to do this [tell others about Jesus] when I grow up. I just keep thinking about it. I just need to put it into work.”
Mark and Joy hope that by sharing their story, others will be emboldened to step out in faith to share the gospel with others around them. May we all look expectantly to the Lord to do great things through us and in the lives of those around us.
This picture shares a beautiful story of how naturally our faith can spread:
Meet G, the man on the left end of the group. He met the man next to him (wearing the white jacket) through Facebook and invited him to a conference where he was teaching Worldview Rethink.
That man in turn encouraged P, his sister (next to him in photo in the pink top), to also attend, though she had plans for her weekend already. P decided to attend for just a short bit in the morning, but was so gripped by the gospel message, she cancelled her plans and chose to take in the entire 2-day conference.
After the first day of the conference, P travelled home and pleaded with her father (Mr. R in the red shirt) to attend with her the following day. He agreed.
Mr R heard the message the following day, but seemed unmoved and not terribly interested. He accepted a copy of The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus and read it into the night. The next day, he called together his family and with great excitement, shared what he’d read, saying, “I finally understand the gospel!” B (holding a baby) was one of those members of the family who became a believer at that time.
B’s wife then approached her grandmother (in the blue shawl) and shared the Good News with her. Grandmother gladly received the message and believed.
In the space of a few days, all the adults to the right of G (and more besides) became believers, because the ones around them simply shared the good news they themselves had received.
Truly, sharing the gospel doesn’t have to be complicated. The title of this article, “Each one reach one; each one teach one” was a motto I learned from a faithful ambassador for Christ by the name of Thom Cunningham. With 2 Timothy 2:2 as his guiding principle, Thom taught and exemplified that by simply reaching out to one person and sharing with them, we can be a part of a greater multiplication driven by the Holy Spirit.
Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more peoplemay cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
An easy way I’ve found to share the gospel with others is to include a booklet or book along with a gift for a special occasion.
At Easter, I gave each girl in my youth small group a gift bag of goodies, including a copy of The Story that Matters. As an incentive to actually read it, I told them I’d give them a small gift card if they read it and could come the following week and answer several questions from the book.
One Christmas, we included with our usual gift of goodies to the neighbours a copy of By This Name.
At Halloween, we’ve given out paper bags with chips, candy and a copy of The Story that Matters.
Know a new mother? A gift of some cute clothes, diapers and a copy of The Lamb can be very meaningful.
When giving the books to people as part of a gift, we always try to make sure we’re generous with our other gifts. We want to present the gospel amidst generosity and we never want the person to walk away feeling like they were somehow shortchanged — “All they gave me was this book.”
What happens with those books? Well, often we never find out. But there have been times when we’ve been blessed to get feedback. One young girl received a copy during a children’s program at church. She had read the book What are Christmas and Easter All About? several times on her own during the week and was so proud of her accomplishment. Her attendance at the children’s program was her one exposure to the Bible’s message. I was thrilled to know that she now understood the basics of the gospel message.
Of course, if you share enough books around, you might have a book thrown back into your yard, apparently not appreciated, as once happened to us. But other than that once, the responses have been positive and appreciative.
Whatever the case, we are thankful we have materials we can so easily use to share the gospel with a variety of people in many different ways.
Easter is an open door to engage with the people around you, often resulting in giving a book or even guiding a study. This next month may hold opportunities for you to share the gospel with your boss… or your brother… or the neighbour who has gone through cancer this year… or the jogger who passes you every day on your morning walk.
Easter is an open door to engage with the people around you, often resulting in giving a book or even guiding a study. This next month may hold opportunities for you to share the gospel with your boss… or your brother… or the neighbour who has gone through cancer this year… or the jogger who passes you every day on your morning walk.
From lighting and angles to teaching tips, here are some practical ideas for how to navigate.
The Good, the Bad and What to Avoid
Online isn’t so bad. While we miss in-person fellowship, there are upsides to doing it online. With our online studies, my husband and I have been able to meet despite adverse weather or illness and even over the Christmas season when studies are usually on hiatus. (What else was there to do!?) When we started meeting in the fall, we were the only group from our church meeting online. Now we’re the only group meeting period due to COVID restrictions.
Technical concerns: While a nuisance, technical issues need not deter you. Generally, people are understanding with these things. Often, it’s best to forge ahead even if things aren’t ideal. If not, restart the device and hope for the best.
Reading the room: It can be hard to gauge your online audience. Often faces are obscured or far away; perhaps all you can see is a ceiling fan. It’s hard to tell if people are getting jokes, let alone if they’re under conviction or confused. This makes leading a study challenging and tiring! But there are things you can do to counter these obstacles.
DO: Give yourself lots of time (30 min) the first night to get everyone set up. In subsequent studies, ensure you’re on 10-15 minutes early to address technical issues and welcome people as they join.
DON’T: Don’t assume everyone knows how to use your chosen app. Some people will need coaching to get set up the first time.
DO: Send out reminders for your study. Many people have little routine these days, needing regular reminders.
DO: Get links and other information to your group at least 6-24 hours before your study, giving lots of time for potential issues to surface.
DO: As the leader, ensure you have a good set-up. Make sure your face is lit up nicely and the angle of your camera is pleasing. (No one wants to be looking up your nose for the duration of the study!)
DO: Conduct the study as if you were all in the same room. If you’ve never done a study using GoodSeed tools, watch this short video.
DO: Use the videos interwoven with the text. These can easily be shared via the screen share option. Videos are a huge help, helping to engage your audience. It’s also helpful to use the companion workbooks for review. Watch this for tips.
DON’T: Don’t forget to have your group highlight key points. Ask them to help you by reading the verses in the text. This also helps them to stay focused on the material.
DO: If someone misses a meeting, make sure they know what you covered so they can read the material themselves and get caught up.
DON’T: When your meeting is over, don’t rush to leave the app. Some people may hang around at the end to ask questions or talk privately. These can be sweet times of fellowship that you won’t want to miss.
Ideal for Online Studies:
Bible Overview Study
No Ordinary Story explains the Bible from creation to the cross. Each booklet can be read in less than 50 minutes, a perfect Bible study length. Included are links to short video clips, which add interest to the material. If you wish to go more in-depth, choose from The Stranger (Christianized worldview), By This Name (Eastern worldview) or All the Prophets (Islamic worldview).
The Next Step for Believers
For those who have been taught through one of the books listed above, The Captive and the King’s Will is the follow-up book to help the believer understand sanctification. Looking at the life of the Apostle Peter, this book covers how the Holy Spirit and God’s Word guide us, baptism, finding a church, our position in Christ, the security of the believer, persecution and trials and many other essential topics for believers.
Training for Believers
Learn how to:
Share with the biblically illiterate, confused or hardened
Overcome fear and lack of understanding
Make the most of spur-of-the-moment and long-term opportunities
Engage and share without being preachy
Help people understand the life-changing central message of the Bible
Make being an ambassador for Christ part of a lifelong lifestyle
TERM for small groups is comprised of 50-minute sessions that build confidence in the gospel to change lives, including your own.
Hands On
Whether as an in-home study with your family or an online study with a group, the Tabernacle is a fascinating study for young and old alike. Learn the significance of the structure and its furniture as you assemble the scale model.
While most of us were happy to bid farewell to 2020, things haven’t suddenly turned a corner with the beginning of a new year. Many are waiting till things return to normal to take up certain activities, whether it’s a hobby, exercise or to reach out to others.
But let’s not wait for circumstances to improve before we step out in faith. Let’s look for opportunities where they lay and not allow less-than-ideal events to waylay us. This will likely require flexibility and creativity.
Have you been wanting to do a Bible study with a friend? Don’t wait until COVID clears up in order to get together. Make arrangements to get started right away. Many have had effective studies via phone, over Zoom or Skype, outdoors with social distancing and any number of other avenues. GoodSeed materials are very well-suited to this type of study. See more below.
The Lord delights in shining his grace into the lives of others through his children, especially as we walk through times of difficulty. Don’t wait for things to get better. Often, your most effective outreach happens when things are most decidedly not ideal. Let’s take advantage of this time and not wait for a “better” day in the future.
Christmas is an ideal time to share the Gospel with others. It tends to be a season of greater openness, of gift-giving, of sharing the things close to our hearts. Christmas gives us a unique once-a-year opportunity to touch the lives of those who might otherwise not be open to receiving such a gift.
2. The Story that Matters is a cost-effective booklet, illustrated with expressive line art, giving a simple explanation of the Gospel.
These booklets are ideal for mass giveaways. Costing less than a Christmas card, consider giving the Gospel message instead. Hand them out at the close of your Christmas Eve service, include them in gift baskets given away for the season, or tuck one into your gift to your neighbour or co-worker.
3. No Ordinary Story is a boxed set of small booklets, which together explain the Gospel in bite-sized pieces. Illustrated and easy to read, these books are ideal for those who are not big readers, have limited time or who may be indifferent to the Bible’s message. For ages 12+.4. The Lamb is for the young ones in your life, giving them a simple, yet crystal clear explanation of the gospel message in this beautifully illustrated hard cover book. Countless children have come to know their Saviour through the reading of this book. For ages 5-12.
Do you have a burden for specific individuals in your life? Perhaps you have children or grandchildren who need to firmly understand the Bible’s message. Or a neighbour, co-worker or friend with whom you’ve built up a relationship and would accept a gift of this nature. Christmas is a natural time to give such gifts and have them readily accepted.
Whatever happens this Christmas, let’s be people who are full of the Good News of Christ and ready to share “a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
After months of planning, packing and COVID delays, we’re thrilled to see GoodSeed Australasia opening in Queensland. This week we launched our Australasian online store and it is now live. Check it out at https://au.goodseed.com.
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