“We’ve had Protestants, Catholics, atheists, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhists…”

Since Village Seven Presbyterian Church in Colorado has been running Christianity Explored as part of their evangelistic strategy, they’ve found it a great way to communicate the gospel message with people who would never come to church.

“As an outreach, it’s a great place to invite people who are looking for some answers, but who may not be ready to sit in a pew,” says David, who helps run the course.

“One young man had come along and was very much searching but he didn’t want any part of church. As he came into the gym and sat down, he said, ‘Oh, I’m in a school—great!’

“We want people to find out for their own is Jesus a lunatic, a liar, or is he the Lord? And we’ve seen well over two dozen people come to a full confession of faith through Christianity Explored.”

Village Seven hold CE twice a year, on Sunday evenings at 5.30pm. To hear more from David and his wife, and to listen to a wonderful testimony from a couple who became Christians through going on a course, visit the church’s website.

The CE Course: Intro Video

You’ll also find this video on the CE website.

This is a great video to show if you’re advertising your course at a church service, because it gives people an idea of what they would be coming to.

Download a copy here.

Rico Tice interview: What is CE and what's different about it?

Brad Byrd, TGBC's US Ministry Director, talks to Rico Tice about the Christianity Explored course.

For more information, see the CE Ministries Website. For materials, head to The Good Book Company in the UK or the US. ). And take a look at CE's evangelistic website.

Tomorrow, Rico talks to Brad about how to use the course materials, and how CE can work in your front room as well as your church building.

Introducing Christianity Explored week

What does Christianity Explored mean to you?

It might be the way you came to faith in Christ (it has been for many thousands worldwide). It might be something you’ve taken a friend along to at your church… or you’ve led a course… or you’ve seen the seeker-friendly website.

Or it might be that your church runs a different course, or no course at all… or that you've heard of CE, but don't know how it works, or why it works.

Whoever you are, there’ll be something interesting and helpful for you on the blog this week.

Each day, we’ll feature clips from a recent interview with Rico Tice. Rico is part of the team who have developed CE, and in partnership with The Good Book Company recently launched the updated and upgraded Third Edition—hear him talk about:

• the vision behind CE
• what makes CE different to other courses
• who can run it, and how
• how it can help transform churches and communities.

We’ll also be featuring ordinary Christians who’ve been running CE in a variety of different settings, with a great range of types of people. One of the beauties of CE is its simplicity and ease of use—hopefully hearing from how it’s being used will spark some ideas for you and your church.

Last (but not least!) we’ll be featuring a fantastic deal on CE course materials later in the week. This deal is not to be missed, and you’ll find it only on the blog.

So make sure you keep coming back to The Good Book Blog all week, for videos, interviews and deals. And as you do that, we’d love to hear what you think—do use the comments area to give your views, make suggestions, and ask questions.

Looking for a new church?

So you’re moving house. Off to college or uni. The time has come to join a new church family. You’ve been on the ‘net and printed out a list of congregations and got some recommendations from trusted friends. But what next? Once you’re in a strange church building how do you discern whether it will be a good place to settle?

Here are eight quick questions to help:

1. Is the teaching faithful?
   Join a congregation where the leaders and preachers are keen to explain the whole of God’s word carefully and relevantly. (Acts 20:27)
   
   
2. Are the prayers missional?
   It’s a great sign if the intercessions display a real heart for people outside the church. (Col 1:6)
   
   
3. Are the hymns biblical?
   Try to find a congregation where the songs used reflect Scripture not just sentiment. (Eph 5:19-20)
   
   
4. Is the ethos pastoral?
   Listen out for stories of how the church has been supportive. We all struggle and you’ll benefit from being in a community where you can be encouraged and spurred on in your walk with Christ. (Heb 10:24)
   
   
5. Is there training available?
   Everyone needs to grow in knowledge and understanding and have their gifts developed. Check that there are opportunities to do that through small groups, 1:1s or training courses. (Phil 1:9)
   
   
6. Is the notice-sheet practical?
   Join a church where there will be opportunities for service. The notice-sheet is a great place to see what’s going on and to work out how you might get involved.(1Pet 4:10)
   
   
7. Are the people approachable?
   Look to see if the congregation are welcoming. It’s always a good sign when people show love. (1Jn 3:11)
   
   
8. Are the services accessible?
   Make sure you would feel able to bring your non-Christian friends along. (Col 4:5)
   
   

Of course, there’s no such thing as a perfect local church and it is unrealistic to expect that every congregation will do everything well. But if you answer most of the above with a ‘yes’ then the church is definitely one to visit again!

Teaching Children and Teens Together

My church is small. In our under-18s work we have 6 children aged 1 to 14. One has special needs. And with our current resources we have no choice but to teach them together. It’s not an uncommon scenario. Many churches do it. And if you’re in one of them you’ll know how frustrating it is not to be able to teach in age-specific groups and how hard it is to help groups like this grow.

We tend to fall into some common traps:

• gearing everything to the younger ones so they don’t scream
• making the teens into leaders before they’re ready
• rotating activities for the older ones with activities with for the younger, irritating everyone in turn!

But on our good days, we remember that there are better ways to teach multi-age groups. And here are 4 tips to help us:

• Pray – John 14:26 reminds us that the best teacher is the Holy Spirit. And so asking God to open the eyes of the children by his Spirit – bringing them to faith and deepening their faith – is the top strategy for growth. Praying for more children and leaders is good too!
• Use multi-layer activities – A single activity can work on a number of levels. Teens can read a Bible passage verse by verse, while children act it out and leaders explain it. The previous week’s teaching can be reinforced with quizzes that have blue questions (hard) and red questions (easy) all chosen by tiny children picking coloured balls. We can make collages of prayer-needs that involve simple pictures and complex prose. The aim is to involve everyone in every activity in ways that are age-appropriate.
• Encourage peer interaction – Bible study and prayer work well in twos with each pair having carefully crafted age-specific questions and prayer pointers. Leaders can help the younger ones while giving the older ones 5/10 minutes on their own (in the same room) before everyone feeds back to the whole group.
• Initiate midweek 1:1s – It may be necessary to teach together on Sundays but Tuesdays are far more flexible! Once a fortnight pop round to see each of the older children for an hour in their own homes – enjoy getting to know them, opening the Scriptures with them and watching them grow!

London Women's Convention 2011

Fighting the Monday feeling

You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
(Isaiah 40 v 9–11)

The good news must be shouted out! The Lord Jesus will come with the power of a mighty warrior and with the care of a shepherd looking after his sheep. Just as God would rescue the people of Jerusalem from exile in foreign countries — Jesus rescues His people from God’s punishment and brings them home to Himself. Amazing.