May Your Love Increase and Overflow for Others
April 22, 2023 was a day full of worship and encouragement for the 100 + ladies in the Ontario region gathered in Etobicoke, Ontario to participate in the Overflowing Ontario event, a CNBC Women’s Ministry Event.
This year’s theme “May Your Love Increase and Overflow” came from 1 Thessalonians 3:12. CNBC women’s ministry leader, Kathy Morales, shared encouragements from this scripture; several women gave their salvation testimonies and three breakout sessions were offered for equipping.
One of the breakout sessions, “Sharing the Gospel and Teaching the Bible to an Adult Beginner” helped participants think about how best to share God’s amazing story, the Gospel, or begin Bible learning with a co-worker, neighbor, family or a friend who has not had previous knowledge of the Bible or Christian truths. This article will summarize that session and provide some tools and resources you can use in this area of ministry.
This breakout session had four areas of focus; overarching principles, ways to start spiritual conversations, how to move initial interest to deeper exploration and where to start once a person or group is ready to study the Bible. We will briefly touch on each of these.
First are of focus
For the overarching principles, participants were reminded that this is a spiritual endeavor with the necessity to lean into the Holy Spirit through prayer and scriptural truth for wisdom and strength. The session began with reminders from Ephesians 6 that God is already victorious in spiritual matters and that we have assurance of our own Salvation and abiding peace in our relationship with God through Christ Jesus. The next overarching principle focused on the relationship and the importance to become acquainted with the person with whom you are sharing so that you know their needs and areas of personal interest. We were admonished to stay away from religious terminology and work to talk about Biblical truths in everyday terms in our conversations. Finally, the participants were encouraged to keep bringing their friend back to the Bible which is living and active and able to accomplish what is needed. Trust that the Bible can teach itself when we use it. We were reminded that we need to personally know the Word of God to be able to use it. So, remember to memorize scripture and discuss it regularly with others.
Second Focus
The second focus of this breakout session was on having spiritual conversations. This section looked at two factors; the individual that you are sharing with and your own preparation and efforts. When considering the individual, it is good to understand the person’s background and perspective on spiritual matters. Ask questions to discover their spiritual understanding; learn their interest (if any) in spiritual matters, and seek to discern questions they might have about faith or God. Here are a few possible questions that you might ask to get started.
As you engage others in Spiritual conversations it is good to understand yourself and let God use your own personality, interests, and experiences to demonstrate how He works in individual lives. The leader encouraged participants to embrace what is natural for them. In remembering to consistently seek the Lord and His help, as we prepare for spiritual conversations we can pray for the “three O’s: Opportunity to share, the Holy Spirit’s work to Open their hearts, and then for us to Open our mouths and share the hope that we have in Christ. One method of sharing our hope is a 15 second testimony. This testimony is a very brief look at what our life was like before Christ, how Christ entered our lives and then how we have changed because of this new relationship. Here are a couple examples.
Third focus
The third focus of this session was about ways to move someone from a simple interest in spiritual matters to a willingness to explore more Biblical truth. The main idea discussed was sharing Bible stories to perk their interest. It was discussed how everyone loves a story and that most of the Bible stories are new to most people, even ones we might think everyone should know. In conversations with non-believers, be alert for discussion on life situations where a Biblical story would speak to that situation. One example is Joseph as someone who has many terribly difficult circumstances in his life, but how God used even those for His good and to help many others. The participants shared some of their favorite stories about Jesus that showed Him as one who is approachable, caring and wise.
This session ended with a brief discussion of how to help those who have never read or studied the Bible, begin to explore the Bible. A general principle emphasized is to begin with an explanation of the overarching story throughout the Bible. Then take time to explain the layout of the Bible with a simple summary of the Old Testament focus compared to primary focus of the New Testament. These simple overviews of the Bible and its purpose helps people feel more comfortable exploring this unfamiliar territory. One final suggestion was to supplement Biblical study with music, videos and even art to reinforce what people are studying and demonstrate how the Bible touches numerous facets of our lives.
In closing, resources like Creation to Christ and Christianity Explored were recommended as simple studies that give a Biblical overviews. Also, The Gospel project videos can be used to reinforce Bible stories that have been discussed.
Here are those resources:
Creation to Christ: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=creation+to+christ+video&qpvt=creation+to+christ+video&FORM=VDRE
Christianity Explored
The Gospel Project
httpCreation tos://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGaZyrZWaLygMKFbDGFldoA
Hopefully this will be helpful to you, your Church members and bring the Lord all the praise and Glory that He deserves.
