How churches are grounding their congregations

Recently we received two testimonies. One was from a ladies’ small group from a church in Alberta, Canada and the other was from a church in Singapore. These two churches were an ocean apart but they had the same vision: to ensure every member understood a clear gospel.

These two churches found it useful to use By This Name as the book for small group study. Longtime churchgoers as well as and people still seeking to understand what the Bible is all about benefited from going through the creation-to-the-cross approach used in the book. They saw how the Old and New Testament tied together as one story, and for many, it made them want to read the Bible more! Here are their stories.

Alberta, Canada
Our ladies’ study group consisted of 12 ladies with different levels of Bible knowledge. There were ladies with no knowledge at all, others with many of years of study and everything in between. The study ran for two months and we met every Wednesday morning. Our book study was By This Name. The commitment was to read 1-3 chapters every week and fill out the companion workbook before the sessions. At the sessions we would watch video segments that would reinforce the previous week’s reading as well as go through and discuss the questions in the study guide.

We had seven older children looking after, on average, 10 younger children. We had a section of the basement sectioned off where the helpers set up activity stations of crafts and play including a snack. “The Lamb” was also read to the children and everyone participated in a question-and-answer session after the reading. Our ladies’ study would not have been so successful if it weren’t for the older children helping out. As a special “thank you,” we held a fun night of games and pizza at church just for them.

By This Name puts the puzzle pieces together to form a complete picture to help readers understand the overall message of the Bible. The book starts from the beginning of the Old Testament and follows through to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. By This Name presents the truth of the Bible in a way that allows the reader to make an informed decision to either follow or reject God’s plan of redemption since many, unfortunately, follow or reject blindly, unable to give an answer to why they believe or don’t believe.

Here is some feedback from the ladies in the study:

Betina
The study provided me with a very thorough, complete understanding of the Bible that I never had before. I also found my faith in Christ through the study, as I was not a Christian before this course. I am now closer to God, and would recommend this study to anyone who is interested in gleaning a clear understanding of God and the Bible.

Anna
By This Name is a complete summary of the gospel story, including all the necessary pieces for me to see the whole picture. It started at the beginning of creation and moved through to the end. What I walked away with is the differen[ce] between religion and a relationship with our Saviour. There is nothing I can do to earn salvation. It’s not through works but through faith. It is what He has done on the cross that has saved me. I feel blessed to own this book and having this resource at my fingertips for anyone having questions about my beliefs. I have recommended this book wholeheartedly to my family and friends. I enjoy hearing how they are sharing this book with others and the things that they are personally learning through this book.

Catherine
Yes, this study was great. It helped a lot with my understanding of the Old Testament. It has deepened my desire to study God’s Word. The women in this group were amazing and very open to discussion. I have seen such wonderful results in such a short period of time. God is really at work here. I look forward to further studies with this group.

Josie
We were all blessed by the unexpected openness, honesty and transparency of the group in our discussions and prayer time. It was a big commitment for very busy ladies but a very big reward of understanding and fellowship was the result! It has been exciting to hear of ladies giving away “By This Name” to their family and friends as a way to easily present the truth about what the Bible is all about.

 

Singapore
Our church runs a By This Name class twice a year for church members and interested friends. The book is taught over seven weeks on Friday evenings. We have a spectrum of people: from young adults, to seasoned Sunday School teachers to new members and even family members who have never been to church but want to find out what the Bible is all about. Here are some of their testimonies after finishing the course.

Jerry
I am teaching eleven year olds in Sunday School. I attended the course to help me prepare for my Sunday School lessons better. Initially, I thought the course would be nothing more than a review of Bible stories that I already knew. It was only after I attended it that I realized that the entire Biblical narrative was one big story from start to finish. While I used to have a somewhat piecemeal understanding of the Old Testament’s relation to the New Testament, this course helped me gain a clearer understanding of the Bible as a whole. Through a very focused and directed material, I was able to see God’s intervention in the history of man from creation all the way to our present age. It was an eye opener for me to learn and be refreshed by many things like man being cut off from his source of life (God) when he sinned and the receiving of eternal and abundant life when one trusts in Jesus.

Furthermore, I also realized that there were many ‘hidden’ pieces in the Bible that I often overlooked due to wording or context in the past. An example would be the section on the birth of Jesus where Malachi 3:1 was highlighted. 400 years before the birth of Christ, God had told the prophet Malachi that ‘see, I will send MY MESSENGER, who will prepare the way before ME…’ While I used to gloss over such verses, now the connection was just too hard to ignore! God had said that He Himself would come to the earth, and He did it in Christ Jesus.

Through very thought-provoking material, By This Name brings one through the entire story of the Bible and makes the understanding of the Christian message crystal clear. I would truly encourage anyone who wants a clearer understanding of his or her faith and people curious about the story of the Bible to attend this course! Come and be blessed!

Elizabeth
Prior to attending the course, the Bible had always been confusing for me. I did not know where to start reading it and how to read it the way it is meant to be understood. The course helped to me to make sense of the Old Testament and the New Testament. I learnt about significant events in the Bible and how God’s promise to fulfill certain events always came to pass. The course was almost like a summary of the Bible, highlighting the key points. As such, when I read the Bible now, the contextual background acquired during the course allows better and easier understanding of the verse or chapter that I am reading.

Above it all, I am truly convinced that my faith is not a blind one, but one that resulted from knowing God’s longstanding history and in believing that the God whom I trust is loving and perfectly just.

Melanie
I was invited by my friends to attend this class. I am so glad that I did.

I am a churchgoer, but I was not in any ministry. I did not read the Bible diligently, and when I did, I sometimes misinterpreted the text and got confused. In this course of seven lessons, we covered the key events in the whole Bible. The events highlighted let us understand what happened in the past, and with this understanding, we know what is going to happen in the future.

The book draws connection of events that happened in the Old Testament and proves that Jesus is the Messiah.

This course is meant for everyone. For people like me, I can actually ‘read’ the whole Bible through the summary given in By This Name. It gave me a better understanding, and it made me want to read the Bible again. For people who have been reading the Bible faithfully, I believe it is a useful refresher, as there are definitely some events that we may have overlooked.

We found it so encouraging to see churches from two different places on earth make the effort to ground their people in God’s Word. Perhaps in your own church, there is also an opportunity to give the congregation and visitors a chance to get a solid understanding of the gospel.

(* All names changed as per GoodSeed policy.)