Category: Ambassador Series

Using the Worldview Survey, Part 1: Sharing the gospel when time is short

Five full days of street evangelism! Under normal circumstances, if someone had suggested this idea as a potential evangelistic pursuit, my response would have been, “No thanks! Not for me!” However, here I was in a large van heading to the big city. My husband, Troy, and I were the designated leaders, no less, for a dozen or so college-aged students. And we’d be standing on a street corner in no time at all, attempting to get into deep spiritual conversations with all kinds of scary strangers.

The first day went by much as I expected. Many were closed to hearing about the Lord, a few were willing to get into a discussion and most walked by completely indifferent. That week on bustling city streets was quite the adventure, arming us with stories and experiences that still effect our approach to sharing the gospel when time is short.

Even if you never participate in street evangelism, it’s good to be prepared for the moment when you have a quick opportunity to share the Bible’s message with a passing stranger. Your brief opportunity may come while sitting in front of your hairdresser, or with the salesperson at the door, or while you’re passing time in a waiting room. No matter the scenario, there are certain common obstacles that brief interactions present, as well as good ideas to navigate those obstacles.

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I finally understand! I believe what you are saying!

Ice shanty for ice fishing

This past summer, Richard* accepted a call to pastor a church in the US Northeast. As he began his new ministry, one of his areas of responsibility concerned the selection of Sunday school materials. As he thought about what would be most helpful for his congregation, he pulled out his copy of What’s in a Name? This DVD lecture (which is part of the Ambassador Series) focuses on the issue of clearly explaining who Jesus is and what he accomplished on the cross. A person needs to both understand who Jesus is (his identity) and the significance of his life, death and resurrection (his history) if he is to come to faith in Christ.

Richard assembled a teaching outline based on the DVD and taught it. Afterwards, a young man came up and asked to speak to him. It was the second time that Leonard* was visiting the church. Invited into the pastor’s office, the young father gushed, “I finally understand! I believe what you are saying!” Quizzed on what he understood, Leonard was able to clearly explain back to Richard the essence of the gospel. Leonard went on to say that he wanted to turn from his sin and follow Christ. Richard was very encouraged by his response to the message of the gospel.

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I see the problem of syncretism!

In-ká-hai cover with sticky notesA bright and cheery summer’s day is a great time to explore the local farmer’s market. For years, Sarah* has not only enjoyed visiting the market but has also had a booth—selling jewellery and women’s clothing. On her breaks, she enjoys strolling among the booths, admiring the wares on display and chatting with other vendors.

One Saturday, as she wended her way through the crowds, she passed Michael’s* booth. He was there with his hiking sticks. But these were no ordinary hiking sticks. Attached to the end of each was a leather cord strung with coloured beads: white, green, black, red and yellow. The hiking sticks were free for the asking. As Michael would hand out each stick, he would take the opportunity to give a brief explanation of the gospel using the beads.

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MUSA’nın yazılarından başlayarak … now available for download

MUSA’nın yazılarından başlayarak …It’s been in print in Turkey for some time now, but today we are making the Turkish edition of And Beginning with Moses… available as a free PDF download on our website.

And Beginning with Moses… is our primer on sharing the gospel following the example of Jesus on the road to Emmaus. It details the challenges we face in communicating the gospel in today’s culture, including issues like:

  • Syncretism
  • Being too brief
  • Assuming too much of your listener
  • Not covering the essentials of the gospel

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In-ká-hai captured the minds of my children

In-ká-hai: How Sweet it Is!

We recently received a very encouraging note from a gentleman who read In-ká-hai: How Sweet It Is! to his children as part of their family devotions. He wrote:

Our family has really enjoyed reading In-ká-hai! I have read it to the family, one chapter at each sitting. We finished the epilogue tonight and we will go through the study questions the remainder of this week.

It is a wonderful book that has captured the minds of my children. You can ask them a Manjúi word like “noki-wota” and they will tell you that the word means “honey.” Or “in-ka-hai” means “how sweet it is.” Pretty cool, eh?

I am considering doing a book review at church to give others the idea of using it for family devotions. Thank you for the book! — Howard*

 

(*Name changed as per GoodSeed policy.)

 

 

What do you do when a Christian doesn’t act like one?

Peter and Seyin

When, on one hand, people claim to believe in Christ, while on the other hand, they don’t act like it, is there anything that can be done? What is clear in scripture is that God doesn’t want us as believers to simply stand on the sidelines and look on.

Recently, GoodSeed celebrated the launch of our newest book, In-ká-hai: How Sweet It Is! with a small gathering. During this time, author Chantal Chen shared highlights from the book, explaining how the missionaries tackled the above scenario among the Manjúi people, giving us biblical insight on what we can do in similar situations. The missionaries tackled the root problem: understanding. There is so much to learn from what the missionaries did to ensure that the Manjúi had a clear understanding of the gospel and these insights have been distilled into the six study sessions included in the book.

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In-ká-hai book dedication

Chantal Chen doing a reading.

On Saturday (Oct 5), we had a good time of fellowship as friends and supporters gathered with us to dedicate our latest book, “In-ká-hai: How Sweet It Is!” Chantal Chen, the author, did a reading from the book and we explained how the study guide could be used for personal reflection or small group study. The missionaries’ story of bringing the gospel to the Manjúi people of Paraguay provides valuable lessons for believers on how to actively share the gospel with friends and family. We prayed that God would see fit to use the book to encourage and equip believers everywhere to be ambassadors for Christ.

Thanks to all who took time of a Saturday to join us for in the book dedication!

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In-ká-hai: Snapshots of life among the Manjúi

Manjúi life

We look forward to the In-ká-hai book dedication this Saturday. We will be sharing some photos of life among the Manjúi. Looking through the many photos from that time, we were particularly tickled to see the missionaries’ children enjoying life with the Manjúi children. Kids are often a bridge in building friendships in a cross-cultural situation and the Humphreys’ children were no exception. We can’t wait to hear more stories this Saturday.

Don’t forget, In-ká-hai is also available in ebook format. If you have a Kindle, iBooks, a Kobo, a Nook or Google eBooks (or any e-reader that supports EPUB), you can visit our web store and download a copy of In-ká-hai today.

Available from today: “In-ká-hai: How Sweet It Is!”

in-ká-haiWe are happy to announce that In-ká-hai: How Sweet It Is! is now available in all our offices (US, Canada, UK and Australia) and also on our two web stores: US and Canada. In addition, we have released them in two ebook formats: mobi (for Kindle) and ePub (for iBooks, Google Books, Nook, Kobo and more.)

In-ká-hai is part of the Ambassador Series and can be used for personal study, small groups or a class about evangelism. The lessons learnt from the Manjúi experience can be applied to believers everywhere as we live out the biblical mandate to be ambassadors for Christ.

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“In-ká-hai” in the making

Making In-ká-hai
A number of years ago our intern, Chantal, was tasked with taking the Manjúi experience and crafting it into a story. The intent was not just to share a powerful testimony of frontline missionary work but to make a link between a tribal group and our friends and neighbours who live in a modern, urban setting. The lack of Bible knowledge among the Manjúi is echoed in our friends—their Bible illiteracy makes it hard for them to understand who Jesus is and what happened on the cross. There is so much we can learn from how the Bible teachers taught the Manjúi. That’s the essence of the book.

In the photo, the manuscript of “In-ká-hai” is laid out on two long tables on the right. Chantal is seated at her desk. John Cross and the Humphreys (who are featured in the book) are huddled together, going through the draft and making corrections.

“In-ká-hai” will be available Sep 23 on our web stores.