Testimonies – Page 6 – The GoodSeed Blog

I’d probably held a Bible in my hands, but never read it

Ever wondered how other churches bring in non-believers to study the Bible? Here’s what a church in Derby, England has done for many years. The church hosts “Just Looking” groups for those who are open to learning more about the Bible. In 2012, our first blog post was a story about these groups. The church had been running them for a number of years and it continues to do so.

The participants of the “Just Looking” groups gather in a non-threatening location (i.e., not a church), for a relaxing and informal time of learning. The leaders have been using The Stranger for several years to guide the course. Those who attend come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but all have one thing in common: they do not possess a clear understanding of the Bible’s message.

Laura* shared that, before she had been invited to the group, “I hadn’t had any thoughts about the Bible. I’d heard of the Bible. I’d probably held one in my hands, but never read it. I didn’t know what it was. Didn’t really have any thoughts at all about the Bible.“

Amir was a young Muslim who attended the group: “I thought [Christianity] was a religion similar to Islam. I thought they all led to God.”

William wasn’t even interested in attending. Now an elderly man, he’d lived his whole life apart from God’s Word. It was his wife who nagged him to come till he finally conceded. “I told her, ‘I’ll go along, see what it’s like. If I don’t like it, I’ll leave.’”

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That’s my favourite book!

Sometimes it’s in the midst of the mundane that the Lord brings about opportunities and encouragement. Here’s one such story that we recently received.

James* is a missionary in West Africa. He has been using L’Homme sur le chemin d’Emmaüs, the French edition of The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, in his ministry with those he disciples.

When the date arrived for his annual vehicle inspection, James did what every other vehicle owner in the African nation does: prepare for a long, hot wait in line for bureaucracy to do its thing. Knowing he’d likely be waiting for more than a few hours, James brought along his copy of L’Homme sur le chemin d’Emmaüs to study and prepare for a coming lesson.

He got his vehicle into the queue and went to the waiting area. James pulled out his book and began to review it, but before long, a stranger walked up to him. “That’s my favourite book!” he exclaimed. James was startled. He wasn’t aware that the book was available in West Africa. The man hurriedly explained, “My colleague and I are going through that book together at work. He told me a young American gave him the book and has been going through it with him.”

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By This Name: A perfect beginner’s guide to Christian faith

GoodSeed resources tie together familiar accounts from the Old and New Testament in way that makes profound sense and causes the Bible’s message to pop into sharp focus. We have heard from believers about how their faith has grown through a Bible study using our curriculum. At our TERM Seminars, participants are shown how using the historical narrative of the Bible helps provide clarity and understanding. Participants are glad to learn that our tools are not only good for evangelism but beneficial in helping believers grow in their spiritual lives. Here is a recent testimony from a TERM alumnus about this aspect:

By This Name is truly awesome! I have begun a study using your book with my son-in-law and my daughter, neither of whom have a clear understanding of what’s in the Bible. Both are relatively new believers and their six-year-old daughter recently made a decision for Christ! By This Name is so rich in the structure of biblical principles and truths, that it is the perfect beginner’s guide to Christian faith. My adult “kids” are enthusiastic and I am grateful for a study about the Bible [that will] precede studies of specific books of the Bible. I know of no other study of this type in existence and I am grateful to have found it. Thank you.

Learn more about TERM and check out the fall schedule.

A message from Bethlehem

The faint sound of the Muslim call to prayer from Bethlehem’s mosque blended curiously with the warbling of a bird outside the open window. Nasir’s* fingers hovered over the computer keyboard. He looked at the screen and read what he had written so far:

“Dear sir, I am so honoured and glad that you wrote to me. What I said about the book was not just nice comments. It was the truth.”

Now how to articulate just what he felt. He thought back to when he had first received a copy of All that the Prophets have Spoken. He remembered meeting Dale at a wedding of a mutual friend. They got to talking about how Nasir had come to Christ. As a parting gift, Dale gave him a copy of All the Prophets, saying it was written with the Islamic worldview in mind. This immediately tweaked Nasir’s interest. While Nasir had not been raised Muslim, he lived in the West Bank, in the heart of the Middle East, and knew from experience that reaching Muslims with the gospel was a challenging task.

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We rearranged our lives to make sharing the gospel possible

GoodSeed staff Jeremy* hung up the phone and stared at the hastily scribbled notes in his small notebook. Joy gripped his heart as he considered all that the Lord had been doing through the faithful witness of one couple, Ron and Laura. Jeremy had conducted a training session some years ago that the two of them had attended. It had made such an impact that they went home and began rearranging their lives so they could be more active in sharing the gospel.

Laura had told Jeremy over the phone, “Ron used to work construction on job sites long distances from home, which made it difficult for him to be involved in these studies. But God has helped us rearrange our lives so that he now has a job only two minutes away.”

Was this drastic change worth it? Laura said, “This is the easiest thing we have done with our lives… but not the quickest.” Sharing a clear gospel with others takes time, but the results are worth it. Both Ron and Laura felt that the tools provided by GoodSeed gave their outreach a greater impact.

Laura said, “When you learn to share the gospel this way [with these tools] it simplifies your life… you know what to do!”

Jeremy marvelled at what the couple had done. He smiled as he reviewed the stories they had shared with him.

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What were her true intentions?

book study

Rachelle* seems to always be guiding someone through the gospel message using Par ce nom, the French edition of By This Name. Though she never sets out searching for an individual to teach, the Lord regularly brings people into her life who desire to understand the Bible’s message. Amièle, a young teenager, was one such seeker.

Amièle had a rough start in life. Her home life was defined by upheaval and uncertainty, finally culminating with a move to live with her grandparents. When a friend invited her to attend church, she agreed and began joining the teen class each week. Though she attended for a year and a half, she still understood very little about the Bible. As this became more apparent, her Sunday school teacher asked Amièle if she would like to study a book called Par ce nom. The teachers would be Rachelle and the Sunday school teacher and the participants would be Amièle, the teacher’s daughter and a young man who was not a believer.

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Can there be hope for such a man?

Storm and glass Sometimes we are tempted to view certain individuals around us as “lost causes,” too far gone or too hardened to ever be reached by the gospel. Charlie* was such a man. Hearing how his life has played out, one would be tempted to think that there was no hope for him. He was a drunk and suffered from depression. Occasionally, he would explode into a fit of angry violence. And he was serving a long, long sentence in a maximum security prison for a double murder. Can there be hope for such a man?

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The clearest explanation of the sacrifice Jesus made for us

Creek Stories We had previously shared the video testimony of Ashley Murphy, a member of Soteria Church who came to faith in Christ through reading The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus. Many others in this church have also come to faith through this book. Dave and Kelly Bell are two of these.

Here are quotes from their testimonies:

“The book, Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, I kid you not, is the clearest explanation of the sacrifice Jesus made for us and how we were separated from God prior to that… Reading that book established the understanding for me that Jesus is the bridge between us and our new connection with God.” — David Bell

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Peace in the family at the cost of peace in her heart

Sometimes the journey of walking with the Lord is not always a straight or smooth path. And when the difficult choices affect our children and other family members, we often find ourselves agonizing over the best way forward. Marthe,* a Creole woman in Haiti, shared a part of her journey with us.

Marthe had come to understand the gospel many years previously. But she had little support for her faith. Her husband belonged to a Christian cult; her parents and other relatives were entrenched in a different belief system that was not welcoming toward the biblical worldview.

Each choice she tried to make in following the Lord brought criticism and a great deal of pressure from those she loved. After a while, it seemed easier for her to simply keep the peace and “not stir the waters to change things.” So, for several years, Marthe shoved her Christian beliefs to one side to remove the conflict from her life. But while her relationships within her family eased, her heart was not at peace.

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This can’t wait! There are only hours left

“Ming Wei, you need to come home urgently. Your grandmother might not last long!”

When he received the phone call from his parents, Ming Wei’s* heart grew heavy. Not only was he concerned about his grandmother’s health, he had a much deeper concern—he was worried about the spiritual state of his grandmother.

As an overseas Chinese student, Ming Wei had the opportunity to learn about Christianity and had become a believer just a couple of years ago. Now as he packed to go home to China, he was anxious about how to broach the subject of the gospel with his ailing grandmother. Since coming to Christ, he hadn’t found himself in this position before and he was at a loss as to how to talk to her about Christ. One thing he did know—time was short and this would be his one and only opportunity to address her eternal destiny.

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