The GoodSeed Blog – Page 22 – Articles, news and testimonies

May 2015 TERM Seminars in Ireland

Coffeeshop study The updated TERM Seminars are going to Ireland! Our ministry parter, BES (Bible Educational Services), has helped to secure five locations and dates across the island.

These TERM Seminars cover Modules A and B only and will give believers and church leaders time to rethink evangelism efforts in the context of today’s modern, ever-changing world of increasing biblical illiteracy.

A whole generation of people are growing up not having read the Bible and do not know even the most basic knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. Sharing the gospel with them can be confusing and frustrating. Is there a biblical model we can follow?

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“I feel confident in my salvation now”

This is the second instalment in a two-part story. Read the first installment.

A Tale of Two Brothers: Jake’s Story

Paul encouraged Timothy to not “let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12 NIV)

In the following story, Jake* has modelled for me, a 30-some year-old believer, what it means to simply trust and obey the Lord as he provides opportunities to share the gospel.

Jake’s older brother, in turn, had earlier set an example for him by leading students through a simple explanation of the gospel in the schools he attended. Now, Jake is following in his brother’s footsteps, continuing to teach fellow students.

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2015 TERM Seminar in Alberta, Canada

TERM Seminar: Visual AIds

In an ever-changing world filled with different worldviews and competing ideologies, how can we share the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that doesn’t confuse the message or make assumptions of our audience? Does the Bible have anything to say to address a world of people who are indifferent or worse–cold–towards its message of hope?

The GoodSeed TERM™ Seminar is a time to stop and rethink evangelism in the context of our diverse world. This seminar takes participants into Scripture to see what it has to say about evangelism methodology. In the process, there springs to light an approach that Jesus used on the road to Emmaus. The architecture of “The Emmaus Road Message” (TERM) has proven effective–whether we are engaging the confused, the seeker or the hardened.

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Connecting the dots

What does it take to make a GoodSeed translation available?

( Read this in French / Lisez ce en français )

Rusty’s* desk is crowded. Stacks of paper, books, a MacBook with a blue sticker supporting local businesses and a coil of cables are being arranged to go into a sturdy backpack in preparation for a work trip. This upcoming trip will see Rusty pass through the UK, Germany, Italy and a few other places too risky to mention. Behind him, a map of the world is tacked to the wall not simply as office decoration, but as a way to visualize the remote locations where his contacts are located. Another wall bears a whiteboard covered in a long list of languages. Written neatly in a sloping hand, the list reflects the current translation projects GoodSeed has in progress. Many of the languages come from areas on the globe where the good news of the Bible is not readily available.

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The filthy rags of the Tugutil

Indonesian jungle

( Read this in French / Lisez ce en français )

In our Worldview Rethink curriculum, we carefully lay the foundations of the gospel story in order for a person to have a clear understanding of the good news of Jesus Christ. We take time to cover the four irreducible minimums of the gospel:

A holy God
A helpless sinner
A sufficient substitute
A personal faith

It’s important to start with the character of God—who he is and what he is like. Then, it’s equally important to talk about humankind’s sin condition—how our sin separates us from God.

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Reaching out in the halls of public schools

This is the first installment of a two-part story. Read part two.

A tale of two brothers: Benjamin’s Story

Recently I had a phone conversation with Benjamin.* I had heard through the grapevine that he had been very active in reaching out to fellow students in public school, using one of our books, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus. Benjamin graciously agreed to share his story and how God used those years in his life and in the lives of others.

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It’s maybe the best I’ve seen to share the gospel

Provence Several years ago, while Allie* and her husband were on vacation, they had several opportunities to share the gospel. However, they had lacked a resource they could give to those they had met. So last year, in planning for a vacation in France to celebrate their wedding anniversary, Allie did some research and ordered GoodSeed resources for the trip. She was so excited with what happened that she wrote to tell us about her adventure. Here is Allie’s story:

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“The Stranger” as an Intro Bible course at a Chinese international school

Students in classroom We recently received an email from a school principal. He asked several questions about our tools but he also shared how his school has been using our resources.

He writes, “I have enjoyed reading and teaching The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus. We use the book in an ‘Intro’ course for students at our international school in China! For several years now, we have been purchasing copies of The Stranger in three languages.”

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The simple, unassuming and authoritative nature of the book changed my life

A while ago, we received an email from Hayden* who lives Down Under in Australia. His story was a good reminder of two important factors in our outreach with others. First, our testimony in a community really does have an impact—for better or for worse. Second, we were reminded that simply giving a book away can also make a big difference in a person’s life.

Hayden shared how he had grown up attending church with his family, one of the few in his small community. While he was taught a lot about the Bible, he found himself ultimately rejecting God’s Word based upon what he saw in the lives of his fellow church members.

“I didn’t see the face of Christ in that place and the fruitlessness—in both numbers and maturity—was very confusing.”

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2015 New Year Greetings

Happy New Year! We at GoodSeed want to thank the Lord for his guidance and provision in 2014 and we look forward to how he will direct our ministry in the coming year.

If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of Fieldnotes: stories of the gospel transforming lives. (The book is available as a PDF, epub or mobi file.) May the stories of ordinary believers bringing people to Christ inspire you to also be an ambassador for Christ to those God has placed in your lives. You have unique opportunities to reach into lives of friends, family, neighbours and loved ones. Prayerfully watch for those opportunities to give away the gospel message or guide someone through the Bible.

Let’s all continue to embrace our roles as ambassadors in 2015.

Download Fieldnotes now >>