Growing each day | Tim Thornborough

Tim Thornborough finds encouraging news of gospel progress with everyone he talks to who is using the Christianity Explored course.

In quiet ways all over the country, people meet week by week and read Mark’s gospel.

They listen to a short talk, and then discuss the passage and ask any question they want to about Jesus, Christianity and the gospel.

Scarcely a day

Rico Tice, who co-wrote the course and presents the videos, is excited about the growth of Christianity Explored during the last year. ‘Scarcely a day goes by in the office when we don’t hear of someone who has made a profession of faith through the encountering Jesus in Mark’s Gospel. We now estimate that there are over 2,500 churches in the UK regularly running courses, and the numbers are growing rapidly in the US as well.

‘We’ve just come back from running a series of training events in the US, and everywhere we go there is lots of enthusiasm as people begin to see how they can share Jesus and answer people’s questions by walking people through Mark. What CE does is not rocket science: it lets the Gospel tell the gospel. That’s why Jesus, sin and grace are so clearly at the centre — because they are at the centre of Mark.’

There are now also 45 trained Christianity Explored Advocates who can run training courses to help local churches implement CE as part of their evangelistic strategy.

‘And our plans for the future are taking concrete shape, as we start to grow specific ministries using Christianity Explored in prisons, hospitals and overseas. There are lots of translations in the pipeline, and we are delighted that a Bible-centred approach to evangelism is being embraced so warmly by God’s worldwide church’, said Rico.

Recent research by Tearfund suggests that three million people in the UK, who have stopped going to church or who have never been in their lives, would consider attending given the right invitation — this is news that should encourage us to be more bold in asking people to come along.

Many churches find that a substantial number of people coming on CE courses have had some experience of church — but have never heard the gospel explained with clarity.

Inoculated

Roland Johnson, a teacher at Concord College, Shrewsbury, is typical of many who were ‘inoculated’ against the gospel by a bad experience of church:

‘I have always thought of myself as a spiritual person. It is paradoxical then that, until a year ago, I was also a committed atheist. My spirituality was more in terms of artistic endeavour, honour and a sense that there “must be something more”.

‘I was born into a nominally Church of England family and joined the church choir to get away from spending services next to my parents in the pews. It seems that the irony of my young life was that the Holy Spirit was with me and all around me, and yet I chose to ignore him.

‘But it was not until I started work as a chemistry teacher that I met people who challenged me on the topic of Christianity, and who really took the time to explain who Jesus was and what their faith was about. I was against Christianity and I am sure I was annoying to talk to, but they persisted.

‘Up to that point, the “teaching” I had received at Sunday School had been what had alienated me: dry, irrelevant and watered down. Christianity came across to me as a feeble religion. It took a combative colleague to get me to finally drop my own aggressive resistance to the truth.

‘I was introduced to the Christianity Explored course after discussion with some truly dedicated Christians caused me to question my own outlook. The course of video programmes was extremely helpful in communicating the relevance of Christianity and the effect that my new faith was going to have on my life. Christianity Explored was challenging and real, without condescending or making the story ‘palatable’. It said to me: ‘Listen to the reality of God, and then make up your mind’. ‘Having had an education at a Church of England school, I thought I was well aware of the basis and teachings of Christianity. However, it took Christianity Explored to explain something as fundamental as the concept of God’s grace to me. It changed me forever. I am still learning and growing in the faith.‘

Small and large

Most CE courses would be run with quite small numbers in an informal setting, but larger churches are able to push the boat out. ‘We had a lot of people coming to our Carols by Candlelight — over 5,000, but only ever had 20 at the most coming along to CE afterwards’, said Jonathan Redfern at Jesmond Parish Church in Newcastle. ‘I decided we should have a faith target of 100 people, that we could pray and work towards.

‘Many people baulk at the thought of committing to ten weeks, so the first thing we did was we advertise a “taster session” — which is basically week one of CE, with an outline of what the course is, and a testimony from a previous participant. We got 80 people coming to the first one. Roughly half came back the next week. All the people who finished the course are now doing Discipleship Explored.

‘In January 2008 we are trying to build up to it. We are starting a new church in Gateshead — and we are aiming and praying for God to give us 500 people at the taster course — half at Jesmond and half in Gateshead. We are advertising on the metro. We’re also hoping to do a modified CE in house groups in the autumn so that everyone is exposed to it, and has the confidence in the course to invite their friends. The great thing about CE is that once people know it, and have confidence in it, they are prepared to bring people along to it.’

International students

Another fruitful area for gospel work is among international students. Mark and Mands Vernon have just started to run a course for international students whom they met through an international cafŽ at Hillside Church in Wimbledon. Mark says: ‘We are using the English Made Easy version of Christianity Explored specially developed for the purpose. The students were reluctant to talk in a large group, so, after a short talk, they discuss in groups of two or three.

‘This means that we need a larger team — there are five leaders involved with a group of eight non-Christians. It’s more difficult to understand what they have understood — some of the signals that you would have in a normal group aren’t there. They listen patiently and attentively and they are very diligent in their homework and study, but it’s often quite difficult to work out where they are up to’, he said.

Prayer and fellowship

The power of this kind of evangelism is not just in the clear explanation of the gospel through reading Mark’s Gospel. It is also in the shared lives of other Christians that members meet with week by week on the course. They see the gospel at work and modelled in the lives of believers — who ‘adorn the gospel’ (Titus 2.10). Ray is typical of many for whom spending time with believers was a key part of the process that brought him to faith in Christ.

‘I had never considered myself to be a “Christian”, just a good person. I am married, have one child, a dog, and am in full-time employment. I was Mr. Average — always “happy with my lot” — or was I?

‘I have both Christian and non-Christian friends. I first heard about Christianity Explored through one of those Christian friends. In fact it was more of a bet! I was in the process of studying and was apprehensive about the exams which were fast approaching. My friend said that she would pray for me if I would consider attending the Christianity Explored course. Having always had unanswered questions I looked forward to the debate.

‘I attended the course every Monday night for ten weeks. To start I would relax and have a coffee and chat with the others; we would listen to the speaker, then get into groups which were a good mix with people just like me, both Christian and non-Christian. There was no pressure and the people were great. In our group we had lively and though-provoking debates, as well as a laugh. Many of my own questions were answered. The course was like a journey for me, I started to see things from another perspective. I enjoyed the course and would thoroughly recommend it to everyone. All the people were so friendly.

‘As for me? My journey went on to a successful end and I am now a Christian. Oh yes, my exams. I passed, or was it the power of prayer!!’

New book

Coming too in the autumn is a new resource to help answer difficult questions, written by Paul Williams and Barry Cooper. On the first week of CE, participants are asked: ‘If you could ask God one question and knew you would be answered — what would it be?’ There are many unusual and hilarious answers to that question, but the same themes keep cropping up. The new book takes the top 12 most common questions that have been asked on courses and tries to answer them from the lips of Jesus.

Paul Williams said: ‘Personally, I’d never have thought of asking God, “Is Elvis Presley really dead?” But that was my friend Martin’s question, and I didn’t want to offend him by treating the question lightly, even though it’s hardly a matter of life and death. Unless, of course, you are Elvis Presley, in which case it obviously is.’

For more information on Christianity Explored, visit: http://www.christianityexplored.com or http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk.