by Amie Hubbard | Aug 29, 2022 | Personal Ministries
Going back-to-school can bring happy thoughts of brand-new pencils, fresh crisp notebooks, three-ring binders, new pens, never-used crayons with perfect tips, markers that all work without a dry or lost one in the bunch, and a nice new lunch box ready for all the delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that will be lovingly prepared day in and day out. Oh, and the organization—this year is going to be the year everything stays organized! Ahhh, back-to-school. But more than just new supplies and new clothes, returning to school can mean new opportunities to share Jesus with others.
Students who love God have a wonderful charm and God not only can use them, but He wants to use them to bless others. Here are two ways we’ve used going back-to-school as an opportunity to share Jesus with others.
Giving Bible studies! Excuse me? Did you say giving Bible studies? Yes, your school kids can give Bible Studies! In schools we have been a part of, our students have done a wonderful job giving Bible studies! The kids have a way of disarming the people and make them more willing to listen. Here is how it worked:
The teachers and pastor joined together to teach the students how to give a Bible study. We went over the Bible study together in the classroom before we went out to share it with others, and you can bet the kids were focused on those studies because they knew they were the ones that had to teach it! We found people who were “friends” of the church but not members. These are people who were friends or relatives of church members, people who attended supper club or other church events. They were safe people we knew would enjoy the kids but maybe had not taken studies yet or dropped out of studies. As the Bible Labs coordinator, I called ahead and made the arrangements, explaining that our kids needed someone to practice giving Bible Studies to. Everyone was happy to help and enjoyed a visit from the kids once a week.
We divided into teams of two or three students with an adult helper (teacher, pastor, pastor’s wife, volunteer, etc.) and with a prayer we went out to the homes and the kids shared God’s word with the people! We even had one after school study so that the families with foster kids could be home to hear Gods word.
Then something began to happen! The kids started inviting their Bible Studies to their school programs and concerts and to other church events. The people we were studying with wanted to support the kids so they would attend many events for the kids. Christmas programs, Education Sabbath, graduation, even their baptisms. It gave them an opportunity to become familiar with the church and its members. The kids were so excited to see them that they would always greet them and talk with them, giving our guests top-notch hospitality.
This was an awesome experience for everyone involved and we would love to see it happening in all our church schools! Such opportunities allow children to form lasting relationships with adults in the church as well as learn valuable lessons sharing God’s word with others. Who knows, it could be the spark that ignites the fire in someone’s life young and old!
Literature Evangelism was another way we used Bible Labs to get kids involved in sharing Gods word, plus it helped raise money for a school worthy student fund. Some schools have already discovered this exciting introduction to the summer YouthRush program, but many have never considered helping our grade-schoolers go out and offer books door to door for a donation.
We divided into teams again in three or four students with an adult volunteer. Each student memorized a short canvas for one or two of the books. Then, with prayer, we hit the streets of our towns. Most people were very kind and listened politely while each child said their part about the books they were sharing. It gave the kids confidence to speak to people they didn’t know and provided a comradery amongst their group to help each other. There was always a celebration when someone bought books! But even if they just gave donations for the worthy student fund or simply weren’t interested, our kids prayed with them and left them a Happiness Digest (Steps to Christ).
While kids are told about God and how much He loves them, too often they don’t have an opportunity to experience God using them personally! They can come to believe that they have to wait until they are older to be used by God for anything important. Sometimes they wait too long, and they lose the desire to be part of His work. Bible Labs provides a fantastic opportunity to give kids real-life experience working with Jesus. This could be just what they need to truly know that God is real and cares about them—and, by God’s grace, will be a lesson that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. Now that’s a back-to-school experience worth being a part of!
by Kameron DeVasher | Aug 5, 2022 | Bible Study Offer, Personal Ministries
In our last edition of the MICHionary, we were looking forward to the July 23 re-launch of BibleStudyOffer.com. However, as the anticipated date approached, a few significant hang-ups still needed to be resolved so we had to postpone the launch until those issues could be addressed. While we still don’t have a specific launch date to share, we can let you know a little of what’s going on behind the scenes right now.
Issue #1: Print Materials
As you know, BibleStudyOffer.com involves corresponding print materials ranging from Bible study guides to advertising items like business cards, sharing tracts, and public display cards. Recent supply chain uncertainties made it unlikely that the new print materials would be ready in time for launch—and we didn’t want to go live with a beautiful, engaging website only to have the corresponding resources be unavailable.
Praise the Lord, we’ve received word that the key resources have all been printed and are now in stock! So, you’ll be able to order the all-new resources the minute the new site goes live.
Issue #2: Website Refinements
We’re incredibly excited about the new look and study options the public will experience when they visit BibleStudyOffer.com. There are still some functional and structural adjustments, however, that need to be made to the back end (where all the BSO coordinators and study leaders will interface with the site) before the site is fully ready to go live. So, we’re taking some extra time and expense to make sure your experience with BSO is as clear and intuitive as possible.
We still fully expect the all-new BibleStudyOffer.com to be up and running in the very near future, with the delay being only a matter of weeks and not months! We would just greatly prefer a good launch a little late than a bad launch right on time.
In the meantime, here’s a link to a PowerPoint presentation you can use to promote BSO’s updated look and improved features with you church family. If you have an event or program coming up before new supplies are ready, please email [email protected] or call (517) 316-1511 and we will see if there is a way we can help.
Finally, please remember that BSO is merely a tool to extended and enhance your personal labor for souls. As good as the branding, website, and print materials will be—and they will be very good!—none of it matters if individual church members aren’t actively engaged in personally seeking the lost. The single most important feature of BibleStudyOffer.com is you!
Thank you for your patience and understanding and for your commitment to Christ and His cause.
by Jim Howard | Jan 29, 2022 | Bible Study Offer
Giving Bible studies is a simple, heaven-born method of spreading the three angels’ messages and leading souls to Christ—so why are many people reluctant to engage in this important ministry? One of the most common responses to this question has been expressed in the words, “Giving Bible studies just isn’t my gift.” Some people are shy, or lack formal education, or don’t feel equipped to answer many questions about the Bible—but do these traits necessarily preclude them from giving Bible studies?
The Bible does teach that the church is one body consisting of many different members, and that the Spirit distributes gifts “to each one individually as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). There are also differences in background, education, personality, and temperament that influence the way we witness to others. Yet with all our differences, we have this in common—we are all called to bear witness to the truth! Witnessing is not in any of the biblical lists of spiritual gifts (see Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:11), because it’s the job of everydisciple of Christ. Ellen White writes, “The dissemination of the truth of God is not confined to a few ordained ministers. The truth is to be scattered by all who claim to be disciples of Christ” (Christian Service, p. 68).
At its core, witnessing is simply sharing what we have “seen and heard” (see Acts 4:20; 22:15; 1 John 1:3). Though we have not physically seen or heard Jesus teaching in the streets of Jerusalem, we have seen and heard Him by faith—in the pages of God’s Word! We don’t have to be eloquent, outgoing, or brilliant to share our love for Jesus and Bible truth with others. We’re not called to share what we don’t know, but what we do know. We don’t need to be able to answer every question, explain every nuance, or have every supporting text memorized. Still, we are Christians for a reason. Something about what we saw and heard from the Bible persuaded us to become Seventh-day Adventists. Giving Bible studies is simply bearing witness to those things. On the other hand, when Christians do not share the truth that they have “seen and heard” in the Bible, their faith in God experiences a steady decline:
“Unbelief, like the pall of death, is surrounding our churches, because they do not exercise the talents God has given them, by imparting the light to those who know not the precious truth. The Lord calls for the pardoned souls, those who rejoice in the light, to make known the truth to others” (Christian Service, p. 37).
“Satan is now seeking to hold God’s people in a state of inactivity, to keep them from acting their part in spreading the truth, that they may at last be weighed in the balance and found wanting” (Christian Service, p. 37).
Sharing our faith is not only for the benefit of those outside the church—it has a direct bearing on our spiritual preparation. That’s why the devil wants us to buy into the notion that sharing the truth is not our gift. He’s not only trying to prevent others from finding eternity, but he wants to prevent church members from being ready, too!
Ellen White gives the key to ongoing Christian growth when she writes, “Let ministers teach church members that in order to grow in spirituality, they must carry the burden that the Lord has laid upon them, – the burden of leading souls into the truth” (Christian Service, p. 69). In order to grow, we must not only scatter or spread the truth, but we are also admonished to lead souls into the truth. While we can and should scatter the truth through media or literature distribution, leading someone into the truth requires coming close and investing ongoing personal effort. The consistent contact this requires is wonderfully accomplished by giving weekly Bible studies—and by bearing witness to what you have “seen and heard.”
If you’re looking for a way to grow in spirituality and witness more effectively, why not start this New Year with a commitment to not merely share the truth with others, but to lead someone into the truth through personal Bible study as the Lord gives you opportunity?
by Jim Howard | Jan 6, 2022 | Bible Study Offer
Did you know that God inspired the question-and-answer Bible study format so familiar to us today as a way for church members to easily share Bible truth? The discovery of this simple method goes back to the early years of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The Bible Study Reformation Vision
It was the summer of 1883, and at that time the truth was spread primarily by tracts and literature or by preaching to crowds. Elder S. N. Haskell was preaching in a tent meeting in Southern California when a severe storm arose. The thunder was so loud that the people could not hear the speaker, and there was thought of canceling the meeting, when Elder Haskell was struck with a divinely inspired idea. He called the people to crowd around him in the center of the tent and began to call out a question followed by a text, which they were encouraged to look up. Then he would call on one or another to read the text aloud. In this way he was able to conclude his message, and the effect was powerful! The people had seen many of their questions answered straight from their own Bibles and were deeply impressed with the truth.
After the guests had dispersed, one of them—Elder W. C. White—shared with his mother what had taken place that night. The next day, Ellen White met with Elder Haskell and the other ministers and told them that the meeting described to her was in harmony with the light she had received from the Lord. God had shown her a vision in which she saw hundreds and thousands of Seventh-day Adventists going into homes and sharing the truth in this same way.
A description of the vision is given in Christian Service, page 42. “In visions of the night representations passed before me of a great reformatory movement among God’s people. … Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting families, and opening before them the word of God. Hearts were convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of genuine conversion was manifest.” This powerful vision revealed God’s plan for a mighty reformation among His people—a Bible study reformation!
Empowering the Laity
Elder Haskell was inspired by Ellen White’s vision to provide simple instruction for sharing the Bible using the same question-and-answer format that he had used. In October of that same year, he established a ten-day Bible Reading Institute for the training of lay people (“Bible studies” were then called “Bible readings”).
A general announcement to all Adventists was given in one of our leading papers, encouraging them to attend the training. It read, “Not only young men and women are wanted, but men of mature years; even if their heads are sprinkled with gray hairs, they are none too old to visit families and tell what God has done for them, and read the Scriptures” (S. N. Haskell, in The Signs of the Times, October 18, 1883, p. 465). Ellen White would later write, “The plan of holding Bible readings was a heaven-born idea. There are many, both men and women, who can engage in this branch of missionary labor” (Christian Service, p. 141).
It is worth noting who was being recruited to give Bible studies. Old and young, men and women—anyone who could tell what God had done for them, and read the Scriptures. Here was the genius, the “heaven-born” wisdom, of the Bible study method. Here was the secret to the excitement it generated in the church. The church was not dependent upon the ministers alone to spread the truth. Here was a method that would empower thousands of lay people and be an important means of finishing the work.
The whole reason the Seventh-day Adventist Church produces question-and-answer Bible study guides is to give every church member a helpful resource for sharing their faith more effectively. If you’ve never shared your faith using a series of these Bible study guides, ask the Lord for a divine appointment today!
by Jim Howard | Dec 3, 2021 | Bible Study Offer
Jesus gave the secret to church growth when He said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2). Ellen White affirms, “All over the world men and women are looking wistfully to heaven. Prayers and tears and inquiries go up from souls longing for light, for grace, for the Holy Spirit. Many are on the verge of the kingdom, waiting only to be gathered in” (The Acts of the Apostles, p. 109). In these passages, which reveal the good news of multitudes of souls hungering for truth and light, we also discover a sobering reality. The reason a great harvest is not realized is that the laborers are few. The reason men and women all over the world are not flooding into the church is that they are “waiting only to be gathered in.” There are a great number of people in our world in whom the Lord has already prepared the soil of the heart. Through life experiences, the workings of providence, or our own friendship and labors, they have become open to the truth. Yet the sad reality taught by Jesus, and affirmed in the inspired counsel of Ellen White, is that the number of those open to receiving Bible studies is greater than the number of those willing to give them.
We might call this condition of things a Bible study bottleneck. In manufacturing, a bottleneck is the part of the production process with the slowest rate of output. Companies invest significant time and money attempting to improve the bottleneck because they know that the only way to increase total output is to increase the rate of output in that particular area. In the evangelism process, the bottleneck is usually Bible studies. While many church members volunteer to serve in a wide variety of soil preparation ministries—felt needs ministries and community outreach initiatives, only a small percentage are generally involved in cultivating and harvesting with Bible studies. This means that we can keep increasing our labors in every other area, but as long as only a few are giving regular Bible studies, we will never see a significant increase in church membership. That’s right, the secret to growth in the Seventh-day Adventist Church is simple, old, tried-and-true Bible studies! When great numbers in our churches begin to take hold of this vital ministry, it will open the bottleneck and our growth will be exponential.
Bible Studies & Christ’s Method
Some might push back on the idea that Bible studies are the secret to church growth, asserting that the true missing ingredient in our witness to the world is “Christ’s method alone.” Let’s take a closer look at this oft-invoked council and see what connection it has to our Bible study bottleneck.
In The Ministry of Healing, p. 143, Ellen White pointed to Jesus as the model soul-winner: “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me.’” While nothing about sharing Bible truth is specifically mentioned in this oft-quoted passage, a closer look at the context reveals that this was nevertheless the ultimate goal of Christ’s ministry.
In the paragraphs that follow the description of Christ’s method, Ellen White writes, “We should ever remember that the object of the medical missionary work is to point sin-sick men and women to the Man of Calvary. … And personal ministry often prepares the way for this.” (The Ministry of Healing, p. 144).
As an example of Christ’s method, Ellen White tells us of the medical missionary who “prepares the way” for the gospel. She goes on to say, “Missionary nurses who care for the sick and relieve the distress of the poor will find many opportunities to pray with them, to read to them from God’s word, and to speak of the Saviour. …
Many have no faith in God and have lost confidence in man. But they appreciate acts of sympathy and helpfulness. … They see that God cares for them, and they are prepared to listen as His word is opened” (The Ministry of Healing, p. 144-145).
We find from the context of the well-known passage about “Christ’s method alone” that the eventual goal of medical missionary work, or any soil preparation ministry, is to “point sin-sick men and women to the Man of Calvary.” Ellen White explains in another place, “When properly conducted, the health work is an entering wedge, making a way for other truths to reach the heart” (Counsels on Health, p. 434). Preparing the soil with compassionate ministry, as vital as this component may be, is still only the first part of the evangelism process—the “entering wedge, making a way for other truths to reach the heart.” What must follow is the often labor-intensive phase of pointing people to Christ, as revealed in the truths of the Bible, and leading them to accept and follow Him. In other words, what must follow are Bible studies!
Now let us consider one more description of Christ’s method of winning souls: “From Christ’s methods of labor we may learn many valuable lessons. He did not follow merely one method; in various ways He sought to gain the attention of the multitude; and then He proclaimed to them the truths of the gospel” (Evangelism, p. 123). Here we discover that Christ used various methods in order to prepare the soil, or to “gain the attention” of the people. Once the attention was gained, however, the next step in Christ’s method of soul-winning was always the same. It simply says that Jesus “proclaimed to them the truths of the gospel.” Jesus’ method of evangelism doesn’t exist without this vital component, because there is no substitute for sharing the truth.
Friends, we absolutely need more of “Christ’s method” in our soul-winning labor! We should not only look for but create opportunities to minister to people’s temporal needs as an “entering wedge” to “proclaim to them the truths of the Gospel.” May the Lord give us each a heart to win souls as Jesus did.
