Gareth Fitzpatrick, the diocesan Evangelism Enabler, recommends five great resources to help people on their faith journey.
Earlier this year ‘The Quiet Revival’ report (commissioned by The Bible Society) revealed that people are being drawn into our churches to experience and find out what the Christian faith is all about.
Recently I wrote an article urging churches to ‘make hay whilst the sun shines' and make the most of this amazing opportunity that has come our way. In my article I suggested five simple ways that we can be ready as a church to help those who come into our buildings who are seeking to explore what the Christian faith is all about.
In response to what’s going on one of my suggestions was to make sure you “have resources available to give out” and assist people in their journey of exploration.
As a follow up I thought it would be helpful by highlighting some great resources available so that you can be ready and prepared to help who come through your church doors to explore what the Christian faith is all about.
Explore Prayer Cards
The beautiful Explore prayer cards, offer simple but profound words to help anyone, old or young, express our feelings and needs - and find comfort, strength, and hope. With their thought-provoking images they are beautifully produced. For under £30 you can get a pack off 600 cards that you can give away to visitors coming into the building.
Explore Booklets
Explore also provide affordable booklets that address some of life’s bigger questions. For example,
- Is there something beyond death?
- Why do so many bad things happen?
- Is God real?
- Will anything happen if I pray?
- Where is my life going?
- Am I good enough for God?
The books retail at £1.99 per copy
The Read Scripture App
Navigating the bible from Genesis through to Revelation can be intimidating even for seasoned Christian. So, imagine what it is like for someone on the beginning of their faith journey! The Read Scripture app is a brilliant free resource to help those wanting to explore the bible as it walks viewer through the key themes of the bible in a way that is engaging and easy to understand. You can download on the app store and on google play.
Some other great free apps I would recommend to those who want to explore Christianity are:
- The Bible in One Year with Nick and Pippa Gumbel
- The Bible App produced by You Version
- Everyday Faith by the Church of England
- Lectio365 produced by 24/7 prayer
An Eye Witness Account of… by HOPE Together
‘Hope Together’ have produce beautifully presented books of the accounts of Luke and Mark’s gospel. The books come with contemporary images and are a great introduction to the bible and in particular learning about the person and work of Jesus. The church where I worship invested have in 100 copies and we give them as a gift to those who want to explore what faith is all about. When bought in bulk [100+ copies] the books cost £1.50 per copy
A cheaper option is that hope have produce a card with a QR code on directing people to an online version of the resource that you can give away to people. 10 cards retail for £1.
Produce your own Welcome Pack
Ok I know I said that this article is to point you to resources that are already available but as my final recommendation I wanted to share something that we have done at our church and found to be a great way to serve the new people coming to our church. It is a great resource to make people feel valued and welcome when they enter our building and it also gives people the opportunity to learn who we are, what we believe and what goes on in the life of the church.
You can make your pack bespoke to your needs, here’s what we had in our welcome pack:
- A postcard to say welcome and give some information about what the church is all about.
- Information about what goes on in the life of the church
- A bookmark with an encouraging bible verse as well as our website address
- A small bag of Haribo (who doesn’t like a sweet treat)
- A trolley fob with our church logo on.