Can we serve your Church or Small Group?

What’s this all about?  When we travel in the USA or Canada, we like to find creative ways to serve churches and small groups.  Obviously we’re happy to share about what God is doing here in Mexico, and I’m always more than happy to preach or lead a Bible study, etc…  But we wanted to list in a little more detail some of the things that we can offer, in case someone finds it useful.

Since it’s a question I always get, I should mention that we generally don’t charge anything to churches that get our newsletter.  If they want to contribute to the cost of photocopies, that’s fine.  Of course, if we were travelling somewhere just to give a seminar, we might need help with the travel expenses.  But if we’re giving them when we’re already in the area, it’s not a problem.

The idea is to serve your church or small group and give you resources that you can make use of.

2000 Years of Missions (seminar)

Summary:  2000 Years of Missions is designed to give a fun interactive overview of 2000 years of missions history.  You’ll be able to get a very visual view of what happened when, how God’s Word has spread, and some of the methods people have used.  Not only that, you’ll also get an up-close and personal view of missionaries all throughout history, from the Apostle Paul to missionaries of the last century.  Finally, you’ll see where we are today in the task of reaching the world for Christ. [video clip of this seminar]
Format:  Suitable for larger groups (ie 10-1000), youth or adult; some space required (ie a stage or one side of a large room); overhead projector or video projector and screen needed; I do need some set-up and take-down time on location.
Length:  This seminar is in two parts, so it could be done in one day with a break, or over two evenings, etc.  Generally it requires about 1.5 hours for each half, but I’ve been known to shorten it to about 45 minutes per half in a pinch. 

Children’s Ministry Seminar

Summary:  The Children’s Ministry Seminar is designed to help you share God’s Word with children in creative ways.  Have you ever wanted to design your own vacation Bible school?  How about share the Gospel with a child, so that she will understand?  Would you like to teach a Sunday School lesson in a way that the children will remember?  Practical tips and time to interact and practise what you’re learning.  This seminar has been taken by Sunday School teachers, but is suitable for pastors, teachers, parents, and anyone who wants to reach children effectively. [video clip of this seminar]
Format:  Suitable for any size group; Tables preferable; Interaction with others taking the seminar
Length:  About 2.5 hours

Maximizing Your Short Term Mission Trip

Summary:  We’ve been on teams, trained teams, sent teams, travelled with teams, and now we’ve seen the other side as we’ve had a part in hosting teams here in Mexico.  And we believe that short termers can have an eternal impact.  But often teams don’t know how to prepare – or think they don’t need to.

 This seminar will prepare you to deal with every phase of a short term trip.  What questions can you ask an organization or missionary before you go?  What are the most critical things you need to do to prepare?  How can you deal with health issues, personality conflict, and other challenges on the trip?  How can you make this trip worth something in the long term – both for those you serve, and for yourself when you return? [video clip of this seminar]
Format:  Very interactive, talking about ideas and tips with time for questions (flexible depending on the interests and needs of the group); Any sized group, and no space requirements
Length:  About 1.5 to 2 hours

Where did the Bible Come From?

This is not something we’ve done in churches before.  However, I developed the material and used it here in Mexico, and I think some of the topics would be useful in the USA and Canada.  These are especially issues that our youth face as they go off to college and university.

As a full 15 week study, obviously it would be difficult to do (since we’re rarely in the same place 15 weeks at a time!), but I’d be happy to do a study on certain topics.  Some of the issues we could cover in an evening Bible study or a Sunday School (in other words, one of these topics per study) might be:

• The early history of the New Testament – where did it come from?
• The Four Gospels – why are they important?  What about the "Lost Gospels", like the Gospel of Thomas?
• How do we know that the Old Testament was copied accurately over so many years?
• How do we know that the New Testament was copied accurately?  Do we really have today what the apostles and others wrote back then?
• What is the Canon?  Who chose what books would be in the Bible?

Drama in the local Church

This is very flexible depending on the needs of your church.  I’ve trained both short term teams and groups in churches to use drama or improve their use of drama in a church context.  I’ve also taught a short biblical introduction to drama as a part of a college course.  I would be happy to give a church a boost in their drama program or ideas on how to start one.