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.
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?
I originally developed this material and used it here in Mexico, but we have also had the opportunity to share it in Canada several times. These are especially issues that our youth face as they go off to college and university.
This is an 8-week course (suitable for 8 evening Bible studies, for example), however, in Canada churches have generally preferred a weekend seminar. And so –
I have re-tooled this into a two-day seminar, which could also be a one-day seminar, about 6 hours total. We have generally done this, on a Friday night and Saturday morning, but it could also be all day Saturday. Let us know if you’re interested!
We can also present an individual topic as a stand-alone study – in a Sunday School or small group, for example. Some of the issues we could cover (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?
(For a more detailed description of this seminar, see: Where did the Bible Come From? (seminar))
Format: Multi-media interactive seminar. Setup for video presentation required. Suitable for groups from 5 to 40 – or larger groups, as long as I have an idea how many in advance.
Length: Between 45 minutes to 1.5 hours for each session, or two sessions about 3 hours each, or a full-day seminar (about 6 hours of teaching/discussion).
Book of Hebrews Presentation
Some scholars believe that the book of Hebrews in the New Testament was originally a sermon. So I was wondering – what it would look like if I preached it as one? I’ve “preached” Hebrews three times here in Mexico, with handouts and a PowerPoint presentation. It takes an hour, but it’s amazing to hear the whole book at once and get the full flow of thought. It’s pure Hebrews – nothing else!
Format: A “sermon” suitable for 10 people or more, suitable for youth & adults who want to learn from Hebrews.
Length: About 1 hour
Since it’s a question I always get, I should mention that we don’t charge anything to churches for these presentations. Of course, if we were travelling somewhere just to give a seminar, we might need help with the travel expenses.
The idea is to serve your church or small group and give you resources that you can make use of. Our pleasure.