Experiencing the power of the Word.
We sat down with Jinna, one of our Bible Sharers, to hear about her experience of using The Word One to One and her advice on how to begin opening God’s Word with others.
Q. Thanks for joining us, Jinna! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name’s Jinna, and I live in West London with my husband and two daughters, who are 11 and 5 years old. We are members of All Souls Church, and we’ve been going there for around 9 years.
I’ve been a Christian for 21 years – I became a Christian while studying at university in China. I was learning English with an English teacher from America, who was part of a Christian organisation. As students, we always wanted to hang out with our teachers and become friends with them: one day I asked her what she would do on the weekends, and she replied that she and her family went to church. I eventually ended up going to church with her family, and began to find out more about Christianity through attending church and a Bible study group. This is how I discovered Jesus and His gospel, and how I ended up giving my life to Him!
Q. Who have you been reading God’s Word with recently, and how did you start sharing with them?
It’s been a wonderful experience reading the Bible with others! At the moment, I’m reading God’s Word with three people: my friend, a neighbour, and my mother in China.
My friend is already a Christian, so we use The Word One to One together to encourage one another; in fact, she’s just begun using The Word One to One to share God’s Word with two of her non-Christian friends herself! After reading through John’s Gospel in Chinese with my mother, she gave her life to Jesus, which is just amazing!
I have to thank All Souls Church for introducing me to The Word One to One, which is a brilliant tool. They began telling us about it and giving us copies last year, just before the pandemic began, so I had the notes to hand before we got placed in lockdown. After the training course, I was eager to begin using it – however, I was really busy looking after my children, and everyone I knew was also tied up.
But when the lockdown began, God pushed the pause button on everyone’s lives. I remember a lot of people I was speaking to were struggling to cope with the sudden change in their routine. I was already chatting to them every week over the phone – about children, cooking, the pandemic, lots of things – so I thought, maybe I should invite them to read God’s Word with me virtually. After all, everyone suddenly had so much time on their hands!
I told them that I was learning how to share the Bible using this resource called The Word One to One, and asked if I could practise with them. I assured them that there was no commitment, but simply invited them to meet online for 30-40 minutes at a fixed time to read one session together, and then to decide if they wanted to carry on reading afterwards. So that’s how I started reading with them – I simply asked them if I could practice using The Word One to One with them!
Q. How did they respond to that first session?
I’ve been really surprised at how approachable people have been, especially during the pandemic. At the beginning, I assured them that they could stop reading with me any time they wanted – there was no commitment to carry on going through book by book. But thankfully, after the first session, all of them were willing to continue reading the Bible with me!
I’ve now finished all 11 books with two of them, and Book 8 with the other since we started a bit later.
Q. How did you see God work through reading His Word together with your friend, neighbour and mother?
I’ve seen how God’s Word holds power, which has helped each of my reading partners begin to understand, or understand better, who Jesus is and what He says. Jesus’ life is so fascinating to read – a lot of them had heard about Christianity before, but didn’t know anything about Jesus or what believing Him really meant. I think as we read along, God’s Word is gradually opening up their eyes and challenging their view of the world.
“I’ve seen how God’s Word holds power, which has helped each of my reading partners begin to understand, or understand better, who Jesus is and what He says.”
As we’ve been reading, I’ve had responses from them like, ‘I’ve never thought that way before,’ or ‘that’s a very powerful statement for Jesus to make!’ – so I think God has been speaking to them individually and personally through His Word.
I remember a moment when we were reading John 4:10, where Jesus says to the Samaritan woman that He gives living water – somehow, I could sense that this really resonated with my friend, and that they could relate to the fact that they were spiritually thirsty. Because of the pandemic, I think people are more aware of the deeper needs they have in their lives.
God has been amazing in the way that, while we’ve been reading, He’s not only been working in them, but also in me! Every time I open John’s gospel with each of them, I discover new things and I’m inspired too. I’m very thankful for the privilege to be able to open the Bible with a ready-made tool.
Q. Have you experienced any challenges?
If I had to name one challenge, it would be time management! Although we agree that the sessions should run for around 30 minutes, I try to be flexible to allow time for more discussion – but sometimes we just carry on and on! I’ve found that people have a lot of desire, or thirst, to discuss things that are brought up in the episodes.
“I’ve found that people have a lot of desire, or thirst, to discuss things that are brought up in the episodes.”
Although it’s great to talk about the deeper things, I try and do the session first with them before we dive into further discussion – but it’s hard sometimes!
Q. How has The Word One to One helped you open up God’s Word with others?
The notes are hugely helpful! If it was just me opening the Bible by itself, I would be a bit hesitant about reading with others – but The Word One to One really helps you to prepare and to know the questions to ask and what your friend might ask in return.
With The Word One to One, everything is right there in front of you: so as you read together, they can either ask questions they already have or, if they don’t have any, you can ask them the questions included in the notes and the answers are there as well. These questions help them think through what they’re reading, and I’ve found the format and content of The Word One to One to be so useful in reading and discussing the Bible with others!
Q. Do you have any advice you would give to someone who’s thinking about reading the Bible with someone else?
My advice would be from 1 Timothy 2:4, which says that God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. That is God's sovereignty; all we need to do is to make that first step!
Before I began sharing God’s Word, I had a lot of fear and hesitation: I was worried about being rejected many times, or not knowing how to answer their challenging questions. But actually, once you submit to God and see how people’s need for Him is so great, it becomes a lot easier to go out there and do our bit.
“Once you submit to God and see how people’s need for Him is so great, it becomes a lot easier to go out there and do our bit.”
Pray, trust in the Lord, and start inviting people you know to read with you! In The Word One to One, you already have the tool – it’s created specifically to help you share the Bible, in-person or online!
I’d really encourage people to share the Bible because there’s nothing that should stop us. You can see that the need is there – so many people are distressed and in despair right now, and they’re longing for this hope – so if you want to go and talk to them and bring the Bible with you, it’s more than likely that they will listen to you and want to find out more. People really want connection right now, so why not connect with them over God’s Word? You never know what God has prepared for us!
Q. What is your favourite part of John’s gospel to read with others?
I think the part that really touches my heart and the part that a lot of people really relate to is the story of the Samaritan woman in John 4. She met Jesus, who offered her the living water, and then went to tell everyone in her town about the truth, about the Messiah that she had encountered!
A lot of people I’ve read with have been touched by that – by the thirst for Jesus’ living water, and by her courage to tell others about Him.
Discover more about how The Word One to One helps you share God’s Word.
