Refreshed from reading the Bible with others.
We sat down with Mike, a pastor and Bible sharer based in Liverpool, to find out more about how The Word One to One has equipped and encouraged him, both in His personal evangelism and in His church ministry.
Q. Thanks for joining us, Mike! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name’s Mike, and I’ll start by telling you about my story of faith. I grew up in a great Christian home in the Wirral, near Liverpool. Even though I had a really happy childhood and grew up going to church, I never really surrendered my life to Jesus. I thought that if I pursued sport, a career or relationships, they would be the real thing – so I had a kind of double life going on, attending church but always aware that there was a hole inside me that I was trying to fill.
Later on, when I tried to pursue a sports career and a relationship, both of them went horribly wrong – and I still had that huge hole inside of me. But then a friend of mine started to read the Bible with me, and I remember beginning to read about Jesus in Mark’s gospel and being so captured by Him! I wanted to follow Him anywhere, and thought to myself, why did nobody tell me or show me that this is who Jesus is?!
Prior to that, I was always a bit worried that if I gave my life to Jesus, I’d have to become something I wasn’t, which terrified me. But at 23, I surrendered my life to Jesus and began to follow Him.
I worked in the City of London, and married my wife Kate who also had a similar testimony to me. After 5 years or so, I began to feel God’s call to go into church leadership very clearly. I trained at Wycliffe Bible College in Oxford, and then I went up to Liverpool to do a curacy there. Now, I serve as a team vicar, looking after a couple of churches in the north part of Liverpool. My primary church is Emmanuel in Fazakerley, and I also look after a deanery and oversee the mission of eight churches in the area. It’s amazing, busy and challenging all at the same time!
Q. Who have you been reading God’s Word with recently, and how did you begin sharing with them?
The Word One to One has been absolutely brilliant. I got connected with The Word One to One team at The Gathering, a conference for men that runs every year. A couple of years back I met Carl Porter there, and we had a really long chat about the notes. During the year we kept in touch here and there, but as we approached the next conference, I got a really strong sense that I needed to follow up that conversation with him. So I contacted The Word One to One team and asked if Carl was going to be there, as I really felt I needed to talk to him.
I couldn’t find any means of contacting Carl – so I found a contact form and simply wrote that if the event team knew that Carl was there, could they let me know? I did it at 11pm at night: the next morning Sarah Porter, Carl’s wife, got in touch with me and said that Richard and Le Fras are heading up north the next day! That was amazing in itself, but when I met up with them, they told me that my brother sends his regards! They had just had a meeting with him in Sheffield, which was just incredible. That definitely got my attention! So that’s how my journey with The Word One to One began.
Initially, I didn’t really pick up the notes for a few months – I didn’t really know what to do with it. It was only when a guy started coming to one of my church’s men’s events and we had got chatting, when I asked him if he would like to read the Bible with me. We began reading together on Zoom during lockdown.
Around April last year, I also got connected with one of our neighbours. My son kicked a ball over the wall into the alleyway behind our house – I hopped over and nearly got attacked by a dog, which happened to be my neighbour’s! It turned out that he had been a heroin addict, but he had got his life back together and had been reconciled with his family. After we had chatted for a while, I also asked him if he would like to read the Bible with me, and he said yes! So he and I, on and off, have been reading Books 1 and 2 together – and I’ve also been reading them with the first guy I mentioned. And it’s been amazing: both of them have been blown to bits, and are becoming increasingly excited to keep reading!
I’m also reading with two Christians – one of them is my warden, who’s actually quite new to the faith, and the other is my old warden who now lives somewhere else. We all get along really well, and we meet early in the morning on Friday mornings on Zoom. They’ve got guys that they want to read The Word One to One with, so it’s just building up their confidence.
Q. How have you seen God work in reading His Word with others?
What I’ve found is that one of the guys who I’m reading with is so excited by it, so much so that he’s now teaching me as we read together! During our sessions, he’s drawing out stuff from the text and realising before my eyes who Jesus is. He hasn’t made a profession of faith yet, but he’s absolutely intrigued by the gospel.
I just can’t get enough of picking up the notes and reading with others. It doesn’t matter who you read with, God speaks through it!
In terms of reading it with non-Christians, there is something incredibly powerful in that. It got to the point where I was really weary from lockdown and all the challenges that it causes, but reading The Word One to One with others really reignited me: to see the Spirit of God work so powerfully right in front of you as you open up the Bible with someone else, is simply life-giving.
“Reading The Word One to One with others really reignited me: to see the Spirit of God work so powerfully right in front of you as you open up the Bible with someone else, is simply life-giving.”
Even as a church leader, when there’s so many things that I have to do, it was opening up the Bible with others with The Word One to One that energised me and brought life back to me. Reading with others is an act of faith and trust in God, and He really honours that – you can’t outgive God in it, no matter how much you give out through it, He always gives so much more back to you.
I think it’s been a surprise, even to me. I came to faith by reading the Bible with someone, and I’ve been reading the Bible with others in loads of different ways over the years – but even now, I was surprised: it feels like I’m a new Christian all over again!
“You can’t outgive God in it, no matter how much you give out through it, He always gives so much more back to you.”
Q. How has The Word One to One helped you equip your congregation in their evangelism?
Because I’ve discovered it mainly in lockdown, opportunities to equip my congregation have been a bit limited – but what I have done is tell the stories of how I’ve used it personally. We run an online coffee morning, and during that time I often share about my experiences of The Word One to One and invite anyone who wants to find out more to get in touch with me – and so I’ve had a few conversations with people.
But at the moment, I’m focusing more on reading with others, helping them gain the confidence they need to start reading it with others and encouraging them to begin inviting people. With the two wardens I read with, we pray for each of the other people we’re reading with, so I guess I’m seeing it equip more and more people in that way.
“At the moment, I’m focusing more on reading with others, helping them gain the confidence they need to start reading it with others and encouraging them to begin inviting people.”
What I’d like to do is to launch it through our small groups – but I will be honest, it is tricky to encourage people! People are up for doing it, but what they really need is to hear the stories of it working powerfully across the UK. And I’m beginning to see a few people who are really beginning to get onboard with it.
So progress is slow at the moment, but I’d rather go slow and well!
Q. Do you have any advice you would give to someone who’s thinking about reading the Bible with someone else?
I think the key thing is to pray.
Specifically, I would pray for passion – a passion to share the gospel and to see people’s lives changed by Jesus. And I’d also pray for opportunities, because when we do, God never fails to give them to us. Whenever I’ve asked God for someone to read the Word one-to-one with, or to share a story with, God always provides. And then pray for courage to ask that first question of invitation.
“Whenever I’ve asked God for someone to read the Word one-to-one with, or to share a story with, God always provides. And then pray for courage to ask that first question of invitation.”
And keep it simple! It’s so lowkey and easy, don’t add anything more to it. Over the years, I’ve read with people in prison and with millionaires – people from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures – and I have to say The Word One to One is the most user-friendly method out there. It’s so simple, the format is great, so just take hold of it and get started!
And I’d also say keep the balance between being over-enthusiastic and getting overwhelmed, and retreating too much and not being intentional. Don’t worry if people drop off for a bit – it’s okay! It’s a long process, a marathon and not a sprint.
Discover more about how The Word One to One can help you equip your church family for personal evangelism.
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