Recently I have been reminded of our neglect of deliberate one-to-one Bible reading. William Taylor, Rector of St Helen’s Bishopsgate, talked about reading the Bible with six people each week: 2 non-Christians, 2 young Christians and 2 potential leaders. Paul Dale, at Church by the Bridge in Sydney, similarly reads the Bible with a whole swag of people. The latest issue of the Briefing I got in the mail the other day also included a couple of articles on it.
I wonder if we have lost a key plank in fulfilling Jesus’ commission in Matthew 28 to ‘make disciples’ if we neglect one-to-one ministry. Most ministers and leaders that I have spoken recently, are honest that they have dropped the ball in one-to-one ministry. There are certainly plenty of catch-ups or pastoral chats, but not a whole lot of intentional one-to-one Bible studies going on.
My hunch is that we have placed a whole lot of energy into small groups ministry recently, to the expense of one-to-one ministry. Not that is should be an either/or issue. In fact, organizing one-to-ones is logistically a whole lot easier, albeit more threatening!
Now here are my questions. If I am correct about our failure in this area,
1. What do you think is the value of this kind of ministry? How have you benefited from it?
2. Is it worth re-thinking our commitment to this kind of ministry? If so, how would we make this part of the DNA at Trinity North East?
2. What sort of training and considerations are necessary for people to take up this ministry?
