News

HTTAJWLLAI in Sweden!

by Editor

It was a great privilege to lead a webinar for Apologia Sweden. That is an evangelism and apologetics group based (unsurprisingly!) in Sweden. They invited me to join them for an online interactive webinar about my book, “How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like An Idiot” (HTTAJWLAI), to which between 75-100 people showed up.

It was a particular privilege for me to serve an organisation in Sweden, because I have Swedish connections through my wife who is part Swedish. It was brilliant actually to see so many students and young people there on that Zoom event.

I shared for about 45 minutes some of the principles from the book about how we can share our faith in Jesus with our friends. We thought about how we can use questions to start significant spiritual conversations, looking first at the gospels and the ways that Jesus does that, and then at some practical tools we can use to start and then develop these conversations.

Then we had a great and very lively Q&A session, and it was great to get such a good range of questions showing that the folks there were really active and passionate about sharing their faith with others. Martin Helgesson from Apologia Sweden agreed, writing: “The event went very well! We had a good turnout and the questions that came up after Andy’s talk were thoughtful and moved the conversation further. It is always encouraging to interact with Christians who sincerely want to pass the gospel on to friends, family and coworkers.”

That’s encouraging because Sweden has the reputation as being a very secular country like the UK; but it’s important to recognise that there is also life in the churches there! It was especially encouraging to see young people and life there. Through my family connections and many visits to the country I am aware that some of the older denominations are contracting, but that is not the whole story by any means. I have seen evidence of real life there when I have been over speaking in universities and in student settings.

At Solas, our vision is for the UK but we do also like opportunities to bless, encourage and resource what others are doing. One of the joys of digital technology is that I can do that from my office, even though they were all on the other side of The North Sea.

The whole meeting was recorded and appears on the Apologia Sweden YouTube channel here. Martin Hegelsson wrote: “Several participants showed a clear interest in putting ideas into practice, and many more expressed their gratitude for Andy’s clear and concrete presentation. We are very grateful for Solas and for Andy’s help in pursuing a culture of persuasive evangelism in Sweden!” I was delighted to be invited, and really enjoyed meeting and working with them all.

Interfaith dialogue in Aylesbury

by Editor

Andy reports on a remarkable morning in a large high school in Aylesbury. The Religious Studies department organised an interfaith conversation and invited Andy to represent the Christian perspective. The debate was friendly, lively and informative – and the students posed great questions to the panelists. Hear the full story in the video!

Featured Photo Credit: John Utime

Is Faith Just An Emotion?

by Solas

Is faith just an emotion – just something we feel? Is it something that some people have and some people don’t, just like some of us have a taste for a certain flavour of ice cream and others don’t? Or is it more than that? In this Short Answers video, Steve Osmond from Solas looks at the idea of faith and evidence, and how the two work together in Christianity.

Share

Please share this video widely with friends or family and for more Short Answers videos, visit solas-cpc.org/shortanswers/, subscribe to our YouTube channel or visit us on Twitter Instagram or Facebook.

Support

Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!

Launch Pad 21: Run a “Meal with a Message” Event

by Editor

Recent decades have seen the relentless march of coffee shops through our high streets. What accounts for their popularity? One of the co-founders of Starbucks once said his vision was for it to be a “third place”—neither home, nor work, but a place to linger in between.

There are loads of other such third places—pubs, cafes, curry houses—and your community probably has one or more. And they’re great places for evangelism. We live in a time when many of our non-Christian friends have no experience of church and can be suspicious about entering into “our” space: so let’s go to their space!

Over the years at Solas we’ve helped many churches put on low-key evangelism events in neutral venues. One church in Inverness ran a meal in the local hotel: church members invited friends and it was packed to capacity. After the dinner there was a short talk and lots of people later signed up for the Alpha Course.

More recently, Andy Bannister helped a church in St. Alban’s organise an event in a golf club. Again, food was served, then Andy spoke on “Finding Hope in a World of Chaos”. One guest said afterwards “this was a fantastic evening … I really enjoyed the talk”. Another said to the Christian who’d invited them that they’d love to do The Word-One-to-One.

How do you run an event like this well? Here are some principles we’ve learnt over the years:

  1. Book a local venue that serves food (either a meal, or coffee and dessert etc.)
  2. Advertise that there will be food plus a short talk.
  3. Consider selling tickets in pairs: Christians can then buy a ticket for a friend.
  4. Keep the talk short and relevant.
  5. Have Q&A afterward.
  6. Use the event to launch e.g. a Christianity Explored or Alpha Course.

Just like the Christians found in the book of Acts, when we go where people are, God shows up!

And if you need help, reach out to us at Solas; we can offer advice, ideas, and if you need it, supply a speaker for your event!

Prayer: Lord, please inspire us at our church to reach out of our four walls and put on an event in a ‘third space’. Thank you that you’re the missionary God who goes before us. Amen!

Previously: Launch Pad # 20 Host a Pre-Marriage Course, Meet and Serve non-Christian Couples

Next: Launch Pad #22 Get the Word Out!

Steve on a Mission in Edinburgh

by Editor

Duncan Street Baptist is a church which meets on the south side of Central Edinburgh,  not far from the city’s famous Meadows. Under the leadership of their pastor Robert Murdock, Duncan Street Baptist Church are engaged in various outreach and evangelism initiatives, talking the gospel of Christ to their neighbours and communities. Along with a commitment to training and equipping church members for talking about Jesus, Duncan Street Baptist Church also hosts regular Christianity Explored courses, which takes people through Mark’s gospel in an informal and interactive way. Many people have become Christian through Christianity Explored, it’s a really valuable tool for local churches.

In addition to these ongoing ministries, Duncan Street Baptist have been holding outreach evenings, opening up the Christian answers to some of the biggest question of our age. With surveys and scholars saying that people today are searching for the meaning, purpose, value of life and looking for happiness, the church was keen to show people that Jesus provides the surest foundation for answering today’s big questions.

Steve Osmond from Solas spent three evenings with the folks from Duncan Street, which he thoroughly enjoyed.  The church advertised these events with personal invitations, social media content and by handing out flyers around their neighbourhood and got Steve to address three big questions:

Can Happiness Last? Can Science and God Co-Exist? And “Given All the Options, Why Jesus?’

The church was delighted that people who are not yet Christians, came along and engaged with these sessions. Robert Murdock from Duncan Street wrote:

“Steve did an excellent job addressing three questions, Can happiness last?, Can Science and God Coexist? and Why Jesus? His presentations had depth and were thought provoking, respectful and persuasive. We had a number of people attend who were exploring what the Christian message was and how it was relevant to them and Steve’s presentations allowed them to do that without feeling pressured. Without any hesitation I would recommend Steve and the Solas team to any Church that wants to try and engage the people who live around us with reasons to believe.”

There are many, many different ways of sharing the Christian faith with folks outside the church! Holding an event like these is a great way of engaging people with the Christian faith in a respectful, thoughtful and persuasive way – or launching your Christianity Explored, Alpha or other outreach course. Solas speakers address these kinds of meetings every month, all over the country and have a range of suitable talks ready to help non-Christian audiences see the importance and relevance of Jesus. If we can help your church to run an event like this, please get in touch by pressing the ‘https://www.solas-cpc.org/contact/connect’ button at the top of this page.

Confident Christianity Kinmel Bay

by Solas

Thanks for coming to the Confident Christianity Conference at Kinmel Bay. As promised, you can find our slides here — as well as recommended resources related to the talks.

Presentation Slides

CCC-Kinmel-Bay-HTTAJWLLAIDownload
CCC-Kinmel-Bay-Sexual-EthicDownload
CCC-Kinmel-Bay-5-StepsDownload

Additional Resources

1) Andy’s first talk (“How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like An Idiot”)

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/launch-pad-52-ways-to-share-your-faith/

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/mind-the-gap-the-full-series/

2) Ben’s first talk (“Is the Bible’s Sexual Ethic Harmful and Exclusive?”)

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/pep-talk-with-andrew-bunt/

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/inclusive-exclusive/

3) Ben’s second talk (“Where is God in a World of Suffering?”)

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/why-do-suffering-and-evil-seem-so-wrong/

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/broken-planet-with-sharon-dirckx-video-interview/

4) Andy’s second talk (“5 Steps for Answering Tough Questions”)

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/five-steps-to-answer-any-tough-question-andy-at-the-e-l-f/

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/a-beginners-guide-to-apologetics-complete-series/

PEP Talk with Matt Fell

by Solas

On PEP Talk today, Kristi and Steve chat with Matt, one of Kristi’s old school friends! He wasn’t a Christian at all back then, but over the years, Jesus wonderfully drew him in. Now working on a PhD at Cambridge, he reflects on the amazing ways that a scientific, enquiring mind can find satisfaction in a God-centred worldview. If you or your friends think Christianity is anti-science or anti-intellectual, Matt’s testimony is great food for thought!

With Matt Fell – PEP Talk

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Our Guest

Matthew Fell is a PhD student in the Divinity Faculty at the University of Cambridge. His thesis considers the implications of evolutionary theory for the Christian understanding of the soul and its creation. Alongside his studies, he is an associate lecturer at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and the director of a discipleship and church internship programme that serves the Newfrontiers network across Europe. Matthew is a passionate believer that modern science can open theological questions and dialogue with people rather than shut it down.

About PEP Talk

The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, Andy Bannister (Solas) and Kristi Mair (Oak Hill College) chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.

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Launch Pad 20: Host a Pre-Marriage course – Meet and serve non-Christian couples

by Editor

A few years ago our church ran a pre-marriage course – a few weeks of ‘what to expect’ for couples to invest in their marriage before it began. It was advertised through the church website and in the Sunday services as a way to get prepared for marriage using good Biblical principles.

The first evening came around and, as my fiancé and I were also nearing our wedding date, we joined in. Looking back after 10 years of marriage, this was a good idea. It’s strange to me that so often we will invest years in training for a job or some hobby – but so many don’t give a moment’s thought to the idea that marriage may actually take some preparation – there may actually be some skills to learn as we embark on the journey. Anyway, I digress.

It wasn’t long until I noticed that there were several couples I’d not seen before. It was a big church and I just assumed I hadn’t met them yet. The course included a dinner each week where we were served by some of the church members during which there was time to chat to the other couples. To my surprise it turned out that a few of the couples weren’t part of the church – they’d heard about the course from friends and advertising – and even more surprisingly…they weren’t even Christians!

Why the surprise you may ask? Well, my assumption was that a pre-marriage course at a church – based on Biblical principles – wouldn’t at all be something that would attract non-Christians. But it did and The Lord used it! And here, in our church for several weeks were couples who were wanting to invest in their marriage and were open to hearing the Gospel – and hear the Gospel they did. Since then I’ve done marriage preparation with several couples and then conducted their wedding ceremony, and seen how marriage can be a fantastic opportunity to minister to couples.

Another great opportunity that running a pre-marriage course presents is that those serving the participants also had weeks of interaction with these couples – practically showing the attitude of service that the Lord Jesus would have us demonstrate. This is a great way to meet, and love, non-Christians very practically, pointing them to Jesus.

Here is a great place to start: https://www.themarriagecourse.org/host/the-pre-marriage-course

Previously: Launch Pad #19 Leaflet Your Community

Next: Launch Pad #21 Run a “Meal with a Message” Event

Student Mission at St Andrews

by Editor

Steve Osmond from Solas spoke at the St Andrews University Christian Union events week. To watch his reflects on an intense but rewarding week of mission play the video below!

The students from the Christian Union enthused about the week of mission they had done together.

“As a Christian Union in St Andrews we exist to give every student the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news of Jesus. So we put on an ‘events week’ like this every single year, which is really the climax of our year as a Christian Union. It’s a week of intense events and mission, to give CU members the opportunity to invite friends and to talk about Jesus. We aim to give people the chance to hear and respond to the good news that he brings. That’s what we have been doing this week!” – Amy

“For me, and I think for a lot of us, it has been so amazing to see the momentum that can be built over a week. There have been specific people who we have seen multiple times throughout the week, who have been so keen and so interested. They’ve been coming with all their questions and being able to invite them back, day-after-day to find out more – and ask more about what we think and believe, has been such a blessing! Such a blessing in fact for us to see how God has been using this week.” – Millie

Thank you again, all those of you who pray faithfully for this kind of work and those who give to make it happen practically. Thank you.

Gospel Impact Conference 2024

by Solas

Thanks for coming to hear Andy Bannister speak at the 2024 Gospel Impact Conference in Toronto. Here you will find links to his slides, books, and other resources related to his talks.

Slides

  • Download the slides from Andy’s main talk, How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like An Idiot, here.
  • Download the slides from Andy’s breakout session, Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?, here.

Going Further

  • Check out our Short Answers videos: almost 200 videos that answer loads of common questions / objections about the Christian faith. Really helpful for sharing with friends.
  • New for 2024, the Launch Pad series has an easy-to-try evangelistic idea for every week of the year.
  • Want to get encouraged to share your faith at work? Explore Frontlines, an inspiring series of interviews with Christians in dozens of different lines of work about how they share Jesus in their everyday work lives.
  • If you’re into podcasts, give PEPTALK a try. It’s Solas’s twice-a-month show in which Andy and others on the team interview an amazing range of guests about evangelism and engaging our friends with the gospel. Every episode is packed with ideas, insight, and great conversations.

Books

Have You Ever Wondered?

Our latest book, designed to give to your friends and get them curious about the gospel. Order paperback now from Apologetics Canada here. Or get the ebook version here.

How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like An Idiot

A panic-free guide to having natural conversations about your faith. Order on Amazon or ChristianBook.com. Or get the audio book from Apple or Audible.

Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

Explores the startling differences between Allah as found in the Qu’ran and the Christian God of the Bible. Order on Amazon or ChristianBook.com.

Freshbrook Church Swindon

by Solas

Thanks for coming to the evening presentation at Freshbrook Church. As promised, you can find my slides here — as well as recommended resources related to the Q&A.

Presentation Slides

Freshbrook-SlidesDownload

Additional Resources

1) My talk (“How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like An Idiot”)

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/launch-pad-52-ways-to-share-your-faith/

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/mind-the-gap-the-full-series/

2) The church’s mixed legacy (one question in the Q&A):

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/bullies-and-saints/

3) The foundation of human rights (another question in the Q&A):

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/who-created-human-rights-and-why-its-a-problem-for-atheists/

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/what-are-human-rights-based-on-andy-bannister/

> https://www.solas-cpc.org/have-you-ever-wondered-why-we-long-for-justice/

Can Christianity Be Good But Not True?

by Solas

It seems to be a curious trend that some public figures are going out of their way to laud the social benefits of Christianity – things like human rights or free speech – but don’t accept it as actually true. Is it possible to hold these values dear, but regard their source as a fairy tale? In this Short Answers video, Andy Bannister challenges us to consider whether we can really “reap the fruit but reject the root” when it comes to the Christian message.

Share

Please share this video widely with friends or family and for more Short Answers videos, visit solas-cpc.org/shortanswers/, subscribe to our YouTube channel or visit us on Twitter Instagram or Facebook.

Support

Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!

Launch Pad 19: Leaflet Your Community

by Editor

Advertising consultants tell us the effect of their message is multiplied when people see their product in different places. If someone sees an advert five times on the side of a bus they are less likely to remember the message than if they were to see it on a bus, a billboard, on the radio, in a shop and online. One advertising guru called it the power of multi-point contact.

We are not crassly reducing evangelism to a marketing exercise; evangelism is God using us to draw people to himself! But that still means that we can practice and learn to play our part as well as we possibly can! (Why do something for God that is second-best?)

One way to multiply our message is to use door-to-door leaflet drops around our town. There are five steps to doing this well.

One: Define your community
If you are working alone it might be just your road. If you have a small team from your church with you, perhaps an entire housing estate. Don’t attempt too much, make it doable!

Two: Commit to a regular, realistic delivery schedule (perhaps twice a year)
National events can be useful times (elections, coronations) as can church events like the launch of Christianity Explored or Alpha, marriage or parenting courses, as well as the Christmas services.

Three: Choose your leaflet wisely
10ofThose produce a whole range of gospel leaflets themed around topical events, such as elections, coronations, the World Cup or Olympics. It’s important to include contact details for the church, (or yours if you are personally leafleting your immediate neighbourhood). CPO produce invitation cards you can customise with your own details and message.

Four: Pray!

Five: Head out and do the delivery.
Be friendly, polite, ready to talk to folk and be respectful. Walk on their paths, not across their grass, shut gates behind you and ‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have’ (1 Peter 3:15). You never know who might stop for a chat.

One church we know does this as part of their house-group programme. As well as meeting for Bible study, they regularly walk their ‘patch’ and deliver church invitations.

Pray: Lord, forgive us for being inward looking, send us out to the lost in a whole variety of ways.

Previously: Launch Pad #18 The Welcome Pack That Goes the Extra Mile!

Next: Launch Pad #20 Host a Pre-Marriage course – Meet and serve non-Christian couples