News

Confident Christianity Evening PBC May 2024

by Solas

Thank you for joining us for the Confident Christianity evening at Perth Baptist Church. Please find on this page a few resources and recommendations which follow on from the talks and Q&A topics which came up on the night.

The Art of Conversation SlidesDownload
Perth-CCC-Andy-Gavin-Session-2-SlidesDownload

Additional Resources

Book: How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like An Idiot by Andy Bannister

Steve’s opening talk was based on this book. It is available for purchase here,  or if you sign up to support Solas for £3/month we can send you a copy as a thankyou. Click here.

Book: Have You Ever Wondered? eds. Andy Bannister and Gavin Matthews

The second session which Gavin and Andy presented was based on this book. It is available for purchase here, or if you sign up to support Solas for £3/month or more we can send you two copies as a thank you, one to read, and one to give away!

Q and A topics:

Hell and the judgement of God:
Solas Short Answers video Why would a God of love send people to Hell?

Sharing the gospel with those who have never wondered, and are apathetic:

Solas article: Apatheism: When the gospel meets indifference by Kyle Breshears

Veganism:
Book: Serve God, Save the Planet by Matthew Sleeth

The Uniqueness of Jesus:
Solas Webinar: Do all religions lead to God?

Solas Podcast: PEP Talk with Rahil Patel

Kindles and E-book availability:
For those looking for a digital (epub) version of Have You Ever Wondered? click here
Instructions on loading it onto a Kindle (etc) are here.

Conversations that don’t lead to anger:
Book: Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman

Thanks again for joining us on Friday. Keep an eye out for our prayer letter “Insight”, in which you will also see information about future events.

Will Animals Go To Heaven?

by Solas

“Do animals go to heaven?” That was a question Andy Bannister’s daughter asked after the death of a pet. And it’s a brilliant question: is Christianity only concerned with human beings? Or does it have something to say about the natural world and animals in particular?

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!

E21 Webinar: A Christ-Like Response to Islam

by Andy Bannister

I really enjoyed giving this webinar for the E21 Network on Thursday 6 June 2024 — below you’ll find my slides from the session as well as some other great resources!

At Solas we love working with churches across the country, to help them …

Next up, here are the slides and my notes from my first session, A Christ-Like Response to Islam.

Download my slides as a PDF

Next, that webinar was based on one chapter from my book Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?. That book is a really accessible exploration of some of the key differences between Christianity and Islam. It then uses those differences to point to Jesus and the gospel. It’ll help you be better equipped for conversations with Muslims. Normally GBP£9.29, you can get an open source ebook (EPUB format) version of the book for just GBP£4 (or USD$5) from here:

Buy Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

Other Resources You Might Enjoy

  1. Nabeel Qureshi’s book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, a powerful testimony of a Muslim finding Christ.

  2. Nick Chatrath’s book, Reaching Muslims: A One-Stop Guide for Christians is a brilliant little book designed to help you gain confidence in sharing your faith with Muslims.

  3. Mark Durie’s book, Liberty to the Captives, very helpful for discipling former Muslims.

  4. For an overview of the Qur’an and its theology, I can recommend two books. First, Answering Islam: The Crescent in the Light of the Cross, written by Norman Geisler and Abdul Saleeb. And  then, second, the Muslim author Fazlur Rahman’s helpful Major Themes of the Qur’an.

  5. The Qur’an Tools website at Melbourne School of Theology is really helpful for searching the Qur’an, or digging into the Arabic without being an Arabic speaker. Find it here.

  6. Our new Launch Pad series for 2024: every week, we’re sharing a short tip or idea to help you share Jesus with your friends.

  7. Short Answers is our popular video series, with over 180 short videos tackling almost every question somebody might imagine about Christian faith. They’re great for sharing with friends who have questions, or watching to help you gain confidence yourself.

Launch Pad 23: Start or Join a Christian Workplace Group

by Editor

The place where Christians interact most with people who do not share their faith is at work. It’s not just that most of us spend large proportion of our waking hours with colleagues, it’s also that as we work alongside people—sharing challenges, joys and frustrations—that we can forge deep connections with others. For most people, the office, school staff-room, or shop-floor is their ‘frontline’ where their faith intersects the world. And it is often challenging.

Thousands of Christians are finding renewed courage and opportunity to share their faith in their workplaces, by joining together with other Christians there. The growth of Christian Workplace Groups is an exciting international phenomenon and in the UK they are springing up in hospitals, water companies, aircraft manufacturers, government departments,  the Army, finance, logistics, publishing, brewing and insurance companies, and hundreds of other places. In London alone there are now 694 registered Christian Workplace Groups!

These groups vary enormously. Some meet just to pray and encourage each other in their individual faith, lives and witness. Other groups offer to pray for people in their firm. Some groups hold outreach events in the workplace, or an adjacent café. There is no formula for what has to be done, but there is the universal testimony that the Christian life and faith is lived more effectively together.

Virtually every group was started by someone who said, “That couldn’t happen here” and “I could never do that”, yet somehow by the grace of God it has, and they did.

The charity “Transform Work” was set up to assist Christian Workplace Groups and has loads of information about how to go about setting up and running one. They have experience in everything from how get a group running, how to work cooperatively with HR departments and navigate the world of Diversity and Inclusion bodies and policies. They also have inspiring stories of what is achieved when Christians are more visible for Jesus at work, in-person and online.

Their website is a wealth of helpful information. And you can access their free booklet “Starting a Christian Workplace Group” here. Christian mission is much easier if you do it alongside others. Consider how to grow your collective witness in your workplace.

Pray: Lord, please help me to wisely, truthfully and graciously be seen for you at work. Amen

Previously: Launch Pad #22 Get The Word Out!

Next: Launch Pad #24 Join A Short-Term Mission Team

Christians, Muslims and God!

by Editor

Andy Bannister from Solas was recently asked by the CS Lewis Institute in the USA to revisit the theme of his 2021 book, “Do Muslims and Christians Worship The Same God?” as part of their ‘Challenging Questions’ series.

The article, (following the book) do a detiailed textual comparison between the kind of deity described by the Qur’an and that found in the Bible. Andy finds some points of commonality as well as some significant and irreconcileable contradictions between the two portraits and this is useful as it facilitates a respectful dialogue between Christians and Muslims.

Click below to read the article

Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

If you would like to find out how to get a copy of “Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?” click here. 

ICMDA Webinar: Answering Muslim Friends and Colleagues

by Andy Bannister

I really enjoyed giving this webinar for the ICMDA on Thursday 29 May.

Firstly, here are the slides and my notes from my talk.

Download my slides as a PDF

Download my teaching notes as a PDF

Next, my book Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God? is a really accessible exploration of some of the key differences between Christianity and Islam. It then uses those differences to point to Jesus and the gospel. It’ll help you be better equipped for conversations with Muslims. Normally GBP£9.29, you can get an open source ebook (EPUB format) version of the book for just GBP£4 (or USD$5) from here:

Buy Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

Third, our brand new book at Solas, Have You Ever Wondered? is a best-selling evangelistic “give away” book. Designed to gently start conversations with friends and colleagues beginning from the things they already care about (e.g. justice, music, meaning, truth, love, identity), it’s been used by thousands of Christians to start conversations about Jesus with friends. And you can get the ebook — for free! All we ask is that if you enjoy it, you consider then buying a print copy to give to a non-Christian friend.

Get a free eBook version of Have You Ever Wondered? 

Other Resources You Might Enjoy

1) The Qur’an Tools website at Melbourne School of Theology is really helpful for searching the Qur’an, or digging into the Arabic without being an Arabic speaker. Find it here. 

2) Our new Launch Pad series for 2024: every week, we’re sharing a short tip or idea to help you share Jesus with your friends.

3) Short Answers is our popular video series, with over 180 short videos tackling almost every question somebody might imagine about Christian faith. They’re great for sharing with friends who have questions, or watching to help you gain confidence yourself.

Launch Pad 22: Get the Word Out!

by Editor

One of the Solas team spoke at a “Meal-with-a-Message” event put on by a local church. After the meal and the talk there was a Q&A, during which a non-Christian guest asked a series of questions about faith that culminated in him signing up for the church’s Alpha course. At the end of the evening, we asked him whether he’d been brought along by a church member. “No,” he replied, “I saw an advert about tonight’s event in the local newspaper and it sounded really interesting.” He went on to say it was the first time he’d set foot in a church in decades.

It’s great to put on a Meal-with-a-Message, or some other kind of evangelistic event, or a carol service—anything where non-Christians might feel welcome—but we need to let people know it’s happening! As well as preach the Word, we also need to spread the word!

How can we do this? Here are some ideas:

  1. Pray! (For fruit from your event, for creative advertising ideas, for God to draw people in).
  2. If you can, find someone in your church with a flair for publicity and promotion. (When it comes to social media—see #4 below—young people are often especially gifted in this area, so why not get them involved?)
  3. Get the event into the local newspaper—many local newspapers have “What’s On” sections. (You could also offer to send a report and a photograph after the event, or ask if somebody from the newspaper would like to come to the event as a guest and report on it. Local newspapers are often eager for fresh story ideas beyond ‘Football Team Stuck up Tree’ or ‘Local Cat Loses to Neasden FC Again’).
  4. Publicise the event on any local social media groups. Just be sure to abide by any group rules and don’t spam people (If in doubt, ask first for advice about how to advertise your event).
  5. Put up posters in local shops, the community centre, the library etc.
  6. Hand out leaflets on the street.
  7. Distribute leaflets door-to-door.
  8. Encourage church members to invite friends. (A Solas Confident Christianity event might also help boost their confidence in asking people to events).

Pray: Father God, help us as a church not just to be creative with our outreach events, but to be creative in spreading the word about those events. Amen!

Previously: Launch Pad # 21Run a ‘Meal with a Message’ Event

Next: Launch Pad #23 Start or Join a Christian Workplace Group

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/