This little book is simple, straightforward, practical and very refreshing. David Helm wants to put the reading of the Bible right at the heart of personal evangelism and it’s refreshing to see a tool for evangelism that is so clearly and unashamedly Bible based. Here’s part of a little personal incident that Helm recounts concerning an unsaved friend : “After a year I asked him if he had any interest in reading the Bible one-to-one…For the next three months we read the Gospel of Mark together in a corner of a local Barnes and Noble coffee shop near his office. He always carried his Bible in a plain envelope – I assume to avoid the embarassment of being seen with a Bible…At first it was hard to keep the discussion on the text before us…over time the nature of his questions began to change…And then, one week it all just occurred naturally. He gave his life to Christ…What made the difference in his life?…It was the power of the Holy Spirit uniting this man’s heart to the truth of the gospel found in God’s word, in the context of a simple relationship in which we gave ourselves to reading one-to-one.”
In Part I of the book, David Helm outlines the `What, why and how’, explaining the principle ehid the strategy and some helpful advice about how to get started. Part II provides two Bible reading systems, suggestions of Bible books that would be appropriate in different situations and a plan for reading one-to-one through Mark in eight weeks. At the back of the book, as well as some recommended one-to-one Bible reading resources (all from Matthias Media, of course), Helm helpfully supplies 20 pages of Bible reading outlines and questions which can be photocopied or downloaded from the Matthias website to help you use some of the suggestions and ideas covered in the book.
I strongly recommend this book. It would make a great tool either for an individual wanting to do personal evangelism or for a church to use to mobilise and equip their members in getting into one to one work. I plan to use it myself in the next few weeks as I meet with a young Christian who needs feeding and encouraging.
For the purpose of review, I received a complimentary copy of the book from the Publishers. I was under no obligation to write a positive review.
Review written in 2012