Helping people explore

At St Paul’s, we want to help as many people as possible explore Christianity. We believe the message of Jesus is the key to living life to the full, so we want to help people understand it. Nobody should be forced or coerced into believing, which is why we aim to create a welcoming, relaxed environment for people to explore at their own pace, ask questions, and engage at the level they’re comfortable with.

That’s why we’re building a community of explorers at St Paul’s—the Bible Explorers Group—open to all sorts of people. It’s aimed at people who are trying to decide whether to be a Christian or not, but it’s open to skeptics and new believers also. The goal is to help people explore.

Explore team members play a vital role in helping explore Christianity. Arriving on time, being proactive in talking to explorers, listening to their questions and praying for them during the week are all important aspects of the role. Explore team members have the incredible opportunity to play a pivotal role in someone exploring the faith and perhaps deciding to become a Christian.

Responsibilities of Explore Team Members

 
Explore team members should aim to:

• take an active interest in the lives of those exploring—not just what they believe about God, but what they do during the week, what makes them tick, and so on. We want to build relationships with people.

• never assume that someone you meet is or isn’t a Christian.

• be as interested (if not more interested) in finding out what someone else thinks rather than in telling people what you think.

• be patient with people even when they ask questions that you might deem silly, irreverent, or basic.

• seek to continually improve your personal understanding, application and communication of the gospel.

• provide feedback to the explore team leader. Team members have a vital role in helping to improve things. The current way we help people explore Christianity might not be the best way—there’s always room for improvement. I encourage team members to provide feedback any time on anything you think we can do better. There is plenty of room for trying things, failing, learning from our mistakes, and evolving the way we do things.

Details about format and content

The Bible Explorers Group meets every Tuesday night during school term. We typically sit in a big circle.

The format on most weeks is:

7.00pm — team members arrive to help set up and welcome people.

7.30pm — people arrive, get food/drink, settle in.

7.40pm — read a portion of the Bible and discuss what it reveals about Jesus and Christianity.

8.30pm — finish. Note: most people stick around for a little while after to chat.

However, the Bible Explorers Group spends a few weeks each term changing up the format and participating in a course. At the moment we call it Christianity Explored. This course serves a few purposes: it provides a point each term for heightened promotion and invitation, it allows for newcomers to explore the basics of the gospel over a shorter period without committing to an ongoing community, and it keeps the format fresh.

Christianity Explored runs once each term over three weeks. We set up the room like a seminar, with semi-circles of chairs facing the front. The format is as follows:

7.00pm — team members arrive to help set up and welcome people.

7.30pm — people arrive, get food/drink, settle in.

7.40pm — the MC welcomes people and provides an introductory question for group discussion.

7.50pm — the speaker gives a talk.

8.15pm — the MC provides a question for group discussion.

8.25pm — the MC and speaker host a Q&A. People can submit questions via phone or live.

8.45pm — the MC concludes and invites people to join next week.

All newcomers to Christianity Explored are invited to keep exploring once the course has ended—to join the Bible Explorers Group on Tuesday nights with the Bible Explorers Group. They are invited to join a WhatsApp chat to stay in the loop and get weekly reminders of what’s happening.

Note: the content covered at Christianity Explored is not the same each time. We explore the gospel from different angles using different passages, resources and stories each term. This means the content is always fresh for people in Bible Explorers Group—people can experience Christianity Explored many times and it’ll still feel fresh.

If you have any questions, email the Explore Team Leader:
Pip Witheridge
pipw@stpaulsanglican.org.au