Shirley Leggett is 88, and lives in a block of flats for retired people. She ran a Christianity Explored course a couple of years ago in her home.
Who came along to your group?
Everyone there was over 70! We were quite a small group. One wasn’t a churchgoer—the others were, but they had not a clue about who Jesus was. They’d never looked at a Bible before.
How did it go?
I’d said to people that I wouldn’t be offended if they didn’t like it and left. Some of the people watched the first one and enjoyed it, but said that was enough for now. Now that the new DVD is out, I’m going to ask them to come along again!
Most people did enjoy it and kept coming. We had a good old discussion each time. For one or two, who Jesus is really sank in. One old lady came along, and came to faith before she died.
How did you structure each session?
We took it bit by bit, very simply. We used the DVD. That was lovely. They loved Rico. It really was good, and relevant to them. He’s such an approachable person.
We’d then read the Bible passage and talk about it. I didn’t use the handbooks—we would have got lost, it was too much—so I just took a few of the questions from it.
What was the advantage of running the course in your own home, and leading it yourself?
It’s more informal if you do it yourself, with your friends, in your front room. You know each other, the ups and downs of each other’s lives.
And it’s a much easier invite to say: “Come and watch a video and we’ll have a chat”, rather than saying: “I’d like to talk to you come along and talk to me about Christianity”.
What would you say to someone who’s thinking about running CE in a similar way?
I would say if you’ve got a heart for the gospel and you love your friends, give it a go. Watch it yourself, and see if you think you could show it to your friends. And then ask people. Lots of people don’t want to be challenged, so they won’t want to come. But sometimes you can find people who do want to think about things, and then it’s great.
Shirley used the DVD and handbooks for her group. Have a look at CE’s course materials in the US and the UK.
Carl is Editorial Director at The Good Book Company and is a member of Grace Church Worcester Park, London. He is the best-selling author of The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross and God's Big Promises Bible Storybook, and also serves as series editor of the God's Word for You series. Before joining TGBC, he worked as a journalist and then as a teacher, and pastored a congregation in Hull. Carl is married to Lizzie, and they have two children. He studied history at Oxford University.
