Pastor Kenton Birtell of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Holdrege, Nebraska, says, “We need to get people back into the Word.”
How is he doing this? “I am helping people see the BIG PICTURE of Scripture by using Crossways International biblical resources. People are reading the Bible again! Over 50 people just completed the Crossways® course in our congregation. Biblical knowledge has increased one-hundred-fold for them.”
“I walk people through the Bible chapter by chapter in correlation with the lesson I am teaching. For example, in Crossways I tell class participants that we will be taking sort of a bus tour – with me as their guide and the Bible as their guidebook. I ask them to notice all the sites through their window but to sometimes join me as we get off the bus to explore and dig deeper. Some people prefer to stay ‘on’ the bus, while others eagerly jump off to look more deeply at the soil and surroundings, the historical aspects of the area, the culture of the people, etc. The journey is very exciting! Crossways offers new insights and new adventures into God’s Word.”
“What is my plan and format for each class session? As the leader, I . . . .
- Study and seek to clearly understand the text.
- Try to be as enthusiastic and dynamic a speaker as possible.
- Use the Crossways International student manuals as the text for each lesson.
- Point out the value of the graphics as the ‘visual’ for the lesson being taught.
- Use lecture, my own personal stories, workbook, other pertinent materials.
- Encourage open discussion, using the CI workbook questions as my outline.
- Ask students to read the lesson before coming to class.
- Apply text concepts to people’s own lives.
In our 3-year study of Crossways, (yes, we added an extra year) we had three classes -- one on Wednesday mornings at 9:00 AM, one Wednesday evenings at 7:45 PM, and another on Sunday mornings between worship services.”
“The Crossways International resources offer a growth opportunity in God’s Word for absolutely everyone, including myself in my preaching and teaching. The course also helps us all to more fully realize how our faith impacts every aspect of our life. An extra bonus? The study of God’s Word helps raise-up ‘leaders’ who are really passionate about the biblical text and often are eager to begin teaching their own Bible classes.”
A gentleman at the end of the Crossways course said, “Pastor, I don’t want my faith to be merely ‘a part’ of my life. I want it TO BE my life!”
