Phil and Mary Wertz attended a very large Crossways class held at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Palatine, Illinois. Inspired by what they learned, Phil and Mary attended a Living Word Workshop in Minnesota.

Further inspired, they returned to their own church in Wauconda, Illinois, and set to work teaching. Phil began teaching the Biblical Tell-Tale Time-Line to kindergarten-age children attending Vacation Bible School at their church. And he presented the same timeline to grown-ups, too.

Phil saw that a Living Word workshop was scheduled close to home.  He persuaded seven others to attend. They came back to their church on fire to learn and to teach. Dirk Rasmussen, one of the attendees, said that before he attended the workshop, he had no intention of teaching. But now, he was ready and eager to teach The Divine Drama®. When The Divine Drama® classes got started, 15 people attended, but the class soon grew to 30.

Phil Wertz continues to present the biblical timeline to various groups in the church, and calls almost weekly to order more timelines.  The demand was so great that 50 timelines were sent to his church in less than six weeks.  Phil says that his introduction to CI's materials changed his life, and now he is devoting all his spare time to sharing the Living Word with others, so that they, too, might be changed.

Snippets: Passing along the torch

Would you — or someone you know — like to pass along a new understanding of God's Word?  Here are three ways: Pastor Al Hoerig in Thorndale, Texas, teaches a number of classes using CI's materials.  He told us about a man who was so grateful for what he learned from the class that he donated materials for 20 other participants to take part in the Bible study. The gentleman has since passed away, but Pastor Al has set up a fund to which participants can contribute, so that others who wish to attend future Bible studies but who cannot afford the cost of materials may nonetheless do so. He suggests a free-will offering of $10 for those wishing to help out. One fan of CI's courses and materials sent her father to a CI Living Word workshop as a birthday gift. She said he absolutely loved it. Please contact our office (800-257-7308) if you'd like to give a CI gift certificate for Christmas, a birthday, or other special occasion. Several churches have provided each 6th- and 7th-grade students with a hardcover Access Bible as a gift from the congregation.

For more on See Through the Scriptures®, click here.

Please contact us with your questions (& pictures!) and tell us about your own experiences with Crossways International's materials and resources.