– B.O.C.A.N. (Body of Christ Ambassadors Network)

(see 2 Corinthians 5:20)

One advantage of doing house to house evangelism is that you get to meet Christians where they live and can exchange details about how each other’s faith is progressing both within and without the home.

This experience is often encouraging and enriching for us, but we have also noted matters of concern in the following areas:

• Bible Study
• Practical Life Skills

Bible Study

(See John 8:31-32)

 

• Many Christians don’t have a daily study discipline of feeding their soul with the word of God.

• Very few married couples or families regularly (or ever!) study the bible together at home.

• Few Christians seem to have read all the books in the bible at least once, in order to be familiar with the whole written counsel from God.

The most common form of study cited by people we met was that of randomly picking a passage now and then, (often from the Psalms), rather than sticking to a daily discipline of going through a particular book, chapter by chapter until complete.  (See 2 Timothy 2:15).

• Many individuals struggling with reading due to poor eyesight (eg the elderly), dyslexia or other poor literacy skills have been left stunted in their knowledge and understanding of God’s word.

Happily, some are open and willing to make changes in their mentalities and routines, a number agreeing to weekly study sessions, with a view to nurturing a home study culture.

This can, and has, led to others being invited to join (such as neighbours) who may never have attended and participated in a study before.

 

Practical Life Skills

(see Hebrews 10:24)

We’ve met people, of all ages, who found difficulty with practical skills such as budgeting, cooking and keeping a home in a state that is clean and welcoming for themselves and others.

Growing our faith must include being able to order our lives so that we can flourish spiritually because we are not anxious or stressed by day to day living.

Sadly, there’s a lot of shame felt about asking for help, especially when it’s thought that our brethren are too busy with their private lives!

The above observations and experiences amongst others led us to ask the question of how we Christians, inspite of all the pressures and distractions of modern day living, can be activated to share more of our lives in a way that stands out from the world so that , as Jesus proclaimed…

‘By the way you love one another, the world will know that you are my disciples’ John 13:34-35

With prayer and reflection, we began to put together some ideas from the word of God applied to today’s world, which we put under the name of “New Life Companions”.