Triple Blessing in Teaching the Gospel

by Jeremy Newlin

JOÃO PESSOA, BRAZIL (WGN)- What a wonderful blessing it is to see someone, with whom you studied the Bible, believe and be baptized! It is also a marvelous blessing to be able to show a young Christian how to teach a personal Bible study and see him do so. Put these two things together, plus one other Christian who also saw that she was capable of studying the Bible with another person, and you have a triple blessing. That is what I have just experienced.

Socorro, eight years in the faith, and Fatima, one year in the faith, were the two Christians that I called upon to study the Bible with Alda, Beijamim Junior’s mother. Junior is one of our full-time workers here in João Pessoa.

I started off with the first three lessons of the study, all the while telling Socorro and Fatima the main points of each lesson and why Alda needed to understand these points. I then gave these two Christians the task of teaching the fourth and fifth lessons.

We sat down a week before they were to teach, I explained the main points, as I had been doing, and then I asked them to prepare their lessons. They could use mine or make up their own, but they had to include the main points. Fatima and Socorro both did an excellent job at making their own lessons and not copying mine. They studied hard.

Once there I set up the camera — yes, I filmed their Bible studies. The purpose for this is twofold: first, so that they could review and critique each other and see how well they did; second, so others of the congregation can see that anyone who is a Christian is able to tell others about his conscious decision.

Tuesday, October 2, after the sixth lesson about confession and baptism, Alda said that she understood her present state as a sinner and wanted to be baptized. That same night about 25 Christians gathered to witness Alda give her life to Christ and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Her son Junior baptized her. One blessing is great, three blessings are beyond compare.

The training continues; now Socorro and Fatima will learn how to help Alda mature in her faith and also teach her to teach another person about Christ.

Please pray for Socorro, Fatima, Alda and myself, that God may always be praised through our lives and that we may never stop maturing in Christ, being able to discern God’s will from our own desires and to follow him. Always!

Adapted from Joseph McKinney, Jr.’s, newsletter “Paraiba Mission.”