I love this new series, because it gives us the opportunity to share the things we would share with you if you sat across the table from us, sharing a coffee. Today, I’m putting, all in one place, my favorite resources that I point people to when I first start discipling them. So, pretend if you will, that you’re starting out as a disciple of Jesus and here are the top 4 or so things I would point you towards: 

Duh. Right?! But seriously, the best places to start when we are following Jesus is to make sure we have a solid foundation in the Word of God. Did you know that today many elders in churches all over the US confess that they are not regularly in the Bible for themselves? I believe we can solve this! And that is why I usually point those just starting out, to this simple illustration of what the Bible is all about and how we can read it. It’s called the Corner Stone and you can find it as one of the 7 illustrations we’ve given you in our Disciple-Makers Leatherman

If there person needs a little more structure to their plan. I love this reading plan by The Gospel Coalition, that takes you through the Bible in two-years (this article also has some great tips for reading the Bible as a bonus). 

But maybe that person gets started reading the Bible and they have tons of questions. Questions about history. Questions about the Jewish faith, questions about how the Bible was written and how it came together. One of my favorite newer resources to point people to is the really cool Bible Project. There is just a TON of awesome information at your figure tips and I could probably nerd out on their youtube channel for days…

But before we become Biblical scholars bordering on monks, where we we are over full of facts and not focusing outwards: We must take a closer look at Jesus’ last words before He went back up to heaven. It is here that we’ve all been given a very important mission. I’ve found my favorite way to explain our personal calling as a believer is this illustration named “The 4-1-1” ( Guys, I didn’t name it). 

I’ve also found that sending someone off to read and study their Bible alone isn’t great for anyone involved. And so I absolutely love to study the Bible with others. But, hey, we aren’t all gifted teachers, able to put Bible Studies together willy-nilly. This is why I love that we actually have an awesome set of studies ready for you to hit “print” on, right here at ITH. You can find our Foundations Series right here.

Or rather, should I say, act out what the Bible says! Once we’ve started reading the Bible for ourselves, and even studying it with others we still have to share the Good News we find there with others!

I found this was actually a step I actually missed for YEARS. I may have known the Gospel, but explaining to someone else in a quick and easy manner was so intimidating and confusing to me! But thankfully, smart men and women have come up with awesome ways to share the Gospel. The 3 Circles is the one I currently use and taught my kids. (Its that easy). We even found these stickers of the illustration that the rock-star-Cooper family convieniently put together so that we can stick the good news on our phonecases, water bottles- basically everywhere! And they facilitate great conversation with people all the time in an easy un-intimidating way. 

Speaking of the Gospel, one of my favorite quotes about Gospel illustrations is, “The Best Gospel illustration is the one you use.” And I think that probably goes for all resources. There are so many amazing helpful tools available to us, the important thing is to find the one we will USE. I hope these help you get started in our disciple-journey, and I would love to hear of your own personal favorites!