The course as a whole:

After a bit of prodding, I went along to the Roxbury Hotel in Glebe, a little unsure of what to expect. And a little nervous at the prospect of meeting other media types in the Christian world.

I shouldn't have been so concerned. Because, by the end of dinner on the first night—before the official part of the evening—I was already sold on the concept. What occurred in the hour or so following dinner, the talk and table discussion, was incredibly frank and comfortable, and the format allowed for those a little unsure why they were there, like I was at first, to assess the situation.

Exactly what Introducing God is all about became clear quickly: a step-by-step look at the promise of God and the story of Jesus in a completely non-threatening environment with plenty of scope for asking questions. The discussion groups were well-led, enjoyable and thought-provoking (at least the group I was in).

Was it successful? From a newcomer's perspective—absolutely! The worst thing that can happen to you if you are a first-timer to anything is feeling uncomfortable. That's one thing that I haven't experienced in anything associated with Christians in the Media from day one. The people are friendly and always make an effort to greet and talk to new people. And that carries over to Bible study, church on Sunday nights and social events.

From a topical point of view, it was vibrant, colourful, relevant, and, very topical.

At the end, I wanted it to keep going. Maybe it was partially because I hadn't experienced such an openly-warm ambience in other like situations, especially in the last 18 months. But more likely it's because Introducing God was well-organised, not too long on any given night and a bit of fun.

Ray Hickson, sports writer, Daily Telegraph.

The introductory night:

Q: What do the English Cricket team, Rupert Murdoch's mother and the artistic merits of Bon Jovi's early work have in common?

A: They were all hot topics of discussion at the first evening of the Introducing God series!

Fresh from office blocks and lecture theatres, there were some apprehensive faces as friends and family walked through the door of the Christians in the Media venue at Annandale that humid Wednesday night, curious to find out just what this Introducing God thing was all about.

Our table thought Dominic cut to the heart of the matter when he spoke about the “Bette Midler God” (you know, the one who's “at a distance”), and the gods of the Greeks symbolised on marble pedestals—versus Paul's God who is relational, loving and invisible.

After Dominic's talk, we began to throw questions around: If Paul is right about this relational God, what does he look like? How can we relate to him? Does he have a different relationship with everyone who believes in him? Why don't Christians make icons to this God like they do to Buddha, or the Virgin Mary?

The discussion flowed better than I expected. Despite our different backgrounds, everyone was open and willing to listen to each other and debate the issues raised in the talk.

After a couple of panic-stricken moments trying to remember the names of everyone on my table at the end of the night, luckily no social faux pas were committed. My friends told me afterwards they were looking forward to next week and we agreed that everyone got along. Except for the whole Bon Jovi thing.

Madeleine Collins, Journalist, Southern Cross.

Find some experiences of some past course organisers.