Running Introducing God at home

Cath Semple and Matt Davies hosted an Introducing God course in Cath's lounge room

“In our loungeroom group we had great meals, great discussion, by the third week the guests were helping with the catering, we went on the weekend away to a hotel by the beach (one of the guests works for a hotel chain), several have begun relationship with God, and are now helping run the churches next Introducing God course.”

- Cath Semple

Introducing God has a simple concept - to introduce God.

And Cath Semple, an organiser of this loungeroom series, sees a need for this simple but life-changing exchange of business cards.

"Our greatest problem is our heart and the only way to deal with that is to give it over to the one who can help," said Cath. "Like any relationship it can take time, it is hard work but the rewards are worth it."

Born out of a desire to present a biblical world-view to 21-century people, Introducing God avoids the "one-off, take it or leave it approach" and meets people, over a number of weeks (and over a number of dinners and coffees), in their comfort zone.

The participants have the opportunity to wrestle with ideas and concepts at their own pace by looking at the Bible over the eight-week course.

"We get to look at His biography and let him introduce Himself," said Cath.

Matt Davies, also an organizer of the series, has seen friends with a church upbringing come to a fuller understanding of who Christ is and what He did.

"But it also caters for those who have never gone to church as the series presents a whole picture - from creation to Jesus and His affect on our lives. Discussions become very very personal by the end of the course and you are left with the choice to begin a relationship with God or reject it," said Matt.

"They (participants) have heard the narrative of Christ revealing Himself."

While the Introducing God title clearly explains the mandate, the image of a coffee cup associated with the course describes the means.

"Having a coffee with somebody isn't threatening," said Matt. "It's informal, casual and low-key. Introducing God is centred around a relaxed environment where people get to express themselves."

Participants are free to express all views without fear of being silenced or dismissed, while the hosts of the series are expected to help create a safe environment for the exchange of ideas, according to Matt.

The course assumes that the participant may have no prior experience of church or even pondered the existence or importance of God. Concepts, including postmodernism, are addressed through the discussions when the inevitable topic of truth comes up, but usually this occurs after the participants see and hear how Jesus has made a difference in the lives of some of the hosts.

"At the start of the course the confronting thing is getting people to go - at the end it's getting them to leave," said Matt.

Sky News presenter Leigh Hatcher hosts the 12-session, eight-week course, with presentations from Dominic Steele along with multi-media segments.

Introducing God, presented on DVD, VHS or as speaker's notes accompanied with a PowerPoint presentation, is conducive to any comfortable setting including clubs, churches and lounge rooms.

Find out who does what in an Introducing God course.