The Bridges Course

The Bridges Course is designed to help you in your two goals of helping to bring a change of world-view and the establishing of long-term relationships. The name "Bridges" was chosen, because that essentially is what a follow-up group is about - a bridge into a whole new way of living.

The Bridges Course is made up of five lessons:

Church
The lesson is not designed to be a catechism or a Bible study. The keynote of each lesson is always relationships - a Christian's relationship to God, to other Christians, and to non-believers in the world. The lesson is not trying to introduce major doctrinal truths. It is simply aimed at a change of world-view - a world-view that now includes Jesus Christ as its center, and a daily relationship with God as its basis. The teaching of doctrinal truths is seen to be the responsibility of the members' churches after Bridges, not during.

THE AIM OF THE COURSE

The Bridges Course is designed to lead a person through from a limited understanding of why Jesus came to a more solid grounding in the relationship that person has with God through Jesus Christ. The course encompasses three main aspects:

• Each person's relationship with God
• Each person's relationship to others - in the church and outside
• The privilege of sharing the new life with others

These three things are important for a balanced Christian life. They are the focus of Bridges.

RECURRING THEMES

Apart from the recurring theme of relationship, you will notice that there are other threads running through all five lessons. In particular, there is a common illustration of the tree. This illustration is seen in various forms:

• The seed planted in the heart
• The seed growing through watering
• The tree putting down its roots
• The tree bearing good fruit

The purpose of these illustrations is to show that God gives us a new life, but that life must grow. Growth into the fullness of God's plan for our lives is what the Christian life is all about.

LESSON ONE - GETTING TO KNOW JESUS

This lesson is about the person of Jesus - who He is and why He came. The Bible says: "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor.3:11). This lesson seeks to lay that foundation, upon which everything else will be built.

Question 1: Why did Jesus come for you?

Possible answers:

• To show us what God is like
• To give us life
• To seek and to save what was lost
• To give His life as a ransom for us

Question 2: What does God expect from you?

Possible answers:

• To be in relationship with Him
• To repent - turn back to God
• My whole life

Question 3: What do people do with Jesus today?

Possible answers:

• Reject Him, Mock Him, Ignore Him
• Use His name for swearing

Question 4: What does Jesus mean to you?

Possible answers:

• Various

LESSON TWO - DISCOVERING THE REAL ME

The purpose of this lesson is to show how God sees each one of us. Section One deals with the fact that we were all made in God's image. Section Two deals with the fact that that image is marred because of sin. Section Three deals with what happens when we give our lives to God - God "re-creates" His image in our lives. Section Four deals with that image growing to be more and more like the character of Jesus Himself.

Question 1: What are the lies we believe about ourselves?

Possible answers:

• That we are no good, useless, an accident, etc.
• That we are OK, don't need God's help
• That we are no worse than the next person, and that
• this is all that matters to God

Question 2: What inside things affect people's behavior?

Possible answers:

• Wrong attitudes
• Wrong thoughts
• Broken relationship with God
• Sin

Question 3: What does it mean to be "born again"?

Possible answers:

• To be born into God's family
• To have a new perspective in life
• To be in relationship with God
• To be born by God's Spirit

Question 4: Why is God's life like a seed?

Possible answers:

• Because God puts His life into our hearts
• Because God's life needs to grow

LESSON THREE - LIVING EVERY DAY WITH GOD

This lesson seeks to establish a Christian's relationship with God as a daily experience, not just a weekly one. Section One deals with the three essential things that every Christian has been given from God. Section Two deals with the putting of our life's roots into God. Section Three deals with the three things we should do every day - talk to God, read the Bible, stand strong. Section Four deals with the secret of the Christian life - the power of God's Spirit on the inside.

Question 1: Why do many people try to earn the three gifts?

Possible answers:

• Because they think they need to do something to be accepted by God
• Because of feelings of unworthiness, guilt, failure
• Because they don't know they are gifts

Question 2: Where do many people put their roots?

Possible answers:

• Themselves
• Money
• Unforgiveness, etc

Question 3: How can we really be "daily Christians"?

Possible answers:

• By spending time with God every day
• By praying every day, etc

Question 4: How does God's grace really work?

Possible answers:

• Through the Holy Spirit
• By asking God for help when we are facing problems
• By giving you power on the inside to do what God wants

LESSON FOUR - DISCOVERING GOD IN CHURCH

The purpose of this lesson is to help a person understand the importance of the Church in his/her life. Section One deals with the fact that the Church is God's people, not just the buildings they meet in. Section Two deals with the description of the Church as a family, as a body, and as a fellowship of support. Section Three deals with why it is important for Christians to meet together regularly. Section Four deals with the essential ingredients of Christian fellowship.

Question 1: Why does the Church mean so much to God?

Possible answers:

• Because the Church is His people
• Because Jesus died for the Church
• Because the Church is made up of all those God has redeemed

Question 2: What is God's goal for our lives?

Possible answers:

• To become more and more like Jesus
• To grow as a Christian
• To allow God's image to shine out

Question 3: What common things make us the Church?

Possible answers:

• We have all believed on the Lord Jesus Christ
• We are part of God's family
• We have been redeemed
• We have God's Spirit living in our hearts

Question 4: What does "love your brother or sister" really mean?

Possible answers:

• To love people in the same way God loved us
• To forgive in the same way God forgives us
• To lay down our lives for others in the same way Jesus did for us

LESSON FIVE - REACHING OUT WITH JESUS

This last lesson is important because it sets the focus of the whole Christian life. The Christian doesn't just hide away from the real world. The Christian is a part of the real world. Section One deals with how God sees the world and people's suffering. Section Two deals with how the Christian sees his/her life in the world. Section Three deals with the work God is doing in people's lives, drawing them to Himself. Section Four deals with how we can reach out, showing God's love to others.

Question 1: What kind of walls do we build around our lives?

Possible answers:

• Walls that block God out
• Walls that block others out
• Walls of hurt, unforgiveness, independence, etc

Question 2: How can you be "in the world but not of it"?

Possible answers:

• By loving God more than what this world has to offer
• By knowing that we have "died" to the world
• and now we "live" to God

Question 3: What kind of work is God doing in others' lives?

Possible answers:

• God is drawing people to Himself
• God is working invisibly on the hearts of people

Question 4: How can we show God's love practically to others?

Possible answers:

• By giving our time, etc
• By listening to them
• By helping others practically: mowing lawns, baking cakes, etc

What is Follow-up?

Follow-up is the first phase of the Christian life, where a new Christian's outlook on life changes and he/she is integrated into church life through the establishing of relationships. These two aspects: outlook and relationships are the two key processes in follow-up.

1. OUTLOOK

Follow-up does not so much involve the teaching of doctrinal truths (this is established over a longer period of time), but the changing of a world-view - a whole new way of looking at things. Up till now, the average person has had a world-view that has either not included God or has seen Him as some vague, sometimes impersonal, force that is beyond understanding. The purpose of follow-up is to help a person to develop for himself/herself a concept of God that is both Bible-based and Christ-defined. Follow-up is, therefore, more than just "teaching" - it is a catalyst time for each person to begin to realign their lives with how God sees them and their world.

The following are key points in a change of world-view:

The importance of Jesus

The understanding of sin and standing before a holy God The need of each person to receive God's gift of grace 2. RELATIONSHIPS It has been said that people will come to a church for many different reasons, but will stay, essentially, because of only two: relationships and responsibility. Follow-up is the first step in the building of these relationships.

There are four important types of relationships that must be built:

Relating to God through Jesus

Relating to oneself

Relating to other Christians

Relating to the world (non-believers)

These two aspects - world-view and relationships - underlie the "Bridges Course" which will form the back-bone of the Break free Bridges Program.

EVERY PERSON IS DIFFERENT

Follow-up is not simply a matter of having a teaching course and taking everyone through it like an assembly line. We must understand that every person is different - they have responded to God for many different reasons. The Bridges Course focuses only on the common ground everyone has - the need for a close relationship with God and an understanding of how God sees each person. As you go through the course, however, special needs of different people may become apparent.

It isn't your responsibility to counsel people in depth, unless this is a specific responsibility that has been delegated directly to you by that person's minister. If there are severe traumas or in-depth problems that need to be helped, then this can be done by referring the person to his/her minister.

The guidelines of your responsibility again come down to two specific areas:

Outlook - the changing of world-view that comes through the Holy Spirit Relationships - the establishing of people into a church network of long-term follow-up.

Concentrate on these two areas, and if situations arise outside these guidelines, then refer to the appropriate minister or to the Break free Resource Centre.

RECOGNIZING THE GRACE OF GOD

One of the most important lessons for any of us is to learn to recognise the work of God in another person's life. God's work in that person's heart did not begin with you. The Holy Spirit has been working for years, bringing that person to the place where they are now. The grace of God may not be obvious, but it is there. Your responsibility as a Bridges Leader is to recognise where each person is and help them in the next stage of growth toward the ultimate goal God has for their lives.

Even Jesus said: "...My Father is always at work to this very day, and I, too, am working...I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does" (John 5:17,19, NIV).

If this was true of Jesus Christ, God's own Son, how much more is it true of you and me?

A PROCESS OF TRANSITION

As a Bridges Leader, you must begin to see things the way each person in your group sees them. It is not a simple matter of a person "responding to God", "going to church", "being born again", "making a decision for Christ", or the like. There are more complex factors at work.

Even though God has been working in each person's heart for a lifetime before they make any decision for or against God, it is still not just a simple matter of making a decision. There are many challenges for a new believer to face - challenges that may prove very difficult to overcome. One of the most important challenges is: meeting new people. Between the time that a person responds in some way and he or she first meets you, that person has gone through a number of stages, meeting new people. Take Joe Bloggs as an example of an average member of Bridges. A week or two ago, Joe made an active response to a challenge made at a meeting - by John Smith, or one of the God's Squad, or another speaker. Joe has made a critical decision - to trust what that speaker is saying and make a response based on that trust. A relationship has formed, if only at a distance, between the speaker and the person responding.

Joe has gone forward in response to the challenge, and has been met by a Counsellor, whose responsibility is to help that person in any decision or response they are making toward God. This counsellor, however, is a total stranger to him. So Joe has to extend the trust he put in the speaker toward a new person, the counsellor.

Now, in becoming part of Bridges, Joe is again making friends with strangers. He is extending a new trust toward you as the Bridges Leader and to all the others in your group. Once the five weeks of Bridges is completed, if all is well, Joe should have been introduced into church life, where again he is meeting new people.

Some people have no trouble making new friends. For others, this is traumatic. As a Bridges Leader, part of your responsibility is to recognise where each individual Bridges member is in this transition and encourage him/her in that transition.

THE SECURITY OF LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS

God has designed human beings in such a way that true change - the growth God desires - can really only happen in the security of long-term relationships. That is God's purpose behind the family on the natural level, to provide security for social and intellectual growth. On the spiritual level, God has also designed the church to act like a family.

Church leadership acts as spiritual parents. St Paul shows the dual role of spiritual father and mother in 1 Thessalonians 2:6-8 and 11-12 (NIV):

"...As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us...For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory."

This is your role too. As Bridges Leader, you are like a spiritual parent to your Bridges members:

Like a mother: The key word is "caring". Part of a mother's role is to provide that immediate care and concern needed by the children - the fixing up of bruised knees and bruised hearts. Notice what follows in the verse above - "we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well". As a Bridges Leader, you are not just sharing information, you are sharing yourself.

Like a father: Here there are three key words: "encouraging, comforting and urging". The father's role is designed by God to be just as close as the mother's, but with a different focus. St Paul said that, as a father, his encouraging, comforting and urging was toward a goal - so that the Christians in Thessalonica would "live lives worthy of God". Within the duration of Bridges, you have two main roles:

The sharing of your life, experience and time with your group members.

The sharing of the vision God has for each member's life. Bridges exists only for a limited time. The place of ultimate growth and nurturing is the church where your Bridges members will grow their spiritual roots. Thus, the purpose of Bridges focuses on preparing each member for this final transition.

FORMING A TEAM

We want to encourage you, as a Bridges Leader, to form a small team to help you in your nurturing role. Remember that the end goal of Bridges is to integrate each member solidly in a local church. To this end, the members of Bridges need to be exposed to other Christians as much as possible, particularly to those Christians who are members of the church they will be a part of. On the other hand, you don't want to overwhelm them altogether. So pick a handful of Christians who are stable in their church life (both male and female is advisable) and who match the age-group and background of your Bridges members. If your group is large, your team can be large. If it is small, it is best to keep the number of older Christians down. The purpose of those in your "team" will be simply to support you in your leadership of your group. Because Bridges is designed to work with interaction, your team can help in this. If the members of your group are shy or don't know the answer to a question, you can ask one of your team. But remember, don't abdicate responsibility of leading Bridges to any member of your team. You are the one who is responsible for your group. Your team is there simply to support you.

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