When a Bible course was organised in the North Hampshire Downs benefice, vicar Matt Bianchi expected 30 to 40 people to attend, but each week around 130 people have participated either in church or following the resources at home. The 12 churches across the benefice were invited to this 8-week course, which is held at All Saints in Odiham.
Revd Matt said, “Some of our tables are specific churches, some are a mix of the churches and there’s a real excitement and enthusiasm.
“As part of the Bible course you get daily readings. So, each day you read a chapter or two of the Bible. I was talking to one person who said ‘I started reading Exodus, and I just didn’t stop. I just wanted to read more.’ That’s what this is about. It’s not just to do a lovely course, but to get people excited for God’s Word.”
The church decided to do the Bible Society’s Bible Course after hearing about the Quiet Revival and seeing new people wanting to explore their faith.
The course has been attended by people who have been coming to the church for decades and others who are new to faith, including Steve Norgate who became a Christian last year, and has joined the course with his wife Vicky.
He said, “I’ve been living around here for 12 years. I never went into the church, so I’ve been trying to get involved and the community here is amazing. We started doing the Bible course because I want to talk about the Bible with other people rather than just reading it myself. Being able to converse with people around the table and hearing everyone else’s opinions and understandings, specifically when it comes to the Old Testament, for me is extremely important. It’s opened more understanding of the teachings and the Bible as a whole.”
Vicky added, “This course has helped me with reading the Bible because it’s in small sections. I feel more confident in reading it and my faith is growing more.”
The course involves a video and round table discussions to chat through questions and share ideas.
Revd Matt added, “It’s amazing to hear the questions that have come from people that they might feel a bit worried to ask in church. Questions such as what do we make of the genocide? what do we make of suffering? what do we make of being made in the image of God who’s perfect and yet we’re so horribly messed up? All these great questions have been flowing out.”
Home groups have stopped for the duration of the course to try to encourage as many people as possible to engage in the course. It’s also helped unite the benefice.
Juliet Wauchope has joined the course from St Stephen’s in Up Nateley and Camilla Douglas is from St Mary’s in Mapledurwell.
Camilla said, “Although I’ve read the Bible, it’s quite difficult to link it all up. There are readings that you like going to and are familiar with, but to learn about how it all fits together as a whole, has been incredibly good and helpful. It’s one of the best things we’ve done as a benefice. It makes you want to read more and reignited a love of the Bible.”
Juliet added, “I find the Old Testament quite difficult, but we went through the important parts to understand the history and the themes. I didn’t realise that they’re not chronological, so the course has helped it make more sense. Now every time I open the Bible, I read another chapter or two, because I want to know what happens next!”
Revd Matt says he’s seen people of all ages and all congregations growing in faith, wanting to read their Bibles more, and heard stories of people engaging with God through scripture. “I want people not to be scared, but confident and comfortable in opening the Bible, to be challenged to pick up a Book they’ve not read before and see what God might present. I’d love to see new home groups, and new groups of people gathering to read the Bible, to be inspired and to grow within our church, not just in a simple cerebral understanding of the Bible, but in a deeper relationship with God.”
John and Judith Moule have joined the course from Sherfield on Loddon. John said, “It’s been good to get people together in groups and ask questions and challenge certain things. Questions such as ‘if God is compassionate, why is there so much violence in the Old Testament?’ It helps in our understanding of who Jesus was and get a more in-depth understanding.”
Judith added, “Rather than seeing the Bible as quite a daunting book to read, it’s broken it up into bite-sized pieces that now start to make more sense. It’s changed the way I look at the Bible. I think the biggest takeaway is that it’s not as scary as it appears. I think it’s amazing and relevant for today’s world.”
The church is running an Alpha Course alongside the Bible Course. All Saints will then relaunch home groups after the course, to encourage more people to connect with them.
Children and Youth Pastor Paul Dadd said, “I think the content of the course is very good, but as much as that, I think just sitting around a table with people of different ages and stages of life and just sharing the wisdom is great. There’s a lot of wisdom in the room and we’re learning from each other.”
Revd Matt concluded, “I feel in our benefice like we’re on the edge of something quite exciting and this course has captured people beyond anything we were expecting. We’re seeing a couple of new services and we’re seeing a new home group or two forming. We’re seeing our Alphas being quite well subscribed to, and new people coming into church who are just rocking up and being part of it. We’re seeing all these new shoots across all the 12 churches. It’s amazing to see God at work and growing faith across all ages and congregations here in North Hampshire.”
