Dave and Brenda Steen are long time members at Zion. Dave, who has served Zion’s Consistory, agreed to talk about what God was doing through Christianity eXplored.

This interview originally ran in the January 2013 issue of Zion’s Chronicles.

Zion Chronicles: What is Christianity eXplored? When people visit, what should they expect?

Dave Steen: Christianity eXplored takes a person through the Gospel of Mark. It is designed to give you a glimpse of who Jesus is and why it is important He came to earth for each of us. Participants get as involved as they are comfortable. Nobody has to sing or pray, read, or even comment if they aren’t comfortable doing any of those. You can sit and listen the whole time if that is your comfort zone. It is meant to be a relaxed atmosphere where you feel free to ask questions about Jesus and being a Christian.

ZC: How did you first get interested in Christianity eXplored and evangelism?

DS: My involvement in Christianity eXplored is a result of that little idea in the back of your head that won’t go away. I think it has been the Holy Spirit urging me to act upon teachings in the Bible. We are taught to go out into the world and spread the gospel to others. From conversations with other people that have participated in similar programs like CE I know there can be large impacts on people in the community. I started looking around and asking myself, “What is Garner doing to reach out to those unchurched, or people that drifted away from church and Jesus?” So rather than wondering when “somebody” was going to do something, I felt that urge to be the person doing that something.

ZC: How is CE going to be used at Zion? How can people get involved?

DS: I will be leading CE on Wednesday evenings as the Adult Bible Study during the New Life activities. It is designed so if you miss a night or two you can come back and catch up quickly. You can be a brand new Christian or lifelong Christian and gain some new knowledge or insight. Long term, I hope people see the value of the program and will buy in to the idea of taking it to the Garner community as an outreach. To make that happen we need people willing to be discussion leaders in small groups. Going through the program yourself helps you see how easy that can be done.

ZC: What have you enjoyed most about CE? What are its greatest strengths?

DS: The best thing about CE is it is up to date and easy to understand. It has reinforced my beliefs and my understanding of parts of the Gospel. A strength is the mix of media to help present the information: we read Scripture, watch DVD clips, and take time to discuss among the members.

ZC: Where can people go to find out more?

DS: We meet each Wednesday evening about 6:10 in the Friendship room right after the New Life meal. It will probably take us 8 to 10 weeks to complete the material. It depends on how much discussion happens each evening!

Join us on Wednesday nights! Find more at Christianity eXplored, CE Ministries, or zionerchurch.com/outreach!