Around 600 people from some 60 local churches gathered at All Souls Church, for the London Uncover training day on November 16.
The Saturday was structured around four talks by Becky Manley Pippert — previously best-known for Out of the Saltshaker, her book on personal evangelism. She first wrote studies from Luke’s Gospel for her own student friends and has developed them over the years until publication in the UK as Uncover, now available to the wider church.
Motivation and mandate
Her first talk focused on our motivation for witness. Becky reminded us of the freedom found in knowing we are hopelessly inadequate, but placing confidence in God’s ability as he invites us to share in the work he has started in people’s hearts. We warmed to Becky’s gripping stories.
The second talk explored our mandate for witness, opening with a challenge against complacency about evangelism in our churches because all our friends are Christians. We identified fears hindering our witness and saw that they mirrored the pattern Becky and her husband Dick have seen in conferences on all six continents. Reassuringly, Becky dissuaded us from stepping ahead of the Holy Spirit by pushing friends to become Christians when they are not ready (rather than because they have questions or other barriers).
The sessions were interspersed with video clips and interviews about the Uncover materials in the delegates’ packs — a pocket-size Luke’s Gospel and six seeker Bible studies. It was encouraging to hear how God has used these to see more students turning to Christ recently than for many years.
Conversation starters
The afternoon got more practical, with a third session on questions we might ask to naturally lead ordinary conversations onto faith. When we had a go ourselves, there was no shortage of helpful questions small groups had come up with.
The final session explored how to lead a seeker Bible study. In the UK, Uncover is most commonly being used in one-to-one settings, sometimes as follow-up to a proclamation event or leading into small group courses. Delegates asked how we might take Uncover back to our churches — we were encouraged to invite not-yet-Christian friends to look at Luke’s Gospel with us, and then expect church members and leaders to become interested as they hear our stories.
