Running Hope Explored one-to-one

We interviewed Daisy Addington, Communications Coordinator at Christianity Explored Ministries who has run Hope Explored one-to-one.

What context are you serving in?

I attend a local church in South West London but work full-time for Christianity Explored Ministries. However none of my family are Christians, so to me that is a big mission field.

Why did you decide to run Hope Explored as a one-to-one?

I decided to run Hope Explored as a 1-1 with a family member who has shown interest before in Christianity. This family member is older than me and so it was important to figure out how the dynamic would work, ensuring that it wasn’t too formal and not just me asking the questions.

Trusting that God is the person who opens their eyes and I have just to faithfully proclaim Christ crucified each time we meet was really liberating.

What are the pros and cons of running a course as a one-to-one?

The series films created great conversations and having the Leader’s Guide alongside me was really helpful, it meant that I could keep the conversation on track without always asking direct questions but, instead, gently nudging the conversation in the direction I wanted it to go. That can be quite hard if people want to go off on a lot of tangents but in this context it is okay to do that.

It’s not a downside as such, but the first time we met I was very nervous as to how the conversation would go. I didn’t know how opposed my family member would be to the gospel but actually, in God’s sovereignty, it was a really joyful experience.

Tips for running Hope Explored as a one-to-one:

1. Pray: For me, before each session I made sure I had time to pray. It can be really nerve-racking opening up the Bible with someone who knows you so well and yet doesn’t understand the biggest aspect of your life.
2. Know that you don’t have to say everything: I found that I wanted to just spill out every detail of the Bible to my family member because I so desperately wanted them to believe, but trusting that God is the person who opens their eyes and my role is just to faithfully proclaim Christ crucified each time we meet was really liberating. That is the great thing about Hope Explored. Each session, if you watch the films, you can be comforted in the knowledge that your guest has heard the gospel preached clearly and it doesn’t matter as much if you don’t know all the answers or stumble over your words.
3. Listen to what they have to say: Doing the series in this context worked because it wasn’t just me talking all the time. I had to control my tongue — but allowing my family member to talk through what they thought not only made them feel valued but allowed me to understand their worldview more.