As soon as I read and reviewed The Trellis and the Vine, I knew the next book I wanted to get my hands on was One To One Bible Reading by David Helm. Since The Trellis and the Vine is about ministry getting back to basics (Christians discipling one another through prayer and Bible reading), it seemed logical to read a book that would help me know just how to do it.

I'm no stranger to one-to-one. I've found it so much more helpful than small groups at times as you really get to know the Word and the person you're meeting with at the same time. In my early days as a Christian, I benefited enormously from having mature Christian women meet with me over the Bible. If they are reading, then I say a huge thank you! Now that I'm not in a small group, I know that meeting with another Christian woman one-to-one would be a wise use of my time with eternal signifiance. I'm still thinking through things and praying for God to direct me to the right person (whether they be a non-Christian, new Christian or established Christian). One thing that has hindered me in getting started is: How do I go about asking someone? (I feel quite nervous just at the thought of it).

This is why One To One Bible Reading was such an encouragement to me. It addresses that very question and I loved the fact that the first step Helm suggests you should do is pray. Too often Christians advise each other to 'just do it' (stealing Nike's slogan for a minute) rather than asking our Father for His wisdom first. Start by praying that God will lead you to someone to whom He is already looking to reveal more of Himself (page 23). Of course, after you've prayed, you will have to bite the bullet and actually ask someone. There's no easy way around it, but Helm does encourage us to consider that although we may be scared of asking someone, that doesn't mean it is a scary thing for them to consider. The people who invited me to meet with them one-to-one may have been nervous about asking me, I don't know, but I was delighted they asked.

Another thing I really liked about this book is its flexibility. It doesn't give a 'right way' to do one-to-one, but offers a lot of suggestions. Some of these include the advantages and disadvantages of preparing a study and reading the passage before the meeting compared with just turning up and 'winging it' (like just reading together with no set plan or questions other than asking each other, "Did anything stand out?" etc). The choice is yours.

He also suggests that one-to-one does not have to be an open-ended commitment. It seems silly now, but this was a revelation to me at the time. You could meet with someone for six weeks or a few months and then meet with someone else. One thing he does recommend though is arranging a time for the next meeting after you've had your current one.

Part II: Frameworks and Ideas contains everything you need in regards of sample questions and passages to read depending on who you're meeting with (i.e. if you're meeting with a non-Christian, you may want to look at Mark's gospel, or if you're meeting with someone who is suffering, you may want to read Job or some Psalms). It looks at two well-known Bible reading methods - COMA (Context Observation Meaning Application) which I've used, and the Swedish method which was new to me. I skimmed over this section a bit, but I expect I will examine it more closely when I actually start meeting with someone.

It's rare to find a book with so much encouragement and helpful information contained in just 103 pages. It has given me much more confidence in pursuing meeting one-to-one another Christian. I highly recommend this book for every established Christian. (Posted on 18/05/12)

Have you ever tried to do a Bible study with a friend, co-worker, spouse, or someone new to the faith and it’s either stopped short or simply fell apart? Well, you are in good company. When it comes to personal study of the Scriptures and small group Bible study most Christians have good intentions matched with poor execution. Devotions and Bible study are an integral part of the everyday Christian life, but few people sit down and show us how. There isn’t one right way to do Bible study. It’s a dynamic pursuit but it still requires some guidance. What does a Bible study look like? What are the benefits? How do I get started? Simple questions that have simple answers, if you know where to look or who to ask.

Enter, One to One Bible Reading by David Helm. In this small book Helm offers extremely practical reasons why and ways to study the Bible with others. Helm begins the book with a keen observation of what western Christianity has deemed spiritual growth.

"For generations we have been conditioned to think of spiritual growth mainly in terms of an event to go to, a program to register for, or a class to take. The church often puts its creative energy into initiating events, programs, and classes specially designed to win people to Christ and help them grow in the faith. As successful as some of these plans have been, we might still be missing out on something more dynamic-something more straightforward and right for this day and age-that returns gospel growth to the everyday fabric of personal relationship, rather than relying on church-run programs." (p.8-9)

So, what is his solution, what is one to one Bible reading? It’s simply reading the Bible with someone, over a period of time, and discussing what you’re reading. It sounds simple. Why do we need a book to tell us how to do that? Like I pointed out before, how many times have you tried and lost focus or direction?

Reading the Bible one to one allows you to learn from the text but also opens up opportunities for salvation, sanctification, training, and relationships. The first part of Helm’s book addresses foundational aspects. It helps you get started, figure out who might benefit from this (everyone), what a meeting might look like, and how to prepare.

The second part of the book takes you into the framework and ideas behind reading one to one. It lays out various methods, like the Swedish & COMA methods, it points out books that will be helpful to read in situations, and it provides help reading different Biblical genres. The appendices provide a wealth of outlines & guides to get you started on this path. This is a gem of a resource for any Christian, at any level, in any calling.

-DMH (Posted on 15/05/12)

As indicated by the subtitle of the book (a simple guide for every Christian), this work is intended to guide any Christian into reading the Bible with another person. I think it achieves this aim very succesfully.

One-to-One Bible Reading is short: barely 100 (small-sized) pages. Even so, it's divided into two broad sections and 11 chapters, with two appendices being required to push it over the 100 page mark. It's an easy read!

The author, David Helm, rightly points out an obvious reality: there's good reason to read the Bible one-to-one with all kinds of people. It's good for those not-yet-Christian: God's word can convert them. It's good for newer Christians: God's word can effect on-going transformation. It's good for established Christians: God's word equips them for further minsitry. And in all these possibible scenarios, one-to-one reading provides what so many people are crying out for - relationship.

After arguing briefly the benefits of regular one-to-one Bible reading, Helm provides a substantial amount of practical advice and tips. Chapter headings give a feel for the 'users' guide' feel for much of the book: 'How do I get started?', 'What will a typical meeting look like?', 'Preparation', Help with reading different biblical genres', etc.

It's all great material, and I am sure it will be immensely helpful to anyone, but particularly those embarking on such Bible reading for the first time. Helm want to show how easy it is to pick up the Bible and read it with someone. How good it is - Christians are probably convinced already. But how easy it is? I suspect that perceived difficulty is a major reason more Christians don't read the Bible together. Helm even provides two simple fameworks for Bible reading to show that we should not be scared off from starting.

I have two suggestions for improvement. One would make the book shorter, the other would make it longer.

Firstly, shorter. Appendix 2 is a series of pages ready to be copied and full of useful questions for the different types of biblical writing (The Gospels and Acts, Old Testament narrative, and so on). This material is reproduced from Chapter 10, 'Help with reading different biblical genres', with formatting added. I can't see why chapter 10 was not itself formatted as ready-to-copy. It seemed a waste of space.

Secondly, longer. I would like to see an expansion of Chapter 2, 'Why read one-to-one?' Chapter 2 is, it appears, the theological and pastoral rationale for one-to-one reading. It checks if the reader is convinced of the value of such a ministry. I would like the chapter to probe a little more boldly. For example, we need to ask if we actually trust the power of God's word to transform. Or do we, as modern Christians, behave in a way that suggests there are other 'powers' that equip God's people for every good work?

These suggestions are quite minor. I hope you buy and use this book, and that it encourages plenty more people to read the Bible with a friend, who will then read the Bible with a friend, who will ...

(Same review posted here: http://www.littlepeople.id.au/2012/05/review-one-to-one-bible-reading/) (Posted on 30/04/12)

David Helm, One to one Bible reading – a simple guide for every Christian, (Matthias Media, 2011). Pp1-103 including resource guides and sheets for copying.

Jesus got personal with me through reading the Bible. My dad (a pastor) gave me a Bible one Christmas. I thought ‘what a joke, another one of dad’s religious kicks’. However I was bored (sweating out a mindless factory job in between the HSC and uni) and lonely (my girlfriend had dumped me because I was not a Christian*). So I read it right through over a few months. It wasn’t long after that before my faith was first hand instead of second hand.

And I kept reading the Bible. Uni studies were pushed aside for late night sessions reading through the Bible at depth and making my own notes on book after book. And as the years passed it’s been a regular habit to let no day pass without reading some part of Scripture.

My story encourages me that one of the best things we can do with non-Christians is to get them reading the Bible. Of course, the same applies to Christians at any level of maturity. Reading the Bible puts us in touch with God and moves us along the path to Christ-likeness and usefulness to God. All this makes sense if we recall what the Bible says about itself. This book claims to be all God-inspired and like a sharp sword that cuts through everything and is useful to make people wise for salvation and to help them be fully ready for all that God has in mind (Heb 4:12; 2 Tim 3:15-16).

Great! But not everyone is going to pick up and Bible and start reading and keep reading. This is especially unlikely for a non-Christian. How can we encourage and help people read the Bible?

This book is a simple ‘how to’ on one to one Bible reading with non-Christians or fellow believers. Part 1 (seven chapters) deals with some helpful start-up issues of how to set up a one to one Bible reading relationship and what it can look like. This is useful material and some people will find it enough to get them moving. Part 11 gets down to technicalities with quite specific advice on just how to approach and use the Bible one-on one.

The book is simplicity plus (but not simplistic). The two suggested Bible reading methods (Swedish and COMA) are easily grasped and should be transferable to almost any new Bible reader. Many will find the chapter on eight weeks through Mark’s Gospel a great launching pad.

This book could be used in a training programme for vine workers or just picked up and used individually. Many will find that it gives them the confidence to start out on a one to one Bible ministry and to stimulate them to work out their own approach.

(David Burke was Director of Christian Education for the NSW Presbyterian Church for many years and is now a teacher at the Presbyterian Theological Centre.)


* The good news is that I got the girlfriend back after I became a Christian and we celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary this year.
(Posted on 22/02/12)

As a committed Christian, I read the Bible regularly. Most days. I'm not going to claim to read it every day without fail because I am sinful and I fail. I try to read the Bible by myself and then on weekdays I read the Bible with our children in the morning. On weekends we read a different passage as a family. We also hear God's word read out at Church.

Although I read the Bible a lot I confess that I don't always know what to "do" with it other than read it aloud. I know that we need to apply God's word to our lives, but I sometimes struggle with how to encourage my children in this as we read the Bible, so I was excited when I learnt that Matthias Media were offering free copies of some of their books to bloggers (or those who can review books in their Church) in exchange for a review. I requested a copy of One To One Bible Reading by David Helm.

It's hard to know whether to call One To One Bible Reading a book, or a booklet. The text covers less than seventy pages (plus extensive appendicies) and is set out in brief, easy to read chapters. Part of the book's brevity is because the author truly believes that the Bible is accessible, and doesn't need any special talents, study or extensive preparation to read. It is a book and can be read like a book, albeit the most important and valuable book.

David Helm takes the seemingly-daunting task of reading the Bible with someone you know, and makes it seem easy. Because, really, it should be easy. Not every part of the Bible is simple to read and understand, but reading the Bible, and chatting with someone else about what the passage is saying, that's not hard.

I found the book encouraging. It has given me some simple tools to use with my children when reading the Bible, which will (hopefully) enrich our Bible reading time. It has also encouraged me to consider other adults in my life who I could read the Bible with.

Even if you a not a "reader", I encourage you to take a look at this accessible and inexpensive book. It won't take long to read and will hopefully encourage to you read the Bible more, especially with other people in your life. (Posted on 18/01/12)

This little book is simple, straightforward, practical and very refreshing. David Helm wants to put the reading of the Bible right at the heart of personal evangelism and it's refreshing to see a tool for evangelism that is so clearly and unashamedly Bible based. Here's part of a little personal incident that Helm recounts concerning an unsaved friend : "After a year I asked him if he had any interest in reading the Bible one-to-one...For the next three months we read the Gospel of Mark together in a corner of a local Barnes and Noble coffee shop near his office. He always carried his Bible in a plain envelope - I assume to avoid the embarassment of being seen with a Bible...At first it was hard to keep the discussion on the text before us...over time the nature of his questions began to change...And then, one week it all just occurred naturally. He gave his life to Christ...What made the difference in his life?...It was the power of the Holy Spirit uniting this man's heart to the truth of the gospel found in God's word, in the context of a simple relationship in which we gave ourselves to reading one-to-one."

In Part I of the book, David Helm outlines the 'What, why and how', explaining the principle ehid the strategy and some helpful advice about how to get started. Part II provides two Bible reading systems, suggestions of Bible books that would be appropriate in different situations and a plan for reading one-to-one through Mark in eight weeks. At the back of the book, as well as some recommended one-to-one Bible reading resources (all from Matthias Media, of course), Helm helpfully supplies 20 pages of Bible reading outlines and questions which can be photocopied or downloaded from the Matthias website to help you use some of the suggestions and ideas covered in the book.

I strongly recommend this book. It would make a great tool either for an individual wanting to do personal evangelism or for a church to use to mobilise and equip their members in getting into one to one work. I plan to use it myself in the next few weeks as I meet with a young Christian who needs feeding and encouraging.

For the purpose of review, I received a complimentary copy of the book from the Publishers. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. (Posted on 20/12/11)

David Helm's “One-to-One Bible Reading is one of those books that seems to pop up absolutely everywhere, and thus carries with it a certain expectation. It lived up to it's reputation. Helm's book is by no means groundbreaking, revolutionary or abstract; it refers particularly to two well-established conventions in bible reading (The Swedish Method and COMA), and builds up a largely practical guide tackling the issues of what one-to-one bible reading is, what it looks like in practice, what the benefits are, and how to get started.

The book focuses mainly on 3 broad categories of people with whom the reader may want to engage biblically; the interested/open Non-Christian, the new Christian, and the mature Christian (specifically one who is looking to serve). These are broad categories, and the examples given seem a little stereotypical and simple to start with. One one hand, this is certainly effective in highlighting that oftentimes, individual specifics have a much greater influence on things such as what an individual meeting will look like, rather than the need to undergo a one-to-one bible-based ministry.

The writing style is extremely clear; no theological jargon, basic syntax. At times this can be hard to connect with; it seems like there is a bit of distance between author and reader, but the simple style, short (and punchy) sentences and straightforward, unassuming tone are things that work greatly in its favour.

One of the things that stands out is that the book never isolates the bible reading to something you are merely doing FOR someone else. The collaborative nature is emphasised; “one-to-one reading partnership,” “the perfect idea for you and ....,” and the particularly helpful comment“Your reading partner will not be challenged or helped if you talk at them rather than with them,” are examples of this. There is always a danger of focusing only on what THEY can get out of it, but as soon as you start setting an agenda for what the other person must learn or how they should grown, you are trying to take things away from God, and failing to acknowledge that the Spirit is speaking to you through the same passage. The focus on the shared nature of one-to-one reading ensures that this trap is much harder to fall into.

The theological basis for bible reading as a pair is considered, and all through are snippets both of biblical reference, and example from the author's own experience. These examples are helpful in encouraging the reader, and making the theory (already very practical in its orientation) applicable to real-life scenarios.

I found that by the end of the book I was significantly more comfortable with the idea of prayerfully going about the process of engaging with someone (for mutual benefit!); prior to that the idea had seemed like a good idea, but something I would not really connect with. There is no denying that this book is all about a concept that is simple at its heart, and which has that very simplicity as its main strength.

The second half of the book is even more practical than the first, and both this section of the book and the index at the end provide definitive, clear methods for conducting a meeting, questions to think about and ways to prepare.

Helm's book is not beyond a High-School audience, yet remains immensely relevant to any Christian at any stage of life or faith. As Helm says, every Christian is called not only to learn God's word, but also to share the gospel; this book codifies an essentially basic way to combine the two, and is very successful in removing the apprehension that many may have about reading the bible outside of corporate worship or private/home spheres.

Highly recommended. (Posted on 21/10/11)

In One to One Bible Reading, David Helm aims to equip Christians to fruitfully read the bible with another Christian or with an interested non-Christian.

It is quite a short book- the body of the book is less than 80 pages long so could be read in a sitting or two by most people. It is enough to get you started at successfully reading the bible with someone without getting unnecessarily bogged down in theory.

I appreciated the encouragement that any Christian is capable of doing this and the good advice on how to make time reading the bible with someone else fruitful. The advice takes the form of practical tips like how not to dominate the discussion or how to prepare for a meeting and of outlines for how to structure a study. They provide broad frameworks for approaching passages as well as questions that might be helpful in understanding each of the different biblical genres. I haven’t used the frameworks they suggest extensively in a one to one bible reading setting however they look solid and helpful. There is some useful photocopyable worksheets in the back of the book for one of the frameworks.

Even if reading the bible with one other person is not the approach you choose to take, there is still things to learn from this book. The advice about how to work through a biblical text is solid and would be useful in any form of group or personal bible study. I think I might start using some of the questions in my personal bible study.

I can attest that the ideas in this book work. The ministry I help lead has been encouraging one to one bible reading for some time. Earlier this year over the course of a few months I got together with someone to read some of the Old Testament minor prophets. I found that I learned a lot more by reading and discussing with someone else than I did by just reading on my own. Others in our ministry have been involved in fruitful bible reading partnerships with non-Christians. I’m really glad that the author has put together this book as it will make training more people to read the bible with others so much easier.

I will definitely be recommending that our ministry use this book. I’d likewise recommend it to any Christian who is interested in discipline other Christians or introducing non-Christian friends to what the bible has to say.
(Posted on 23/08/11)

We're always grateful when readers point out typos or mistakes in our resources so that we can fix them up in the second printing. Some eagle-eyed readers of "One-to-One Bible Reading" have pointed out a gaffe on page 61 that is worth saying something about briefly. A sentence on that page reads: "The epistles are first- and second-century letters, all written in Greek".

For those who know about these things, this sounds like a pretty liberal view of the composition of Scripture--suggesting that some of the New Testament epistles weren't written until the second century (i.e. after the lifetime of the apostles). Just to reassure you that we haven't started to go wobbly, this is not the view of David Helm (the author) nor of our editors here at Matthias Media. We're all convinced that the epistles were written in the first century!

How the 'second-century' reference got there in the first place, we're not entirely sure. Dave Helm thinks it might have been a slip of his pen due to the academic context at the University of Chicago in which he ministers. And how the phrase got all the way through our editorial process without someone noticing it, I also cannot explain. (Well, I can. We messed up!)

Needless to say, we will fix this in our second printing.

Tony Payne
Publishing Director (Posted on 21/06/11)