Zúme and Small Groups

[Daycee]

Well written Jaylen, your Gospel explanation is especially useful in a North American context. I will be interested to hear your observations about Gospel summaries when you get to reading “The 3D Gospel” (one of my favourites!)

[Jaylen]

I think Zume is very straightforward and they have obviously put a focus on making it possible for anyone (either with a lot of ministry experience or a little) to be able to lead these studies effectively. It is nothing more than a platform, and platforms are very important for us because they help our brains track things in the most effective way possible. So then, gospel-sharing platforms would be the most important of them all!

I would summarize the gospel in a similar way that the Romans Road does:
In the beginning of time, God created all things- from the stars to the trees, to you and me. Since He is perfectly good, all things were perfectly good, including Adam and Eve who were the first people ever made. But, God gave them free will, because if they didn’t have it, they could never choose to love God and therefore wouldn’t be made in His image. In this free will, Adam and Eve sinned by doing something that God told them not to, this moment introduced something that me and you struggle with to this day; Sin. Sin brings death, pain, and sorrow; it is disobedience to God and his instructions, and it is a choice we all know is wrong yet we still do it. Yet the story does not end there, God knew we needed to be rescued so he sent his one and only Son Jesus to earth so that he could die on our behalf, and rise again! Taking on all the sins of the world so that we could be free from its ultimate punishment. The only condition for us to receive that freedom is putting our faith in Jesus Christ and acting out of the belief that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead and defeat death and sin.
In the middle of all that, God knows we won’t be perfect even after we believe in him, so he promises to always forgive us if we repent and he also promises to give us the strength to do what is right. God is a cool guy!

[Taliya]

Zume differs from other bible studies I’ve seen in the way that it is a lot more focused on emphasizing “what can we do now about this to share it with others?” As opposed to in North American bible studies we focus a lot more on “what does this mean for me in my life?” So I like that there is more emphasis on obeying the word and sharing. I think this will be a great tool in the field and I’m very excited to use it! It has been translated into the language that we would use on the field but I’d also like to see this is Japanese.

Summarized gospel with the Romans Road: We are all sinners and fall short of God’s glorious standard and intended design (Romans 3:23). But God loved us so much and wanted to restore our relationship with Him that he sent His Son, Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (Romans 5:8). The penalty of sin is death, a life without relationship with God is a life without purpose and void of the goodness He gives; but there is a free gift of eternal life and closeness with God in this life through the grace of Jesus (Romans 6:23). Now there is no condemnation for those in Christ! Even though we live in a broken world we are forgiven of our sins and God sees us through the lens of redemption that Christ bought for us; we can experience nearness with God amidst this broken world (Romans 8:1). And finally, if you would like this to be your reality, if you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved! (Romans 10:9).