The LDS Challenge

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also called the LDS or Mormon Church, is one of the fastest growing religions in America. The Sacramento area now represents the fastest region for growth for the Mormon church in the United States. Some people call it a cult; others call it a restored Church. It represents one of the greatest challenges to the evangelistic and missionary efforts of the Christian church in the 21st century.

Building Bridges

There is no lack of documentation on the differences between Mormonism and historic Christianity, but such material often fails to address the human element and the needs and struggles of individual Mormon people.

Our staff utilizes an entirely different approach called Bridges: Helping Mormons Discover God’s Grace. This presentation includes video segments, guided instruction, and workbook study that incorporate colorful commentary, current data, and insightful interviews with people who live day by day with members of the LDS community. Through this program, Bridges provides an honest and sensitive look at LDS culture, social structure, religious terminology, and values. Bridges equips biblical Christians to better understand the culture of the Latter-day Saints, to build real connections with them, and to share with gentleness and respect our own heartfelt testimony concerning the Good News of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15).

Bridges addresses questions like these:

How can Christians understand Mormon culture and what can we affirm in it?
What are the fundamentals of LDS history, theology, doctrine and teachings?
How can we learn to speak their special language of experience and testimony?
What are the Do’s and Don’ts of successful evangelism to Mormons?
What are the invisible stumbling blocks Christians place before Mormons?
How can we help former Mormons feel welcomed and loved in our churches?

Bridges is designed for Christians anywhere who want to learn a fresh approach to evangelism, including pastors, lay ministers, church members, youth workers, campus leaders, seminaries and schools, and parachurch ministries.

Sample Bridges

You can preview the Bridges video by clicking here. If you do not have Macromedia Flash Player, you will be prompted to install it.

Or you can contact our office to request a sample on CD or the Bridges introductory brochure by email.

Hosting a Bridges Seminar

Bridges can be presented in a variety of formats to meet the needs of your church.

Saturday options

• 3-hour program. This option involves a seminar on a Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to noon. A seminar donation given by participants of $29 for individuals and $55 for a couple includes a continental breakfast, and a seminar workbook.

• Day-long program. This option involves presenting the complete series of five modules from Bridges. This can be presented from 9:00 a.m. until noon for a lunch break, returning at 1:00 and concluding at 3:00 p.m. A seminar donation provided by participants of $55 for individuals oar $95 for couples includes the seminar workbook.

Wednesday evenings option

• Some churches have chosen to present a few or all of the Bridges modules over successive Wednesday evening services. This option might be considered by churches near our offices in Virginia City, NV, or Salt Lake City, Utah, but travel costs would prohibit such a format for churches outside of these areas.

Sunday morning options

Our missionary staff can present aspects of the unique Bridges approach within a sermon on Sunday morning, or to small groups in Bible study during Sunday school.

Other scheduling considerations

Churches can also choose to make a donation to this ministry in lieu of donations offered by seminar attendees. Churches will also be asked to assist Neighboring Faiths Project with travel expenses associated with presentations.

Grounded: Relating to Your Mormon Friends in Truth and Love

Grounded is a new training program for youth ministries. It is an exciting, fast-paced program which explores ways Christian youth can have honest friendships with Latter-day Saints while maintaining the integrity of their own beliefs and effectively sharing their faith in Jesus Christ. The five-week curriculum invites young viewers to dig deeper into their faith and get grounded in Jesus Christ. The program includes a movie documentary on DVD filled with interviews with Christian and Latter-day Saint teens, a student workbook with daily faith-promoting activities, and an extensive leader’s guide full of additional resources on the history and theology of the Mormon Church and helpful tips on sharing the gospel.

Grounded covers the following topics:

1. Truth – Where do we find truth? How do we sort out different truth claims the world offers up? How do LDS truth claims differ from those of a traditional Christian.

2. Differences – Where and when did the LDS Church start? What are some key differences between the worldviews of Latter-day Saints and traditional Christian young people?

3. Friendship – How do friendships between traditional Christian teenagers and Latter-day Saints work? How can Christian teens stay grounded in their faith and open to the issues that deeply concern their LDS friends?

4. Answers – What are some of the answers to the difficult questions our LDS friends may raise? How can we avoid the trap of simply arguing Bible verses with our LDS friends?

5. Sharing – What are effective ways to share the gospel with our LDS friends? How can we use the language of LDS testimony to tell about the relationship with Jesus Christ and the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

The Grounded training program can be purchased through our ministry and it costs $90 plus shipping. This price includes the DVD, the Leader's Guide, and one Student Workbook. Additional workbooks can be purchased for $5 each.

You can preview Grounded by clicking these links:

Overview of Grounded

Sample of Session

or you can request a preview CD by sending me an email or calling me at (801) 728-0334.

John W. Morehead
Neighboring Faiths Project
http://www.neighboringfaiths.org
http://johnwmorehead.blogspot.com