church groups Testimonials

Fifteen weeks ago, I had good intentions about spending time with God daily.

But there seemed to be distractions that I allowed to interrupt and interfere. I thought about the Lord all the time, but many days I was Š—“too busyŠ— to stop and listen to Him speak to me. I was not totally yielded to God each day, and I still endeavored to go about my day on my own, assuming God would be there if I needed Him. Many times I did not want to Š—“botherŠ— Him with the minutiae of my life.

Today I find myself desiring and making the effort to not do anything without seeking God first. My first thought each day is toward God, and I now know there is no excuse to go through a day without Him, without reading His Word and praying. I have a renewed excitement about my time with the Lord each day. ONE on ONE with GOD has given me direction and accountability in my daily encounter with my Creator God. It is an awesome study!

Bill J.

Only the Lord knows what I was like fifteen weeks ago, but I would say that I had a desire to know Him better.

I’ve known for a while that the disciplines are importantŠ—”not as an end but as a means of having our relationship grow deeper. God wanted this time to be used in that capacity. He knew how to speak to me through these experiences, and He placed in my heart willingness and eagerness to participate. He knew what was ahead and what would take place by His Spirit.

God accomplished His purposes in my life through ONE on ONE with GOD, as He always does when we seek after Him. I do know Him better and have a desire to not only increase my commitment to Him but also to just enjoy Him more. He has taught me how important it is to meditate on what He offers. The head-to-heart is the only real way. I will know Him and His plans for my life. I think I am more desirous of yielding because I have seen firsthand what happens and doesn’t happen when I do. I know more about Him, and I want to share what I’ve learned more than ever before. I am grateful that I’m going to be given the opportunity to do that. God finds me exactly like He knew all along. Praise be to Him!

Bill H.

My Bible reading time was hit-or-miss.

I had a strong desire to have a consistent quiet time with God, but with a very hectic schedule and attention deficit disorder, I found it very difficult to do this. Having a long commute in the morning to work did not help the situation. I was excited to hear about ONE on ONE with GOD and felt that finally I would have the right tools to succeed.

After finishing ONE on ONE, I now meet with God every morning. I can’t imagine not starting the day with Him. It took a few weeks to find a consistent time as well. But now I meet God by the fireplace every weekday at 6:00 a.m., at 8:00 a.m. on Saturdays, and at 7:00 a.m. on Sundays. I am so glad ONE on ONE came into my life, and I look forward to leading my first group!

R.S.

I was out of balance in my prayer life, still struggling with self.

I never considered myself a disciple. But after completing ONE on ONE with GOD, I know God more deeply. My prayer life is more balanced. I remember to adore and thank Him. My focus on God is great, and I find it easier to yield to the Holy Spirit. I realize now that I am a disciple and that I can disciple others. This class has given me some wonderful tools to grow spiritually. My prayer is that in 16 Î_ years the world will be full of disciples!

Michelle C.

When I started ONE on ONE with GOD, I wanted to be more dedicated and disciplined.

I knew that I wasn’t spending enough time in God’s Word and praying. I think I felt more like I just wasn’t being as good a Christian as I could be.

After finishing ONE on ONE, I am definitely spending more time with the Lord and learning to yield to Him in all aspects of my Christian walk. I’m seeing more now that it’s not just a matter of being a better Christian but of how much I can show God that I love and adore Him for the wonderful gift of salvation He has given me. I want to use what He has given me to serve Him. I want to be so close to Him that I won’t have to think about yieldingŠ—”it will just happen. I love feeling closer to God and knowing that He is always there for me. My heart is more open to Him.

R.O.

When I started ONE on ONE with GOD, God found me with a strong desire to follow Him by using some of the skills I’d learned in seminary to get to know Him better.

However, I was and am so busy with work and friends that I was not in the habit of paying daily attention to God and honoring my friendship with Him.

Fifteen weeks later I have the habit of seeking God’s face through repeated exposure to His Word and through prayer. I have certainly not arrived and am not today where I hope to be next week or next month, but I have been refreshed and have found some new tools. I anticipate and fully expect to know God much better each year as I cultivate a lifelong project of becoming acquainted with Him.

D.S.

Fifteen weeks ago, I was longing for a better way to disciple others.

I needed encouragement and a challenge to focus on people because everyone matters to God. After completing ONE on ONE with GOD, God finds me very motivated and much better equipped to disciple. ONE on ONE‘s organized way of maturing Christians has given me greater confidence and material to use in discipling. The fifteen weeks have been such a great experience. I have been stretched, challenged, and encouraged to serve the Lord and be part of His perfect plan in bringing the world to Christ.

U.

Before ONE on ONE with GOD, God found me desiring to learn a way to disciple someone else.

I felt like I’d been on the receiving end of blessings and learning, and I desired to learn how to give. My quiet times with God were a bit inconsistent, and I had no real planŠ—”I was just getting my Bible study done and then praying.

Fifteen weeks later, God finds me deepening my walk with Him. I feel like my Bible reading has become much more personal, and I’ve allowed God time to speak specifically to me. I feel like I have a plan to follow with Bible reading and study and that God will use that to continue to speak to me and teach me.

Kim G.

Pastor’s wife

My spiritual walk is being strengthened as I am becoming better equipped to apply God’s Word to my life.

Janie S.

Before starting ONE on ONE with GOD, I was in need of revival. I

I had head knowledge but my heart had grown hard. Several months before our group began, I found that the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and pride of life were gaining control of me. I needed change; I needed to refocus; I needed revival. This became very clear as I listened to a tape on the Prayer of JabezŠ—”I found myself wanting what the world had to offer. I knew I needed revival.

After fifteen weeks, I have taken that first step toward revival. My focus has changed. My head knowledge has begun to move from my head to my heart. This has changed my purpose in life. My desire is that my purpose would no longer be to be Š—“successfulŠ— by worldly standards but to know Him. My goal now is to continue in the things I have learned, apply them to my life, and teach them to others.

Ron W.

Before ONE on ONE with GOD, God found me having a daily quiet time, being attentive to my pastor’s teachings, and just trying to be good.

But now I am personalizing more of what I read, learn, and take notes on. This allows me to have more digestible food from the Bible that I can think about through the day. I am also regularly expressing my love to Jesus during the day and really applying the Principle of Displacement. I feel like my relationship with the Lord is a real friendship now.

D.P.

I became a Christian many years ago as a child.

Although I loved God with all my heart, I did not know how to grow as a Christian or how to know God as my personal Savior and friend. Many years passed before I had the opportunity to be a part of ONE on ONE with GOD. Although I often hear it referred to as a Bible study, that’s not really what it is. It is more of a tool that has helped me in many areas of my Christian life.

ONE on ONE helped me establish the habit of having a daily quiet time and know what to do in my quiet time. It taught me how to pray and to know where to read in my Bible. Most of all, it taught me how to make what I read personal and meaningful to my daily life.

Because ONE on ONE has helped me in these ways, my life has changed drastically. I completed the course two and one-half years ago, and after investing time in God’s Word daily, I can now say that Jesus is my best friend. We share time together each day. What God has taught me through His Word and answers He’s given me in the last few years are enough to fill a book. How exciting it has been!

I believe ONE on ONE is so effective because it is filled with God’s Word, which has the power to bring victory, joy, hope, and peace to a Christian’s daily life. ONE on ONE with GOD is life changing!

R.H.

ONE on ONE with GOD has been a real help in my growth as a Christian.

At the time I was going through the study, I was not convinced I needed to be baptized. But after working through the individual Bible studies I was attending, I was eventually convicted that I was being disobedient if I wasn’t baptized and decided to be baptized.

ONE on ONE was a valuable source of learning to discipline myself as a new Christian to spend time alone daily with God and read His Word. It taught me how to get the most out of my reading by writing down what a particular scripture meant to me, then visualizing and praying back what I had read in a prayer to Jesus. That helped me to personalize what I read and to remember what I read.

Not only did ONE on ONE help me read the Bible daily, but it was a Bible study course taught in an easy-to-understand manner. I learned how and why I should allow Jesus to be the center of my life, the importance of reading His Word and praying, and how to have love for God and the lost. I can go through the course over and over again and still learn from it as I grow in my Christian faith.

As for my husband, he was not a Christian prior to enrolling in ONE on ONE. Because of the personal discipling that he received through ONE on ONE, he became a Christian! I am still praising God that because of this course, we are united in our faith in Jesus Christ and see things from the same perspective instead of being unequally yoked.

Cheryl B.

My wife and I were Journeymen to Scotland for two years through the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board.

After returning home we did not feel called to full-time missions, but we did want to disciple others at home as we had done in Scotland.

V. and I went through ONE on ONE with GOD with another couple, and Jerry and Marilyn Fine were our leaders. Once we completed our study, V. and I took three other couples through the study. One couple, M. and S., were brand-new Christians, and I think it really helped them get started right with their relationship with God. They are still growing in Christ to this day.

Another time we took a different couple through ONE on ONE. They had been Christians for a number of years, but after completing the study, they said they felt much more confident in their relationship with Jesus.

ONE on ONE with GOD has been a very good tool with which to disciple others. As Philippians 3:10 AMP says, Š—“For my determined purpose is that I may know HimŠ—_Š— I truly believe that anyone who goes through this study ends up knowing God more deeply and intimately.

H.F.

It has been several years since I took the course ONE on ONE with GOD.

It made a lasting impression on my life, and that impression lasts even until today. It has caused me to have a deeper commitment to God and to my church. I have watched many people go through this course and have seen them come out as more dedicated Christians.

W.L.

The ONE on ONE with GOD course is something I had desired for several years before I found it!

It has meant much to my life. Many of the principles and precepts of it have become such a part of my life that they are almost as natural to me as breathing.

I have led others through the course several times, sometimes in a small group and other times with just one person. Always God has made an impact on their lives through the course. It is a wonderful to to help others know God and to help them deepen their walks with Him.

J.L.

I have used ONE on ONE with GOD on several occasions over the past ten years.

I took two of our daughters through it when they were eighteen and attending college. I have also used it for Bible studies on two or three occasions. I continually refer to portions of it as I teach a Sunday school class of young women, ages 30-40, at our church. ONE on ONE is a concise, simple outline of principles in the Bible. It is based on Bible reading and prayer and encourages the student to let God speak individually to him or her through daily readings in the Word. It is wonderful for the new Christian or the mature believer.

L.M.

Four years after taking ONE on ONE with GOD, no one method or study has left as big an impression on my life.

Prior to taking the course, I read the Bible as neededŠ—”or so I thoughtŠ—”and prayer was almost non-existent in my life. While I am far from being God’s trustworthy servant, I have found a deep love for conversing with God through ONE on ONE. Since I took the course, I don’t believe more than a week has passed that I haven’t at least read God’s Word. The course taught me that Christianity is a lifestyle that I can choose to live with Christ. I can do nothing on my own, and all that I do is a result of God’s nudging and my yielding on a daily basis to His will. It is a superb way to develop a quiet time and learn to walk with God.

D.W.

My husband and I have always had a burden concerning the part of the Great Commission that commands us to make disciples.

We believe teaching people how to develop their personal relationship with the Lord results in a more committed, usable, productive Christian life with a natural lifestyle of witnessing, praying, and glorifying God.

We are excited about ONE on ONE with GOD for three reasons:

1. It has helped us to clearly define our purpose for existing as well as the underlying goals motivating all we do in life.

2. It has been and continues to be a wonderful tool with which to disciple others to become more of what God has in mind for them to become. It teaches us all how to make our Christianity a natural, practical lifestyle.

3. It is not merely an intellectual, well-researched compilation of thoughts and materials; it is an account of the lifestyle of two very godly people, Jerry and Marilyn Fine. They are constantly practicing and fine-tuning these principles in their everyday walk with the Lord.

We would be thrilled to see this wonderful resource become available to Christians all over our country as well as in other areas of the world.

Vicki C.

I had considered myself a Christian for many years and believed my faith and understanding of God were growing at the appropriate rate.

Not until completing ONE on ONE with GOD did I realize what a shallow and nominal Christian I really was.

The real purpose of ONE on ONE is to train people to live the way God wants Christians to live. This discipleship course answers the two very important questions that all Christians, young and old, need to know: (1) What does God expect from me? and (2) What can I expect from God? The majority of evangelicals I know can’t answer these two fundamental questions. Is it any wonder that many of these potential pillars of the church never bear the fruit of the Spirit? This Š—“how-toŠ— course trains Christian soldiers in a very clear, direct, and complete way that assures them on a daily basis that God is genuinely in control of their lives.

I have observed over the years through my own service that churches in general know how to lead people to Christ. Unfortunately we enjoy the blessing of leading a person across the threshold of salvation but then leave them there on their own! Our obligation to Jesus and His Great Commission is to Š—“go and make disciples.Š— ONE on ONE with GOD accomplishes the objectives of both leading people to Christ and training them to be disciples.

I have adopted ONE on ONE as my own personal ministry, as have many others. This tool allows me to exercise my gift of exhortation in a profound way. Watching others grow in Christ is something I can observe through my leadership role. This experience is truly a blessing from God. My prayer is for others to experience the same blessing through this special program.

G.H.

Minister