March 2012
Are you tired of being a spectator? Do you want to get in the spiritual game as a player? As we travel on I am Second Expeditions around the world, we see spectators turn into players as they help start I am Second groups.
Recently, we asked leaders from an I am Second Expedition to Colombia how effective the Yo Soy Segundo (I am Second) discipleship groups were in that country. Here is some inspiring feedback:
“Yo Soy Segundo is real, practical, and helps develop the spiritual the life not only of the new believer, but also the people from the church.”
- Bernardo Gonzalez
“The highlight of this expedition was leaving the evening meeting as four groups of Colombians were avidly pouring over a story from the Bible and discussing the six questions from the Yo Soy Segundo model. There were 15 new believers in those groups!”
- Mike Tremble
“The goal was always to connect those we met with to their local church. We only go where we are invited and where they want us to help. It was always good to leave knowing of that connection.”
- Bill Albert
“Yo Soy Segundo is the bomb! It turns the spectator into a participant! They are equipped with the necessary tools to fend for themselves. Their self-worth is nurtured, giving them the confidence they need to overcome the fiery darts that the enemy will soon be throwing at them, trying to discourage them when their pastor or leader isn’t around. The sooner they learn to feed themselves [the Bible], the sooner they’ll too be feeding others as well!”
- Edwin Varga (translator coordinator from Cali, Colombia.)
Go Global! Learn more about I am Second Expeditions and how God can use you to help start I am Second groups in other countries. Get in the game. Be a player.
My I am Second journey began at a NASCAR event. A big billboard truck with a T.V. screen was playing I am second films. Amidst the high-octane excitement they caught my attention and made my heart race for the Lord. I picked up some of the literature there and passed it along to my friends. Then, this past summer our church’s youth group went to camp where they too were introduced to I am Second. God was up to something.
Unexpectedly, I was laid off from my work as a millwork superintendent. I was praying that God would show me the green light to do what was next for me. That’s when I found the online group leader training for I am Second groups on the website and signed up. We had a great teacher and group of people in our sessions. The highlight for me was the “Live and Tell” at the end of each session. I was so supercharged when we went through the “My village” session that I made a list of 50 people that need Jesus. Actually, I talked to 66 people that week. If I was working, I’d never have had the time. Go God Go!
Earlier this year we started an I am Second group that kicked into overdrive and split into two groups by the third week. We invited the leaders of a teen and young adult bible study to our group and they caught on to the movement immediately. Now they lead a small army of young adults, as many as 45 people from high school age to their early 20’s, at a local fish camp. They’re identifying leaders to branch off and lay the track for more small groups. Go God Go!
God took the challenge of my job layoff and turned it into fuel for His race to the kingdom of Christ.
- Chris P.
Get Connected. I am Second small groups are designed to connect people with one another and with God through an authentic, action based discussion group. In an I am Second group you’ll be encouraged to discover your purpose in life through Jesus.
Everyone at our leaders’ conference sat in stunned silence as the young college student shared these words. Nancy was coming regularly to a Second group at the Univ. of North Texas. She told us how she studied the Bible with the others in the group, and even made commitments about how she was going to do what it said. But she freely admitted that she still was wrestling with whether to put her faith in Christ, particularly because of some of her lifestyle decisions.
So when asked why she was involved in the group, even though she was not sure she believed what was being discussed, Nancy said, “Why wouldn’t I want to go where I feel loved? I’m not against Christ, I’m just not sure about Him.”
How many other people around us are like that? Just waiting for someone to show enough interest to engage them in the conversation?
Newlyweds Sarah and Hugo attended Bible college together in Argentina. There, they learned of God’s love and character, growing closer to Him and to each other. With passion for the Lord and reaching others for Christ, the Liborio family became missionaries abroad in the Dominican Republic.
Hugo found the I am Second movement to be a powerful tool for sharing his faith and wore the wristband everyday. Though a young and healthy man, while home on leave he suffered an aneurysm during a pickup basketball game.
Unconscious and in critical condition, his wife fished out a simple black bracelet beneath the many hospital bands on Hugo’s wrist. In white writing was his lasting statement: “I am Second.” Wrought with grief Sarah thought,“maybe it was God speaking to me in a voice that I could be comforted by.” As her husband’s earthly body slipped away, she felt him reassure her, “If God needs my life… it’s O.K. because I am Second.”
The inside of Hugo’s wedding band is engraved with “I am Second.” Today Sarah shares what she calls “the I am Second night I had with Hugo.” Her loss becomes a legacy of gain as Jesus Christ is glorified and others are inspired to share, to connect – to become Second.
As she says, “No matter what the cost, I will serve God.”
In life, the One who is First gives purpose. In death, the One who is First gives comfort.
Sarah and Hugo’s story and his legacy of Second is celebrated in her book and website.
I am Second’s simple and powerful ministry is spreading like wildfire all over the world. Sam, an I am Second Expedition leader, takes us to Ruminahui, Ecuador, where he saw a shopkeeper’s life change right before his eyes:
“I went out with the medical missions team our first day of ministry. After caring daylong for people’s physical needs, dozens returned in the evening for a Yo Soy Segundo (I am Second) group. We circled up and began with the Bible story about Zacchaeus. The audience listened intently and responded well to the six discussion questions in the I am Second materials. When we inquired, ‘how will you apply what you have learned?’ one lady timidly raised her hand. This is her story.
‘I have a small store in my house. I sell eggs, rice, beans and things like that. Some people I don’t like. I am embarrassed to admit this but I sometimes put my finger on the scale. That way they don’t get a full measure. I am so ashamed. I am no better than the man in this story, Zacchaeus. I want God to forgive me and I want to go and find these people to tell them what I have done. The next time they come I will give them more than they pay for.’
She cried through her testimony, as did we. This new sister in Christ truly understood this simple biblical example of Jesus’ love and forgiveness and understood how to apply it in her life.”
Want to see life change in your friends and family like this? No matter what part of the country (or the world) you are in, we’re here to help you! Check out our online training and learn how easy it is to lead a Second group. Click here for more info.
