Bible Study
"If your church or organization is ready to take a step forward in discipling people by increasing their love for and engagement in the Scriptures, True^North will be a valuable journey. The content itself brings transformation if applied, and much beyond that, Dr. Smith brings a rare availability, knowledge and passion to mentor leaders so they can disciple others in their context. I've been a pastor for 20 years and found my own heart and habits inspired to chase the Word."
Rev. Tim Troxell, Lead Pastor
Generations Church, Greeley, CO
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From True^North Online class through Kingswood Extended.
"True^North Bible Study has transformed my life and I am celebrating God for this gift. The materials I encountered were so rich and enlightening that they excited my spirit. True^North Bible Study is my fourth online course taken through Kingswood. However, something about this course has awakened something new in me. Usually, I would take a short break before starting the next course. But this time, my spirit is so excited that I have already ordered my books and am ready to move forward. In addition, the presence of the Holy Spirit was so evident that I went on a week of fasting before I completed the course. I don't know how to explain it except to say the author, Dave Smith, wrote his book under the power and guidance of God the Holy Spirit. Indeed, I am in a better place and have a more profound understanding of how to read and study God's word; to God be the glory."
Evangelist JudyAnn Hamilton, New Hope Family Worship Center, Brooklyn, NY
"I have known David Smith from the time Jesus reoriented his life. It has seemed to me that he immediately had a hunger to be a true disciple, living a life after Jesus Christ. I was able to watch his growth up close for a number of years and have continued to follow from a distance. I recently had him teach/preach True^North: Disciple-making in the Word in our district camp meeting. People have continued to share with me how the material is positively impacting their walk. I highly recommend this book to any pastors and lay leaders who desire to achieve individual spiritual growth and as an invaluable tool in helping their congregation to become fully equipped disciples of Jesus Christ."
Rev. Joseph Duvall, District Superintendent, West Central District, Churches of Christ in Christin Union
"Dr. David Smith has masterfully integrated the essentials of the gospel being the Word of God and Discipleship in an interactive and easy-to-understand workbook called, True˄North: Disciple-Making in the Word. This workbook is a Disciple-Making journey with Dave into transformational Bible Study. However, unlike previous Bible Study books based on scientific methodologies, True˄North establishes a relational aspect we observe in the manner Jesus lived his life. The Bible student will immediately recognize the relational element of True˄North as Dave engages the reader as a disciple. However, shortly afterward, the disciple will realize this book is not simply a conversion with Dave but that you and he are traveling on a journey together. The journey toward True˄North with Dave will have you investigate both why and how Bible Study is done. However, there is never a separation between Bible Study and Disciple-Making. True˄North is written so that one does not need prior Bible education and is ideal for a new Christian or church laity. Nevertheless, those with a Bible education will find True˄North to be a refreshing approach to the Word of God and spiritual formation. The expectation is that a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ will develop through careful teaching on reading-understanding-applying the Word and demonstrated in discipling others.
As a Superintendent overseeing a region of churches, I highly recommend Dr. David Smith’s, True˄North for pastors and church laity. All aspects of Church education can integrate True˄North, including Bible Study, discipleship, Christian teacher training, and membership classes. The synthesis of Bible Study, Disciple-Making, and Wesleyan theology is written so that the laity can understand. This synthesized approach is vital for the future of the Church. I am thrilled that Dr. Smith has invested his time and energy by taking nearly 40 years of academic and pastoral experience to deliver a guidebook to the Church into Disciple-Making Bible study. This ministry is an investment that will surely pay eternal dividends."
Rev. Dr. Ron Adkins. Former DS, East Central Conference, Evangelical Church.
"David Smith does a masterful job in a profound way to bring disciple-making and Inductive Bible Study methods together in this book. It is refreshing to see this work come into existence to challenge the Church’s biblical illiteracy while giving practical solutions every step of the way from a Wesleyan heritage based on class and band meetings. The genius of the book is to equip all believers as they journey together to learn more about God and His mission so that they can also become active participants of the Great Commission."
Viktor J. Rózsa, European Nazarene College Instructor of Missions and Intercultural Studies (Budapest, Hungary)
Having served with and under Dr. Smith for many years, I know his passion for offering practical help to those who desire to grow in their faith. His book "True North: Disciple-making in the Word" reinforces the words of Jesus in Matthew 13:19-23 that those who know and understand the word, are those on the surest pathways to spiritual maturity and effective service for the King. His insights, wit, and wise insights complement the results of one of the largest discipleship studies ever conducted (Follow Me) which concluded the greatest factor in predicting which believers are growing spiritually, is the Christ-followers commitment to regularly spending time digesting and applying God's word. I heartily recommend Dr. Smith's book to you!
Dr. Stephen Elliott, National Superintendent, The Wesleyan Church of Canada
"True North" will take believers from hearers of the Word to studiers, interpreters, and doers of the Word! It is the basics of a Bible degree made accessible for every believer. True North teaches study techniques that are practical, helpful, and essential for every Christian as they study God's Word.”
Shawna Goldstein, B.S. Biblical Literature and Christian Education, author, women's ministry leader
At times in my Christian journey the Bible has been a bit intimidating. I have too often wanted to outsource the reading and applying of the Word to professional clergy. If you can resonate, True North is a must read!
Dr. Smith has been a consistent and catalytic voice in my own journey toward increasingly being discipled by the Word more than by the culture. In True North, he takes his decades of experience and unpacks the why’s and how’s of being discipled by the Word in language and practicality that anyone can understand and apply.
If you are a Christ-follower who desires to grow in hunger for the Word and takes seriously the call to Christ-likeness, there is only one answer to the question of when to pick up True North--“NOW!”
Dr. Jeff Clark, Associate Head Coach, Men’s Basketball, Indiana Wesleyan University