‘Faith Path: Helping Friends Find Their Way to Christ’ Workbook by Mark Mittelberg – Book Review

One of the most intimidating aspect of Christianity is Jesus’ commission for His believers to “go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Matthew 16:15).  Based on Mark Mittelberg’s book ‘Choosing Your Faith: In A World of Spiritual Options,’ his latest release, the ‘Faith Path: Helping Friends Find Their Way to Christ’ workbook builds on Mark’s sensible, evenhanded approach to evangelism.  This workbook is the companion piece to the ‘Faith Path’ DVD.  In it, we meet six fascinating people who looked at the world in six different ways before they embraced faith in Christ.

According to the back of the workbook:

          Work through ‘Faith Path’ and you will:

·         Understand people who approach life differently than you

·         Recognize the danger of paths that lead away from Christ

·         Deepen your own faith in Christ and reinforce your reasons for believing

·         Gain confidence in talking about Christ with other

Relativists, traditionalists, mystics, authoritarians, and others – they’re all here.  And after you understand these how these people think about faith, you can help them find a trustworthy pathway to truth.  Because no matter what your friends believe, they matter to God.

The study educates us on the different world religions, including Buddhists, Muslims, and even considers atheists to have faith:

This might surprise you, but even atheists live by faith.  Why do I say that?  Because they operate in the belief that there is no creator, no higher moral law to which they are accountable, no divine judgment, and no afterlife.  They can’t prove any of these things.  They don’t know for a fact that there is no God, spiritual standard, day of reckoning, or existence after death.  In fact, most people in the world believe that denying these things goes against the evidence as well as human experience, and therefore requires more faith.         

So everyone has faith – in something.  (p. 20)

In addition to reviewing the beliefs of other religions, Mr. Mittelberg reviews evidence for the truth of belief in Jesus Christ.  Session 6 looks at scientific evidence that points to the existence of a wise and powerful God.  Session 7 shows the reliability of the Bible.  Session 8 provides information on helping non-believing friends to identify and work through their emotional and spiritual barriers – ten potential barriers.  Some of those barriers include (pp. 99-100):    

•     Lifestyle Issues 
•     Personal hurts
•        Desire for Control
•        Fear
•        Disinterest in faith and truth
•        Lack of spiritual experience

This would be a wonderful study for a small group of up to twelve people.  Although I did not have the advantage of watching the DVD portion of the study, I found the study to be very worthwhile and full of valuable information. 

Mark Mittelberg is a best-selling author, sought-after speaker, and leading outreach strategist.  He is the author of ‘Choosing Your Faith’ and co-author, with Lee Strobel, of ‘The Unexpected Adventure.’  He earned a master’s degree in philosophy of religion from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  He lives in Southern California with his wife, Heidi, and their two teenage children.

You can order this book here.

This book was published by David C. Cook and provided by the B&B Media Group for review purposes.