The Timothy Project: Equipping a Second Generation of Believers

“I really feel I owe you a sincere debt of gratitude. The knowledge you have imparted to me is so valuable! Actually, you showed [me] the difference between ‘knowing’ and ‘learning.’ … And as I have made this learning method part of my life, I am also trying to pass it on to others.”

Middle Eastern believer Azra* is one of the thousands who’ve learned how to study and apply the Bible through the Timothy Project, an initiative that produces culturally relevant Bible studies by Middle Easterners, for Middle Easterners. This particular culture is generally group-oriented and learning typically takes place through interaction. But, the founders of this project saw that religious instruction was usually delivered through lectures—a teaching style that didn’t result in changed hearts and lives.

In contrast, Timothy Project lessons are designed not merely to convey information, but to transform hearts. They teach Middle Eastern believers how to glean truth from the Bible by interacting with a passage through a series of questions:

1. Why do we need to learn this?
2. What is it we need to learn?
3. How do we do it?
4. If I do this in my daily life, what will it look like?

Believers who use the Timothy Project method are not only putting biblical principles into practice in their own lives; they’re teaching others to study and apply the Bible in places where few people know Jesus. Azra learned this method from a women’s leader in her church, one of the first writers that David trained, and recently attended several Timothy Project training seminars. She’s among the second generation of Middle Eastern believers whose lives are being changed through this project.

Now a writer for the Timothy project, Azra recently shared with David how God has used the Timothy Project in her life.

After learning [the Timothy Project] method, I have started reading the Bible from a different perspective. … It has been 15 years since I came to know Jesus. But today when I read Philippians 3:10-11, I felt the need to again examine myself. …

How did Christ feel when He was going to His death? What attitude enabled Him to endure this pain? Do I possess the life-giving power of His resurrection? If I can go beyond just knowing these things and really learn them; if, rather than just keeping this as knowledge in my mind, I can apply it in my life, then I will want to attain to the resurrection from the dead by any means possible. …

This is how I am going to apply this subject in my life: I will understand Christ, not just to talk about knowing him, but to truly grasp [who He is]. I will live with Him, taking part in his experience and sufferings. I will be renewed in Christ daily, not with superficial change, but deeply. I will walk the path He walked, thinking about what He felt, and I will be partners with Him. I’ll take on His mindset and I will share in Him.

[The way in which] I meditated, posed questions to myself and made a point to apply that verse in my life, I learned thanks to the seminars you conducted. … I see how much work you are putting into this, but these [efforts] are not in vain. Your labors are bearing fruit.

In addition to using the Timothy Project method in her own study, Azra is sharing it with others. For example, she used it as she spoke at a women’s conference and also taught it to a fellow believer who ministers to young adults. By God’s grace, a third generation of Christians and beyond is being equipped to glean and apply truth from God’s word.

Participate by Praying:

• Praise God for using Timothy Project lessons to equip Middle Eastern believers to study and apply the truth of the Bible.
• Ask God to provide workers and resources necessary so that old lessons can be reformatted for digital.
• Pray for wisdom for the writers of Timothy Project studies as they create new lessons.
• Ask God to continue to use these Bible studies to cultivate Christ-honoring transformation in the lives of Middle Eastern Christians.