Unlock is a Christian charity, working since 1972 enabling urban churches of any denomination to respond to their local contexts. They are especially concerned with helping oral learners engage with Bible Stories and explore the Christian faith. Unlock also make their Bible study resources available free on their website.
Unlock doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all approach, or tell you what’s best for your own situation. They respond to each local context.
They train locally recruited workers and employ and support them in partnership with local churches in city communities to develop appropriate ways of working within their own local culture.
The Year We Stayed at Home
As we learn to live with Covid, Unlock’s Chief Officer, Dawn Lonsdale recommends one of Unlock’s Bible study resources – The Year We Stayed at Home.
The Year We Stayed at Home is a Covid recovery pack, designed to help local small groups and churches process the complex impacts of the last couple of years. It contains activities and Bible linked materials for reflecting on our shared experiences of the COVID 19 pandemic, including sections on:
Lament
Gratitude
Patience
Kindness
Hope
Discernment
Unlock’s Goals
Unlocking real life stories of urban people – Jesus accepted people, and listened to the real issues of those who approached him. In the same way, Unlock encourages people to talk about their own experiences. People think and speak in concrete ways—involving emotion, describing things that happened at a specific time and place. Unlocking people’s real stories of everyday life opens up the genuine concerns in people’s lives, and they learn from each other as important issues are shared.
Revealing Good news of the Down to Earth Christ – Jesus used stories of everyday life—sheep, fish, bread, wine—and used relevant symbols. Unlock gives space for Bible stories to engage with people’s real life stories. Unlock does not try to impose the Good News on their lives, but help them bring their hopes and ambitions, their joys and their fears, into the light of God’s truth.
Releasing life changing skills and confidence – Unlock’s involvement in the lives of the people to whom God sends them is part of the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus. ‘Social Action’ is part of the way they proclaim the Good News and can lead to freedom for prisoners and release from oppression.
The consequence of Unlocking stories and revealing Christ is that lives are changed!