By Joe Proulx
Here at Square One, we've been considering and praying about how to not only continue to reach more people in different languages, but also how to better serve our English-speaking community, both here in Winnipeg and beyond.
While projects like Square One Talks and the Indigenous-led Come Sit With Me have seen good feedback and engagement, we wanted to create a project with a short runtime that would be easily viewed on social media, fit into everyone’s schedule, and offer a quick and simple way for people to take in God’s word for themselves on a regular basis. As we look to further expand our programs into different languages and cultures, it is important to remember that while serving unreached people is part of God's calling for us, equipping and preparing one another as we go to serve the unreached is important too.
With all of this in mind, we have created a new weekly online video devotional series, entitled The Weekly Well.
The two to three-minute videos are hosted by Square One's Associate Director, Scott Koop, who brings 26 years of experience as a pastor and sports chaplain. With the help of production manager Grant Hoeppner and video editor Rein Cabalquinto, the show’s main goals are to be informative and encouraging, but also approachable for non-believers.
“I think the Bible resonates with all ages, from youth to seniors,” Scott says. “Much of the material in the series thus far has come from my vast file of sermons that I’ve preached
and devotionals that I’ve led over many years. We wanted the series to feel very welcoming and intentionally informal; like you’re talking to a friend in the living room.”
The idea for the name of the series comes from the story found in John 4:1-26, in which Jesus speaks with the Samaritan woman he finds at Jacob’s well in Sychar. Jesus tells this woman that drinking that water will make her thirsty again; but if she would drink of the water that He can give her, it will become in her a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
“As we look into God's word, we want that to be a time of refreshment for our viewers, a time of filling for them, and a time of equipping them to become a source of refreshment and encouragement to the people around them,” Scott explains.
The Weekly Well will be uploading new episodes each week, which will be available on YouTube, Instagram and the Square One website. Viewers can also sign up for weekly emails that will send new episodes of the series directly to their inbox.
“I believe the show will have appeal outside of our direct community,” Scott says, “from those who cannot get to a church service on a regular basis, to those who are simply still exploring faith in Jesus for themselves.”
We pray that this new series will achieve the goals set out for it by our team and that it will reach outside of the Square One community to both Christians and non-Christians abroad.
To watch the latest episode of The Weekly Well, subscribe to its channels, or sign up for the weekly emails, click here.