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Using Uncover John Seeker Studies Online

Working through the Uncover seeker studies in John’s Gospel with friends is an incredible privilege! After all, John’s Gospel is God’s communication to us about his Son, Jesus Christ – a God-breathed eye-witness account that John wrote to help us believe in Him.

Even when we’re slouching on sofas in front of screens, using Uncover John over FaceTime or Zoom, we can be confident that God will speak through his word. That said, using Uncover John online is a step into the unknown for most of us.

Here are three tips to help you along the way.

Reduce screen time

Screen fatigue is real. The strangeness of communicating via a screen tires us out. Reducing screen time helps us keep focus.

  • Read before: You could agree to read the relevant passage before your time together – perhaps just before so it’s fresh in your minds. This way, no one feels thrown in the deep end reading a passage out loud, no one’s reading as the ‘teacher’, and the discussion can centre on what you’ve just read.
  • Watch before: Each session in Uncover John is accompanied by a short video. You can watch videos together but watching it beforehand again shortens the call. It also means you’re not fumbling around with headphones, mute and screenshare buttons!
  • Read questions before: Suggesting each person skim-reads the questions beforehand needn’t be a spoiler… it can actually help you all think about your answers and reduce pauses later on.

Let conversation flow

Screen conversations already feel unnatural. Doing a Bible study online is exciting, but particularly unusual. These tips can help your time feel more natural.

  • Paraphrase: The questions are carefully phrased in Uncover John – but you needn’t be wooden. If you wouldn’t say that word, don’t. Say it how you would. Maybe the other person made a great point that’s relevant to the next question… why not paraphrase the next question without saying “next question”, like a real back-and-forth conversation?
  • Go with the tangents: Curiosity leads us to explore for ourselves. It also takes us on tangents. Sometimes these tangents are distracting. Often, they’re important. Feel free to go ‘off script’ at times as you would in a natural conversation.
  • Read the questions out loud: “What do you think about the next question?” isn’t how normal conversations flow. Even if you can’t paraphrase a question on the spot (which is okay), reading it out loud helps makes conversation feel more normal.

Keeping up friendships

If you’re good friends, ‘Hi, how are you?’ can lead to a thousand stories. It often did when I used Uncover John with someone over lockdown. Sometimes I needed to remember that we needed to get around to actually doing the study!

If you’re not already friends, aim to deepen your relationship, echoing Jesus’ own love in your care for one another.

  • Call at other times too: If you want to reduce screen time in the session, don’t cut conversations when you catch up. Just make sure you’re talking beyond the session too! Could you call another time in the week? Send a WhatsApp?
  • Invite them to more: Whether or not they’re already connected with the CU, your church or your friends, friendship is about drawing people in to our circles. Why leave it at Uncover? Inviting friends to other events or gatherings creates opportunities for friendships to multiply.
  • Meet in person where you can: If local restrictions allow, why not meet for your Uncover sessions in person? You might need headphones to watch the videos, but conversation is normally more natural in person over a coffee or a uni library meal deal!

Getting hold of Uncover

You can buy physical copies of Uncover John gospels for £2 each when you order from IVP books and use the discount code ImpactGroupUJG.

Using Uncover online

All of Uncover John (and more!) is available online: you can read (or listen to) the full gospel, use the studies, and watch the videos at www.uncover.org.uk/john.