Verse Mapping Q&A with Kristy Cambron

Editor’s note: Are you ready to revolutionize your study of the Bible? The Verse Mapping method includes historical context, transliteration, translation, connotation, and the theological framework of verses in the Bible. Here’s Kristy Cambron to give you more to chew on.

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I’m asked often: what is verse mapping? And that’s followed up by… Could it be for me?

Plain and simple — verse mapping is getting real about studying the Bible. All of it. And it’s not just reading. It’s researching everything you can about a verse to really understand the Bible — maybe for the first time, to learn Who God is and how He wants to speak to you through His Word.

It’s serious study that puts the spotlight on owning our faith in Jesus, but it also meets us right where we are. (We can still do it even with that crazy-busy schedule!) For new believers to long-time followers and the Jesus-chasers anywhere in between… this is for you. Verse mapping puts the teaching in the Holy Spirit’s hands and ushers you in to a fully surrendered story with Him.

1. What brought you to verse mapping?

By the time my debut novel released in 2014, I’d spent nearly 15 years jet-setting in a corporate training career. I should have been happy doing the things I loved — writing curriculum, teaching, finding creative ways to tell stories… but I was restless. I had a small flicker of a flame on my heart that there was something more, and God was nudging me to respond.

It was a complete surprise to our family that God called us to step out of our comfort-zone, in order to step into a completely new ministry calling with Him — especially for a gal who was an art history researcher by education, and a technical writer by vocation. I resigned my job that month. The next day I went into my closet, gathered up my best suits, and drove them to the nearest donation center. (As if to say we weren’t going back.) And the day after that? I contacted our church to join a women’s Bible study.

It was in those first life groups that I began to understand the Word, and fell in love with it for the first time — through verse mapping. Everything changed. It was a journey from needing the Bible in the valley-walking moments of life — during my dad’s leukemia diagnosis, and our family’s grief and loss that followed — to clinging to the Word of God instead, finding joy in the communion with Him day by day.

2. Who would best benefit from verse mapping?

Bible study posed two major roadblocks for me: lack of time in my schedule and confidence in the Word. And I was sure I couldn’t be alone. I wanted to stop sleepwalking through my faith, and to get serious about discipleship. And — here’s the part that might shake things up a bit — I wanted to do it with the Holy Spirit as my guide.

I knew there had to be other women out there like me. Verse mapping is for anyone who has these similar challenges, but still wants to know the Word of God more.

3. What tools do you need to get started?

I’d dare you to check your home office or handbag, and find that you don’t already have everything you need to get started! It’s that easy.

To make it easy, I suggest starting with the Verse Mapping Acts DVD and Study Guide. You’ll also need a Bible in your favorite translation (your smart device will work for that), pens or markers, and… if you want to get really dangerous, a concordance. The last part is time in your schedule. (This is on the honor system between you and God. Whether it’s five minutes today or an hour tomorrow, dedicate what you can, where you can. Just make it honest time spent with Him.)

4. What made writing the Verse Mapping Bible study series a unique journey?

It’s something fiction authors will tell you: we typically don’t write about ourselves. Instead, we tuck things away in a character and the reader will never know God was working that out in our own heart (unless we tell you, of course). But publishing nonfiction work brought an entirely new aspect to storytelling.

Writing about our own faith journey comes from a different place of vulnerability. Verse Mapping Luke and Verse Mapping Acts developed from our family’s faith journey in the last five years… Where Jesus met us, called us out of a boat, healed the brokenness, and led us into a deeper, discipled walk with Him… We said from the beginning that if we had 12 stories to tell about Who this amazing Jesus is, the Verse Mapping Series is it. It’s as open an invitation as we could offer for others to walk their own story road with Him. And sharing that has been the biggest blessing of our lives.

5. Is this series for small groups, individuals, or both?

Verse Mapping Luke and Acts studies are perfect for small groups. Women’s ministry leaders in churches across the country are discovering the impact verse mapping can have on the spiritual growth of the women in their churches. But you can also find a coffee shop corner, a front porch rocker, or any book nook in between, and go for it on your own! There are 6 weeks in each study — six video sessions with blank maps to capture your journey.

6. Why did you decide to start with Luke and Acts?

This is the part that makes my heart smile every time I think of it… The verse mapping journals I first filled up were only ever supposed to be a record of my time with Jesus — just between me and Him. I started mapping in the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts because I wanted to know Him more.

Years later, those first steps on the story road have become these studies-of-my-heart.

Watch the Video

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Your Turn

Are you ready to stop sleepwalking through your faith walk? Verse mapping is a fantastic way to know the Lord better and the Word better! ~ Laurie McClure, Faith.Full