The Bridge Diagram in a similar way to the Four Spiritual Laws attempts to condense and put into booklet form the gospel of Jesus Christ (although it was and can still be written out by hand without the booklet). Below are links that begin with the Navigator organization, who to the best of our knowledge designed this, so that you can view it in their words on-line.
Links:
- Navigator website on the Bridge to Life
- Navigator website training tool for using and clarify the Bridge diagram
- Sample Training at Bible.Org
- YouTube Training
- You Tube Training 2
Analysis
Pros:
- Very similar pros as you find with the 4 Laws presentation....mutatis mutandis.
- Begins on a positive note…”let usmake mankind in our image, in our likeness”…In short, life was good.
- Does explain the barrier between God and humanity: sin.
- Does explain the subsitutionary atonement of Christ for our sins.
- Does explain and offer a prayer to help audience know what to do to invite Christ into their lives, accepting His provision for their sins and affirming their trust in Him.
Cons:
- Very similar to the cons you find with the 4 Laws presentation...mutatis mutandis.
- The theological terms are “loaded” in the sense they need to be understood by the listener to understand the good news and our changing culture makes understanding the key words less easy (by our audience) as they become less biblically and theologically literate.
Summary: A very widely used and handy tool to explain the gospel. There’s lots of training that is available from the Navigator organization, et al., that should help one clarify the issues better. It’s probably best in an academic setting to not use a booklet, but rather have the contents of the book so clear in your mind you can draw the diagram and ask questions in a relaxed and natural way.