About
More about the flavours of Taste & See
Taste & See has been written and developed in Australia and road tested in various contexts. It has run in homes, churches, boardrooms, youth groups and even retirement living villages. Our vision and prayer is that it will provide opportunities for people to discover (or rediscover) the good news about Jesus in a fresh and engaging way.
The language of food
Food is a universal language. It is a part of every day and every culture. Something simple and wonderful occurs when we share a meal with others. It creates a space for meaningful conversation, breaks down barriers and builds relationship.
The Bible is rich with the language and imagery of food in metaphors, stories, festivals, banquets and dinner parties. Jesus is well known for capturing the teaching moment while eating and drinking with friends and a diverse range of curious onlookers. Just think of the wedding at Cana, the dinner party with Matthew’s infamous tax collector mates, catering a picnic for 5000 or the intimate post resurrection fish bbq on the beach.
Taste & See is the gospel told through food.
More than information
The gospel is more than information to be understood. We want people to “taste and see that God is good” (Psalm 34:8) Taste & See seeks to engage all the senses as we explore the timeless good news of Jesus in a fresh and experiential way over good food, good company and good conversation. We want people to experience the generosity of God through his people. We want them to recognise the beauty and wonder of the good news of God’s invitation to life to the full.
Taste & See is both theologically rich and culturally accessible. It appeals to logic, intellect, heart and experience as it taps into questions of meaning, purpose and the foundations of our shared values.
Four weeks is a taster
Taste & See tells the big picture of God’s story in broad brush strokes illustrated by four meals – Creation, The Fall, Redemption, Renewal. In this ‘meta-narrative’ we see the beauty of God’s love story with his broken, rebellious and hurting world and how Jesus is God’s answer.
Four weeks is a manageable commitment for most people. But if someone is hesitant, we suggest you give them the option to check out week 1 first and see what they think.
Off course we don’t aim to say everything in four weeks. Our hope and prayer is that after getting a taste of the good news, people will be in a good position to want to get to know Jesus better. We reckon, the best next step to offer is a series through one of the gospels to meet Jesus up close and personal.
Meet our team
Taste & See is the collaborative work of Paul Young, Wendy Potts and Rory Shiner. Together they bring over 50 years of experience
communicating the gospel in the Australian context.
First birthed in Perth by Paul and Rory, Taste & See was then further developed in Sydney by Wendy. After trialing the course in multiple contexts and pulling all the best bits together, we are excited to have developed Taste & See into a course that is ready to share with you.
COURSE ORIGINATOR: Paul Young – Planting Pastor Providence Bayswater, Perth
Paul Young is the church planter of Providence Bayswater, a new church in 2021 with the Providence Network in the inner east of Perth. Although he was born in New Zealand, he has lived most of his life in Perth. After he became a Christian in High School, he studied psychology and worked with families and kids before entering ministry. Upon completing theological studies, his research was published as, “An Inferior Cause: The Role of Works in Final Judgment Using Calvin’s Aristotelian Framework of Causation, with Special Reference to Romans 6:19-23” in the journal Churchman.
COURSE DEVELOPER: Wendy Potts – Evangelist, Trainer and Learning Consultant, Anglicare Sydney
Wendy works with Anglicare Sydney offering staff and clients opportunities to explore, grow and share the love of Jesus. Wendy studied theology at SMBC Sydney and Ridley College Melbourne, was mission pastor at Austinmer Anglican Church and an itinerant evangelistic speaker across denominations. Wendy loves to work with teams and cultivate creative spaces for people to engage with the gospel and loves nothing more than to see God at work bringing people to recognise, trust and love Jesus. She is married to Shaun and they are blessed with three young adults.
SCRIPT WRITER: Rory Shiner – Senior Pastor and Acting Network Director, Providence City Church, Perth
Rory studied Arts at UWA, theology at Moore College, and completed a PhD in Australian Church History at Macquarie University. He is the senior pastor of Providence City Church in Perth, where he lives with his wife, Susan, and their four boys. His most recent books, The World Next Door: A Short Guide to the Christian Faith, and Forgiven Forever are out now.
Thanks to our partners
We are deeply thankful to our generous donors The Three Fish Trust for your commitment to seed fund us. We couldn’t have done it without your help.
And to our amazing supporting partners Reach Australia and Anglicare Sydney and Hayden Griffiths Graphics.
We are also super grateful to all the churches who have helped us pilot and refine the final product.
Get started
Interested in running the Taste & See course in your local Church?
Head over to the Host page to find out more. Or click below to purchase the kit.