When We Decided to Teach People in Our Community How to Study the Bible, God Provided Everything We Needed
When COVID-19 first hit and life ground to a halt, I didn’t know what I would do with myself. As a volunteer outreach coordinator at Copper Creek Christian Church in Maryville, Illinois, as well as a leader with several independent outreach opportunities in the community, I was devastated when all events were unexpectedly and indefinitely canceled. Suddenly my involvement in two to three outreach events per month dropped to zero. No more events. No more kids’ activities. No more social gatherings. Just my husband and I, along with our four children, sat at home asking ourselves, “What are we going to do now?” We honestly sat in limbo for about two weeks before asking God, “What would you have us to do?” Then I heard God speak, “I’m not done. I haven’t stopped working.”
God opened more doors during the first six months of this pandemic than I have seen in my 40 years.
God opened more doors during the first six months of this pandemic than I have seen in my 40 years. God not only has blessed our church immeasurably with financial donations, but the outreach we have been able to perform in most circumstances has cost very little or nothing. An example of this is a recent Bible study our church offered to the community at-large.
AND SO IT BEGINS
A few months ago, some of our church’s outreach opportunities were ending. I remember it vividly. It was a Sunday morning—the first since arrival of COVID-19 that I didn’t attend both services. (I attended only the second service that morning.) I had some extra time before we all headed off to the church building, but apparently God knew I needed that extra time with him. I listened to two online services; one was from my brother, who is a pastor in Pennsylvania, and the other was from a friend who pastors a nearby church. I needed to hear both of their messages. One sermon was about what our heart should be like toward other churches and other believers. The other sermon was on the importance of the Great Commission.
After listening to the sermons, I prayed, “God, what would you have me do next? Is this a time of silence or a time of action? I will surrender and be obedient to whatever you ask me to do.” I finished getting ready for church, packed up our four children in our minivan, and off we went.
That morning, as the worship music was playing, I heard God say, “Start the Bible study now, but I want it to be for the community.” (It’s a very humbling experience when God speaks through your spirit.) To back up a little bit, about three months earlier, I felt inspired by God to teach people how to study their Bibles. I asked if this could be a Sunday-morning Bible study class, but we weren’t able to move forward due to limited child-care availability upon the church’s reopening.
WAITING AND PRAYING
I’m typically a persistent person, but I could sense it wasn’t God’s timing, so I waited and continued to pray. Apparently three months later, while standing with arms raised up, worshipping our almighty creator, the time was right. Tears of joy streamed down my face, for I knew God was getting ready to move in a profound way. After speaking with my husband, I asked one of our brilliant elders, Darryl Roosevelt, to teach the class. (God had guided me to ask him.) Darryl quickly said yes, and he started preparing an outline.
In the meantime, I posted this simple question on several community Facebook pages: “Would you be interested in attending a class teaching us how to study our Bibles?” To my amazement, within an hour, 80 people responded that they were interested, and 95 percent of them were from outside our church. To keep track of all those who expressed interest, I quickly made a Facebook group called “Learn How to Study Your Bible.” I was excited at the response . . . but not all that surprised. I have seen God do seemingly impossible things over and over again. As I was praising him, I felt called to get new study Bibles for some in the group who wouldn’t have them. An individual at one point had given me $100 to use for outreach; that was enough for maybe three Bibles. I prayed, “God, if you want this to happen, I need you to pave the way. I need you to supply the need.”
GOD SUPPLIES THE NEED
The next day, in the mail, someone from the community sent me a check for $500 along with this note: “Use this for whatever you think is the most important at this time. Thank you! Stay Safe. J.” God obviously knew the check was already written when he laid it on my heart to buy study Bibles for people in the group; he obviously wanted me to put my trust in him. If I had bought the Bibles using my own means—which I could have done—it would have been about me. God wanted it to be about him.
God also opened further doors to purchase Bibles. Thrivent Financial, a Christian financial services and products company, granted $250 through an Action Team award, and the manager of a local Walmart donated a $100 gift card to use toward community service.
God is not limited by our four walls. God has no limits, and neither should we.
I used all of the money to purchase 47 Bibles. We created an attendee form for people to fill out online; one of the questions was, “Are you in financial need, and would [you] like a free study Bible?” Interested folks completed 254 forms to participate in the Bible study, and exactly 47 of them requested a free study Bible, precisely the number we had already purchased. Only God can do things like that. Only God can plant such desires in our heart. Only God can make the impossible possible.
But God didn’t stop there. As we entered our third week of the study, our group had almost doubled to 480 people eagerly learning how to study their Bibles. A limited number of in-person seats are available because of the pandemic, and the rest of the folks attend via Facebook Live. We start with an hour of teaching and end with 30 minutes of questions from those attending in person and virtually.
LESSONS WE LEARNED
God is alive and working. He is not limited by circumstances. He has been preparing our hearts for such a time as this, and now is the time to pick up our cross, carry it boldly, and proclaim his holy name. Now is the time to be the big “C” church. The Bible study we are offering has people from more than 30 different churches of various denominations attending. God is not limited by our four walls. God has no limits, and neither should we.
God has taught me to say yes before he even asks the question. God has taught me someone’s eternal death is way more important than their physical death, so I should sense an urgency to share Jesus with people beyond our church building. He has taught me to surrender. I hope and pray that others will do the same and completely surrender their will for God’s glory. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. God will use you if you’re willing.
Good news to encourage others with.