KNOCK-KNOCK.
Who’s there?
Opportunity.
Opportunity Who?
Opportunity is knocking at your door this Oct 31st.
The opportunity to love your neighbor on Halloween and be a LIGHT.
I know, I know, it is the dreaded holiday -- Halloween. The one you celebrate BECAUSE it’s over.
But what if I told you that October 31st is redeemable? This is a day when you can bring glory to God. How, you ask? By letting your light shine!
If you are like me, it seems like time creeps through the winter months leading up to spring. Then suddenly Good Friday arrives, we go to church on Easter and Monday begins the week again. This monumental event of my faith comes with little awareness or forethought. Somehow I feel I have missed out on a season of anticipation. What if you and I don’t “do Easter” that way this year? What if we spend time purposely preparing our hearts and minds for this incredible celebration? The LENT study is meant to do exactly that.
We would love for you to field test our latest study; you can find it here. We welcome any feedback and ask that it be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
“Oh man, another one of these things,” she thinks to herself, as she pulls the red envelope out of her mailbox. “How many ways can I say no?” She takes the stack of mail inside and plops it all down on the kitchen table. The little red envelope, with her name written on the front in her neighbor’s neat cursive handwriting, is the only remotely interesting piece of mail she’s received today in a big stack of boring bills and advertisements. She sits down and sighs. “What’s she invited me to this time?” Inside the envelope, a cheerful pink and white card invites her to a Valentine’s Day tea given by the neighborhood Bible study. She smiles. She’s been receiving invitations like this for two solid years, and she’s running out of excuses. Her neighbor is a great gal – their sons are the same age and love playing together. But this Bible study stuff is not for her. Of course, this is just a tea party. It would be fun to meet some of the ladies in the neighborhood. How dangerous could it be?
Little did I know it at the time, but that Valentine’s Day tea was extremely dangerous for me. It turned my whole life upside down! And not just mine, but the lives of my husband, my children, and even my 66-year-old father.
The tea was a starting point – the tiny spark that lit a raging fire within me.
When I finally said yes, I was pleasantly surprised that the gals at the neighborhood Bible study were regular women, just like me. No one wore long dresses or shouted Scripture at me. During the tea, I heard a five-minute teaching on God’s grace. It was exactly the simple message my tired, hungry heart longed to hear – that there was a God in Heaven who loved me, not for how well I could behave or how many good works I could accomplish, but just for ME.
“Watch out! Debbie is a seed-planter!” warned Elaine Bush at a recent NBS2GO luncheon at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Four years ago when she first heard Debbie McGoldrick speak, Elaine thought the format of these 2GO Bible studies was “an interesting and easy approach that brought new insights,” but she had no plans to begin a study of her own. “But I didn’t think about the seeds she was planting,” Elaine reflected. “They were lying dormant, waiting for the right season for the Holy Spirit to water them.”
Fast-forward to the summer of 2018. She thought of Debbie while walking in her neighborhood one day, and began praying. Then she ran into her friend Sue and couldn’t wait to tell her about NBS2GO. Maybe they could work together! Sue offered to pray for Elaine, but was too busy. “I should have warned her about the seeds. . .” Elaine said.
A few months later in the fall Elaine started a neighborhood Bible study group using LIGHT, from the 2GO Bible Study Series. Though only averaging six women, the group felt God’s hand on them. Elaine smiled as she remembered one of her mother’s favorite quotes, “Little is much when God is in it.” One of her neighbors proudly showed the Bible she had just bought – her first one! Although her church taught from the Bible all these years, they had not encouraged people to read it. As she immersed herself in the Scriptures, God opened her spirit to His own. Nature took on fresh meaning. She told how the breeze that brushed her face on walks now reminded her of God’s presence, described in the Bible as a rushing wind.
Melody began praying for her neighbors and developing relationships four years ago. She started a neighborhood Bible study one year ago. What you are about to read is a poetic reflection that you don’t have to do big things, but one little thing at a time. Since she began, Melody has seen fourteen women join her in Bible study and five have come to Christ. She hosted a Christmas gathering where thirty participated. In her Easter outreach twenty attended. This doesn’t happen overnight but in micro-decisions and a commitment to pray moment by moment and day by day.
How it all began. . .
One little prayer
Awoke in my heart
Full of hopes and dreams
Not clear how to start.
Hey, mamas. Lots of thoughts are racing through my mind as I sit at the YMCA typing, praying, and asking God to give me words to encourage you around partnering with God to love your neighbors.
As we pray every day at 10:02am asking God to send out laborers (to coincide with Luke 10:2), we believe Kelin is an answer to that prayer! Once she was aware of the tools NBS2GO offered to help reach neighbors for Christ, she did not delay to reach out and begin a Bible study in her neighborhood in Honduras. God led Kelin to become an ambassador for NBS2GO in Honduras, as she now helps train and equip churches to fulfill the mission of NBS2GO – “Reach the people around you, begin a Bible study group.”
Thank You. Two simple words — both written and spoken — hover as an endangered species in our ‘hurry up and get it done’ culture. But we see in the Book of Luke that Thank You is important to God.
As another Christmas approached I found myself weary of the commercialized season. What I really longed for was thoughtful moments being mesmerized by my Savior's birth. The story that had transformed my life somehow seemed diminished in the to-do's of December. I searched for an Advent study that would take me through the Scriptures in order to feel the story firsthand, but I couldn't find one. So, I wrote one. I invited several others on this personal journey, and their encouragement to publish and post this study was unanimous.
Step out of time and into these Scriptures. Find yourself pondering afresh this moment when our stratosphere was interrupted with the divine. The silent and holy night is near. Make ready your heart to worship.
The following is the introduction to the ADVENT study. The ADVENT study guide and compact guide are available here.
KNOCK-KNOCK.
Who’s there?
Opportunity.
Opportunity Who?
Opportunity is knocking at your door this Oct 31st.
The opportunity to love your neighbor on Halloween and be a LIGHT.
I know, I know, it is the dreaded holiday -- Halloween. The one you celebrate BECAUSE it’s over.
But what if I told you that October 31st is redeemable? This is a day when you can bring glory to God. How, you ask? By letting your light shine!
Jesus says,
“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness
but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5
Not only does He say that He is the light of the world, but that WE are as well.
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.” Matt 5:14-16
Don’t hide, turning out all the lights so no one can see you this Halloween. And please don’t put a note on your door saying, “We are Christians and don’t celebrate evil.”
Paul says,
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
This is the time to overcome the darkness with light.
What if this year we all turn our lights up bright, and are the light to our neighbors?
How can you be a LIGHT this year to those around you? It can be as simple as opening your DOOR!
*Turn on your lights. Make your house bright and cheery. Put a string of white Christmas lights around your house. Make luminaries to line your walkway — buy Kraft lunch bags, fill with 2 inches of sand, and place battery lights inside.
*Give the BEST candy. (If you give a good-news tract, put candy with it as well.) Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. Be a generous giver.
*Pray for your neighborhood as you prepare. Prayer-walk or prayer-drive the
neighborhood, asking God to help you develop relationships and to be a blessing to someone.
*Have treats for the parents -- cold water or hot chocolate, depending on the weather.
*Greet visitors with a smile and a welcoming attitude. Be on the porch as they
walk up. Create an inviting atmosphere with happy music playing. Decorate with pumpkins. (Remember they are not evil.)
*Get to know your neighbors by asking how they are or who they are.
*Value the children by finding something positive to say about their costumes.
*Have some dog treats available in case your neighbors bring Fido.
If you don’t have a “neighborhood” that has any trick-or-treaters, then ask a friend who has
“too many” if you can help -- buy candy; be a greeter and a blessing.
Go -- and be the light!
Other ideas and resources:
Click here for an excellent article on the origins and history of Halloween and All Hallows' Eve:
https://www.christianity.com/christian-life/marriage-and-family/to-halloween-or-not-to-halloween-1356581.html
We are excited to share a new resource with you that we hope you will love and that will draw you closer to the heart of God! An audio Bible in women's voices. Here's how it came about:
It was just a normal Tuesday. Then suddenly everyone’s cell phones lit up with the tragic news… another school shooting and again close to home! It was May 7th 2019 and all eyes turned to the news coming from the STEM School in Highland Ranch, CO, which was just three miles and ten minutes from my home. But this time the news was more poignant, for the high school son of one of our NBS2GO moms went to that school.
Whether sitting on the floor with little ones, walking the neighborhood side by side, or eating a bite of lunch together around my kitchen table, my intention is to listen to the Spirit’s prompting to share Jesus with those women who begin attending our Neighborhood Bible Study.
I love praying for, reaching out, and getting to know each woman God draws to come. I do this by personally inviting her to my home for a cup of coffee or a simple lunch. I express my heart to get to know her and her story.
It took me three years to get up enough courage and capacity to start my first Bible study on my street. I loved my neighbors through acts of kindness, purposefully pursued them with hospitality, and boldly stepped out in faith to invite them to a Bible study, but when they came together, I noticed a huge tendency towards having a visiting session and not a Bible study group. Here is an example of a few questions that can arise in a Bible study setting,
“Is the organic food movement all a scam? I saw a documentary on Netflix…” “Have I ever told you how my husband and I met?” “Is the HOA unjust? I think owners, not renters get citations.”
As I was beginning a neighborhood Bible study I decided to hand-deliver a few invitations. Nancy lived across from me at the time, and my simple invitation turned into a conversation with her. Nancy shared with me that she had always wanted to attend a Bible study, but she didn’t know anything about the Bible. This had always held her back. I assured her that we would all be learning together and that she could feel comfortable. She came, and her life began to change. Christ made a difference in Nancy’s life through a neighborhood Bible study!
Beginning a NBS might feel like a daunting task. Will anyone come? Will I be seen as the Bible person on the street? Will people stop being my friend? We all have concerns and fears as we begin. We thought we would compile our top 5 things we have found most helpful.
1. Pray. Do not underestimate prayer. Ask the Lord to help you as you begin. If possible, ask someone to pray with you. Pray for open hearts. Pray for divine connections. Pray for people to come!
Exhausted after more than a day’s worth of international travel to Croatia for a mission trip, we hauled our family’s luggage up three flights of stairs. I lugged myself into our quaint hotel room and crawled onto the bed. Just before I fell asleep, I glanced over to the two sets of open shutters that brought in the moonlight. Too tired to close them, I drifted off to sleep.
Six years ago, Chris and Elizabeth McKinney threw a small fish fry in their driveway with 4-5 families around them. Having just moved into the neighborhood, they thought it would be fun to get to know some of their new neighbors. They enjoyed it so much, they planned several other get-togethers and soon met another couple who said they’d love to help create a sense of community in the neighborhood. The following year, they worked together with a lot of neighbors to pull off a larger block party where 75 adults and kids attended. The parties continued to grow from there and they saw a shared desire - even hunger - for community amongst neighbors.
NBS2GO = Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO. This website is the simple packaging of ideas, resources, and inspiration to equip believers to launch and multiply Bible study groups.
A neighbor Bible study group brings together a wide range of seekers and Christ-followers to study, discuss, and encourage one another toward life application of God’s Word. This blending of spiritual maturity levels creates a dynamic, life-transforming community. Friendships are formed, and group members are equipped to minister to others where they do life.
NLT Scripture references on nbs2go.com and in publications, unless otherwise noted.
