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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!

“I Think We’re More Game Night People”

When my friend and I thought of starting a Bible study in the neighborhood, we knew we would definitely need to start with some kind of event to get to know people. I knew only a handful of my immediate neighbors; she didn’t know many at all. The NBS2GO website suggested inviting neighbors to a tea or coffee event. As we thought of that, it didn’t have much appeal to either one of us. “Would you come to a neighborhood coffee?” I asked her. “Probably not,” she said. So we decided to brainstorm what kind of event we would be likely to attend. “What do we like to do?” I asked. "I think we're more game night people," she said. Thus the idea for Ladies’ Game Night was born.

To advertise the first Ladies’ Game Night we printed flyers and posted them on all the mailboxes.We also posted this event in our neighborhood’s Nextdoor app. I walked my street and the one next to it, handing out flyers to anyone who answered their door, and taped them onto the doors of those who didn’t. And of course, we prayed. We prayed together, prayed when we walked in the neighborhood, and prayed with other friends.

Our first game night was a lot of fun and after my two-sentence announcement that we hoped to start a Bible study, four of the eight women said they would love to participate. In addition, all the women expressed interest in another game night. Since then we’ve had a game night every month and they’ve been a wonderful way for the women in our community to connect. At almost every game night a new woman decides to join our Bible study.

“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.

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.” 

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

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.

First Steps
Despite the rich Christian historical roots in England, recent statistics and reports reflect the spiritual soil of England as hard and cold. Yet, God is bigger than statistics and prayer is more powerful than reports!

When I stepped off the plane in London to chilly 50-degree weather, I was glad to have packed my scarves and coat! Although the weather was cold, the welcomes were warm every place I went. The best way to sum up my England mission trip is to say that prayer had prepared hearts.

I came to England at the invitation of believers from The Church of the Good Shepherd, who strongly believe that God is at work in England, drawing men and women to pray for revival in their great land.

When our Neighborhood Bible Study celebrated its 20th year last month, I remembered our tenuous beginnings. I shared with our nearly 50 members how I was challenged to begin an NBS in the neighborhood, but really had no desire to step out. One of our members said to me later, “Jan, what if you had said ‘No!’ Think about all we would have missed!”

The sweet young homeless girl came up to us and said, “This is the best Easter I’ve ever had!” We were blessed with these precious words when our Neighborhood Bible Study served 70 children and their parents living in a homeless facility just a few miles from where we live. God took us there on Good Friday, to teach us what we are studying in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, “as His chosen people we are to clothe ourselves with compassion and kindness, and bear with each other.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but as a good teacher sometimes does, God was taking us on a field trip and allowing us to experience His teaching on a practical level, transforming our hearts and lives. And at the same time, He was loving these families in hard places through us. I love it that our Bible Study can impact not only our neighborhood, but our community as well.

Did you know 70% of your unchurched friends, neighbors, and family would go to church if someone they knew invited them?  Take a few moments and write down ten people that qualify with these criteria: 1. You know them, 2. They don’t attend or go to church.  

(Polite pause)

Our newest study, the Lent Bible Study, is only available through this email. We desire to have several individuals and a few small groups take part in field testing our materials before we post them to our website. Would you help us by being a part of our “Lent Bible Study” field test? This study is written in the same format as our other 2GO Bible study series. It is a 7-week study leading up to Easter. The following is the introduction. 

We know Valentine's is a special time of year and we want to help you know how to use it as an opportunity for loving the people right where you live, work, or connect. I have designed a guide to help! Having a guide helps keep my thoughts organized in one place. It's really just a way for me to stop missing important details when I want to have a purpose-driven gathering for others.  I'm an ideas person, so I put a ton of details as potential considerations. Some may be unnecessary to your situation; just leave those blank and move to something that would be helpful.