“What’s one thing you have always wanted to learn?” we asked the college students as an icebreaker question during one of our game nights last fall.

We had been taking advantage of the nice weather to meet outside on Sabbaths, eating snacks on picnic blankets on a grassy park lawn.

We posed our icebreaker question after the sun had set, and people really opened up and began sharing. Then I felt a nudge from the Spirit to try doing a Discovery Bible Study. We had yet to do that with this group, which included three unbelievers, two of whom had never opened a Bible before.

The third unbeliever was Meek. I had studied the Bible with him several times before but felt that he was only studying out of curiosity like the Bible was a piece of literature. He was very defensive about anything religious at that time. I ultimately gave up and lost contact with him for a year.

However, the Spirit brought Meek to my mind, and I invited him to that game night. I could see he had changed. His heart was more open to spiritual topics. But would he and the others be offended? Would they think we were a cult, inviting them to a game night and pulling a bait-and-switch on them? Thankfully, no. They were perfectly fine with studying the Bible! The students who spoke English studied the passage in Luke 10:38-42 about Martha and Mary. The Sinim group studied Isaiah 53.
Afterward, while everyone gathered on the lawn, enjoying the cool breeze, I could sense something extraordinary happening. Although none of the three new members had accepted Jesus as Savior, I could see they were already starting to soak in the culture and beliefs of the group, bit by bit. They had never stepped inside a church, but the Spirit had already taken a step into their heart through the warmth of this community.

As for Meek, in the following months, he was drafted into the military for two years of service. Before he left, we threw him a farewell party. He then wrote me a note which included the following in his words:

“You showed me a new aspect of life that I was not knowing before. I have learned to be a better person than my former self and did things that I thought I could never do: forgiving people who did wrong to me. I am thankful for your supports, which changed my life positively and inspired me to do even more goodness.”

May the Holy Spirit continue to lead these youth into a relationship with Jesus.

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