One a month, I (Dawn), lead a Bible study. This Bible study group has existed for years and, until recently, it was led by the local protestant pastor. Last year, he had to stop working for a time for family reasons and I offered to lead the group temporarily to allow it to continue in his absence.

I have continued to lead it for this school year, and we have had a great study through the book of Ephesians. Both Catholics and Protestants attend, with a few new people starting to come this year. We have interesting discussion as we try to understand what Paul was communicating to his initial audience, and what that means for us today as we go about our daily lives.

One of the exciting things about this study? It happens in our local café. This café is a cultural hub in Melle. It’s a place where people are used to coming. It’s visible. And, our presence there allows us, as Christians, to stand up and say to the community, “We exist, and we have something to offer!”

So, this group in itself constitutes both a subject of praise and a subject of request. Praise because it exists. Praise because we have the freedom to meet publicly and study the Bible openly. Praise for those who take the time to come. And requesting that God would work through His Word in the lives of those who come. Requesting that He would bring new people. Requesting that this would be a place where the unchurched would be welcome to come and explore the Bible even if they have no prior knowledge of the subject. Requesting that God would guide the future of this group, as I don’t know who will be leading it in the fall.

Another neat opportunity? Our local radio station (which broadcasts for about a 50-km radius around Melle) has a Christian radio broadcast on Sunday morning, which is recorded by different local churches. The person who is doing the broadcast for April 8 is going to be talking about our Bible study! I, along with 4 other people from the group, will be able to share on the radio about what we do when we meet, why we do it, and where we do it. Then we’re going to read Ephesians 4:17-32 and talk about what we learned when we studied that passage last month.

What a great opportunity! Please be in prayer as we record next Tuesday, and be in prayer for those who hear the actual broadcast, that they would want to study the Bible, too!