July Newsletter

I hope that this Discipleship Inc newsletter finds you well. My summer meetings are in full swing. They are routinely done in restaurants or coffee shops; conversely winter meetings are usually done at PFW. This is important for several reasons.

The first is that I am able to buy them a drink, or a meal, on the ministry. This gives many college students a chance for a free meal. It also sets a different tone for our time together. During our lunch the conversation is much more social. However, when we are done, we begin a more intense study of God’s Word.  

Another benefit is that you never know who is listening. For example, last week at a coffee shop a man interrupted our time. He asked, ‘Are you guys doing a Bible study?’ I told him that we were.

Soon he told me his story. ‘Yesterday a man stole some expensive equipment out of my truck that I needed to do my job.’ My heart broke for him; I tried to console him with Christ centered counsel. 

I asked him if we could pray for him. He responded with a resounding, ‘Yes!’ We then prayed for him. At one point I prayed that he would trust Christ and His plans. When we ended, he thanked us and kept saying the word, ‘Trust … that is it, trust.’ He gave us his business card and left.

There were ‘holes’ in his story that didn’t make sense. Yet what I do know is that I was able to pray for this stranger in the name of Jesus Christ. 

Another similar situation occurred in a restaurant with a different student. While we were eating our meal, one of the servers asked us if we were doing a Bible study? I told him that we were … he then moved on. Twenty minutes later he asked, ‘What are you talking about?’ My response was, ‘The transfiguration in Matthew 17.’ 

We soon started talking about the Bible. As he was leaving, he said, ‘I have never had that number punched on my Bingo card. I have seen many things here, but never a Bible study.’ The following week the Lord laid on my heart to give him a free ESV study Bible—along with a note inside with my contact information.

The day that I dropped it off he did not work. Nevertheless, his manager took the Bible and promised to give it to him. He was a Christian, telling me that he (Daniel) was having health problems saying, ‘He is currently on dialysis.’ May Christ use His Word to reveal Himself to Daniel. 

Let me close by revealing some changes to our ministry website. I added a new tab explaining how our Bible giveaway program works. My hope is to make all visitors aware of what we are doing.

The other thing I have done is add a picture of the newest addition to our family—a 14-week-old puppy named AJ. He is so cute—yet a lot of work. Please check out our revamped website. Our ministry address at: www.discipleshipinc.org

May Christ bless you and your family in the days ahead.

Steve  

I hope this Discipleship Inc newsletter finds you well. Summer is in full swing and my schedule is filling up fast.

There are 18 college students that I will be meeting with regularly in the next couple months. The majority of them will be in person, but a few will be by a phone call. This is something new that did not happen last summer. 

The Panera Bible study from last year is now in its third week. There are 8 students signed up. Most of them know each other, making our discussion time easier and more relatable.  

Our topic this year will be, “Who is this?” Eight times this question is asked of Jesus Christ. (e.g. Mark 4:41, Luke 5:21, Matthew 21:10) We are looking at scenes in the gospels whereby the people marveled, or were astonished, at our Lord. He would calm a storm and those who saw it would ask, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him?” 

Recently I met with a student whose parents got divorced before she was born. Her dad soon moved to Florida and was no longer part of her life. Her mom was an alcoholic and spent much of their food money on liquor. She told me, ‘Much of the money I earned in high school went towards her drinking problem.’

I soon realized that she had little understanding of God as a Good Father … or the love of God in Christ Jesus. These Biblical terms, that so many of us grew up knowing, are unknown to her. My prayer is that as we meet in the coming months the Holy Spirit will use His Word to change her life, one truth at a time.

Another student, fighting an addiction to pornography, sent me an encouraging text recently. We have been talking about using the Word of God to help him “be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might.’

One afternoon I reminded him of our upcoming meeting; he responded with the following text message. ‘Looking forward to it Steve! Don’t forget to leave some room for me to share how the Lord is working in my life.’ What a blessing that text was. 

Finally, I am working on a four week study for this fall. The focus will be on how to read the Bible. It will be called ‘Great Expectations—Meeting God in His Word.’ My hope is to help students read the Bible more regularly … and create an opportunity to give away ESV study Bibles. 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God ... in Him was life and the life was the Light of men.” (John 1:1-2,4)

May God bless you and your family in the days ahead.

Steve