In 2000, my wife and I bought our first home in the town of Kokomo, Indiana. One week after moving in, the house next door welcomed new owners. I was praying to the Lord for a way to begin a relationship with this new family. The grass in their yard was very long, and they were busy moving in. So I offered to mow their lawn. My new neighbor Jeff gratefully accepted.
As time went by, we got to know each other much better. At one point, Jeff shared with me that at his job he ran a machine. Once he got the machine up and running, as long as there were no problems he was free to sit and read. He shared that he would read the Bible for hours a day. I was astounded. At the time, I was pastoring a congregation, and I was sure that he was reading the Bible much more than most, if not all, of the members of my congregation. He did not even profess to be a Christian. At one point, he asked me what a true Christian was. Previously I had perceived in the Spirit that I was to offer to study the Bible with him since he was reading it so much. When he asked me what a true Christian was, I responded that that was what we could look into if we studied the Bible together.
After a little bit of difficulty scheduling a time to meet, we began to meet in my home on Monday evenings. I rarely prepared any lesson because he was so hungry to understand God’s word that he would come with all kinds of questions about the scriptures. At one point I remember him telling me that throughout each week he couldn’t wait until Monday when he could come over for Bible study. As I helped him learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus, he began to ask about church. I encouraged him to continue to learn more about what a follower of Jesus looks like and then begin to visit churches with his wife and children. I told him that with his knowledge of the scripture, he would be able to discern and figure out which church would be the one for him to attend. He eventually found one. He accepted Christ and was baptized and began his new life in the body of Christ.