Small Groups Producing Life Change
As finals passed and spring turned into summer this year, most of the Hill Country college students transitioned back home where they enjoyed the break from the pressure of tests, homework, and various campus groups. However, several of the students who remained for summer school or work chose to use that time of less responsibility to dig into the Word with each other by joining a Bible study.
One of the groups focused on Beth Moore's Breaking Free study, which focused on the Christian woman’s identity in Christ, the beauty of an intimate relationship with Him, and the freedom to be found when one abandons lies and claims truth.
Jenna Christopher, fresh from graduating from A&M, chose the Beth Moore Bible study to get involved in her new church. As the days progressed, she explained that she gradually started having the impression that this study would actually do something in her life.
“I had never read the Bible, understood the deeper meaning, and had someone explain it to me,” Jenna said.
Summer continued, and truth from the Scriptures began to seep into her everyday life. Jenna described how her fiancée noticed she read her Bible more consistently and prayed more deliberately, and how it impacted their relationship, motivating them to protect their purity. As she watched God slowly change her life, her excitement also spilled over into her relationship with her mom, giving her the chance to share how He was working in a very real and tangible way.
While God moved in her relationships, He also addressed the strongholds in her life and made it clear that He desired freedom for her. Jenna told a story of visiting the tallest building in Singapore toward the end of the summer, and how God gave her a “calm that was so intense it was almost creepy,” despite her debilitating fear of heights. He also opened her eyes to the extent of pride’s hold on her life.
“I didn’t ever think I was being prideful, but then I saw all these little thoughts where pride was a huge motivation.”
As Beth Moore wrote, freedom from sin’s fortresses begins with recognizing them for what they are.
As Jenna looked back over the summer, she expressed how the Bible study had changed the way she thought and how she viewed her Bible. She also enjoyed the chance to interact with women of all ages from the church and was surprised to see how well they could all relate, despite their different stages in life.
“It was good to know the church had that kind of community,” she said.
Too many times one leaves a Bible study feeling like nothing changed, that it did not impact them at all – Jenna was not one of them. Her last statement summed it up well.
“I feel like I’m more prepared for life, just against Satan’s attacks and for marriage and for being missional with my family –I’m just so much further than I was! I feel more…whole.”
Heidi Rogers told a similar story of revolutionary change and renewal. When she first got involved with Breaking Free, she had no solid plans to stick with it. However, God had other plans, and when Stacy Gauthier asked her to lead one of the break out groups, it was “zero to 100% commitment all of a sudden!" Looking back, she saw it as God’s providence in bringing her all the way through a Bible study for the first time in her lifetime at church.
Going into the Bible study, Heidi knew Breaking Free dealt with overcoming strongholds of sin.
“I felt like I already knew all of this because I had already dealt with all my addictive behaviors; I was pleasantly surprised – just the things I learned and what God showed me, how things could be better with Him.”
However, as the weeks progressed, she realized how powerful these truths were that she encountered. When she broke down in tears one night, she was shocked to see how the others responded in kind as they became truly vulnerable and honest with one another – it was the body of Christ as He intended.
Several weeks into the study, Beth Moore spoke truth into the lives of these women as she firmly but lovingly maintained that while people may like, admire, respect and even worship Him, they do not love Him – and it’s ok that they don’t love him yet. As the group grew closer together and began to trust one another, Heidi explained to them that while she knows God interacts with her, she does not know how she feels about God’s love or how she feels about Him.
“I went in my room and got on my knees, and I said, 'Lord, I don’t love You – what a relief! I want to spend time with You, I want to get to know You, and I want to be excited to hang out with You.'”
As Heidi was speaking, it became clear how after so many years of declaring one’s love for God while secretly wondering what was missing, it was so freeing to be able to say with no condemnation – I do not love God, but I want to. She described how this gave all new meaning to the Bible’s overarching theme of God’s love and its radical power.
“The Bible talks about love so much you kind of belittle it and get over it. I don’t think about it – it’s just thrown around so much. But He’s LOVE. It’s all about love, even though that sounds cheesy.”
Heidi also expressed how God used this study to give her direction and clarity in her life when she had none.
“I was so concerned about what God wanted me to do next, but I realized that night that I wanted to talk to Him, I wanted to hang out with Him. For the first time, I was starting to FEEL His love and FEEL love towards Him. I don’t know if I LOVE Him yet, but I’m getting there.”
While she had been considering overseas missions already, she felt that her motives were finally right – to love Him and be loved by Him, and then in turn love others. She now has confidence in her decision to attend Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and plans to leave October 1st for Perth, Australia as long as she can finish raising the $12,000 she needs by that time.
Heidi and Jenna offered just two of the stories that happened through the Bible studies this summer, and they both echoed the life-changing truths that revolutionized everything from their view of God’s Word to their perception of His love for them. They understood that getting involved in a Bible study is not a “churchy responsibility,” but rather a precious opportunity to know truth and be freed by it, and to share in the community and fellowship of the body of Christ.
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