James Tilson, from Northwest Valley Baptist Church writes, “I recently had the opportunity to go through the Exchange Bible study with my former neighbors, Ricky and Ashley. I say former, because we have both moved out of the original neighborhood where we met, though we now still live within a mile of each other. I had kept minimal contact with them for a couple of years. But then, seemingly out of the blue, I got a call from Ricky. He and Ashley wanted to get married and knowing I was a pastor, they were asking if I would do the wedding. They already had a 3-year old child and had been living together for over four years.
I had previously been made aware of the four-week Exchange Bible study, though I had never used it before. Since this was not a normal wedding situation, I decided to use the Bible study as a tool to talk about a Christian view of God, the gospel, marriage, etc. I was able to get a commitment from them to do the Bible study.
I must admit that I did not expect much interest. I thought they might do whatever they thought they needed to in order to have me do their wedding. But the moment they began studying the Bible, it became very obvious to me that God had already been doing a great work of preparation in their hearts so that they were ready to receive the gospel. I couldn’t take any credit for it. In fact, I knew in my heart that I had not been as aggressive with the gospel as I ought to have been when I lived next to them. But God was still working nonetheless.
Praise the Lord that when I arrived at their home for lesson 4, they both told me they had trusted in Christ as Savior. They really wanted a Christian wedding and a Christian home! I am now in the process of doing the “Living the Exchange” Bible study with them, and they are eager to learn more!”