One of the things I love about the MyFriends Lifestyle is that it does not require a stage, a microphone, or a special event.

Sometimes all it requires is talking to someone in the returns line at Costco.

A friend recently shared how she met a woman named Annie while waiting in that line. A simple conversation led to coffee. Then, over time, to more coffee.

This week they met again, and what could have been a quick catch-up became a two-and-a-half-hour conversation.

Annie began to open up about painful family experiences, her difficult marriage, and her cautiousness around Christians. Faith was a tender subject for her.

But my friend did not argue. She did not correct every idea. She listened.

At one point Annie talked about yoga. My friend later said, “I know there are things I could say about yoga scripturally, but I was not there to give my opinion. I was there to listen.”

That sentence is worth sitting with.

She was not hiding her faith. She talked naturally about her life, her friends, and the way she shares life with others. But she did not force the conversation. She listened, cared, and allowed trust to grow.

By the end of their time together, Annie invited her to visit her trailer by the lake. She is a private person, so that invitation meant something.

Then Annie asked if they could take a selfie together.

Something had shifted.

Later in our MyFriends Training group, we asked, “Could this become a Discovery Bible Study one day?”

Not immediately. Not by pushing. Not by turning a friendship into a project.

But naturally.

They had already begun talking about meeting once a month for dinner or a games night. A small circle of relationships was beginning to form.

That is often how a Discovery Bible Study begins — with people who are becoming friends, sharing meals, talking honestly, and discovering that spiritual things can be talked about safely and respectfully.

One day, perhaps, a few of them may be open to reading a short story from the life of Jesus and asking simple questions:

• What stands out to you?
• What does this show us about God?
• What does this show us about people?
• What might God be inviting us to do?

So here is a question for this week:

Who has God already placed in your life where trust is beginning to grow?

Do not rush it.
Do not force it.
Do not turn people into projects.

But do pray.
Do listen.
Do share life.
And do watch for the small openings God gives.

A Discovery Bible Study may begin long before anyone calls it that.

It may begin in a returns line.

Walking with you,

 P.S. Who do you think would be encouraged by this email? Forward it to them and let them know they can walk alongside experienced cross-cultural evangelists by visiting: https://hereslife.com/encouragement

You can also view back issues at https://hereslife.com/back-issues