embracing the eternal by Sarah Fletcher Find out more about the Master's Men and Women Nationally Active for Christ.

Ask Sheri Woolard of Hubert, North Carolina, and she’ll tell you, she’s excited! She and her pastor husband Kevin recently teamed together, organizing a monthly Family Focus night for their congregation. Since they began the monthly Sunday evening events in February 2007, the church has seen increasing numbers and enthusiasm for both the events and for ministries in their church.

Everyone gets involved. Men and teen guys focus on the Word through Master’s Men Direction Bible studies. Women and teen girls share Together in the Word studies from WNAC’s new Together With God magazine. Rotating volunteer couples lead children in special times of Bible learning through videos, activities, and games. Everyone comes together afterwards for a fellowship meal or refreshments. Food responsibilities alternate between the men and women’s groups.

March’s Family Focus drew 44 women and 37 men into the Word. “We wanted to gear things toward the whole family,” comments Pastor Woolard. Holding the combined event on an already scheduled church night makes this feasible. The food and fellowship adds an extra draw.

“It’s working for us; everyone seems to really like it,” says Brother Woolard, who has served the Hubert congregation for seven years, the last two as pastor. “Our men have responded well.” The church just organized its Master’s Men chapter this past year, but already they’ve agreed to host a regional Master’s Men rally, September 21-22.

Family participation is paving the path for giving. One month, a cake auction netted $1,400 for WAC missions-related projects. The church set a goal of  $5,000 for the April 2007 World Missions Offering. To heighten the excitement, Sheri agreed that Kevin could purchase a motorcycle if the church reached their goal. “Funny thing is,” says Sheri, “I have been dead set against that forever and the church knows this. When we made the announcement, the whole place went crazy. They never get that excited in church.”

The Woolards and their congregation are not the only ones excited about Bible studies, however. Throughout the denomination, churches are discovering and using these resources from Master’s Men and Women Nationally Active for Christ. They have discovered that people want to get into the Word. People value time. People set priorities. For Christ followers, time with God should be high priority.

“We love the Bible studies,” says Jennifer Misenheimer of Holdenville, Oklahoma. In her church, Together in the Word Bible studies bridge women of all ages.

Ken Akers, director of Master’s Men has also seen an increase in Bible study use—especially since the introduction of their latest studies, “Ready to Serve” and “Rain Man.” Pastor Dennis Kizzire of Beech Springs FWB Church, Saltillo, Mississippi is excited about the inclusion of PowerPoint presentations in the newer Direction studies. Beech Springs Master’s Men, which numbers in the thirties, meets for Bible study at 8:00 a.m. one Sunday each month.

Group Bible studies meet specific needs. Individuals, especially new believers, commit to read God’s Word daily, but find themselves wondering, “Where do I go from here?” Organized Bible studies map out a course and give people a plan. Group Bible studies also encourage accountability. Women especially cite Bible studies as an effective way to connect with other women in their church. One woman commented, “There’s just a special closeness that develops among women meeting together around the Word.”

How are these Bible studies different from Sunday school? Bible studies produce natural mentoring and interaction. Rather than the familiar teacher-student scenario, Bible studies encourage equal sharing with minimal guidance from a facilitator. Participants feel their input is valued, since typically they’ve already done their homework, digging into a passage and seeking personal Holy Spirit instruction. Because women meet with women, and men meet with men, participants share more freely than in the usual Sunday morning setting.

“It’s just different,” commented pastor’s wife and longtime Bible study proponent, Phyllis York. “In Sunday school, you typically don’t go as deep. You expect a teacher to explain the passage. But in Bible studies you have to go there on your own.”

How do the studies work? Master’s Men designs its Direction studies for monthly use with any size men’s group. Studies are formatted in a three-ring binder that includes notes, helps, and 25 handout sheets. The three latest studies are also available in CD-ROM format. The CD includes files for reproducible teacher’s notes, handouts, and PowerPoint presentations. Chartered Master’s Men groups receive two studies per year at no charge, but Direction studies are available for any church or individual to purchase, regardless of affliliation.

Together in the Word offers women monthly, weekly and bonus Bible study options. WNAC packages its studies as a pullout center section in Together With God magazine, a 32-page, full-color, bimonthly, Free Will Baptist publication that also includes study-related inspirational articles and helpful information. Studies are interactive and formatted in typical woman’s Bible study fashion with wide margins and spaces for comments and reflections. The cost of the studies is minimal; individual magazine subscriptions are $12 per year. WNAC offers free online faciliatator’s guides, weekly study sheets, color visuals and posters on its website: www.wnac.org.

Both Direction and Together in the Word studies follow Free Will Baptist doctrine and distinctions. Ohio pastor and former Master’s Men Director, Tom Dooley, authors the men’s studies. Mrs. Lorene Miley conceptualized and created the current Together in the Word study about prayer titled, “Farther Still.” Together With God, which premiered in January 2007, will enlist various Free Will Baptist women to write future studies.

The benefits of Together in the Word and Direction Bible studies reach far beyond fun and fellowship. Because the Word endures, those who immerse themselves in its study embrace the eternal. Lives are changed when God’s Word speaks.

Excited? Absolutely. Who wouldn’t want a congregation of believers, searching the Scriptures daily, growing in the knowledge of God and sharing it with others.

Sarah Fletcher is the managing editor of Together With God Magazine. She and her husband Keith live in Antioch, TN.