I have been a part of BSF since 2010. A friend had been after me for years to join the in-person group in Mankato. The first week I attended I was overwhelmed and felt out of place and a little lost (which was not a normal experience for growing up an MK & PK).

It would have been so easy to just not go back, and yet I felt a nudging from the Holy Spirit that I needed this; that the reward would be greater than the discomfort in that moment!

I ended up joining leadership halfway through the year and taking my little Brody (1.5 years old) along with me. His little voice singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” is still one of my favorite memories.

When we moved to the North Shore in 2018, I thought I had “graduated” from needing BSF in my life. BSF was piloting an online option starting in 2019, but I did not sign up quick enough to get in. And then 2020 happened, and people learned how to use Zoom. The door wide open for an online discussion group option.

I started leading an online discussion group in the fall of 2021 and felt like I was back home again. The difference was that this time I had ladies in my group from Kansas and Minnesota.

Last Tuesday, I started leading for my 5th year online (my 13th year with studying BSF). The anticipation of a new year and a new study and a partially new group of ladies (representing MN, KS, AL, IA, MI, and AZ).

I have online leaders training on Tuesday afternoons with leaders from Botswana and Uganda. There are other ladies in my leaders group from Nigeria, Benin, and other African countries.

We do our lesson questions by ourselves throughout the week, gather on Tuesday evenings via Zoom and discuss what we learned. The next day, we listen to a lecture and read notes that are given to us by BSF. They call this the four-fold approach and after all these years of studying God’s Word using this approach, I can tell you it is proven and effective.

Part of the effectiveness is because we are consistently studying and applying God’s Word for 9 months out of every year! I can’t wait to share more with you throughout the year!