By Maria Ignas (BA 25)
Tune into current discourse about the spiritual state of young adults, and what you’ll find is pretty bleak. Masses of young people, even professing Christians, are openly distancing themselves from core tenets of the faith. It’s easy to become dismayed when reading up on dismal church attendance statistics or yet another young adult’s departure from Christianity.
However, we know with certainty that God remains at work in the hearts and minds of His children, and He’s not slowing down anytime soon. What seems like barren ground may actually be the perfect clearing for the fire of revival.
Take a look at Noah (BS 24) and Emma (Lehman BS 23, MBA 23) Wright’s Bible study. This group, which has grown to about 70 people, is challenging every notion that the younger generations are anything but passionate about unrelenting faith.
The idea for the study began in the summer of 2024, when Noah, Emma, and some friends felt God call them to lead a co-ed community Bible study.
“We felt the Lord lead us to have something where anyone could be invited and no one would be excluded,” said Noah.
After much prayer and preparation, the Wrights opened their Warsaw home for the study’s first meeting in May 2024. That Wednesday evening, a group of 10-12 young adults worshiped, prayed, read a passage of Scripture, and held conversations in small groups.
“None of us fully knew what we were getting into,” said Noah. “We just wanted to provide a space for community, fellowship, and worshiping the Lord.”
Each week, the study welcomes young people who are yearning for a genuine relationship with the Lord and a close-knit community to find it in. At each gathering, the Wrights witness attendees form new friendships and deepen existing ones, all while seeking God in His Word together.
“People are just hungry to be with other believers, and they’re hungry to chase after the Lord,” said Noah.
To third-year nursing major Lucas Wrenn, a member of the group’s leadership, a core element of the study is that it turns no one away; it invites all to experience the life-giving presence of Jesus.
“It is an environment that welcomes everybody,” said Wrenn. “We very much value people being able to walk in the door with anything they are going through. We want them to feel like they can lay that down at the feet of Jesus and leave their burdens behind when they walk out the door.”
Wrenn has found his own spiritual renewal through the study.
“This has been a place that not only allows me to pour my cup out but also allows me to get my cup filled up,” said Wrenn.
Tairyn Null, a second-year digital marketing major, has found an invaluable source of community since she began attending in October last year.
“I have gotten to make friends with other upperclassmen girls,” she said. “They walk with me and give me wise counsel as I grow in my relationships with God and people. It wasn’t something I knew I needed, but God did, and I was able to find that here!”
To many, the study’s small groups prove crucial to the community and the mutual edification the group offers. After the week’s speaker explicates a passage of Scripture, which is usually a portion of the book the group is progressing through, men and women break into smaller groups for discussion. In these times of earnest conversation and vulnerability, attendees find solidarity with one another.
“I found community in talking to other guys my age who are walking through the same things,” said Wrenn. “We can learn from and help one another.”
Though the Wrights and many attendees are Grace alumni, the study welcomes people from every sphere of life, from college-age adults to those in their upper 20s, high schoolers, and even a middle schooler.
The study has addressed a need for young adults who live in Warsaw but don’t have the opportunity to connect with Grace students. It’s given them a space to fellowship with those whose paths they may not otherwise cross.
“It’s been so cool to see the Lord take two different groups of people in the same town and bring them together,” said Emma.
According to Noah and Emma, one crucial factor of the group’s longevity is its core leadership group, which meets 45 minutes before the study to pray, prepare food, and help the Wrights set up. These young adults have relieved pressure from Noah and Emma, allowing the Bible study to belong to everyone, not only one or two people.
Wrenn has found his role is equipping him practically to minister to others.
“It has grown me as a leader in ministry, provided me opportunities to share my testimony with people and lead others closer to God,” said Wrenn. “This has sparked a desire in my heart to lead in ministry, whatever that might look like in the future.”
According to study leader Logan Anderson (AS 20), speaking on rotation has trained him to share the Gospel.
“The Gospel is for everyone, so we should speak about it in a way that is palatable for everyone without being watered down,” he said.
The Bible study has grown into so much more than what anyone, most of all the Wrights, could have expected. As they reflect on the group, they understand it’s marked by God’s provision every step of the way.
For example, the group’s rapidly growing numbers are a blessing, but they have posed a problem. The couple easily accommodated attendees during the summer months, when everyone could pitch a blanket in the Wrights’ spacious yard, but Noah and Emma struggled with how they would host during the colder months of the school year. Could they fit everyone inside their house? Or should they call off the group until it grew warmer?
When the Wrights looked at the work God was accomplishing through the study, they knew they couldn’t cut it off. They agreed to hold the study inside their home once it grew colder, and they trusted if they ran out of room, the Lord would provide space elsewhere.
As more people showed up and the house grew crowded, Noah and Emma never lacked space to fit everyone. They continue to offer the study in their home, and no one has to be turned away because of it.
Challenges like these have taught the group’s leaders to seek the Lord’s direction in everything. As the months have passed, the study has shifted according to what God desires each week. Whether He calls the group to emphasize Scripture reading, small group discussion, or worship, they find tremendous blessing when they align themselves with His nudging.
Ultimately, the study has shown Noah, Emma, and their friends just how faithful God is in using the gifts and offerings of His children.
“The Bible study has taught me to be faithful with whatever you have,” said Emma. “And if you don’t have that much, it can still be offered to the Lord.”
When Noah reflects on the group’s effectiveness, he’s reminded of the necessity of prayer. According to him, the group’s health is directly tied to their active petitioning of the Lord.
“If a ministry isn’t founded in prayer, it’s not going to be effective,” said Noah. “Any effectiveness we’ve had is because of the Lord. So it’s been cool to see people being faithful in prayer every single week, praying over those who come, the Scripture we’re going to read, the worship, and even just the baggage and hurt people come in with.”
The Bible study continues to meet on Tuesday evenings at the Wright residence. Whether its attendees realize it or not, they are living God’s Word. As men and women gather to sing songs of worship, pray over the sick, and minister to the hurting, they are partaking in a rich tradition of sons and daughters who know their Father and what He asks of them.
“We have to act like the Lord is coming back soon,” said Noah. “We can’t waste any time: We want people to be set on fire for Him.”
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