ABWE - Association of Baptists for World Evangelism

One of the most significant endeavors God allowed Wendell and me to have was to host neighborhood Bible studies. In our previous marriages with Karolyn and Lee, we would invite high school and college students, athletic teams, and neighbors into our homes to discuss the Bible. So as a new couple, Wendell and I prayed about our desire to reach out to people, and God answered in His own unique way.

When Wendell and I were first married, our next–door neighbor Betsy Pilgrim, a new Christian, invited me to host a Bible study with several women who had recently accepted Christ. God blessed and grew our group, and five more studies were started throughout the community in the next two years! One group met in the home of Sue Boone, wife of a professional baseball player. When Sue then became concerned for the children, she began a study for teenagers.

Wendell and I were burdened for the husbands of all these women and knew they also needed to hear about Christ. Wendell said, “Let’s have a dinner here in our home and have the women invite their husbands so we can get to know them.”

“What a great idea!” I replied.
“How many women are we talking about?” asked Wendell.
“Oh about fifty or sixty girls,” I answered.
“I’ll invite them as couples and let’s see who will come. And you could cook a meal for them, couldn’t you?” asked Wendell.
I nodded yes.

The Bible study girls all asked their husbands, and then Wendell flew out of town for a speaking engagement. A few days later he phoned to ask me, “How’s the Bible study dinner going?”
“We have about sixteen people,” I answered. Some of the husbands are unresponsive.” “Maybe we need another incentive besides a free meal,” he said. “How about I ask one of the ballplayers from our Philadelphia athletes study to come and share his testimony. That ought to interest the men!”

I called the girls the next day and announced that Julius Erving (Dr. J of the Philadelphia 76ers) would be attending the dinner and speaking afterwards. The next time Wendell called, we had thirty-four people! “Can we seat them all?” he asked.
“Yes, if I get tables and chairs from ABWE and set them up in the downstairs bedroom and living room, dining room, and kitchen!”
“Okay,” he said. “And maybe you’d better ask the ladies to help bring some food.” “Good idea!” I said.

Wendell arrived home a week later, and the count was up to fifty! “We’d better get a restaurant,” he suggested.

A wonderful Christian friend of ours owned a nearby restaurant, The Carriage House, and volunteered to close her restaurant at 7:00 p.m. so we could bring our group, which had now grown to sixty-eight!

That night we gathered inside. The men entered cautiously. They knew we would be talking about religion. However, when they saw Dr. J seated at the head table, they relaxed and enjoyed a beautiful dinner. Wendell and I visited with everyone during the meal and, after dessert, Dr. J was introduced. Julius was articulate and intended to say precisely how he had received Christ. Fifteen minutes passed and I looked around. All the husbands were glued to their seats. After another ten minutes, Julius sat down and Wendell stood to speak. “Be brief, Wendell,” I whispered. It’s been two and a half hours!”

However, Wendell had this one time with these people, and he intended to bring God’s message in his wonderful, warm, loving, and firm way. He told our guests there are three things God wants you to know:

1. Life is brief—Psalm 90:12 teaches us to number our days. There are 25,550 days for seventy years
2. Life is a battle—with corruption, crisis, consolation—and there is seldom any advance without adversity
3. But life is beautiful—if we have Christ!

Everyone was listening intently. Some were wiping their eyes. Wendell gave an invitation to accept Christ and asked the people to tell him at the door when they left if they had made that decision. He also asked them to a couples dinner and Bible study in our home the next month, and then he closed in prayer.

No one rushed out. Sixty-eight people all stood in line to shake our hands and shake Dr. J’s hand, and to thank us for a wonderful evening. Five men whispered to Wendell that they indeed had asked Christ into their hearts that evening. Our next door neighbor Gary was included in that group.

From that meeting, couples dinners and Bible studies were birthed, not only in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, but also in Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg, and Lititz, Pennsylvania. Many received Christ over those years. We thank God for giving us this wonderful ministry in several–hundred families’ lives. To God be the glory!

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