Maureen

Wednesday evening we were invited to speak at First Church of the Open Bible in Clear Lake, Iowa.  This church is pastored by our long-time friends Will and Joyce Hunsaker, so they invited us to their new home for supper before the service.  They also invited Maureen Dawson to join us for the meal.  What a pleasure it was to meet this dear lady and to hear her story.

Actually, we had met Maureen before, the last time we were in Clear Lake on itineration.  Maureen told us that she and a friend of hers had been visiting churches in the Clear Lake area and were new to Open Bible when they "happened" to be present at the service where we spoke.  Both ladies were passionate about teaching new and immature believers to help them grow in their faith.  They had looked for good material to help in that pursuit, but had come to the place were they thought they might have to write it themselves, which they could have done since they are both educators.  But, when they heard us talk about INSTE and how it is being used around the world to disciple believers, they knew they had to find out more about it.

By the end of the summer, just a few months after she had heard about INSTE, Maureen was trained as an INSTE facilitator and asked Pastor Will if she could start a group.  Since that time, she has led multiple Level One groups and just this week held the introductory meeting for a Level Two group with eleven members!

We praise God for the way he orchestrated so many lives and circumstances together to disciple believers and train church leaders in Clear Lake.  May God bless you, Maureen, as you continue to follow His direction in your life!