Sponsoring a Marriage Enrichment Workshop
Sarah McMahon’s home group formed about 4 years ago after she and her husband, Keith, attended a Marriage Enrichment workshop sponsored by Jeff and Margie Van Duzer. With another couple at the workshop, they decided to join together in supporting each other’s marriages, and added two other couples. Their group has determined

• to be transparent about their marriages with one another,
• to cover the hard topics (such as sex and intimacy and body image), and
• to renew their wedding vows before one another each year.

This year, the home group hosted a Marriage Enrichment workshop May 5-6 at Bethany to provide a time of community building and connection for couples, enrich people’s marriages, and encourage marriage ministry within the church. They invited friends, Ron and Cathlee James, to facilitate the event. Each couple in the home group also agreed to share personally on one of the four topics covered:

• communication,
• commitment,
• qualities of a good marriage, and
• confession & forgiveness.

Thirty couples signed up, and gave positive feedback.

Sara believes her home group has been very beneficial in her marriage.

Supporting a Missionary
Jill and Matt Bell are part of a home group which supports InterVarsity missionaries Alex and Mae Moore in their work on the Washington State University campus in Pullman.
The home group began to support the Moores in prayer about three years ago after a request by the Outreach Committee for home groups to serve as liaisons for Bethany missionaries. It was an easy decision as Mae’s parents—Chris and Wayne Gustafson—are in the home group. About 1 1/2 years ago, the group began supporting Alex & Mae financially as well.

As liaisons to the Moores, the Bells’ home group regularly prays for Alex and Mae. They also ask them to come and share when they are in town, and to let them know how the group can support them.

Over the years Jill has enjoyed watching Alex and Mae mature in their walks with God, and in their excitement to minister and share Jesus with students. She appreciates the reminder that ministry can take place even in Washington, and that it doesn’t have to be “out there.”

Jill’s experience with the Moores has shown her that supporting a missionary offers mutual benefits. It provides the Moores with a connection to Bethany, and encourages their group to look beyond their busy lives to what God is doing in others.

Joining a Habitat for Humanity Project
Finding a service project that can accommodate eight children between the ages of 2 and 7 along with seven adults isn’t easy. Yet, when a couple in Misty Grieger’s home group shared that their church (University Presbyterian) was hosting a local building project with Habitat For Humanity, it seemed a good opportunity to try.

The first logistical problem was getting the team to agree on a date How does one juggle the schedules of 15 people? The second problem was finding a way to involve the children in the project, since they were not allowed to be on the construction site.

After some finagling, the group hit upon a solution: They attend the one-day safety meeting prior to their project, then serve for one day at a home in Beacon Hill. Five adults volunteered to work on the construction team, and two adults coordinated the kids in a lunch-making project for the construction crew.

As it turned out, the adults enjoyed being able to participate in a service project and the hungry crew greeted the children’s arrival with joy...making the kids feel an important part of the experience.