For a quarter century we were the Amherst or Amherst-Milford class of Community Bible Study. Over the years we met at the Amherst Baptist Church, Christ's Church of Amherst, the Souhegan Congregational Church and St. Patrick Church in Milford.
In 2010 we were no longer able to meet the logistical requirements for the CBS program. Late in August, the Servants Team gathered with a few other willing members of leadership to discuss our options. After a prayer-filled day we came to some conclusions:
We wanted, and believed God desired us, to continue to offer an interdenominational Bible Study to people in and around the Souhegan Valley
We valued the CBS model, combining home study, small-group discussion, and a prepared lesson/lecture and a follow-up commentary by a Scripture scholar.
We wanted to continue to offer a children’s program that was not simply childcare but an age-appropriate Bible Study for the children of our class members.
We were pleased to learn that CBS’s study materials for non-CBS use, the It’s in the Book series, included a 30-lesson study of Luke, the book we had planned to study for the year. ITTB studies do not, however, come with commentaries, so we researched some options and provided a list of possible commentaries class members might purchase if they chose.
As a non-CBS class, we were not allowed to use CBS’s wonderful children’s curriculum. Our team, led by the very-gifted Lee Liscouski, developed a terrific curriculum based on materials published by Gospel Light.
After some research and legwork, we settled in for the 2010-2011 year, newly-incorporated (and insured) in the State of New Hampshire as the Amherst-Milford Bible Study. Servants Team Members were Teaching Director Felicia Sartell of Temple, Coordinator Sally Wilkins of Amherst, Children’s Director Lee Liscouski and Music Director Claudia Carrell of Merrimack, and Prayer Chairman Suzanne Strob of Nashua. Our two host churches agreed to continue to open their doors to us in our new identity. We explained to those who had signed up for CBS that we did not know whether this new entity was a temporary home until we could re-join CBS, or whether it was going to be a long-term independent program.
It was a challenging year, with the complications and adjustments one might expect when starting a new venture on short notice. It was been a blessed year, in which various members of our class and our leadership faced and rose to challenges both within the class and in their own lives. We believe that we have seen God’s affirmation of our efforts.
As the time for planning 2011-2012 drew closer, and again as we prepared for 2012-13, the Servants Team returned to the question – transition or temporary? Would we rejoin CBS? The major obstacles remained: lack of Servants Team members who were or could become CBS-trained, a location that splits our children’s program and adult class into different buildings, and a membership about 25% shy of the CBS minimum. Prayerfully we asked the Lord to show us what He would have us do. None of the obstacles moved or changed. And so, we are going forward, trusting in His promise to be “with us always,” relying on His Word to be a light to our paths.
