by Judy Klein
Bonnie Oetman and Tom Owiti, co-leaders of a small group, led their group in a caroling session in Bonnie’s neighborhood on Friday, December 17.
The group began sometime in April or May, according to Bonnie, when Dina Mojica, the small group coordinator, began urging the church family to begin meeting outside of the church, throughout the week. Bonnie and Tom accepted the call and banded together to create their own small group.
The group usually meets on Friday nights to study God’s Word together but on this Friday night, they took their group to a whole new level.
Dina and Pastor Mills had been continually reminding the church that the small group is not just about meeting together, but instead about witnessing to those around them, to bring their friends and family into a place where they can come and learn of Jesus.
When the group went out into Bonnie’s neighborhood, right around the corner from the church to sing carols, they were fulfilling the second step of the small group. First, establish yourself as a group, second, go out and spread God’s Word.
The group gave a small GLOW tract with a candy cane as a gift after they finished singing. “We received such a good response from my neighbors”, says Bonnie. “The people that were home loved it! One lady had tears in her eyes.” Bonnie says she’s received several phone calls afterward from her neighbors who were quite thrilled with the group’s caroling. “The fact that people called me afterward and were so appreciative, that really touched my heart,” Bonnie said.
That’s the wonderful thing about outreach: not only were the neighbors blessed, but so were the members of the small group.
“I love to sing, so Christmas caroling is one of my favorite things to do around the holidays,” said Rachel Cabose, a member of the small group. “This year I was able to introduce my five-year-old son, Austin, to the joy of caroling. He was so excited to hand out the candy canes and tracts at each door.” The group also had fun with their Christmas light bulbs which they wore around their necks to illuminate their way in the dark.
Let the Oetman/Owiti group not just be a story, but an inspiration to stand up, step out and take God’s Word to the waiting world.
