Lisa approached us with a desire to love and lead others during a season of waiting. It was a perfect opportunity to connect her with a local ministry partner and invite her to lead someone in their discipleship journey. We introduced her to Marina and together they started The Knowing Jesus Pathway workbook. Lisa said, “I love this workbook so much because it is very deep, but also very practical and easy for me to use to guide others in understanding the gospel and relationship with Jesus.” Lisa was looking for an opportunity to make disciples. After a year of meeting with Marina, they both continue to have the desire to make more disciples. Lisa will return to the mission field abroad and take the Knowing Jesus Pathway workbook with her. Marina will continue growing in her faith as she connects with the local church.

Tracey was attending a Bible study that was going through a study developed by The Gathering Well. As she learned more about the mission and vision of the ministry she felt God answering her prayers. Tracey had recently returned from a mission trip in the village of Lira, Uganda and had a deep prompting to continue cultivating the relationships that had formed while she was there and supporting a specific need for discipleship she’d observed. Tracey knew God was leading her, but didn’t quite know where to start. Together with The Gathering Well, Tracey started taking her next steps in making disciples in Lira through the friendships and relationships she’d formed while on mission. Through training, coaching, and providing resources to her friend Brenda, a small group of women were able to begin meeting regularly outside of Sunday services to pray, study the Bible, and grow in Biblical community with one another.

Tara came to The Gathering Well with a desire to grow as a ministry leader. She said, “I was trying to lead out of a desire to make everyone happy.” Over the course of a year, The Gathering Well provided Tara with support, encouragement, and tools that helped her reorient her focus as a leader on her personal relationship with Jesus. We focused on how to filter the challenges and opportunities of leadership through rhythms of prayer, Bible study, and Biblical community. In the end, Tara expressed, “Our sessions helped me gain confidence as a woman of God and as a leader in my ministry.” Tara was struggling to lead with confidence, she had a desire to lead out of conviction instead of people-pleasing. With a focus on discipleship, she worked collaboratively with The Gathering Well to grow in her personal relationship with Jesus that led her to take faithful steps of obedience in her leadership.

Brenda lives in Lira, Uganda, she loves Jesus and loves people. Brenda was introduced to The Gathering Well by our mutual friend, Tracey. As Tracey took steps to make-disciples, it encouraged and motivated Brenda to do the same. With coaching and support from The Gathering Well, Brenda was equipped to lead the small group Bible study that Tracey felt called to support. Brenda said, “[Their support has also helped] the women of this study to grow as learners of God’s word and more importantly grow as participants in God’s Kingdom. Through their support, my hope is this study will multiply, so that God’s word and purpose can be shared with many more women.” Five years later and God is answering Brenda’s prayer. Today there are three small group Bible studies with over 30 people that are learning to live a life of fully following Jesus in their everyday lives.

Blake said, “the pandemic felt like a time warp or a disruption in time, I felt lonely and disconnected. I was serving my neighbors, my friends, my church, my son’s school, but I did not feel served or loved myself. A lot of my relationships seemed one sided.” Blake was experiencing friction in her desire to live in Biblical community and was discouraged in living out everyday discipleship. The Gathering Well encouraged her to start praying for the people around her and to ask God for leadership in this area of her relationship with Him. Within a few weeks, Blake was connected with a friend who also had a desire to grow in relationship with Jesus and others. Blake explained that together they were confessing sin, being real, being vulnerable about fears, and joys. She said, “We were learning how to be fully known.” Blake was lonely and discouraged, but her steps of prayer and building community led to a flourishing friendship rooted in Christ.

In 2019, The Gathering Well developed prayer cards, passages of scripture that were adapted and re-written to include blank spaces for people to personalize their prayers. Ann was one of the first to be introduced to these resources. She said, “this is such a powerful and beautiful way to encourage people to pray scripture. Can I have more to share with my friends?!” Her excitement and eagerness to share with others is what motivated us to keep developing prayer resources and tools that not only help people begin with prayer, but equip them to know how. Ann’s encouragement became a prayer over our ministry. Years later, we met Jessica who said, “I don’t always know where to start when I want to pray and especially when I want to pray for someone out loud. I think it’s so great that this lets me personalize a prayer for someone and then pray it over them.” Ann shared a word of encouragement and planted a legacy of prayer.

Tabatha came to church feeling hopeless in her battle with addiction. When the pastor suggested she join a small group, she was willing to try anything that might help. She soon found herself in a group studying The Gathering Well: Understanding the Gospel guide—and everything began to click. As Tabatha came to understand how deeply Jesus loves her, she felt a growing desire to dig deeper into community and strengthen her faith. Meeting weekly with a friend to go through the Knowing Jesus Discipleship Pathway has taught her how to talk with Jesus, study His Word, and strive to live a life that reflects Him. Through these resources, Tabatha has learned that community is vital—not only for love and support but also for accountability. She now shares that she not only wants to keep growing in her faith but also to tell others about God’s love and how He has changed her life. For the first time, Tabatha is looking ahead with hope, eager to lead others through the same materials that helped her discover what true friendship and faith look like.