Do you remember your first Bible? Do you know where your first Bible is? Mine is an old study Bible that some relatives gifted to me at my confirmation. Throughout the years, the margins have accumulated helpful notes and comments, different dates of when I visited that same text, and other scribbles that have made this Bible mine. It’s practically tethered to me and has logged thousands of miles crisscrossing different cities, states, and continents.

Have you ever thought that you might be the first Bible that someone meets? Not that you are the Way, Truth, or Life of Scripture, but that you might be the first look at what a justified, grace-filled Christian life looks like in the world? Why would that matter at all?

You may have seen some of the latest articles that tell us that more Americans aren’t going to church like they did even five years ago. Church shopping rates are down, but there are more people who are turning away because of what their churches in the past had done. They also feel happy and content to do what they are doing now. What’s more surprising is that more people are completely unexposed to what the gospel message actually is.

It’s a real concern in my community. Trinity, Fla., is a place that was conceived under the idea that you could be “born, work, and die” all in one place. As I’ve learned, chatted, and had coffee with some of the people that live in our community, there is a growing resentment that “the people inside the church don’t act like Jesus would.” To put a number on it: Trinity currently sees 71.6 percent of its community inactive in any faith community, up 10 percent in just five years. Or to put it another way: About three out of the ten people you see in your grocery aisle this coming weekend are connected to religion in some way. The other seven are unattached to the means of grace and the sacraments.

Something will fill that void. The spiritual needs today aren’t different than at any point in human history. There will always be a real need for relationships, forgiveness, justice, comfort, purpose, and salvation. Humanity needs to hear it. God’s given us the message to speak to it.

As a home missionary in the United States, this excites me. We have a real opportunity to show Christian love to people who have no idea what it looks like. We are Christ’s ambassadors, as though he is making an appeal through us!

With more people unexposed to what the gospel message is, we may have to be more proactive about going and showing what a redeemed life looks like rather than asking someone to come and see. One helpful pastor I know said, “Where is the most unlikely place you will find an unchurched person? Inside of a church.”

We often lament that this is a darkening and dimming world. That just means we need some lights to guide our way. That can happen through prayers for our worker training programs and for your pastors, but also for your brothers and sisters who are sitting in the seats of church along with you, that they may be bold in their witness of the gospel and unashamed of its message. Include yourself in that prayer too.

Because to someone you’ve never met or someone you know extremely well, you might be the first look of what living out the Scriptures actually is. So what are they reading?

Written by Rev. Ben Bitter, home missionary at Peace Lutheran Church in Trinity, Fla.

“Time!” I called out. I glanced at my phone. It was 8:11 a.m. on a dark and grey January morning in Parrish, Fla. I smiled because we had just shattered our mission’s record for how quickly we wheeled all the tables out of the cafeteria and into the hallways at Parrish Charter Academy. They say, “many hands make light work,” and that was proven true by eleven energetic Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary students who traveled all the way to Florida to help our mission achieve small but significant wins on the way to even bigger ones.

From there, the seminarians set up for Sunday worship—placing chairs in neat rows, arranging the altar, setting up the speakers, rolling out the coffee cart, and preparing for our Mornings with Mommy program. Once the church setup was complete, they went outside to pick up trash around the campus. Just as they were finishing up, a familiar maintenance truck pulled in with a trailer attached.

A few weeks earlier, I had asked the school’s maintenance man, Kelvin, if there were any projects our church could help with around campus. He thought for a moment, glancing at the basketball courts, soccer fields, and playground. Then his eyes landed on a sad pile of rolled-up turf. Hurricane Milton’s winds had ruined the turf around one of the playgrounds, and new turf had been installed in its place. The old turf still sat there, waiting to be removed.

“We can help with that,” I had told him confidently—unaware of the muddy mess the recent rain would create or that Florida’s infamous fire ants lay hidden beneath the turf.

That Saturday morning, the seminarians wrestled with the turf, mud clinging to their shoes and fire ants testing their patience. Meanwhile, inside, we welcomed families to our Mornings with Mommy session. By the time the seminarians finished, they were covered in mud and dotted with ant bites, yet still somehow eager to help with more.

After lunch, they helped us run a small sports camp for the community, where kids played football and basketball, leaving with Risen Savior water bottles and happy exhaustion. By the end of the day, we had connected with 17 families— families who, earlier, had likely never heard of our church.

One of the students asked me later how I thought the day went. I told him I was thrilled! As a brand-new church, it’s hard to measure success in the typical ways. For us, a win can mean simply meeting more people and letting them know we’re here. It can mean building relationships with families or showing Parrish Charter Academy that we’re not just tenants but partners, ready to serve and make a positive impact.

Of course, our ultimate goal is to see eternal wins—baptisms, confessions of faith, and a growing, thriving church. But those blessings often begin with smaller steps: a friendly conversation, a helpful hand, or an invitation to join us. Each of these little wins matters because they reflect God’s love in action, planting seeds that he can grow in his perfect time.

Written by Rev. Benjamin Balge, home missionary at Risen Savior in Parrish, Fla.