By James Montgomery Boice, who was pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church for over 30 years.

Between 1963 and 1966, when I was studying at the University of Basel in Switzerland, my wife and I were invited to attend a Bible study group that met on Friday evenings. It was a small group at first, but it grew. By the time we had gone through Acts and Romans together and through several other books of the Bible, the numbers had doubled and several people had become Christians. Along with the Bible study grew personal commitment to Christ and a concern for others.

In time the group began to meet on Sunday mornings. A church was founded, and the original Bible study, which was in English, was supplemented by another conducted in German. Soon there was a noon group for secretaries. Over the years people left the church to return to their homes in various parts of the world, and they founded groups there. At last count I knew of eleven such Bible study groups, all of which grew out of the original group in Basel. Through them many more are coming to a deeper knowledge of the Scriptures.

I firmly believe that what happened in such a graphic way in Switzerland will happen wherever the Bible is studied seriously and applied to daily life. Three things will happen:

First, there will be conversions to Jesus Christ.

Second, there will be growth in personal commitment and holiness on the part of Christians.

Third, there will be an expanding concern for others.