Jennifer Jordan and Angie Brandenburg have been best friends since childhood. Now they and their children are learning and growing together at the Evansville First Church in Indiana.

Their relationship with the Adventist church began four years ago when Jennifer contacted Bela Kobor, Evansville First Church pastor, to learn more about our church and school. Jennifer and her two children, Joshua and Brittany, began attending church services and studying the Bible.

When it came time for camp meeting in 2002, we invited Jennifer to come as our guest. She really enjoyed the meetings and making new friends, and her kids also loved it. That fall, she enrolled her children in our school.

Jennifer is not shy about talking about Jesus. Eager to include others in what she was learning, she sometimes shared the Last Day Events DVD with the most unlikely people. Jennifer also called up our members on their birthdays and encouraged them to come to church if they were absent.

She invited her friend, Angie, to come see this new church family she was becoming a part of. Angie liked what she found and, in 2004, also enrolled her daughter, Elizabeth, in our school, and Angie often helps with transportation for field trips. Their children also love Pathfinders, Timber Ridge Camp, and Outdoor School.

Angie is the studious type. She had Bible lessons with Bela last year, but she doesn’t just study Bible prophecy—she digs into every detail of history. One obstacle for Angie was a conflict with work obligations on Sabbath. Just before camp meeting this year, Angie’s prayer was answered; her employer agreed to let her have Sabbaths off.

The two families came to camp meeting this year. The kids loved the field trips, Bible lessons, and Sabbath programs. They had so much fun with their new friends they didn’t want to take time to eat!

The camp meeting speakers were great, and Angie gathered up plenty of books, tapes, and CDs to take home, and now she spends hours pouring over these new treasures!

While at camp meeting Glen Leer, a physician, asked Jennifer, “Why aren’t you an Adventist yet?” By the end of the week, both Jennifer and Angie had decided to set a date for their baptisms.

On June 25, 2005, the first Sabbath after camp meeting, Jennifer and Angie were baptized at the Evansville First Church. Gregg and Beth Buck, friends from camp meeting, drove seven hours so they could be there to join in as we sang, “Take Me to the Water to Be Baptized.” The blessings aren’t over yet! On that special day, two more people were inspired by their example and made their decisions to be baptized too.

Who could you invite to be included in the life of your church or school—and invite to camp meeting next year? They don’t need to be an Adventist to receive great blessings there. Just ask Angie and Jennifer!

Diane Kobor is the Evansville Adventist School principal and ministry partner at Evansville First Church where her husband Bela is pastor.