Steps of Faith with your Neighbors

July 21, 2025 / by Susan White

In 2018 we made the decision to move from our rural home into the city of Lexington, IL. It was a huge change to move from a country setting to the main street of town, but I told my husband Gary that I believed the Lord had a reason for moving us to our new home.

Shortly after getting settled we had new neighbors move in next door, Grant and Ashley, their daughter Aria, and infant son Asher. Aria began playing with our grandchildren when they came to our house each Tuesday, and through that connection we began a friendship with their family.

One day, we asked Aria if she would enjoy going with us on Wednesday nights to AWANA. Her parents gave her permission, and Aria enthusiastically jumped into the AWANA program. We looked forward to driving her every week. She never missed a night and it was a blessing to have a front row seat to watch her excitement grow toward everything she was learning at church. We invited her family to attend the AWANA End of Year Celebration. It was an outdoor picnic with tons of activities and games. They had a wonderful time! Soon afterward, we were thrilled when Grant told Gary that they had decided to come on a Sunday to East White Oak. They visited soon afterward, and began attending church regularly.

We wanted to get to know other neighbors as well, so we asked Grant and Ashley to help us host a neighbor get together with people who lived around us. Aria helped me pass out the invitations. Our first gathering we hosted a group of about eighteen people. One neighbor, with a few tears, told us how grateful she was to have been invited. She said she had lived on our street for 30 years and no one had ever tried to help the neighbors build community like this before.

This past year, a friend encouraged me to start a neighborhood Bible study. I immediately thought about Ashley. I asked if she would like to do a study together and we have had a wonderful time over the past year studying through a Navigator Bible study series. It’s been a huge blessing to both of us and as we learn and share together about our relationship with God and how to walk with Christ.

Almost seven years later, I can see now why God put us in this house among these neighbors. Isn’t it amazing that God can use little acts of hospitality and a simple invitation to church? It’s exciting to see how God is working, and we look forward to seeing what He will do next. We hope we have been a blessing, but we can say for sure that we have been blessed through all God has done on our street.

Susan White has been married to her husband Gary for 55 years. They have three grown children and thirteen grandchildren. They have attended East White Oak since 1995. Through the years, Susan has served in Children’s Ministry and AWANA, on the kitchen committee, and been part of the choir. She loves her Precept Bible Study group. In her free time she enjoys reading, being with her grandkids, and making Gospel bracelets for the Fellowship of Christian Farmers.