“This is a lifeline.”

What is so vital to your heart and soul that you couldn’t go a week without it? What gives you the nourishment, strength, and consistent hope you could not bear to miss?

Like a rope thrown from a boat in stormy waters, a lifeline describes something crucial for preserving life. And of all the words Christi Kuchenski could use to describe the community God has built through their small group Bible study, “lifeline” captures its essence.

Christi and her husband, Bob, started their Zoom-based online WordGo group in 2020. “I know that’s when we started, but it wasn’t just local people,” Christi remembers. “They came to us. God just brought everybody together. And they came from all different places.”

Some members were longtime friends, others friends of friends, and others previous strangers. Through God’s providence, a beautifully diverse group formed. Together, they paint a picture of God’s vast and multigenerational kingdom—from the 20s to the 80s! And today, their WordGo group stretches from their home in Idaho to Washington, Montana, South Dakota, Hawaii, and even Thailand.

In the fabric of their community, you’ll find pastors, missionaries, caretakers, parents, grandparents, and singles. These are people deeply involved in ministry—be it to a local church body, a worldwide radio station, unbelievers and new believers in Thailand, autistic adult children, newborns, little ones, and aging or ill spouses. Christi confirms, “It’s been a great place for people in ministry to be able to share and not feel like it’s in their immediate community.”

But what's breathtaking is how God has knit them together intimately across land and sea, outside their everyday circles, and across the unique challenges of their respective seasons of life. After four and a half years running, they've grown remarkably close. How? By consistently ministering to one another through the study of God's Word.

Get ready to gasp: Christi, Bob, and their group have done every WordGo study to date—and even repeated a few! They gladly take the time to discuss all the questions available: "Our group really likes the questions. And there's lots of sharing." Yet what stands out about their session is the 45 minutes they spend in prayer for one another at the end.

Though they're based online, Christi marvels at the fellowship and Christian unity they’ve experienced. They continue to take calls, talk frequently, and share prayer requests throughout the week. Christi and Bob have traveled to visit every group member in person at least once. Using WordGo has been an opportunity to answer God's call to connect and participate in the lives of His people.

“We have been together for so long; we spend so much time praying for one another. We’re just so intertwined in each other’s lives—we’re walking through life with them.”

And God has allowed this group to walk through some seemingly impossible circumstances. In the years they've been together, they've had four people with cancer and two who have since passed away. But the way they've cared for and witnessed to one another has made all the difference.

One memory of note Christi shares is of their dear pastor friend from Hawaii. "As his last goodbye, he came on and sang the Aloha' Oe to us. It was heart-wrenching but sweet because we knew he was going home. And he looked forward to it! He showed us how to die. And I think that's been an important part of our group—seeing that. A lot of people don't wanna talk about dying. But this group gives a chance to talk about it, to use it as a platform for the gospel."

Not long after, while on a visit to Hawaii, Bob got the call about his own cancer diagnosis. "But we didn't mourn," says Christi. "God had totally prepared us for this through our Bible study at WordGo. So we praised Him and continued on, just as they did." Since then, Bob's been completely healed. But the impact of God's work has been lasting and widespread.

Above all, the people in Christi and Bob's group consistently trust the Lord with their circumstances. They have seen His goodness and His answers to prayers amidst the difficulties they've gone through. By lovingly ministering and vulnerably witnessing to one another, they've learned that whatever God gives us can be used to share the gospel.

What does the future look like for Christi and Bob's group? Nothing has stopped them from gathering yet, nor will it, Lord willing! They meet wherever they travel—on a camping trip, a hotel stay, or a veranda in Thailand. "We're just gonna keep going, so WordGo needs to keep putting out more studies!" (You got it, friends.)

For all of us longing for a lifeline community in Christ, Christi offers this encouragement:

"If you're in a relationship with the Lord, you have to meet with Him every day—so that He can speak to you and so that you can encourage others. WordGo and BSF keep us consistent in the Word and able to pass it on. That's what we're called to do! Wherever you are in the world, draw others into community and fellowship with you. You're never alone. God is always with you. And when you're in God's Word consistently, He'll use it wherever you go."

God bless you and thank you for your story, Christi and Bob.