In the last part James and B get acquainted playing basketball with some others. John, James, Jimmy, and B go out to eat. James accepts Christ.

Chloe brought the Bible Club to order. Averaging about thirty members, they seemed to enjoy taking turns leading the discussion. Though a couple had cheated, simply declaring Bible verse search games instead of study. Still, they all had fun. “Guys. The Saturday after our next meeting is the weekend before Halloween.”

A groaning rumbled throughout the room.

“Rodney and Hannah want to host a Costume Party. Most of you know them, the youth pastors at Victory Life Church. Hold it down. Hold it down.” Excitement was clear. “Dr. Westman will think we’re having a Pentecostal prayer meeting.”

Chuckles and muted laughter filled the room.

“Okay. The theme is cartoon characters, super heroes, stuff like that. But no devils or demons!” Chloe added playfully.

“Oh, Casper is so cu-ute,” Chelsea feigned.

+++

The very next Sunday, the Sunday before the party, a variety of sermons were preached around the community. In the services attended by the Bible Club members, within the context of each sermon, every one expounded a different spiritual truism or theme. Each club member, though, heard the same message: pray without ceasing.

At their next meeting, October 25, Chloe pre-empted the designated speaker. She had the words Pray without ceasing on the chalk board.

“Guys.” Chloe turned to the board. The group quickly silenced. She wrote her name below the words she’d written on the board. “I’d like everyone who heard this expressed in one way or another this week to come up and put your name by mine.”

To a person, everyone rose from their seats simultaneously. Chloe wondered whether she had issued an order, a military command, rather than a simple request.

“What do we do about it?” Chloe asked once they’d returned to their seats. “Can somebody find the scripture?” she asked, knowing it was 1st Thessalonians 5:17. She asked Justin to read it, asking him to back up to catch the entire paragraph, knowing he preferred the New International Version.

Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

“Mine says Pray without ceasing,” Corey said. But I can’t get past the part that says to examine everything carefully.”

“The Message says to pray all the time, and to check out everything,” Grace said.

“Somebody give us the Cliffs Notes bullets,” Chloe asked, prepared to write them on the board. “Our takeaway from this.”

• Respect our hard workers
• Live in peace with each other
• Warn the idle
• Encourage the timid
• Help the weak
• Be patient with everyone
• Be kind to everybody
• Be joyful
• Pray continually, all the time, without ceasing
• Give thanks for everything
• Keep the fire burning
• Respect prophecies
• Test everything (examine everything)
• Hold on to the good
• Avoid evil

“Now what’s God telling us? Anybody …”

Brett answered for everyone. “Pray continually. Do the right thing. And keep our eyes peeled.”

Everyone agreed.

“Guys, God’s talking to us. This is heart attack, liver cancer serious. I’m going to my room right after supper to pray. I’m setting my alarm for four o’clock in the morning to pray. If I wake in the night, I’m going to pray. I’m going to pray when I brush my teeth, as I eat, even while I’m talking to my mother. And I’m going to do it until God tells me to stop.

“If I seem to ignore you, I’m sorry. I’m praying. I’m going to ask Dr. Westman if we can have the room every day of the week. We’ll have our regular Thursday meeting, but I’m hoping we can have it every day so we can pop in for ten or fifteen minutes of just checking in with each other, and a short, group prayer.

“All in?” she asked.

“All in,” they chorused.

+++

“I know what you kids did last year, Chloe. Believe me. My heart tells me what you did. But there were detractors. Someone went to the Board. I couldn’t tell them what was happening because, well, we’d still be smelling the stink. And some people, instead of God dealing with them, would be in prison. We can’t begin to guess whether or not if we’d gone to the police that we wouldn’t be right where we are today – where we are with what you’re telling me.

“My spirit tells me that we did the right thing.” Dr. Westman paused, expecting Chloe to compromise, to back off her request for the room for every day.

She didn’t.

“All right,” he said. “If I have to go to the Board again, then I’ll just have to go to the Board.”

“Thank you Dr. Westman.” Chloe turned to leave. Turning back, she exclaimed louder than she’d intended, “I hope you know that we respect and love you!” Chloe then fairly fled from the room, leaving Dr. Westman flabbergasted. Shaking his head, he had no idea the breadth of his smile.

+++

Thursday, November 8th.

“Okay,” Chloe began. “Everybody have the tickets you need? For yourself and your guests?” She waited for the chatter to stop. “Rodney and Hannah want us there 45 minutes early. That way we can have time to get our snacks and be out of the general public’s way before they start getting there. We don’t want people being mad at Christians when they go to see a Christian movie.”

+++

Saturday, November 10th.

People paid attention, but paid no serious mind to Anthony Prescott and T.J. Adams as they bought their tickets for a horror film playing in one of the complex’s smaller rooms. No one noticed them leave the theater during their film. No one paid any attention to them entering the theater showing God’s Not Dead after the cleaning crew finished. And no one paid any mind as they left the complex without their backpacks.

People noticed, but paid them no attention as they bought second tickets to the same horror film that they’d already seen. Or that they each donned back packs, only this time, they wore jackets with something heavy in the pockets. No one cared about them.

No one paid them any mind as they entered the theater showing God’s Not Dead, their tickets purchased days ahead. Or when they left the room without their backpacks. They spent the next several minutes in the horror film theater, waiting for the time for the lights to dim on the Christians. They’d saved the very front row, left end and right end seats with their jackets. Their semi-automatic pistols neatly tucked into waistbands concealed by shirttails. Extra magazines could be easily extracted from their hip pockets. They’d practiced.

“Remember, Anthony. And I’m dead serious on this. We don’t do anything until at least 7:30. My dad starts his shift at 7 sharp. We gotta be sure the leaving shift is all outta there. 7:30. No matter how much you hate the movie.”

“7:30,” Anthony agreed, wishing that it was going to be his own father running into his line of fire. “At 7:29 we tuck ourselves into the corners up front. At 7:30 I call the number. At 7:31 hell visits God’s Not Dead. We watch the real horror show. As soon as we get clear shots at the first responders, the ones in uniform, we open up – headshots and groins.

The film was scheduled to begin at 7.