‘Love Your Neighbor:’ Book and Bible Study Resource

Here we go — another year, another priority. And this is the one I’ve truly been waiting for: LOVE, with its beautiful branches of Evangelism, Community Engagement, and Biblical Justice. These are not just words I care about; they are the very heartbeat of the ministries I have poured my life into. This is my year. These are my people. This is my language. My hope is that it can become yours too.

So, what do love, evangelism, community engagement, and biblical justice have in common? One word: Jesus. Yes, Jesus is always the answer, but in this case, He truly is the center of it all. He is who we love, why we love, and how we love. This entire priority flows from His heart and leads us back to Him.

Now, maybe you’re wondering, “What do these words really mean? How do I live them out?” You are not alone. I know there are many in our territory asking the same questions. That’s why I’m here to walk with you, to help you discover how to engage with your community in ways that feel natural and life-giving, how to share the hope of Jesus without fear or pressure, and how to live out biblical justice right where you are in your neighborhood, workplace, school, and church.

We’re not asking for perfection. We’re not asking for a performance. We are inviting you into something simple, sacred, and deeply personal. We want this priority to feel accessible, not overwhelming. We want you to feel empowered to participate fully in ways that draw you closer to Jesus, the One whose heart we are aligning with. Because if, in the end, it doesn’t bring us closer to Jesus, then we have missed the point.

This year, we’re leaning into love — not as a feeling, but as a way of life. A love that shows up. A love that speaks the truth. A love that restores. A love that reflects the justice, mercy, and grace of Christ.

So, let’s begin this journey together.

To launch this year’s priority of LOVE, we invite you to join us in a book study that couldn’t be more timely or more aligned with the heart of Jesus.

The book is called “The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside Your Door” by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon. The authors invite us to return to the sacred simplicity of loving our actual neighbors — you know, the ones who live next door, across the hall, or down the street. You can purchase the book and do a personal study, gather a group at your corps and journey through it together, or even build a sermon series around its themes. However you choose to engage, the invitation is open and flexible.

And if buying the book is not an option, don’t worry! We have created a small Bible study resource based on key chapters in the book. This resource is available on Ministry Toolkit and can be utilized on its own or used to amplify what you read in the book. It is designed to help you reflect, respond, and take practical steps toward living out LOVE in your own neighborhood.

Why this book? Because it’s not just practical, it’s prophetic. It reminds us that mission does not begin in a boardroom or even behind a pulpit. It begins on the front porch, at the mailbox, in the stairwell, or on the driveway. As Matthew 22:39 says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Pathak and Runyon challenge us to take that command literally, not merely symbolically, and to see our neighborhoods as divinely appointed mission fields.

Acts 17:26 tells us that God “determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” That means your address is not random; it’s strategic. There are divine appointments waiting for you right outside your door. Doesn’t that stir something in your spirit? It does in mine.

This book reframes mission as incarnational, local, and deeply relational. It’s a call to slow down and see the sacred in the ordinary. To believe that God’s Kingdom can break through in driveway conversations and over shared chicken curry, lasagnas, or tamales.

So, let’s begin this year with LOVE — real, tangible, Jesus-centered love. Let’s learn to neighbor well. And in doing so, let’s draw closer to the heart of Christ.

Visit ministrytoolkit.org to download a new Bible study and book guide on Ministry Toolkit each month. Territorial Headquarters is here to support you during this LOVE priority year with fresh ideas, discipleship tools, and ministry opportunities. Contact Territorial Mission, Evangelism and Cultural Ministries Secretary Major Sandra Pawar at sandra.pawar@uss.salvationarmy.org to get equipped.