A quick snapshot of Bob Nyberg—Bible teacher, encourager, and lifelong student of God’s Word.
Bob Nyberg is a Bible teacher with a heart for missions and discipleship. Originally from Astoria, Oregon, Bob came to faith in Christ during college and soon felt God leading him into full-time ministry. He spent over three decades training missionaries with Ethnos360, where he taught phonetics, culture, and language acquisition. Today, Bob serves as a teaching-elder at Sanford Bible Church and is a member of the Biblical Resource Group of Ethnos360. He continues to share biblical truth and encouragement through writing, teaching, and personal ministry.
The Day the Light Turned Green
Some days leave no impression at all. Others leave fingerprints on your soul. September 29, 1973, was one of those days for me—a day that began with trivial oddities and ended with a conversation that would change my life forever.
It started with something so small I might have forgotten it—if it hadn’t been the first clue that this wasn’t going to be an ordinary day. I was sitting at a red light in town, distracted by whatever was running through my mind at the time. The light turned green, but I didn’t notice. No one was behind me to honk. Eventually, the light turned red again. That’s when I finally looked up and, thinking the light had just turned green, I instinctively went to step on the gas. Something stopped me. I caught myself just in time. I remember thinking, “that was weird!” It was such a strange little moment—but one that stuck with me.
As I walked through town a short while later, I passed two girls window shopping. One of them was pointing out things she liked: “I like that... and I like that...” Then, as they passed me, she looked right at me and said to her friend, “And I like that.” I had never experienced anything like that before or since. It was such a surprising, out-of-the-blue moment that I remember driving back to the dorm thinking, “This day is getting weirder by the hour.”
But the real surprise was still to come.
Later that day, I was doing laundry in the dorm laundry room—just another Saturday chore. While I was there, I struck up a conversation with a guy I’d never met before, a first-semester student. When I mentioned I was from Astoria, he said he’d sung in a church there once. I didn’t recognize the name of the church, but then he told me something unexpected: he used to push drugs to kids in Portland before his sister led him to the Lord.
Then he said, “If you’re interested, I could show you some verses from the Bible in my room.”
Right then, I had two conflicting thoughts. One part of me said, “This guy’s a religious nut—don’t go with him.” But another part of me—stronger—said, “He has something you need. Go with him.” So I did.
He opened the Bible and walked me through some verses. That day, in a quiet dorm room at Oregon Tech, I trusted Christ as my Savior. And from that moment on, my life took a direction I never could’ve imagined.
Looking back, I can see the fingerprints of God on every strange little moment of that day. A missed green light. An unexpected compliment. A laundry room conversation. None of them were random. They were gracious nudges, preparing my heart for the truth I was about to hear.
Some people have dramatic conversion stories full of flashing lights and booming voices. Mine started with a stoplight—and ended with eternal life.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” —Ephesians 2:10