Success Stories: January 10, 2024

Welcome Windham church of Christ, Ohio (remote): We are excited to announce the enrollment of the Windham congregation to HTHSOE. Roger Brown is our contact, and they will start the training at 5:00 on Thursday. Please pray for this work.

Welcome Carrollton church of Christ, Georgia: On Sunday, HTHSOE did a reboot for the Carrollton congregation. The elders are determined to succeed in reaching the lost in 2024. The congregation is supportive and ready to work. We will look forward to their weekly updates. We appreciate all prayers for this work.

Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: David Marker (elder) reports, “We are delivering our New Mover baskets. A group met Sunday afternoon to work on compassion cards. We are challenging our congregation regarding contacts. We will meet soon with our evangelism team to streamline our efforts and make assignments that hopefully will help us to be more organized and effective.”

Hatton church of Christ, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “2024 began in the best way. Sherry Coleman was baptized into Christ Saturday night after receiving an invitation card from a member, numerous compassion cards from the church, and studying the BTTB series. She said she had been receiving and reading HTH for a long time. Her neighbor, who is not a member yet, came with Sherry for her baptism and was at worship today. We will follow up with her. All glory to God for the increase!”

Risen church of Christ, Arkansas:  Keden Shrum (preacher) reports, “Art Leeper visited us for the first time a few weeks ago. We asked him to lunch, but he could not join us that week. He returned the following week and had lunch with us after services. I asked him if he would like a Bible study, and he agreed. We did book one the following Tuesday. Tonight, he returned for book two, and afterward, he asked if we could go ahead and do book three. We began book three, and before completing it, Art realized he had not been baptized for the remission of his sins and expressed his desire to do so. To God be the glory!!”

Monticello church of Christ, Arkansas: Josh Walker (preacher) reports, “There is great reason to rejoice. After Bible class on Wednesday night, Nicole was baptized. She moved into town from California a year ago and had been trying to find a congregation to attend. She brought her son to our Fall Festival and began to visit after receiving cards for three weeks. After going through the Back to the Bible study, she put on Christ. She mentioned that she decided to visit because of all the cards she received. Her husband, Brandon, had been attending the studies. After a few visits and a fourth study of Does It Matter, Brandon put on Christ yesterday afternoon before our evening Bible class. We have had quite a few Bible studies that did not pan out, so these two helped the congregation equally as much as the congregation has helped them. We appreciate all prayers for the Bible studies that are taking place as we continue to progress in the development of this program.”

Foothills church of Christ, Searcy, Arkansas: Josh Alexander (preacher) reports, “We studied with Kimberlyn a couple of weeks ago, and she came back Wednesday evening. She had received a ton of cards encouraging her from our members. Sunday evening, she wanted to study Book 2. She was incredibly receptive. She commented that she has been to a lot of churches, and this is the first one that can back up everything they do with the Bible. She wanted to jump into Book 3 that night, but we suggested we wait a couple of days to give her time to digest the information she has been given. None of her family are Christians. Lord willing, we will study Book 3 on Wednesday evening or next Sunday. When she is converted, we will begin prospecting her parents, boyfriend, and siblings.”

Lake City church of Christ, Florida: Jim Flegert (elder) reports, “We are all encouraged on this first Sunday of the new year that our new mover participants are reaching out to 12 new movers with baskets this week. We currently have several of our members conducting four Bible studies.”

Niceville Church of Christ, Florida: Joe Palmer (preacher) reports, “Sunday we had our first compassion card meeting of the New Year. We sent 35 cards the previous week. During the holidays, we sent 40 Christmas cards to our list of people. We collected one new prospect Sunday from our only local visitor—a man who is dating a young lady who had fallen away and recently started attending worship.

“One of the big impacts of working with the HTHSOE for us has been the impact compassion cards have had on our fallen away and weak members. On Sunday, a family who had fallen away returned to worship. The children have been attending with Grandma, but Mom and Dad joined them on Sunday. They have been a part of our compassion care outreach to those who have fallen away. Last week, the church received a thank you card and flowers from a member who has recently been inconsistent in her attendance. We flooded her with compassion cards, and the love moved her. One young lady and her son have recently returned. We had honestly given up, but she realized she needed the church and returned after telling us she would likely worship elsewhere. Sunday, another couple who had been watching online came back. This was so encouraging. All in all, we touched eight people through compassion cards who came Sunday. This did not include some who missed this week.

“We have a complete list of prospects, and our first outreach event of the year is this Sunday. Our elders stood before the congregation Sunday and shared how they had shifted major funds to this ministry and urged us to step up and work to reach the lost. We appreciate prayers for our church as we have some obstacles. One of our elders is facing serious health issues, and I have been down and inactive for a month now with a pinched nerve.”

Lafayette church of Christ, Georgia: Jesse Teague (deacon) reports, “Six saints met last night to send out compassion cards. Several ladies are starting a project to make up visitors gift bags (in addition to the door knocking welcome bags they already do). The elders met with the core group this evening, and we discussed what worked in 2023 and considered how to improve our efforts in 2024. Suggestions included better record keeping, organization, and follow-up visits.”

Woodstock church of Christ, Georgia: Greg Garner (deacon) reports, “We had 16 in our New Convert class. The HTH group will be door-knocking this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. To date, approximately 699 of the 1,320 addresses have been visited, and 20 are on a follow-up visit list. The Greeter Group reported that we had three visitors this week. One family placed membership. WCOC had two Bible studies and one baptism this week!”

Rabun County church of Christ, Georgia (remote): McKinley Pate (preacher) reports, “2023 was a great year for us at Rabun County. The Lord blessed us with two baptisms and opened the door to many contacts. We are currently studying with two individuals. One individual lives in El Salvador. He contacted a member of the church about studying one-on-one instead of doing online correspondence. He has a belief in God but not much background in Christianity. We began our study by going through Believe the Bible Lesson 2. We will prayerfully continue that study this week. Lord willing, I will begin a study with a man this week at our weekly Breakfast in the Word meeting at our local Chick-fil-A. This man’s name is David, and I have been in contact with him for several months. He is Methodist but has issues with the denomination over their recent doctrinal changes. I invited him and his family to services on numerous occasions, and yesterday they attended. We had a meal with them after services and they were extremely interested in the church. We appreciate daily prayers for these studies. We give all the glory to God. We may be small in number, but we are big on compassion.

“We will take a few weeks to review our evangelism program during Bible class on Sunday mornings. We plan to watch Rob’s videos on compassion cards and contacts. We will emphasize the importance of each member’s involvement in the evangelism program. Sometimes, changing the culture of a congregation takes time and patience, but we will not quit. We at Rabun County are still standing, but we are not standing still! To God be the glory!”

Honolulu church of Christ, Hawaii: Lima Esene (regional trainer) reports, “Our current New Converts class will soon graduate. We are returning to the swing of things after focusing on our families and rebuilding those relationships. We have three ongoing Bible studies, and we appreciate all prayers for these. The first Sunday of the month, we had many visitors from the local community. Our greeters aided in gathering their information and our card writers will soon have cards sent. We have several individuals who are being prospected after multiple visits. We are excited to share that we have hired an Intern Youth Minister, Tony Solaita, who will be going to preaching school in the near future, if the Lord wills. Tony and his wife Joanne were baptized in October of 2022 and have grown so much in the faith. Their zeal and dedication to God are evident in the works they do for the Lord. We have many events planned for this year for edification and evangelism. We are excited and looking forward to what God will do for us, with us, and through us. We appreciate all prayers.”

Jerseyville church of Christ, Illinois (remote): Jake Medford (preacher) reports, “We have created an accountability board. It is a fantastic tool! Two prospects are talking about Bible studies this week, so hopefully, they will commit to one soon. This has been a long time coming, so it is exciting for us! Some missing visitors returned this week, and more contacts were added to our card list. We met last night, and one brother said, ‘This is the most activity the Jerseyville congregation has seen in 15-20 years.’ One year ago this Sunday, we started the online program, and we are grateful for the support and guidance it has provided. We have three individuals on our card list and eight active prospects.”

Beloit church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dustin Dougherty (regional trainer) reports, “We were moving snow most of the morning. Thankfully, we did not get the 7-to-14 inches projected. We are continuing to send compassion cards, and I have been leaving invitation cards whenever we eat in restaurants. I will have an evangelism meeting soon to discuss our plans for the coming year.”

Paintsville church of Christ, Kentucky: Zach Collins (preacher) reports, “We started the year off in a wonderful way! We had over 20 visitors in our assembly. This opened opportunities for new Bible studies! Our sermon was titled State of the Church. We discussed 2023 and considered the direction the eldership wishes to move in 2024. This year’s theme is Fix Your Focus, and one of our primary focuses will be evangelism. We pray that God will continue to bless our congregation with growth in 2024! We still have Bible studies taking place, and we hope that by next Monday, a study with a husband and wife will come to fruition, and both will be baptized. We ask for prayers that this couple will choose to obey the Lord!”

Central church of Christ, Paducah, Kentucky: Adam Faughn (preacher) reports, “Last Tuesday, one of our ladies and I had a study with her neighbor, to whom compassion cards had been sent in recent weeks. We completed Book 2 and look forward to studying Book 3 Wednesday. The gentleman is a full-time caregiver to his dad, so it will be difficult for him to attend services in person if he is converted, but he is an eager student, so we are excited to study with him and help him in any way we can. We are praying for good results. We learned that one of our ladies has set up a study of Book 1 with a neighbor to whom cards were recently sent. The neighbor was eager to start, so that is a great sign. On Thursday, our elders, ministers, and secretary met via Zoom with Rob for a three-month review. We were given a reminder of the model and asked questions that helped clarify some things. It was encouraging, and we are diving into 2024 with renewed vigor. Our card-writing teams have resumed following the holidays, and one of our deacons is taking over the assignments of follow-up visits, so more ‘ownership’ is being taken. Our church library has been transformed into more of a home-looking space so that members who live far away or have small apartments can have a place that looks like home to hold Bible studies.”

Aberdeen church of Christ, Maryland: Will Brown (preacher) reports, “We are excited about how this year is starting. Two weeks ago, Ken walked up to the building because he was interested in knowing and doing what the Bible says. He understood that some YouTube videos about the Bible were not telling the truth about Scripture. He met with one of our elders, who directed him to me. I asked Ken if he would like a Bible study, and he said, ‘Absolutely!’ We conducted a Bible study the next day. The second study was two days later. The final study was conducted on January 4. He was ready to obey the gospel after the third study using Back to the Bible. He is a hard worker and extremely serious about following God. He asked me to set up a study with his fiancé. We appreciate prayers for continued growth like this in 2024. Praise God for people like Ken.”

La Plata church of Christ, Maryland (remote): Eric Sykes (regional trainer) reports, “We had a great first week of 2024. Malik and Carla James were baptized. Carla’s sister said that she wants to be baptized, so we are starting Back to the Bible Lesson 1 with her and with Malik James, Jr., Carla and Malik’s 18-year-old son. We completed Lesson 3 with a young couple, Dwayne and Reeva Young. They said that they wanted to be baptized but ran out of time (they have small children who had to go to school the next morning). We are scheduled to baptize them tomorrow. On Sunday, a brother asked me if I would do a study with him and his two brothers. One brother was asking him questions about the church. He remembered that we defer and do not debate questions. So, he agreed to let him show what the Bible says compared to what we think. He is coming to town later this week. The other brother has cancer. He has received 33 compassions cards, and we have taken him out for a couple of meals. We have visited with him several times at his home, so he’s ready for a study to learn more about the La Plata church of Christ. We sent out nine compassion cards; we had six folks in our new converts’ classes. We have three visits scheduled for this week. We are scheduled to finish training the congregation on Back to the Bible Lesson 3 this week. We will start Does it Matter? next week. We are so excited, and we appreciate all prayers for our efforts.”

Southside church of Christ, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Freddie Klein (preacher) reports, “We had a baptism last week, and we rejoice for our new family member. As studies continue, we are getting closer to converting several more souls. Our card-writing program continues to mail cards to wayward members and new movers. This week, the project to knock on every door in our area has taken another step forward. Additionally, we watched and discussed the HTHSOE video on timing.”

Samford church of Christ, Steele, Missouri: Kyle Imel (deacon) reports, “The elders and deacons met to reassign roles in our program. We will utilize Sunday evenings for the next few weeks to show videos and do additional training to help us start the new year off strong.”

West Hwy 160 church of Christ, West Plains, Missouri (remote): Marvin Hatley (elder) reports, “Our congregation continues to prospect eleven prospects. These include friends, co-workers, family members, and long-term visitors. Two studies were using Back to the Bible Book 2 last week. One study was completed in two parts due to time constraints. The other was completed in one setting with the prospect of a Baptist background pointing out the Bible’s teaching on the Lord’s Supper (which his church only did twice a month) and the church’s name honoring Christ. Prayers are needed for these studies as they move to Book 2. A Does It Matter study is taking place this evening with a prospect who has had a recent life-changing event.”

Foristell church of Christ, Missouri: Rod Jackson (elder) reports, “We sent out over 20 cards to a member who is not faithful. Perhaps this will show love and care and to remind him that we need our church family! Compassion cards are used not only to reach out to cold contacts but to members who need strength and those who are backsliding. This has been a great way for us to get many members involved! This week, we watched the video Quantity over Quality, and it was SUCH a great reminder that we have to cast seeds far and wide. We discussed using social media, cards, and opportunities daily to spread God’s word. This has helped us focus on quantity and has reminded us of the urgency of the work ahead. We appreciate all prayers for our work in the St Louis area!”

East Flushing church of Christ, New York (remote): Clarence Jenkins (preacher) reports, “We sent compassion cards as we have been doing each Lord’s Day. We have ordered the new tool that has just come out of the accountability boards so that we may grow in holding ourselves accountable for reaching the lost. We look forward to more precious souls being added to the Lord in this new year, 2024. We appreciate all prayers.”

Cary church of Christ, North Carolina: Larry Fife (preacher) reports, “On Sunday our elders, deacons, and I met to discuss relaunch of our 2024 evangelism program, Rekindle the Flame. We have spent the last several months revamping our evangelism approach. This will start with a training day on January 27 and knocking doors in the afternoon. On Sunday, I presented a lesson on why we need to rekindle the flame of evangelism and introduced our congregational theme for the year, ‘Putting Our Hands to the Plow.’ We are looking forward to a great year for the Lord.”

Carthage church of Christ, North Carolina (remote): Randy Chambers reports, “One Bible study was conducted using Does It Matter. The study went well, although it was not completed in one session, and the next study is scheduled for this week. The prospects canceled two studies last week; they were rescheduled for this week, and we pray they will resume as scheduled. We had visitors who came due to the HTH/HTH mailing. We greeted them, got their information, and gave them visitor bags. We invited them out for lunch, but they had other plans. We mailed cards to thank them for their visit. We continue to mail compassion cards to unfaithful members, hoping they will remember their First Love and return home. We continue encouraging the members to follow the plan and trust the Lord.”

Streetsboro church of Christ, Ohio: Ralph Price (preacher) reports, “We finished Back to the Bible Lesson 3. After our potluck, several ladies got together and put our New Movers baskets together. We will deliver those soon. We are in the process of assembling our Visitor Bags. It is great to see the congregation all working together in these efforts. The compassion card program is going strong.”

Greenville church of Christ, Ohio: John McGiffin (preacher) reports, “We resumed training. Congregants seem to enjoy it. They report they have learned quite a bit about conducting a Bible study. Our transitional visits have produced some results. One of our four visits said they may be attending the wrong church. They are willing to attend a Bible study, and we are trying to schedule it. Our visitor’s program is, oddly enough, doing well. We have several new visitors, one of whom is currently in a Bible study. One is a community member who is interested in being restored. They both have attended services twice. One of our current Bible studies has led to another Bible study as a relative wanted to join the study. Although we have new mover baskets, we have not conducted regular visits as it is cold. It is hard to get folks to agree to get out in the cold, and the few I have contacted do not want much of a conversation when it is cold. We are taking things one day and one prospect at a time.”

New Concord church of Christ, Ohio: Terry Townsend (preacher) reports, “We had one baptism on Sunday. We have six new contacts (the first round of compassion cards is being sent out to them this week), and two additional contacts are being sent sympathy cards. We will soon have our Mission Monday crew ready to send out. We have completed all the suggested training and preaching. I will continue to spend one Sunday evening a month adding to or re-visiting the evangelism model.”

Lake Milton church of Christ, Ohio (remote): Mike Bisson (preacher) reports, “We got a commitment on two Bible studies last week. One of those commitments came back. We are sending 20 compassion cards this week. We appreciate all prayers. We are small but working hard to reach the lost.”

Sullivan Village church of Christ, Lawton, Oklahoma: Steven Hill (preacher) reports, “Card writing commenced yesterday with Team 1, and a new list of names was put forth. We continue to have visitors, and we are trying to maximize our efforts with each new face we meet. A gentleman requested a Bible and is interested in studying, so we will be working with him. A few of us are heading to Tanzania for a mission trip next week; we appreciate all prayers as we seek the lost in Lawton and in Africa. To God be the glory. We will have our three-month evaluation conference call tonight and are excited about the opportunity. God is good!”

Coweta church of Christ, Oklahoma: Keno Shrum (regional trainer) reports, “We filled out compassion cards for three individuals and will mail them out for 10-12 days. Afterward, we will try to secure Bible studies. Over the past few months, Jamie and I have gotten acquainted with a manager at an area restaurant. Last Monday evening, we went there for dinner. He came over to our table and sat down, and we visited for about 20 minutes. He said he moved here a few years ago from San Antonio, and he misses singing in the choir where they worshipped. I asked him if he is attending church anywhere now and he said he occasionally attends the Methodist church in Broken Arrow and that his wife attends regularly. I told him that we attend the Coweta church of Christ, and we would love for him to visit our congregation. I did not really expect he would visit, but I did not want to leave without offering the invitation.

On Sunday morning, I was pleasantly surprised when Jesse and his wife Laura walked through the doors a few minutes before Bible class began. I happily thought that this is why we cannot be pickers. In years past, if a person told me he was Methodist or Baptist or any other denomination, my inclination would have been to move on and look for somebody who was not already committed to another place. That was a bad habit that I had to break when we learned in the HTHSOE basic seminar that we plant and water. We DO NOT pick.

“Afterward, they said they enjoyed Bible class and worship service. We made plans to have dinner together that evening at the restaurant where he manages. We met them for dinner and had a great visit. Jamie invited Laura to attend our Secret Sisters lunch in a few weeks, and we invited them to worship with us again. They seemed to enjoy it, and time will tell if they return, but we now have an open window for a Bible study. This week, we will mail Compassion Cards to them and stay in touch as we work to secure a study. We have set a goal for our evangelism work this year and are excited to get our Accountability Board Inserts. Seeing the numbers every week will help us do exactly what they were designed for and keep us accountable. Thank you to all who are working hard to bring lost souls to the Kingdom. To God be the Glory!”

York church of Christ, Pennsylvania: Mark Raschke (deacon) reports, “We had a congregational meeting to discuss the latest news that we received from the state regarding the eminent domain process that will force us to find another building so that the interstate can be widened. In the midst of all this, we wrote 14 cards each, to two of our contacts. We had our monthly potluck fellowship meal this week, but unfortunately, our visiting prospects left the building because the meal was delayed until after the congregational meeting. However, as we transitioned from the meeting to the meal, a topic of discussion was how we would need to modify our HTH mailing area and begin to evangelize in a new neighborhood after we find a new building.”

Union church of Christ, South Carolina (remote): Terry Hale (preacher) reports, “We are continuing training and have added one more specialist to our specialist training. A Bible study has been added. We will begin the study with Back to the Bible, and she has included her husband in the study. They have been looking for someone to pray for them since a specialist will come to their home. We had a visitor yesterday, passed out a visitor bag, and filled out a contact card for him.”

East Ridge church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Austin Fowler (HTHSOE regional trainer), “Our theme for this year is Disciples Making Disciples. Charlie preached on that this Sunday. Charlie Cochran’s TV program Light for the Way will be back on the air. It will have a great coverage area, and we are prayerful this will help reach our neighbors! This year, we focus on New Movers.”

New Union church of Christ, Manchester, Tennessee: Paul Fulks (elder) reports, “This week, we had four contact cards submitted. Card Team 1 met before Sunday evening services and wrote 38 compassion cards. Several New Mover Bags were assigned for delivery. Last week, members made six follow-up visits and contacts. A New Convert/Bible Learner class meets each Sunday Morning.”

Chapel Hill church of Christ, Tennessee: Matt Jones (deacon) reports, “We officially kicked off Sunday! Before kickoff, we had finished our evangelism table. The entire congregation is excited about being involved in the work. All coordinators are finalizing their teams, and team training will soon begin. Our first compassion card team began writing to encourage erring members, along with a few other families who have visited but are dealing with family situations. The start has been a success, and we continue to encourage everyone to have patience. Everyone understands the process, and everything is set up, the work will be distributed more evenly, and the overall task will not feel as big as it is.”

Covington church of Christ, Tennessee: Wayne Dalrymple (elder) reports, “We had several visitors, including Joy and the Fosters. They are showing more interest in the church. Daniel, our newest convert, responded, asking for forgiveness for not being as faithful in attendance and for prayers for his family. Daniel’s in-law, Brenda, and their shared granddaughter, visited. We hope to schedule Bible studies with these soon. We wrote dozens of compassion cards Sunday afternoon. We had contact cards submitted for four new contacts, all of whom are possibly looking to become part of a church. We are reaching out to them as well. We know that if we continue to plant and water the seed, God will give the increase.”

New Hope church of Christ, Middleton, Tennessee: Cole Wade (preacher) reports, “Sunday, we had a visitor who came forward during the invitation; he was just passing through town. He was in a tough situation heading north to see his family, and he said the message was moving to him. We talked with him and prayed for him and his journey. It meant a lot to him to be seen by so many of our members and thanked him for his presence. Our church surrounded him with love and showed that we truly care. This was encouraging because it took him a while to leave!”

McKenzie church of Christ, Tennessee: Chance Steen (preacher) reports, “Group A passed out their contact cards for the week. We have a few absent members that we have included on our mail-out list. We are hoping to order some invitation cards but are waiting to confirm our website name so we can add it to the cards. We have one Bible study set for next week.”

East Main church of Christ, Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Brad Rowley (elder) reports, “We are thankful to have four new Bible studies last week. One study is with one of our youth, led by Avery Bayes, our family and youth minister. The second study developed from a benevolence request led by Jon Mitchell, our pulpit minister. The third study was developed by a visiting college student led by Avery Bayes and one of our new converts, Cole Walker. The fourth study is derived from one of our new converts’ sons. This study is being led by Mike Weeks and Teresa Mingle. We had two ongoing Bible studies last week. Taylor Hayes completed the design of our invitation card. Eric Fisk is printing the cards for his cost. We have three videos that we will be shooting and editing this month. One is for our website, What Must I Do to Be Saved? The other two will be used for training. We will use a monitor for our accountability board and keep folks updated on evangelism activity. The elders have set our goals for 2024. We received six new contact cards last week. We completed three follow-up visits and delivered eight new mover baskets. To God, give the glory!”

Southwest church of Christ, Austin, Texas: John Garza (regional trainer) reports, “We have studies continuing, and we have two more confirmed to begin soon. This week, we look forward to making a few follow-ups to compassion cards and delivering new movers’ bags. I will be preaching Quantity, not Quality to reset the contact bookmarks, as we will emphasize reminding the brethren. Next week, I will be training another group of Christians who desire to learn how to evangelize. Finally, we will implement coordinators for visitors, community outreach, and new convert support.”
                                                                                          
Northern Oaks church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas: Mel Hutzler (elder) reports, “The congregation continues to do well, and while we are excited about the 32 baptisms the Lord blessed us with over the last two years, we are looking forward to even more in the future. Our New Coverts Class continues to grow and is doing very well. It is being taught by one of our elders. We have had ongoing Bible studies that have taken place many times during Bible class. We are also looking forward to more families placing membership with us. We are excited about what the Lord has for us in this new year!”

Canyon Lake church of Christ, Texas (remote): Jesse Stuart and Raoul Ferris (evangelists) reports, “Since August, we have witnessed our numbers grow steadily for Sunday mornings. Many of our visitors are a direct result of door-knocking and our members inviting neighbors. Our plans were changed this week due to weather affecting our door-knocking. We used the time to plan a strategy for 2024. We assisted in a Winter Retreat hosted by Southwest church of Christ in Austin. While at the camp, we witnessed the baptism of a young man from Westside in Midland. We chaperoned and helped around the camp with various projects.”

Wheeler church of Christ, Texas: Garrett English (preacher) reports, “We had a visitor yesterday whose wife recently passed away. She had received cards from us. He said the cards meant a lot to her, and, I believe, to him too. We have his contact information and plan to visit him. We plan to send sympathy cards to him. More people are becoming card writers, and we continue the prospect with love!”

Granbury Street church of Christ, Cleburne, Texas: Ryan Cowan (deacon) reports, “Saturday, seven men and I gathered to reflect and brainstorm on our evangelism efforts. It was productive, with everyone agreeing that while we have made progress, there is still room for growth. One area we are prioritizing is consistently gathering warm contacts. We want to actively reach out to the body, reminding them of the lost souls we encounter daily and our responsibility to share the gospel with everyone we meet. We hope this emphasis will help fill our prospect list with warm contacts leading to more studies!”

Graceton church of Christ, Diana, Texas: Johnny Willeford (elder) reports, “We asked Scott to retrain the congregation using House to House supplemental materials. We are starting a new year with evangelism on all of our minds. Scott used the Does It Matter booklet that may need to be used in addition to Back to the Bible. We aim to ensure all our members are familiar with the House to House materials. He is going to take the next several weeks as a refresher. We had five visitors Sunday morning for services, and four stayed for our First Sunday Fellowship meal. Three have been receiving compassion cards. Our Group B met to sign compassion cards for two people and will send 30 cards. We will receive addresses and contacts from our new movers group this week. They have been delivering the new movers’ welcome baskets.”

Crosby church of Christ, Texas (remote): Jon Wheeler (elder) reports, “Sunday, we had nine visitors! A couple who had received a new mover basket the day before stayed for lunch. Another lady and her daughter waited for lunch and had received a basket in December. It was her second visit. Two other couples were taken to lunch. There were two posts on Facebook from new movers complimenting the baskets they received and the lovely couple that delivered them! We will focus more on getting prospects who are friends and co-workers of our members.”

Bridgewater church of Christ, Katy, Texas: Doug Suggs (deacon) reports, “Last Sunday evening at the Bridgewater congregation, 10 of our members stayed to write cards for those that were on our by-prospect list. I have included some pictures with this report. We were also blessed to have several families visit with us and send cards to them. Some of them went by our Evangelism table and got some of the material we had displayed. Some of our retired men go to a restaurant once a month for breakfast, and the waitress we had this time was very friendly. We gave her an invitation card with all our church information and invited her to church. As she read it, she smiled and said, “I have been looking for a church, so it’s really kind of funny that you gave this to me.” We hope she visits us soon.”

Windmill church of Christ, Texas (remote): Eric Tipton (preacher student, BTSOP), reports, “We started the evangelism model Sunday. We started our new converts class with one person in attendance so far, and Richard Massey (preacher) preached the first five points from the John 4 sermon. In the evening service, I presented the HTH evangelism model. We have three active Bible studies and one person who said she would like to know more about the Windmill congregation.”

Chesapeake church of Christ, Virginia: Ernest Benjamin (regional trainer): “We have had some success from members using Back to the Bible to study with prospects. This year I hope to spend time training the congregation and becoming more organized.  We ask you to pray for three prospects: Wilson James II (who completed lesson 2 last week), Nakiyah Moten (she’s 11 and is seriously considering baptism), and Bessie Granby (she’s visited several times and says she’s interested in learning more about the church, but she won’t commit to a time and place). Our elders just relaunched our new convert class this past Sunday.”