Success Stories: March 27, 2024

Welcome West End Blvd. church of Christ, Cape Girardeau, Missouri: “We welcome the West End Blvd. congregation to HTHSOE. The evangelism training was well attended and supported. The elders are committed to focusing the congregation on evangelism. Jared Scaggs (preacher) reports, “This Sunday we began the School of Evangelism. We had 90 in attendance Sunday morning for worship and preached the first lesson from John 4. Sunday night, several families who do not usually attend the evening service came back. After services, we asked for some people to stay to pass out cards, saying we needed about 16 people to do this; we had 21 stay. We currently have one prospect, and after passing out 90 bookmarks Sunday morning, we hope to have start with close to 900 contacts.”

Welcome Rivergate church of Christ, Madison, Tennessee: “We want to welcome the Rivergate church of Christ to HTHSOE. The congregation’s attendance doubled during the evening worship. The attendance was much higher than expected and the elders are ready to lead this congregation to growth. We can’t wait to see their light shine in Nashville.”

Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: David Marker (elder) reports, “So far in 2024, our attendance for Sunday morning worship has grown 43 percent. Our metrics from our accountability board have grown each month. This has had a very positive impact on our congregation. They can see each week the progress we are making, and it is also showing in our attendance. Success breeds success, and it becomes infectious; we have more people who are getting involved in the work. As we make goals for ourselves and for the congregation, we realize these numbers are a good way to track that progress. But make no mistake; this is all about saving souls, and that will continue to be our focus going forward. We continue to pray that God will bless our efforts!”

Hatton church of Christ, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “Each of our current prospects receives a minimum of 40-50 cards. We have several hot prospects in the pipeline, and we hope to make those visits and set up some studies with them within the next couple of weeks.”

Fayette church of Christ, Alabama: Josh Taylor (member) reports, “On Wednesday night, Randy Phillips came forward to ask to be baptized. Randy is the husband of one of our members, and they have three children who are very active in our church. Their oldest is in our Bible Bowl activities each month.“Kaleb has been doing a series of studies on denominational doctrines and comparing that information with what the Bible says. Ultimately, I believe it was a combination of things that led to Randy recognizing his need to obey the gospel. One thing to remember is that the power of an active Christian in the church can have a strong influence on a loved one who has not obeyed. One may never know the power of his or her activity. To God be the glory!”

Rison church of Christ, Arkansas: Keden Shrum (preacher) reports, “A family who recently moved to our town visited Sunday morning and stayed for the fellowship meal. We added them to the contact list, and when Care Team A met yesterday, they wrote cards to this family.

“Chandra and I visited a lady last week who had been receiving cards. She was sick, so we could not spend much time with her, but she told us we were welcome to come back. I also had a visitor come by the office last week who has been receiving House to House Heart to Heart. He wanted a copy of the Beatitudes poster that was recently advertised. He is battling severe health issues, so we began sending him cards as well. He has agreed to do a Bible study, which will hopefully take place next week.”

West Huntsville church of Christ, Alabama: Paul Owen (associate preacher) reports, “Mark Bailey had the West Huntsville congregation start filling out the prospect cards.  We will collect the prospect cards, and on Sunday, April 7, we will have our first meeting to write compassion cards. We are scheduled to start our first “One Mission” meeting to hand out visits on May 5. We appreciate all prayers for our efforts!”

Lake City church of Christ, Florida: Jim Flegert (elder) reports, “Our compassion card team is sending out cards to six contacts this week. Our Mission Monday Sunday team had the opportunity to carry gift bags to nine potential prospects this past week. This week, we are subscribing to HTH/HTH for 11 delinquent members so that they may receive the special restoration edition titled, ‘Come Home.’ ”

Niceville church of Christ, Florida: Joe Palmer (preacher) reports, “This week we conducted four studies with six prospects. We had another week off in mailing cards, but Card Team 4 met on Sunday. We had one new visitor this week on Wednesday night. The great news is that our security team will act as greeters on Wednesday and get contact cards.

“This week, I met Jordan at our Wednesday Bible Study. He came from India and wants to get involved in our evangelism team. He is a protestant, so I told him I would train him in our system. What an easy way to set up a study. He and I studied Book 1 of BTTB on Thursday. He is very smart and will hopefully be a great team member.

“Our New Movers team meets on Sunday night, and we are signed up and ready to go for April. We are moving forward on the baskets and hope this work will produce new contacts.”

Lafayette church of Christ, Georgia: Jesse Teague (deacon) reports, “The fields are white unto harvest. We continue to incorporate the five-minute training videos into our Wednesday night Bible study hour. Keeping the plan in front of everyone is very helpful. Spring is here, so we have started planning for VBS. We hope to expose many in our community to the Gospel with this evangelistic effort.

“Even better news— we have a new sister in Christ as of this afternoon! Sarah Wyatt has been visiting with us for several weeks now and is a lovely soul. The congregation has welcomed her and shown her the love that comes only from our Lord. She completed the third Bible study with two of our elders today and made the decision to obey the gospel!”

Woodstock church of Christ, Georgia: Greg Garner (deacon) reports, “During our ACTS (Actively Caring Teaching & Serving) Evangelism Program, we collected two contact cards. The Compassion Card Group created and sent 12 cards last week. We had 18 in our New Convert class. The Greeter Group reported that WCOC had four visitors this week.”

Fayetteville church of Christ, Georgia: David Gulledge (associate preacher) reports, “Compassion Cards Group 4 met yesterday morning and wrote cards to prospects. We are currently making some updates to our visitor center program. This will include taking visitors out to eat. We are also studying the Bible with another lady, and I believe we are ready for Book 2.”

Carrollton church of Christ, Georgia: Danny Spain (member) reports, “We sent out over 30 compassion cards to three people. We rejoice regarding our new Brother in Christ. Jordan put his Lord on in baptism Sunday after a timely sermon by our brother Dave. We began our Bible studies with Jordan last year.  We are preparing to make some transitional visits to our prospects.”

New Hope Road church of Christ, Dacula, Georgia (remote): Charles Harris (regional trainer) reports, “On Saturday, we had a men’s meeting for planning our evangelistic works. The start date will be announced to the congregation soon. On Sunday, I received several Post Seminar Questionnaires. All were encouraged after the seminar and chose to be involved with selected various works. Going through the answers will be helpful for the planning process. On Sunday March 31, I will be with the church in Eatonton, Georgia. I have been asked to present information about the HTHSOE to the church. Hopefully, the brethren there will work on enrolling in the school.”

Honolulu church of Christ, Hawaii: Tagiilima Esene (preacher) reports, “Aloha from the Honolulu congregation! We continue our ongoing studies with seven souls. Many locals have visited us in the past couple of days. We continue to send out welcome bags to those new to the neighborhood. Cards are being sent by individuals in our card group ministry.

“This week’s highlight is our youth group and the spiritual focus given to them. This past Sunday, our youth Christian boys led our morning worship services. Most of these boys have recently graduated from our new converts’ class. Our intern youth minister Tony, and his wife, DoAnne did a wonderful job in helping the boys prepare to lead the worship services.

“This Sunday was to encourage our members who are senior citizens. After the service, we had a banquet to celebrate and honor our seniors. The Bible says, “Wisdom is with the aged” (Job 12:12). The elderly among us have much wisdom to offer. They are an important source of encouragement and guidance in the church. To God be the glory!”

Jerseyville church of Christ, Illinois (remote): Jake Medford (preacher) reports, “We continue to push on at Jerseyville. We had one card recipient who was so overwhelmed with receiving cards that she returned a thank you card to everyone. It was great to see how much the cards can affect individuals. It is a great reminder that small things can mean a lot. We have a study scheduled for a long-term visitor, so we appreciate prayers for a good study.”

Beloit church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dustin Dougherty (regional trainer) reports, “We had a good service yesterday. After guest speaking last week elsewhere, it was good to be back with my home congregation. We finished Book 1 of Back to the Bible last Wednesday night and will begin Book 2 this week. We have been reviewing how the charts and diagrams in the chart book can aid the study by making the material clearer.

“Once Book 3 is finished, we will start organizing and assigning people to areas of evangelism and outreach according to their talents and comfort zones. That includes visitor bags, compassion cards, and new mover baskets. All things are coming together for His glory so we can reach lost souls and shine in the darkness of our community and the surrounding area.”

Central church of Christ, Paducah, Kentucky: Adam Faughn (preacher) reports, “We were blessed to learn this week that two of our sisters in Christ have set up Bible studies. Both of those should begin this coming week, and we are praying for them. We have a recent guest who is very much a prospect. We know this because she was not at worship yesterday but texted me to tell me why (sickness), which we see as a good sign. Our card-writing teams continue to meet each week and are doing well in sending out about 100 cards weekly. We continue to see progress and know the Lord will bless our efforts. To Him be all the glory!”

Paintsville church of Christ, Kentucky: Zach Collins (preacher) reports, “Evangelism is a collective effort by the entire congregation. When we work with each other and with God, there is nothing we cannot achieve. Recently, one of our members has been struggling physically because he fell on the steps at the entry to his house. Our elders stepped up and bought materials to build a ramp for this member. Then this past week, some men of our congregation donated their Saturday, took these materials, and built a ramp for this struggling family member at Paintsville. In doing so, we built a bridge into the heart of another, his wife. For many years, he has been trying to persuade his wife to attend the Paintsville church of Christ. It is through prospecting that we can win over souls. Hopefully, this good work won over a heart and will come to fruition soon. We appreciate all prayers as we plant God’s seed in Paintsville!”

La Plata church of Christ, Maryland (remote): Eric Sykes (regional trainer) reports, “We had a good week here at the La Plata church of Christ. We sent out 18 compassion cards this week. We visited five families and dropped off five gift bags.  We had ten visitors Sunday, all from the same family. Seven new converts attended our new convert Bible study classes. We have ten open Bible studies. We appreciate all prayers.”

Southside church of Christ, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Freddie Klein (preacher) reports, “We wrote cards to visitors, the sick, and those who were discouraged. Several who were recently baptized are now serving in worship roles. It is good to see the growth of these young men.”

Foristell church of Christ, Missouri: Rod Jackson (elder) reports, “For the past several months, we had put the New Movers visits on hold, waiting to try again when the weather was cooperative. Now that spring has sprung, we have been able to get back to visiting New Movers, and we have been encouraged by the reception we received.

“For example, a young man had recently moved in with family in our area. He was not at home when we visited, but his mother-in-law was. She has lived in the area for a while. She was happy to pass on the welcome bag to the young man and was also happy to talk to us. Turns out, her health has not been very good. We offered to pray for her and send her some cards, and she was happy about both.

“As a church, we will pray for her, send her compassion cards, follow up with her, and try to set up a Bible study. Sometimes, we hit the target where we aim, and sometimes, an unexpected opportunity arises. We appreciate all prayers as we work hard to reach out to new movers in our area and to see open doors of opportunity (Colossians 4:3) in our area!”

Samford church of Christ, Steele, Missouri: Kyle Imel (deacon) reports, “Samford had a great week. Shirley was baptized into Christ. She went through her studies and realized what she needed to do. We received this contact from HTH/HTH. Our preacher Tim did the studies. We wrote compassion cards to three individuals this week.”

West 160 church of Christ, West Plains, Missouri: Marvin Hatley (elder) reports, “Our congregation has been blessed with a renewed focus and energy following our in-person congregational evangelism training seminar. We started with the HTHSOE virtually a little over a year ago with great success, but having access to the energy, knowledge, and experiences of Brother Whitacre and his family, and the HTHSOE was greatly beneficial in filling in the gaps we had as self-starters. We appreciate the access that HTHSOE provides with its trainers, tools, and encouragement.                               

“Sunday morning, our minister Jakob delivered the much-needed lesson, “Everyone Has a Place,” reminding the congregation that every Christian has a role in bringing souls to Christ. The Elders will begin congregational training this week with “Making It Operational.” Compassion card Group 3 completed 127 cards to be mailed to eight contacts for prospecting. Many in the congregation readily identified contacts ready to be moved to prospects. The two Bible studies for last week were partially derailed due to worldly influences affecting the prospects. Lord willing, both will resume this week.”

East Flushing church of Christ, New York (remote): Clarence Jenkins (preacher) reports, “For March thus far, by God’s grace, we have sent 120 compassion cards and had eight visitors, including two first-time visitors this week. We are prospecting 12 people. We continue to rejoice our sister Keedah, who was baptized this month. By God’s grace, we will be working to be more engaged with all new converts. Also, we look forward to implementing monthly visits to those we are prospecting, including those on our new movers list. We appreciate all prayers.”

Cary church of Christ, North Carolina: Larry Fife (preacher) reports, “Last week, we revamped our connect groups, and on Sunday, participants crafted 53 compassion cards, bringing our total to 345. We are currently reaching out to those with whom we previously connected. Next week, we will distribute baskets to new movers, hoping for fruitful engagement. Additionally, we are conducting three Bible studies, one of which is particularly promising. As we persist in our strategic efforts, we are grateful for the continued blessings on our work from the Lord.”

Streetsboro church of Christ, Ohio: Ralph Price (preacher) reports, “We had voting in our building last week, and I noticed some of the material from our evangelism table had been taken. We also had an interesting message from a young lady who called the building yesterday asking about baptism for her, her boyfriend, and their children. Unfortunately, I missed her call, but I returned her call and left a message. I am waiting to hear from her. Hopefully, we can turn this request for information into a study.

“Sunday’s lesson dealt with how to handle questions from someone who asks where a loved one who has already passed away will spend eternity. We have had visitors who received our compassion cards. One of those visitors gave us a couple of names for the compassion card program, and we will send cards to them next week. We are working, and we appreciate the prayers, as we also pray for all congregations.”

Greenville church of Christ, Ohio: John McGiffin (preacher) reports, “This past week was quite busy. We had one baptism. She was a 13-year-old who was taught Back to the Bible by an 18-year-old. She definitely knew enough to obey the Gospel, but she will need additional teaching as a new convert.  This is our second baptism; this calendar year is four. In addition, an elderly man who has been visiting for about a year has indicated that he wants to be baptized. He is handicapped with severe Parkinson’s disease. We are working on the details but expect to have that completed VERY soon, as we do not want to wait.

“We helped the sister congregation of Winchester, Indiana, this past week. They were devastated by tornadoes. They came to worship with us, which boosted our attendance. A young 22-year-old man wanted to help with visits, so we completed some transitional visits. There was some promise. A 92-year-old prospect admitted he was NOT a Christian. He put my card in his wallet and is thinking about it! “This week we are prospecting prodigal Christians in the area. Our focus is to let them know we miss them. “Our minister search committee insists the new minister must have training from HTHSOE. The minister we hire will be expected to coordinate our evangelistic efforts. We remain committed to the Great Cause.”

New Concord church of Christ, Ohio: Terry Townsend (preacher) reports, “After a study through Does It Matter, we had one baptism. We will continue to study with him and his family. We had an additional six visitors on Sunday (18 visitors for March). Several of our visitors are returning for the second and third time recently, and we hope to make the “transition” with them very soon.

“We continue to send compassion cards and make follow-up visits with those who have received them for several weeks. We made 13 personal visits last week, and several of those visited expressed interest.

“We enjoyed fellowship after evening services this past Sunday, and a couple of our recent visitors stayed to give us an opportunity to get to know them better. We will follow up with them this week. We continue to be encouraged by the uptick in visitors, and excitement is building as more members join the evangelistic efforts.”

Sullivan Village church of Christ, Lawton, Oklahoma: Steven Hill (preacher) reports, “At Sullivan Village, we are still working hard and praying for our evangelistic efforts. One of these efforts consists of our new movers program. We have started to double down on new movers to our area. Several of us are taking baskets with household items to the doors and meeting these new people. We want to make the very best first impression possible with them as we let them know who we are and where we are. We let them know they would be our welcomed guests.

“We are also working hard to make our visitors feel welcome. Everyone is pitching in to meet our visitors and make them feel special and loved. Each first-time visitor gets a little visitor bag with various things in it. We ensure they fill out visitor cards so we can follow up with thank you notes for their visits and encourage them to return.

“Moreover, we are currently utilizing the invitation cards—small business cards with the church’s information on them. Everyone is encouraged to take a stack of these and hand them out during the week to any random person they may meet. This will ramp up the possible visitors and give us a chance to get to know them better, love on them, and hopefully, study with them and baptize them.

“We trust God, and we are enjoying the loving and friendly evangelistic atmosphere that is now at Sullivan Village.”

Coweta church of Christ, Oklahoma: Keno Shrum (regional trainer) reports, “Yesterday we took a young couple to lunch after services. They recently started worshiping with us. He is not a Christian, so we discussed having them over for a Bible study. We are working to get that set up this week.

“Last night, we had a good turnout for writing compassion cards, and we will start mailing them today. My lesson was on what to say when writing cards, which was taken from the sermon outline provided on the HTHSOE website. I encourage the men in the pulpit to take advantage of the sermon outlines available on the website. They are a valuable resource for training congregations on evangelism.

“This week, we will follow up on the cards previously mailed. I have been in talks with two congregations in Oklahoma and Texas that have reached out for additional training from the HTHSOE. I am happy to see congregations using the tools and resources provided to reach the best possible results in their area. I have never seen or used a more effective method to reach lost souls. It works so well because it is modeled after how Jesus, the Master Evangelist, taught! May God bless all who labor in His name!”

Carthage church of Christ, South Carolina (remote): Randy Chambers (preacher) reports, “This past week we had one home Bible class. Sunday afternoon through Monday, we conducted a financial seminar to encourage and educate the congregation in Bible stewardship and financial planning. “We have had nine contacts present so far, and we are currently studying with two of them. We use this and other planned events and opportunities to establish contacts and build stronger relationships with our prospects.”

Union church of Christ, South Carolina (remote): Terry Hale (preacher) reports, “We are continuing the work here as we also pray for the Lord’s work everywhere. We added a new study including one of our trainees who was sitting in with his first study. The new convert class seems to be going well. Lots of training and learning are taking place, so I am thankful for the program.”

East Ridge church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee:  Charles Cochran (preacher) reports, “We had an exciting day at East Ridge yesterday for our first Victory Sunday. We had excellent attendance and great lessons by Eric Owens.

“A lady and her husband attended as visitors. She had been invited by one of our ladies at a restaurant when several of our members ate there. We asked this lady, our waitress, if we could pray for her. She was encouraged that we were concerned about her needs. This touched her, and with the invitation to visit us, she promised she and her husband would come, and they did! We hope to follow up on her. This is a good example of asking others to attend.

“I continue Bible studies with a man from Cambodia and new Christians. Three of our men go with me to visit each week. We keep trying.  God is blessing us.

“Austin Fowler will be going to Canada for an evangelism seminar. There were three baptisms during our building campaign in Panama! We have begun a new television program sponsored by East Ridge and filmed at the House to House/Heart to Heart studios!  Luke Griffin, David Smith, and Austin Fowler encouraged me to be on the program. I do a lesson also. It is seen on a good station in Chattanooga. We air it at 10:30 a.m. each Sunday.”

Forest Hill church of Christ, Germantown, Tennessee:  Scott Cain (preacher) reports, “God continues to give the increase. He gives the increase in evangelistic efforts both at home and abroad.

“In early March, twenty-nine Forest Hill members and three members from other congregations traveled to Palenque, Mexico, in a collaborative effort of the Forest Hill congregation the Manna Project, a hands-on mission work led by Gage Coldwater. Almost half of the participants were teens from Forest Hill. While in Mexico, one teen was baptized to make his calling election sure. Another 16-year-old was baptized after having deliberated the decision for months. The week included door knocking, nightly teaching efforts, and service projects to help Palenque members as well as people in the local community. We moved tons of dirt by wheelbarrow and replaced tin roofs on homes. Several community contacts came to the services throughout the week, and by the end of the week, a new sister was baptized into Christ.

“God gives the increase through the rebirth of new Christians and the restoration of wayward Christians. One absentee member had not been with the church for an extended period but having received an abundance of cards and encouragement during recent health issues, she was present last Sunday with a note expressing gratitude for the 43 cards that she has received and announcing her plans to make Forest Hill her home.

“One family on the Outreach List has a 12-year-old named JJ who is battling cancer. Some members visited them on Sunday afternoon, and the family’s response to the compassion cards was nothing short of inspiring. JJ has been so encouraged by the cards that he goes to the mailbox daily looking for them. JJ’s dad is in a job transition that has him at work on Sunday for now, but he plans to bring the whole family to meet the church in a matter of weeks. When he heard that the church’s only goal is to follow the Bible, he made it clear that this was exactly what he is trying to find! The church here continues to plant and water, and God continues to give the increase and to open doors of opportunity.”

North Bradley church of Christ, Cleveland, Tennessee: Keith Wilson (preacher) reports, “We are still studying Back to the Bible with three individuals. We hope to start on a fourth study soon, Lord willing.”

Karns church of Christ, Knoxville, Tennessee: Spencer Clark (evangelist) reports, “The last few weeks at Karns have been fantastic. Last Sunday, one of our members approached a visitor and encouraged this person to have a Bible study. Two days later, the study began, and yesterday, we had a baptism. The person’s whole family came to watch, and they are considering returning.

“Six people have put on Christ in baptism in the last two weeks, bringing our total to 16. We are on track to exceed our previous year’s record. Many of our members are actively working on reaching their prospects listed on their bookmarks, and several have already been successful. More studies are ongoing. This spring, we continue improving our New Converts and Visitor processes. God is blessing us, and to Him be all the glory.”

Hillsboro church of Christ, Tennessee: Chris Sliger (member) reports, “Hillsboro sent compassion cards to eight recipients this week. Holly and Jim Colvaine lost their 16-year-old daughter a few weeks ago, and we continue to send cards and to visit with them weekly to aid in their comfort. Along with writing compassion cards, we also dispersed Invitation Cards (containing Hillsboro’s address and worship times) to all members during Sunday AM services. We intend to blanket the community with these cards and “cast a wide net” in our evangelism program. Finally, we continue to train on the HTHSOE program during Sunday morning class.”

East Main church of Christ, Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Brad Rowley (elder) reports, “Last week, East Main received three new contact cards. We had six people in Bible studies, one of which was a new study. Our card team wrote 44 compassion cards. We delivered nine new mover baskets. We will send a letter before attempting to deliver the new mover baskets. We considered using videos or podcasts to improve our members’ training and skills. We have a meeting this week to revamp our website. “

McKenzie church of Christ, Tennessee: Randy McAdams (elder) reports, “We at the McKenzie church are planning to initiate a process, pending approval of the elders, to present a five-minute video each Sunday at the beginning of the worship hour, focusing on the evangelism plan. We have several things that we want to put into practice that we pray will further advance our efforts of spreading the Good News to our community. We are sending out our new monthly list of contacts this coming Sunday, March 31, and we are praying that we will touch hearts that may be softened to receive the Gospel.”

Brushy church of Christ, Centerville, Tennessee: Kevin Johnston (preacher) reports, “Team 4 met this past Sunday and mailed out compassion cards. The majority of the congregation has participated in sending out cards. We get new contacts each time the members see the process. For March, we have sent out 319 cards.

“We are meeting with all team leaders to discuss what worked well and what needs to be improved this coming Sunday. We also plan on following up with the names on our list for four weeks. Lots of groundwork is being laid. I continue to preach and train the members on how to use the Back to the Bible study. We are enjoying the study! We appreciate all support and prayers.”

Mountain Creek church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Michael Tomshack (elder) reports, “This week, Gary Massey (Elder and Minister) continued the Sunday lesson series on Book 2 of Back to the Bible. The congregational response has been excellent.

“Don Hedrick (Elder) has set up a Bible study with one of our compassion card recipients for Tuesday at 2:30. He is taking a big jar of peanut butter because the person likes peanut butter. This is a good example of knowing the person with whom you are studying.

“Gary Massey will visit a couple referred by one of our new Christians. We are also visiting fallen Christians when we receive a request to send cards of encouragement. This is not a life event; however, we see their spiritual life in danger. Nancy Mitchell will be making this visit as she knows the family and the wife are comfortable with her. Ken and Angie Chambers (Visitation Leaders) attempted a visit Sunday afternoon, but the contact was not home.

“Sunday, Danny and Jennifer Ellis (Mentor Leaders) held a lunch for the New Christians and Mentors. We enjoyed food and icebreaker games to build additional connections for the coming year. May God continue to give the increase.”

New Union church of Christ, Manchester, Tennessee: Paul Fulks (elder) reports, “We had one visitor from the community. Our evangelism team made six visits. Our New Movers team delivered three baskets. The congregation submitted five contacts for prospecting. We have one in our New Converts class. We have one Bible study that is progressing. We wrote fifty-three compassion cards to send throughout the week.”

Chapel Hill church of Christ, Tennessee: Matt Jones (deacon) reports, “All coordinators continue to work great to guide their teams. Isaac is delivering a series of sermons on the importance of worship, which has been well-received. We had several transition visits this past week, with one Bible study set up from the three visits. In addition to assigning mentors to our new converts, we will also assign mentors to our wayward members who return. Our new mover basket items are all in, and baskets will be assembled and delivered on the first Sunday in April. Our compassion card teams keep a full list of names to receive cards since we regularly have several visitors. Overall, things are in a good spot and going well!”

Covington church of Christ, Tennessee: Wayne Dalrymple (elder) reports, “We are continuing the work at Covington. We had several visitors on Sunday that we are prospecting. We also wrote cards to several. I was not able to connect with Steve and Anice last week to start our study, but we plan to have them in our home in the next week or so (“always eat”) to build that relationship more and begin the study.

“A couple of our deacons are reorganizing our efforts to reach out to prospects and members who are not as connected with the congregation to help them become more involved in the church’s work, especially in saving lost souls. After we return from the Lads to Leaders convention this weekend, we will be increasing our efforts and trying to be more effective in the ways we reach out to prospects.”

Windmill church of Christ, Weatherford, Texas (remote): Eric Tipton (preacher student, BTSOP) reports, “A while back, we met a woman at Walmart who became a contact, and this past week, we finally had our first study with her. She was so excited about the study that she invited her neighbor, and she came over and joined us! We are going back this Thursday to continue the study with them. We also had  great success in our first door-knocking! We acquired fourteen contacts! Things are going well, and hopefully, we will be attaching photos of some baptisms sometime soon in our RTL reports.”

Southwest church of Christ, Austin, Texas: John Garza (regional trainer) reports, “Everything continues to go well. We have multiple ongoing studies; two new ones began recently. We may begin two more on Wednesday. It has been encouraging to watch this congregation begin to take our visitor ministry on and make the best of the opportunities.”

Shenandoah church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas (remote): Tim Ayers (preacher) reports, “We continue working our way through the organizing phase of the evangelism program. We studied the “Quantity not Quality” lesson and presented the lesson on the compassion cards. We decided that Sunday evening after services is best for us to meet and write cards. We did this for the first-time last night. It seemed to work well for everyone.

“We will begin the study through the Back to the Bible booklets this Wednesday night. This will be suitable for all of us, especially me, because, although I have known about the booklets for many years (I knew Brother Bates personally), I have never used them in evangelistic studies. I am excited to learn more about these booklets and use them in actual Bible studies. Again, we appreciate having the structure we need to get more people involved in this important work of evangelism. It has already been a blessing for us! To our wonderful God be all the glory!”

Crosby church of Christ, Houston, Texas (remote): Jon Wheeler (elder) reports, “This week we were excited to have a baptism of a 15-year old young man who went through the Does it Matter study. His mother and sister were baptized earlier this year. We also rejoiced at the baptism of a lady at another congregation who had just studied the BTTB series with one of our couples. We were very glad to see one of the young teens bring a friend to services Sunday night! We delivered 22 new mover baskets on Saturday. Bible studies will continue this week with a couple in BTTB Book 2 and Believe the Bible Book A.”

9^th and Main church of Christ, San Angelo, Texas: Bryan Braswell (elder) reports, “We had two new visiting families yesterday and collected their data. We gave one a newcomer’s basket. I am still sending cards, gathering new contacts, making calls and visits, sending out cards weekly, and getting follow-up information. We installed two new deacons yesterday morning. We are now geared to finalize some coordination and groups and officially meet with these new teams each month. We have great momentum and morale! The brethren love the new classes and curriculum we are teaching now every Sunday morning and Wednesday night.”

Buda-Kyle church of Christ, Texas: Ronnie Scherffius (preacher) reports, “The Congregational Evangelism work at Buda Kyle is progressing in a positive manner. This week, we will conclude our first week of compassion cards, and follow-up visits will begin. Brother Rudy Cain continues with Back to the Bibletraining, and we have one Bible study in progress. We will begin Lesson 3 this week.”

Graceton church of Christ, Diana, Texas: Johnny Williford (elder) reports, “The Graceton congregation continues to work hard in our community in East Texas, reaching out to the lost and restoring those that have strayed from the Lord. Our Group A met Sunday afternoon to sign 71 compassion cards for six contacts. Our Mission Monday group will meet tonight to review our home visitations and get our new assignments for next month. Our annual Ladies’ Day will be in two weeks. We are working hard to invite the women and young women in the Diana area to the event.

“On a positive note, Keith Hendricks has stepped up and told the congregation that he would like to serve and shepherd our group as an elder. He has served us for many years as a deacon. We appreciate prayers for him and for his success in this new position. Kenny and I are grateful for the help.  On Sunday, a family plus four individuals visited our morning services. They had all visited with us before. We are working toward Bible studies with them.”

Canyon Lake church of Christ, Texas (remote): Jesse Stuart and Raoul Ferris (evangelists) report, “We continue to work the evangelism model. We continue to offer a class at the local library titled
‘Coping.’ We will continue through this quarter.

“We were busy preparing for the Freed Hardeman University group this week. Twenty-two college students joined us and will stay with us throughout their Spring Break. These young evangelists have prepared themselves by working through the three books of BTTB. They will assist us by hosting a mental health seminar, VBS, and teen classes. Together, we cleaned a local park that had been neglected for decades as a community service.

“After the beautification of the park, we hosted a luncheon hotdog cookout and an evening cookout. Twenty-four visitors from the community joined us for one or the other cookout, and some assisted in the cleanup.

We made two good contacts from the work at the park. We are looking forward to the week ahead and to the efforts in door-knocking and evangelism. We thank Freed Hardeman University for sharing these wonderful young Christians with us.”

Wheeler church of Christ, Texas: Garrett English (preacher) reports, “The congregation wrote and sent cards on Wednesday as usual. We have had a few new families visit multiple times and are working to contact them for Bible studies.”

Granbury Street church of Christ, Cleburne, Texas: Ryan Cowan (deacon) reports, “We are delighted to share the beautiful news of Audrey La Fountain’s baptism. Audrey had the privilege of studying with Deborah, the wife of one of our bishops, Clark Lehtinen, which led to her decision to be baptized. Audrey’s introduction to the Lord’s church began when she first visited Granbury Street during our summer campaign and continued as she attended services regularly. Audrey’s baptism serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of seizing opportunities for evangelism, especially when they come knocking on our own doors. It is a stark reminder that we must not overlook those right in front of us who are eager to hear the gospel. As you read this, I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on whether there are individuals in your midst who have yet to be approached for a Bible study despite their presence in our congregations.”

Itasca church of Christ, Texas (remote): Justin Hopkins (preacher) reports, “This week, we have reached the end of our compassion card list from the door-knocking campaign. We still have a lot of follow-up visits to make. It will take us a little more time than is ideal, but we are working through them. We sent twelve cards, made eight visits, delivered one new mover basket, scheduled two Bible studies, and had two Bible studies. One of our members went to visit someone for the first time and went to the wrong house. She had a great conversation with the next-door neighbor and invited her to worship with us. She came on Sunday morning and stayed for our potluck.”

Bermuda church of Christ, US Territory (remote): Tavaro Levar (preacher) reports, “We are moving along steadily. I have completed the three-part sermon from John 4 and am about to preach ‘Contacts: It’s Quantity, not Quality,’ Lord’s willing, this coming Sunday. In addition, our brother Chad Neely is responsible for Sunday afternoons, and he has us on track to complete ‘Contacts: Visitors (training cards)’.

“We have generated some hot contacts with our ‘Bible and Bingo’ program. It is a program for neighborhood folks 50 years and above. We start with a 10-15-minute devotional lesson. We hope to take advantage of some of those hot contacts. We will incorporate the Back to the Bible verses as part of those devotionals. We love the HTHSOE program and can hardly wait to fully use what we learn. My wife has already started two studies, and one completed Book 1.”