Welcome Cookeville church of Christ, Tennessee: We welcome the Cookeville church of Christ to the House to House/Heart to Heart School of Evangelism. The day after it concluded, a football player from Tech who attended the seminar was baptized. The attendance was excellent. The elders asked Jonathan Medley to be the administrator.
Welcome Highland Village church of Christ, Bloomington, Indiana: We thank this great congregation for hosting the evangelism seminar. Members from several congregations came from as far as Indianapolis for the training. Mark, one of the elders, had already used Back to the Bible with a prospect and had a baptism prior to our arrival. They are now setting up the model and preparing to begin.
Welcome Judah church of Christ, Bedford, Indiana: This dedicated congregation traveled through the week to undergo a joint seminar with the Highland Village congregation. Young and old came and completed the training. They have had over 12 baptisms in the past two years and had one the very day after the seminar concluded. They are going to set up the model and begin the training.
Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: David Marker (elder) reports, “On Sunday, we had a family of six to place membership. Numerous visitors also attended. We have thirteen contacts this week. We will send compassion cards to those contacts for a total of more than 30 this month, which is perfect for us. Our Young Adult/Youth class is growing; we have two ongoing studies. It is encouraging to have 16 in attendance, given that we had none two years ago.”
West Huntsville church of Christ, Alabama: Paul Owen (associate preacher) reports, “We are having great success (to God’s glory) with our visitors’ evangelism program. Each week, we have many visitors to our services who are not members of the Lord’s church. Our visitor teams do a great job of greeting them, giving them gift bags, and inviting them to lunch. This Sunday, we will take two families out to lunch, and we hope to study with them soon. Visitors who attend services make up 85 percent of conversions this year. We are thankful for this evangelism tool!”
Fayette church of Christ, Alabama: Josh Taylor (deacon) reports, “Sometimes being available and willing to talk with someone about the gospel is all that is needed to help that person make the best decision one can ever make. We rejoice with Ally Porter, who decided to be baptized into Christ. Our associate minister, Derek Porter, talked with her about the Gospel, and they found a body of water. Keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground to search for souls who need the Gospel so that God can do His work in the hearts of men.”
Highland Park church of Christ, Muscle Shoals, Alabama: Andrew Myhan (deacon) reports, “This week we were able to complete the first round of cards that will be sent to prospects. For the most part, everything went along without any significant problems. It was good to put into practice what had been planned and to see where we can be more prepared and efficient. We have a total of 12 contacts, and we sent 144 compassion cards. We appreciate all prayers for those we are reaching!”
Central church of Christ, Saraland, Alabama: David Dixon (preacher) reports, “We are preparing for the National Door Knocking Day this Saturday. I pray the Lord’s church will grow throughout the world due to this effort.
“We had a baptism this week! My daughter Sarah is 12, and she was baptized last Tuesday night. Her mom and I had been wondering when she would decide, but we have never pushed her. She made the decision all on her own. Since we hosted the Evangelism Seminar in March of this year, we have noticed a difference in her. She has been contemplating this event at least since then. With these last six months being so formative to her faith, evangelism will be essential to what she understands Christian life to be. In her mind, evangelism will be engrained in her expectations of being a disciple of Christ. This also means that the next few months for her will be profound in developing her lifetime commitment to the Cause.
“We are also concluding the Back to the Bible study this week with a couple. We pray that both will obey the Gospel this week. If they do, Central will have exceeded our baptism goal for the year. It has been a transformative process for us, and we seek to bear fruit for the Lord to use in His Kingdom.”
Petersville church of Christ, Florence, Alabama: Adam Richardson (preacher) reports, “Petersville started planning how to make our trunk or treat event evangelistic next month and engage more of the congregation in that effort. One student in our evangelism class met with the preacher today to help prepare for an upcoming Bible study with his brother! Coordinators are working on their assignments, and a group meeting will be scheduled for the next two weeks.”
Hatton church of Christ, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “The church at Hatton is currently working with 12 new really good prospects, along with several others we have been working with for several months. After almost two years with this method, we have seen great participation from the congregation. To God be the glory!”
Sunset church of Christ, Nashville, Arkansas (remote): Zach Williams (preacher) reports, “Evangelism works when we do it! In the last week, the Sunset church of Christ has had seven Bible studies and two baptisms. We have two hot prospects on track to finish Book 3 of BTTB this week. Both prospects are very influential people in a local denomination. Their conversions have great potential to snowball into dozens of families obeying the Gospel. Glory be to God. We appreciate all prayers.”
Rison church of Christ, Arkansas: Keden Shrum (preacher) reports, “This past week, we set up a booth at the Cleveland County Fair. We gave away several Bibles, coffee cups, and issues of House to House Heart to Heart. Beginning Sunday, Brother Bill Burk from Crandall, Texas, will hold a meeting here. We have encouraged members to bring a guest to this meeting.”
Niceville church of Christ, Florida: Joe Palmer (preacher) reports, “This week, we mailed 20 cards and had two Bible studies. On Sunday, we had five returning visitors. The church has done well in developing our “Greeters Ministry.” Our security team will even ask visitors to fill out visitor cards in the evening. We have found a leader for our New Movers program and will kick off the Welcome Gifts soon. We have started working on our benevolence contacts. We have a sweet sister who is meeting with any ladies who come to request benevolence. She discusses their situations and prospects them. Our preacher is prospecting the men. We feel these efforts will pay dividends in the future.”
Bremen church of Christ, Georgia: Scott Broughton (member) reports, “Our New Converts class will be extended until the end of November. Class participation has increased each week. We are preparing for our door-knocking day on September 28.”
Eatonton church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Roderick Coney (preacher) reports, “We sent out cards to six people this past week. We watched an evangelism video this past Wednesday night. We also received the bags we ordered visitors to take with them. In addition, we covered lesson 3 of Back to the Bible in Sunday School class. Lastly, we have a meeting with Brother Sykes (regional trainer) to provide additional guidance.”
Cartersville church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Charles Harris (regional trainer) reports, “The work continues to progress. We had another baptism on Sunday evening after service. For September, we have signed 250 compassion cards. Visits will be made to set up Bible studies with those receiving cards.”
Lafayette church of Christ, Georgia: Jesse Teague (deacon) reports, “It has been a good week. Last night was the third Sunday, so Group 2 met to write compassion cards. Someone forgot to make the reminder announcement (me!), so several did not remember to stay. We left the cards “set up” and will have them ready on Wednesday! We still have three Bible studies in the process. Two finished Book 3 last week, and one soul obeyed the Gospel! Meet our newest sister Nina Byers!”
Woodstock church of Christ, Georgia: Matt Amos (preacher) reports, “The HTH Door Knocking campaign will meet for the national door knocking day this coming Saturday. We expect a big turnout. WCOC will also be conducting Bible Studies with the new Assistance Living Facility next Saturday. We hope to have approximately ten students. We are excited and are heavily planning for next Saturday’s activities. The Compassion Cards Group had twelve cards written or being written this week. WCOC had four non-Christian visitors at our Sunday morning service.”
Collinsville-Troy church of Christ, Illinois: Jason Wright (elder) reports, “We mailed 162 compassion cards this week and made several follow-up visits. We had three visitors from the community on Sunday morning. We handed out two visitor bags.
“We still have around eight Bible studies that are ongoing. We received 43 new movers’ addresses and will visit them in the upcoming weeks. Our community service projects continue, and one of our ladies has been reading to a blind woman for several weeks. She just agreed to a study, and they made it halfway through Book 1. We continue to be encouraged by the results we are getting from the community. We are praying for souls to be saved.”
LaGrange church of Christ, Indiana: Wayne Poe (elder) reports, Yesterday was our start date; we did the survey and the bookmarks. We are working on getting the evangelism table set up. We had two visitors yesterday, and we took one out for lunch. She returned last night and plans to be there for the night service. She is a foreign exchange student; my daughter and I have connected with her. She asked about church, and Bri could pick her up, and it looked perfect for a study. The other lady could not go to lunch, but we are hopeful she will return. She seemed very engaged in the service yesterday. We appreciate all prayers.”
West Hammond church of Christ, Indiana: Robert Webster (preacher) reports, “We are still conducting Bible studies with an additional two more this week. These were two unmarried couples that we assisted in getting married while we continued our studies. We are meeting with both ladies and men on Thursday as we plan to go into the communities to hand out the HTH flyers “Why are we knocking on your door?” and hopefully get some studies set up. We are continuing to equip members with the training material you left us and to use your website to remind ourselves of the model. Each week, I am learning how critical it is to train and delegate responsibilities; no wonder it is dubbed ‘Congregational Evangelism.”
Beloit church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dustin Dougherty (regional trainer) reports, “We had a good service yesterday, even though the power went out during the Lord’s Supper and stayed off through most of my lesson. We had two visitors for services that were in town visiting friends. I am continuing in the Growing in Christ book with Matt; we try to meet every week prior to Wednesday evening class and go through a chapter. We were still testing the soil of a few prospects. We set up our evangelism table, praying that members would take advantage of the materials and easily access them. We are planning another Fifth Sunday singing this month and praying for a great turnout for it. To God be the glory.”
Central church of Christ, Paducah, Kentucky: Adam Faughn (preacher) reports, “We are beginning our new convert mentoring program at Central, and we are thankful for all who are taking part in teaching and helping our new converts. That should begin in the next week or two. We also have a couple of Bible studies in progress, and we continue to pray for two others we are prospecting. Our youth group had its annual retreat this past weekend and spent the weekend discussing how to be more welcoming to guests. As we see a lot of visitors regularly, we pray this will help our youth group feel even more equipped to take part in helping others come to the Lord. Sickness is lifting, and studies are resuming. We are praying for harvest!”
LaPlata church of Christ, Maryland (remote): Eric Sykes (regional trainer) reports,“We had a good week.” We wrote 48 compassion cards this week and dropped off one new movers basket. We visited two people on our compassion card mailing list. We delivered orchids and the book Coping with Problems by Steve Lloyd to a gentleman who recently lost his wife to cancer. We delivered dinner and moved furniture for a woman in a nearby active adult living community. She expressed interest in having a Bible study. I pray we will start a study program this week.
“We added two names to our prospect list, for a total of ten prospects. We had five people to attend our new converts’ Bible study classes. Five others attended our advanced teacher training class this week. We appreciate all prayers.”
Aberdeen church of Christ, Maryland: Will Brown (preacher) reports, “Members have been watching the accountability boards and listening to sermons about the Gospel. A lady obeyed the Gospel because of a conversation with one of the members, who is her co-worker. She was looking for a church that follows the Bible regarding baptism. I studied with her, and she obeyed the Bible. It all started with a seed planted by our sister in Christ, who works with Cathy. This is the tenth soul saved this year. We appreciate all prayers for our efforts. Praise be to God for giving the increase.”
East Main church of Christ, Tupelo, Mississippi: Barry Kennedy (preacher) reports, “We are still trying to keep the congregation focused on reaching souls as a way of life. We are having a coordinator’s potluck meeting after services on Sunday. We are also preparing for our fall gospel meeting with Paul Sain on October 26-30. In connection with our meeting, we are having students from MSOP join us as we work a door-knocking campaign. I am praying we will reach many souls in the community. There are also evangelistic plans for our annual trunk or treat to bring in some good hearts seeking the truth. As always, to God be the glory!”
West 160 church of Christ, West Plains, Missouri: Marvin Hatley (preacher) reports, “There were two studies this past week that are scheduled to continue this week. In one study, Book 1 of BTTB was cut short due to time restraints. The prospect took extra time to apply the concepts learned in this study. Another study will move on to Book 3 of BTTB.
“A prospect accepted a dinner invitation in the home of one of our families working to get her into a Bible study. Many in the congregation have been involved in benevolent efforts to help this prospect overcome her difficult life situations. Thirteen compassion cards have been prepared to be mailed this week. The congregation has few new contacts, so efforts must increase to produce needed prospects. We appreciate all prayers for guidance!”
East Flushing church of Christ, New York (remote): Clarence Jenkins (preacher) reports, “During our worship service, an evangelistic message was delivered based on the principles of the message by Rob Whitacre, ‘When Jesus Went Door- knocking’. We continue to prepare for the
“House to House/Heart to Heart Door Knocking Day.”
“After worship service, we watched the HTHSOE YouTube video: ’Contacts: Door to Door Knocking with House to House/Heart to Heart.’ We discussed the video and distributed the printable ‘Tips for Knocking Doors’ resource from the nextdoor.housetohouse.com website. Our prospect list and Bible study lists were updated, and their numbers and names were announced; we previously prayed by name those who are on our Bible studies list. Our updated accountability board was pointed out, and its numbers were announced. We have 11 prospects and eight Bible studies. We prepared 49 compassion cards, a total of 82 thus far for this month, and we had five visitors, of which two are regulars. We appreciate all prayers.”
New Concord church of Christ, Ohio: Terry Townsend (preacher) reports, “We had three new visitors at our Sunday morning service. All three are locals; one is a college student and member of the church. The others were an older couple who used to attend a congregation nearby years ago. One of our members took the young college student out to eat. A follow-up visit will be made with the other couple this week.
“We made a couple of follow-up visits with recent compassion card recipients. One of the families said they would be attending services soon. I plan to visit with them again and try to set up a Bible study (the woman is a denomination member but does not attend).
“One of our members is currently involved in two separate Bible studies. One of the studies will be in Book 3 of Back to the Bible this week, and we believe it will result in a baptism. This woman has also been attending our services recently. The other study is with a young man who is very active in a denomination. The report is that he is very receptive to what is being taught. We pray for good results from these studies.
“Our new movers team continues to make contacts—there are 17 new movers this month! Baskets (household cleaning supplies, church information, etc.) are delivered to these folks.”
Streetsboro church of Christ, Ohio: Ralph Price (preacher) reports, “A young man visited the congregation on Wednesday. He had just moved to the area. He was so new to the area that he did not know his new address! He came back on Sunday and brought a friend. We took them out to lunch with a group of our young adults, and they hit it off. They share a lot of common interests. We also got his address, and we will send cards to him. We have high hopes for him and his friend. Other than that, we are distributing new-mover baskets and continuing with the compassion card program.”
Coweta church of Christ, Oklahoma: Keno Shrum (regional trainer) reports, “On Sunday, we wrote compassion cards for a few visitors. We started mailing them today and will follow up with visits once we finish mailing. We also did more training Sunday afternoon for our Pew and Door Greeters. We have multiple teams identified and trained to handle visitors properly. As we learned in training, a visitor is not a Contact until we have contact information. The rest of the congregation knows to be friendly and welcoming but to let the visitors sit down and allow the Pew Greeters to do their job to obtain all pertinent information.
“We also have an evangelism checking account with a debit card. The card is available for the Pew Greeters to take visitors to lunch so they can start building a relationship with them. Our next training class will be about door knocking.”
Cheyenne church of Christ, Oklahoma (remote): Nathan Brewer (member) reports, “This week we organized a mailing schedule for another couple on our prospect list. We will start sending out more compassion cards this week.”
Sullivan Village church of Christ, Lawton, Oklahoma: Steven Hill (preacher) reports, “We have four new elders who are all taking the work very seriously. I studied with two young people, a boyfriend and girlfriend, who went through the three Back to the Bible books, and they were both baptized on Saturday night. Their names are Dominic and Katie! Praise God for giving the increase!”
York church of Christ, Pennsylvania: Mark Raschke (deacon) reports, “We had some repeat visitors this week, and we are trying to get to know them as prospects. We also continued to send out cards to contacts from our membership. We are planning a Fall Festival, to which we will also invite our contacts.”
Union church of Christ, South Carolina (remote): Terry Hale (preacher) reports, “This week, a single mom reached out to us for help to keep the power on. The bill was paid. She has some physical problems. We have filled out the cards and are starting to mail them today. We are getting a team together for a visit. Training with the new converts began today. We are in a Bible study with Book 2, Back to the Bible, with a gentleman who stated that he is a deacon in the Baptist church. He seemed uncomfortable at first, but he is learning and praying as he considers what he has read. We appreciate prayers for him as he has a decision to make.”
Gilt Edge church of Christ, Tennessee: Daniel Dalton (preacher) reports, “Tyler was baptized this afternoon. He works as my employee. We used compassion cards and meals. My dad studied with him and used Back to the Bible. I attached a picture of Tyler and his mother. She is not a Christian yet, but we hope she will be soon!”
Hebron church of Christ, McMinnville, Tennessee: Derrick Stiles (preacher) reports, “We had another wonderful week at Hebron. We have sent out 80 encouragement cards. A family has been visiting for several weeks now. From that family, we have had one baptism on Thursday of last week, the father. We appreciate prayers for adding the other family members to the Lord’s church. We have started another Bible study this past week with the mother of another family who has been visiting for a couple of months. We hope the Lord will add another soul to His church in the coming weeks. We appreciate all prayers for our ongoing work at Hebron.”
Rivergate church of Christ, Madison, Tennessee: Doug Tooley (preacher) reports, “We had a missionary from India speak at our congregation on Sunday. I was out of town, but I was told he was motivational for our members. We had six visitors on Sunday. Currently, we have three Bible studies in progress. Two visits were made last week. We are planning a homecoming for the end of September. We hope it will help us keep our momentum going and give us an opportunity to invite new people and reach out to those who may have fallen away.”
White Oak church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee (remote): John McGiffin (preacher) reports, “We are preparing for our Family and Friends Day. Sunday’s sermon was ‘Don’t Keep the Seed in the Barn’ from Haggai chapter 2. It focused on not withholding or hoarding the word of God. We must spread the Gospel everywhere. We do not determine who is worthy to receive the Gospel. We are going to knock on the new movers’ doors the day before National Door Knocking Campaign Day. We put together a Spaghetti Dinner gift basket with an invitation card for the event. We bought all the items from Dollar Tree. The basket itself and its contents cost $10.00. We bought cellophane wrap and ribbon, which cost another dollar. Very economical. After Family and Friends Day, we will start working on the bookmarks. I believe we will target prodigals first.”
Madison County church of Christ, Jackson, Tennessee: Steven Sprouse (preacher) reports, “We are really close to having a study with one of our prospects; it is just a matter of finding the right date. Next week, we will have several FHU students helping us on their Servants Day. We will be door-knocking and delivering some new mover baskets.”
Rome church of Christ, Lebanon, Tennessee (remote): David Oxley (elder) reports, “We completed our first video and are looking forward to the second.”
Nance church of Christ, Alamo, Tennessee (remote): Bill Mitchusson (preacher) reports, “We have watched all videos under the Principles section. We are scheduling a meeting with a regional trainer to discuss ways to start the work.”
Blackman church of Christ, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (remote): Brian McCord (preacher) reports, “We are trying to schedule a time to watch the starting lessons as a congregation. We will probably have to wait until after our current study ends in a few weeks. I want to watch them during Sunday Bible Class, so everyone sees them simultaneously. I am also doing the personal Evangelism study, have watched all of the Principles lessons, and have started on the next section. I am integrating what I have learned into my work and have identified a couple for a possible study. They are supposed to come to the house tonight for dinner. We appreciate prayers as we form a relationship so we can move on to a study.”
New Union church of Christ, Manchester, Tennessee: Paul Fultz (elder) reports, “We had six visitors from the community, and our members submitted five contact cards. Our compassion card team met and filled out 40 cards. We made six transition visits and have two ongoing Bible studies.”
Covington church of Christ, Tennessee: Wayne Dalrymple (elder) reports, “This Sunday morning, Danny Smith responded to the Lord’s invitation and asked for forgiveness of his sins for being unfaithful to the Lord! Danny is the nephew of our brother Frank Brown. We rejoice that this precious soul has come home.
“We also had several visitors over the last week. One of these is Thomas. I had studied with Thomas last year, but he said he was comfortable with his previous baptism. He told me Sunday that he intends to attend our services regularly. We pray the door is still open for him to accept the truth. Another visitor, Lisa, a young adult who moved to Covington to attend our local community college. She is from Kenya and came here by way of Florida. Someone in Florida pointed her to us. She visited last Wednesday and Sunday morning. We pray she is open to studying the Bible soon.
“We have two Bible studies ongoing—one with Emily and the other with Charles. We also plan to participate in the annual Door Knocking Day this Saturday. We pray God leads us to willing souls and open hearts.”
Hillcrest church of Christ, Springfield, Tennessee: Tim Taylor (associate preacher), “I am including our updated lists of coordinators and rosters for SOE. I received the coordinator’s poster, and it is going to be posted on our new evangelism bulletin board in the foyer along with the rosters.
My visitor guru, Mark Overby, is on a two-week vacation out west, so I don’t have his report downloaded. “However, we did have four first-time visitors yesterday, including the mayor of Springfield and her husband. They have a denominational background but are unhappy with the liberal direction they are experiencing. We will follow up with them this week and smother them with cards, kindness, and visits. I reported that we set up the town square for a community event on the first Friday in August. She stopped and interacted with some of our volunteers that night, got information about Hillcrest, and visited with her husband for worship yesterday. We are prayerful about reaching them with the Gospel.”
Stoney Creek church of Christ, Elizabethton, Tennessee: Mike Blevins (elder) reports, “Our Bible studies continue, and as of this moment, we have five. I think one of the prospects is close to obeying the Gospel. It involves deciding to do right for himself; family is the holdup. I am studying tomorrow night. Kris finished teaching the Back to the Bible booklets this past week.”
Celina church of Christ, Tennessee: Daniel Burton (member) reports, “I wanted to take a moment to share an update on our evangelism efforts this month. We have sent out 299 cards so far, and everything has been running smoothly, thanks to excellent organization and hardworking Christians. It is truly encouraging to see evangelism become contagious within the congregation! In addition to the cards, we have combined 15 new mover and transition visits, with a good response. It is clear that many are eager to hear the Gospel and seeing so many willing to assist in this mission is encouraging.
“We have also welcomed several visitors recently, which is a blessing. There has been a bit of a challenge discerning between those who are already Christians, perhaps camping or at the lake for the weekend, and true non-Christians. However, we are staying focused and will continue to reach out to everyone with the same enthusiasm. We will keep planting the seed and trust that God will give the increase. I look forward to seeing what the next month holds for Celina’s efforts!”
Hillsboro church of Christ, Tennessee: Chris Sliger (member) reports, “Hillsboro was happy to see new visitors at Wednesday’s (09/11) service. The visitors, a mom and two sons and one daughter, attended Hillsboro’s community event in August; we will continue to develop this contact. Also, ten members from Hillsboro knocked on new movers doors this past Saturday. From this door-knocking, we could generate six new contacts. Team C will write cards to these six contacts (and one previous contact) this Wednesday.”
Mountain Creek church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Michael Tomshack (elder) reports, “When a person outside of Christ is transformed into a person raised to a new life in Christ, that person’s past life choices can be a temptation as the initial joy of forgiveness abates. We are working through the ‘keepers’ portion to retain some of our new Christians who are tempted to slip back into a previous lifestyle. Our mentors encourage them, other members reach out, and the elders communicate with them. Constant bombardment from social media, movies, entertainment, society, and friends can create conflicts in the mind of a Christian. Gary Massey (Elder/Minister) and the Elders are developing a study plan for the congregation in 2025, addressing pressures from the world versus following Christ.”
Chapel Hill church of Christ, Tennessee: Matt Jones (deacon) reports, “We have many good works going with many in the congregation involved. This past Sunday we added a new sister in Christ. This sister studied with a member of the congregation recently and came to know the Truth. To God be the glory!”
9th and Main church of Christ, San Angelo, Texas: Bryan Braswell (elder) reports, “We are in the process of our intern moving to a full-time position in Big Spring, Texas, and bringing on board two new men. Since our last report, we have had two new baptisms to date, but multiple domestic issues from our new converts have kept us hopping. We have gained about three new families who have moved to our area and were looking for sound, active work. We asked last night how many active studies were in progress, and multiple members are engaged with non-members using the BTTB books. We have at least 15-20 active studies ongoing.”
Graceton church of Christ, Diana, Texas: Johnny Willeford (elder) reports, “Our monthly family game night is scheduled for this coming Friday night. We look forward to having several families visiting with us in the past few weeks. The New Movers group have been delivering baskets to our new families in the Diana area. Our Mission Monday group is scheduling home visits. Our Compassion Card Group B met Sunday afternoon and signed 85 cards for eight individuals this week. We also had three families visit with us this past Sunday morning. We have seen a great increase in visits to our worship services in the past several months due to our compassion cards and home visits. We continue to work with the plan, and it is paying off. We appreciate all prayers for our efforts to be fruitful.”
Colleyville church of Christ, Texas (remote): John Garza (regional trainer) reports, “Recently, we started our compassion card work, and it is going very well. We have written to three people in the last couple of weeks, and yesterday, we added nine others to the list. Additionally, this week we will begin our evangelism curriculum that will be taught on Wednesdays during Bible class. The first class will emphasize “How to Be Aware of Souls.” In this lesson, we emphasize that because of the value of souls and the universal need for the Gospel, there is a need to be socially aware and conversationally active and intentional with the principles of the House-to-House School of Evangelism.
“Concerning our Bible studies, two are taking place right now, and one study is pending. I have started Book 1 of Back to the Bible with Noah Fernandez, He asked, ‘Why do I not hear a response from God when I pray to Him?’ From what I learned about his religious history, I think he has been misguided by the charismatic leaders of the ‘church’ that he attends. Additionally, I know that they provided two distinct services, one for “traditional” (acapella) and one ‘contemporary’ (musical) worship. Their leadership does not consist of elders, nor the title ‘pastor.’ They use the term ‘executives’ and ‘chief minister,’ with women in those roles as well. This information will help me teach through Books 2 and 3.
“Now, concerning today, we finished three-quarters of the lesson. We studied the Map of Revelation: how all truth originated with the Father; it was given to the Son; the Son gave all truth to the Spirit; He gave it to the Apostles, and they wrote it down for us. In showing Noah these truths, I emphasized that God speaks to us today, but it is through the written Word. After the study, he told me he feels so much mental clarity. Many of the questions that he was struggling with were answered. He is looking forward to the following study.
“Concerning another study, a few days ago, Andy Reyes (SWSBS student), texted Chris and me about a good friend who lives in Denton (down the road from Colleyville) and is currently studying Biology at UNT. Additionally, Andy provided us with vital information about his religious past and some that were very helpful for creating pleasant conversation, and, ultimately, getting a Bible study. Knowing that Alec has already studied Book 1 Back to the Bible with Andy, I used that to my advantage. When he is available in the next couple of weeks, we plan to have him over for dinner to continue in Book 2 of Back to the Bible.”
Fruitvale church of Christ, Texas: Carl McCann (elder) reports, “What if we turned our lectureships into evangelism efforts? What would the turnout be? This week, we hosted our annual Student Led Lectureship. Each year, the students from the Southwest School of Bible Studies from Austin, Texas, come up to East Texas, and provide lessons on a chosen theme.
“The difference is that each of the speakers, ten of them, went door-knocking with us the day prior to the event. We were blessed to have the remaining students from the school, several instructors, members from surrounding congregations, and even people from out of state join us. We provided training and teamed up each group with a seasoned doorknocker and first-timers. We did follow-up work, new movers’ baskets, food deliveries, and the compassion method of requesting prayers while door-knocking.
“We made 45 contacts during the week. We had 16 visitors to Friday’s community fish fry, eight for Saturday’s Hot Dog supper, and three people for Sunday’s Potluck. For the lectureship that began Saturday, we had five visitors from the community come and go during Saturday’s lectureship. On Sunday, we had three visitors from the community. We were able to set up two Bible studies. One was from door-knocking and the other from doing follow-up work.”
Granbury Street church of Christ, Cleburne, Texas: Ryan Cowan (deacon) reports, “We are all anxious for this coming weekend and our planned evangelism efforts. The door-knocking resources that Rob has shared through House to House have been passed on to those men who are leading that aspect of our work. Our door-knocking weekend will officially kick off on Friday evening. We have two community service teams that will be ready for yard cleanup and other projects starting Saturday morning. The new mover’s baskets will be assembled and delivered on Saturday. Food arrangements for the brethren have been made for Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday lunch. Our efforts will continue as we host our visitors for a Sunday meal. This will be an exciting effort for Granbury Street, and we can hardly wait to get started!”
Northern Oaks church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas: Mel Hutzler (elder) reports, “We are excited to announce we had another baptism. Eric Perez from the How Foundation was baptized Friday evening by Anthony Castillo at Northern Oaks and was given a Bible. We are thankful to the men at the How Foundation for their willingness to study God’s Word and how they support one another. We also appreciate Anthony for teaching them.
“We have Eric Lyons from the Apologetics Press coming to do our gospel meeting October 24-27. Our theme is “Is the Bible Reliable?” We want to tie this event heavily to evangelism. On October 19, we will have congregational door-knocking. We hope to create contacts and invite the community to our meeting.
“Our card writing teams and new mover’s program continue to expand. The card writing has helped garner Bible studies, and new converts and saints are placing membership with us. Our deacon in charge of evangelism, Matthew Montgomery, has some of our teenagers making visits for our new mover’s program. We will continue to see more baptisms and families placing membership in our future.”
Wheeler church of Christ, Texas: Garrett English (preacher) reports, “Recently, I gave a copy of Muscle and A Shovel to a barber I know. This week, he asked me for more information about baptism and its essential nature. I am working toward getting a study with her. We have a new doctor who moved here recently, and some of our ladies are preparing the new movers’ basket for the family. We have a total of eight prospects right now.”
Bridgewater church of Christ, Katy, Texas: Doug Suggs (deacon) reports, “At Bridgewater this week, we had a study with David from China. This young man has been to our evening service on Sunday evening for the last six weeks. We had a church fellowship on Saturday evening, and he came to share this with us. We all had a good time, and David certainly enjoyed himself and met more of the congregation.
“Our new mover’s group, led by Ken Mitchell, met to address materials about the church with personal notes and invitations to visit us. Last week, I reported Hilda Sanchez’s baptism but forgot to send her picture. It is included this week along with pictures of our new movers’ group.”
Peninsula church of Christ, Virginia: Ben Phillips (preacher) reports, “Last week was a great week of evangelism here at Peninsula. There were four studies conducted across the congregation. One of the studies was the first with a contact from AMC. The study went well and shows great promise.
“We were especially blessed by the response of Mo Chandler in obedience to the Gospel. Mo has terminal cancer and is in hospice care at home, but now he is in the Lord’s hands of mercy and grace! Derick Valentine, a Christian for only about a year, taught him the Gospel. Derick had a friend who was in need of the Gospel. He saw the opportunity, and, with an assist from Kevin Barnes and Glenn Hitchcock, he was able to teach his friend the Gospel. Pray for Mo as he begins his walk and endures cancer. Pray for his family during this time, especially his wife Kanesha and his daughters (Nina, Mia, and Jenna).
“Mo is the third individual baptized at Peninsula in the last two months. We continue to work with our prospects, follow up, and conduct studies as opportunities present themselves.”
Williamsburg church of Christ, Virginia: Jim Bishop (elder) reports, “This week, the Williamsburg church of Christ began the sermons on Back to the Bible and continued preparing compassion cards for mailing. We have five prospects on our list. Prayers continue for those lost and opportunities to spread the Gospel.”
Marlon Retana (regional trainer): “I have been working on translating How to Close the Study into Spanish. One at a time, we have been developing all the HTHSOE tools to help our Spanish-speaking brethren.”
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