Success Stories: January 29, 2025

Welcome Beltway church of Christ, Camp Springs, Maryland: We welcome the Beltway church of Christ to the House to House/Heart to Heart School of Evangelism. The attendance was outstanding as six other congregations came to learn more about congregational evangelism. Rob and Nicole began the training Friday evening and continued through Saturday. Eric Sykes (regional trainer) took over on Sunday, and he conducted a leadership meeting on Monday evening. Many doors were opened as we have already been invited back next year to train another congregation and to continue the training at Beltway. The effects were immediate as baptisms occurred on Sunday, and two Bible studies were set up. We look forward to LeAndre Johnson’s first update next week.

Welcome Abingdon church of Christ, Virginia: We welcome the Abingdon church of Christ to the House to House/Heart to Heart School of Evangelism. The congregation responded with eagerness as the spirit of evangelism came alive. The membership was supportive, and the leadership could not have been more engaged. We look forward to working with their full-time evangelist, Freddie Klein, and their preacher, Nathan Liddell, as they train the saved to reach the lost.

Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: Keith Ritchie (evangelist) reports, “Glencoe church of Christ has two ongoing Bible studies. We started a Wednesday night new converts class, so we now have a new converts class on Sunday morning and Wednesday night. Another class will start at Glencoe this Wednesday, closely aligned with the new converts classes but different in aim. With growth comes growing pains. Part of evangelism is keeping the saved faithful, and these classes are aimed at achieving that. This Sunday afternoon, our door-knocking teams will begin their work of making contacts. We appreciate all prayers for this effort! To God be the glory!”

Creekwood church of Christ, Mobile, Alabama: Tucker Presley (preacher) reports, “We had a slow week at Creekwood because we were at home for a couple of days due to the snow. We were supposed to have our second Bible study with Viktoria, but because of road closures in Mobile, she was not able to make it. We are now scheduled to go over the blue booklet with her this Thursday. We had a productive meeting with elders and ministers yesterday. We talked about evangelism for a long time, and we agreed to begin next Sunday (February 2). We already have visitor bags ready to go, and we already have some contacts. David and I are meeting with Cathy Shelburne, our compassion card coordinator, on Wednesday to discuss that work. Several members are interested in helping in the program. The elders will select coordinators from those who have expressed interest in helping through the survey.”

Central church of Christ, Saraland, Alabama: David Dixon (preacher) reports, “One of our new converts lost her father this week. Please pray for Ciara Warther. A loss like this can be a tough time for new Christians, as it may test their faith. We are rallying around her, sending her cards, and wrapping her in Christian love. This is not only part of basic Christianity but of evangelism. 2025 may prove to be more labor-intensive than 2024. We have numerous contacts waiting for follow-up, but the conversions last year came naturally. The people we are working on now will require dedication to the processes we have learned. I am no less confident that the same results will come, but if we want to convert our current contacts, we are going to have to work the process: cards, visits, relationships, and Bible studies.”

West Huntsville church of Christ, Alabama: Paul Owen (evangelist) reports, “Our contacts and personal Bible studies are increasing. This is due to our members being true soul winners in their daily lives. Our elders make weekly announcements that will motivate our members to keep working on the process; success will follow. We are making a difference in the Huntsville community! To God be the glory!”

Highland Park church of Christ, Muscle Shoals, Alabama: Andrew Myhan (deacon) reports, “This week, we had more training with members who are conducting Bible studies for the first time. We still have a few prospects that are currently in transition. We ask for prayers, hoping we will see more results.”

Hatton church of Christ, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “Studies are ongoing; one in particular just started, but it has been in the works for a year and a half. We need prayers for this one. Also, we had a restoration through our program; Dana Berryman was restored. We also had a wayward member who came back this Sunday after receiving cards and a visit. To God be the glory!”

Petersville church of Christ, Florence, Alabama: Adam Richardson (preacher) reports, “We had a very successful outreach effort with the Petersville family yesterday. Eighteen individuals helped bake cookies and put together gift bags to take on visits. Then, church members contacted 17 prospects by visiting them in their homes and thanking them for attending previous events at Petersville. We asked if they had any spiritual needs or prayer requests, but we also informed them that the church was setting up appointments for additional information about the church and invited to add their names to the list. Of the 17 homes contacted, three were interested in studying together, and those studies are being set up for this week. The effort created a lot of good energy among those who participated, and we hope the spirit will continue to spread to others as we press on to the goal!”

Rison church of Christ, Arkansas: Keden Shrum (preacher) reports, “We had Joey Treat from GBN with us on Sunday. He delivered a great lesson on evangelism Sunday evening, heavily supporting the use of Back to the Bibleand the HTHSOE method. Following evening worship, Care Team A met to work on compassion cards. This week, we are sending cards to two families. One family recently moved to the area, and the other family is receiving sympathy cards following the death of a loved one.”

Windsor church of Christ, Colorado: Lucas Stephens (member) reports, “We are sending cards to our four prospects and starting our new movers program. We had two visitors this week. We continue our training and weekly meetings to organize our mission of evangelism.”

Niceville church of Christ, Florida: Joe Palmer (preacher) reports, “This year, I am continuing to focus on building up our systems and increasing efficiency, awareness, involvement, and communication. Last week, we had our ‘Kick-off’ meeting, which will allow everyone to communicate about the direction we are heading, including corrections and additions to our ministry. This week, I am following up with my leaders and organizers and getting people involved early in the transition process. Of the last 12 contacts we have, all but one are assigned to someone who will make specific follow-up actions. We are working on developing a mentoring program, having found a coordinator. We have one ongoing study and one new study beginning this week. We sent out 49 cards last week. We had 11 visitors but no new visitors. We made several follow-up calls and visits last week. We had two Bible studies this week.”

Avalon church of Christ, Florida (remote): Preston Silcox (elder) reports, “Avalon had two visitors on Sunday, a mom and her teenage daughter. One of our teen girls was quick to invite the daughter to class. Mom attended our Fundamentals class and seemed to connect. We spent time Sunday night writing cards to the visitors and another contact. Our elders and deacons will meet this coming Sunday regarding when and how we launch the school. The elders are excited about the future!”

Margaret Street church of Christ, Milton, Florida: Troy Spradlin (preacher) reports, “Our evangelism ministry was frozen out this past week at Margaret Street with a record-breaking snowstorm here in ‘sunny’ Florida! Everything was shut down, so we have some catch-up to do this week. On Sunday, we had two new visitors who received welcome gifts from our pew greeters. Our Compassion Card Writing Team 4 got started on six new prospects, and we received three new contacts! We are slowly improving and will keep adding more elements of the evangelism model in the coming weeks. Our first round of transition visits is having mixed results, but we know we must keep working on the model. The elders are currently working through visits for three of our wayward members to whom we have sent cards. They also read a couple of thank you cards before the congregation from two of our prospects who had received compassion cards. It is good for the church to hear that our ministry is having a positive impact! We will be setting up Bible studies with them next! If we plant and water, God will provide the increase!”

Rabun County church of Christ, Tiger, Georgia: McKinley Pate (preacher) reports, “Being a part of the only congregation of the Lord’s Church in the entire county has made me realize that people are starving for the truth. Last Sunday, a lady visited Bible class and worship. She said she has been searching for a church that would simply teach the entire truth of the Bible. She said that she found us online and knew that she needed to come. She responded to the Lord’s invitation, stating that she had been tricked by the prosperity Gospel for years and had been living her life in sin for the past 12 years.  We offered a prayer of support for her, and after services, my wife and I spoke about getting together with her and her husband over dinner and studying the Bible, and she agreed eagerly.

A man and his two daughters visited with us for the first time. The dad is a local attorney whom I have known since we were in Rabun County for the first time. I worked with him part-time years ago before we moved, and I constantly invited him to services. However, he never came to church. I have seen him a couple of times in passing since we moved back, but we had not had any real discussions. However, he decided to visit, years after the invitation had been extended. After services, he said that he and his daughters liked the sermon because it had more depth than what he had heard from the mega-church institutions. He said that all the sermons he heard before did not challenge him, nor was the Bible explained in a way that he could understand. He said he liked what he heard and that he and his daughters would definitely be back.

This past Sunday showed me that people are starving for the truth, and it is our job to find them and show them that we have the truth in the pages of the Bible. I also learned that we should never give up on inviting people to attend services. It may take years of invitations before they come, but as long as we plant that seed and water it, God will give the increase. There is excitement in our small corner of Northeast Georgia that I have never seen anywhere else. When members see growth, it fires them up to get involved and keep the momentum going. To God be the Glory.”

Lafayette church of Christ, Georgia: Jesse Teague (deacon) reports, “We had our monthly fellowship meal Sunday afternoon. We joined in the common interest of saving souls. Several visitors came, and they all heard a good Gospel sermon, followed by a good meal! Maybe some came just to have their bellies filled, just as with Jesus’ listeners, but they heard the good news of Christ as well. The Gospel is good, and our Lord will reward our efforts.”

Woodstock church of Christ, Georgia: Matt Amos (preacher) reports, “We attended the Sunabella of Towne Lake Assistant Living devotional on Sunday. They had eleven non-Christians in attendance. We also provided evangelism guidance to smaller churches with less than 40 individuals in their congregation. One church is implementing its first service project. The New Movers group delivered six baskets and left door hangers during their door knocking campaign this past weekend. The New Converts class had seven attendees from the congregation who want to help the new converts. The compassion cards group created fifteen cards this week. We had four non-Christian visitors at our Sunday morning service.”

Cartersville church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Charles Harris (regional trainer) reports, “The church here wants to grow. Many members have a servant mentality. They just need better guidance. I have been struggling with a cold and unable to get out and about or communicate with many as usual. The work this past week became stagnant. The work should not suffer because I am sick. So, I need to make sure I improve in my training of others. Sometimes, I need an eye-opening moment to return to what is important. I have set baptism goals for the year and expect us to surpass them.”

Honolulu church of Christ, Hawaii: Tagiilima Esene (preacher) reports, “Our elders have met with their groups to help us refocus on our efforts in evangelism. Ralph’s group focuses on our new movers program. Ren’s group is focusing on our card ministry. Pat’s group is focusing on edifying the body, especially visiting with our shut-ins. Two Bible studies have completed the Back to the Bible study. We are actively encouraging these souls to water the seed planted. Our youth group just completed another Bible Bowl on Romans 12. This past week, I started a new Bible study with one of our prospects. He enjoys the simplicity of the study and is excited to learn more. We ask for prayers for Zach Small as we continue our studies together. We have sent out a thousand copies of HTH this month with an invitation to our upcoming marriage seminar with Barry Grider. Please continue to pray for us.”

Collinsville-Troy church of Christ, Illinois: Jason Wright (elder) reports, “We mailed out 158 compassion cards this week. We continue to have visitors, and one of our new converts has been bringing his girlfriend. We have six ongoing Bible studies. We have been dealing with weather and sickness, but we hope to be back on a regular weekly study schedule this week. We made several follow-up visits and handed out several new mover baskets. We will go out into the community two days this week to make more visits. Our Servants of Souls evangelism program bundled training cards and invitation cards, and we learned how to prepare candles to hand out during follow-up visits. Our food giveaway is coming up in April. We hope to open our clothing closet to the community soon. Both of these are great for creating contacts. Bring on the warmer weather!”

LaGrange church of Christ, Indiana: Wayne Poe (elder) reports, “We had two visitors yesterday, and we look forward to getting to know them as they return. We have some contacts as we continue to pray for those on our bookmarks.”

Judah church of Christ, Bedford, Indiana: Joe Moon (preacher) reports, “This Sunday, we had training about greeting visitors, and met to discuss our progress as a congregation. Several men volunteered their families to be on the visitor team. They will also follow up with visits for those who receive compassion cards. Excitement continues to grow at Judah.”

Highland Village church of Christ, Bloomington, Indiana: Mark Stauffer (elder) reports, “The past week was plagued by seasonal ailments that limited our activities. We sent 44 cards, had one visitor at services, and made one visit for the week. We have a quarterly prayer breakfast coming up on the 4th Saturday of February. We are inviting our prospects to attend.”

Beloit church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dustin Dougherty (regional trainer) reports, “We had a great worship service Sunday morning with 34; two were visitors. We are making plans to begin mid-week classes as soon as a curriculum is selected. Planning is underway for new movers baskets, and we are in the final stages of getting visitor gifts ready. I will begin a men’s Bible study in February. It will be open to the public, so we are praying that we will be able to make more contacts from the community. I have been trying to hand out or leave more invitation cards whenever I am out and about. To God be all honor and glory.”
Central church of Christ, Paducah, Kentucky: Adam Faughn (preacher) reports, “We are thrilled to report two baptisms this week at Central. Andrica Foster has visited with us for a short time, but she has also been researching the church of Christ (and Central, specifically) for some time. After visiting, she knew she needed to be baptized but needed some clarification, so we studied Does It Matter? with her and her sons. On Saturday afternoon, she was baptized into Christ. One of her sons, Tez, was also baptized. We will continue to encourage her other two sons, but we rejoice with these new Christians! To God be the glory!”

Madisonville church of Christ, Kentucky: Russel Kline (preacher), “We have started our new converts class with Bob McElvain teaching on Wednesday evenings. Our Compassion Card teams were active and mailed out nearly 100 cards.”

Aberdeen church of Christ, Maryland: Will Brown (preacher) reports, “We restocked our Back to the Bible lessons because we ran out of material. We still have three ongoing Bible studies. We are growing closer as a church by looking out for others first. We are continuing to align all activities to support and encourage Bible studies. We are working on another new Christian class to support learning for the new members. We see that the harvest is ripe when the Gospel seed is planted. God is giving the increase. I look forward to reporting the progress. We appreciate all prayers for our efforts.”

La Plata church of Christ, Maryland (remote): Eric Sykes (regional trainer) reports, “Last week, we completed ‘Lesson 3: Our Spiritual Condition’ class with our advanced teacher’s group; five people attended. In two weeks, we will start training the group on ‘How to Close a Bible Study.’ We wrote 26 compassion cards and had two visitors. Tomorrow, Sandy will start Lesson 1 of Back to the Bible with an older lady who lives in an assisted living facility near the church building. We have been prospecting and building a relationship with her for over eight months. We have given her a ride to worship a few times. She has received 47 compassion cards. We have taken her out to eat, taken meals to her home, visited her at home, and helped her with a few minor household repairs. Last week, she attended worship services. She saw the ‘Sunday Morning Video’ from Reaching the Lost that talked about the 38 percent increase in baptisms that we had last year. She told Sandy she wanted to know more, especially since her old congregation is no longer meeting in person on Sundays.

We currently have four open Bible studies. Seven people attended New Convert training sessions last week. Six young men attended the young men’s training class. We are training them to take on leadership roles and coordinator duties found in the Evangelism Model. We were delighted that Rob Whitacre, and his family came to town this past weekend and conducted an HTH/HTH School of Evangelism training seminar at the Beltway church of Christ in Camp Springs, Maryland. It was amazing! The saints were encouraged and motivated by Rob’s powerful messages. We conducted a Sunday Morning Kick-off. We had a great turnout for each session this weekend. There was a baptism on Sunday. Langston Williams and I received two requests for Bible studies. One study started on Sunday night; and two people placed membership at the Beltway congregation.”

Mountain Grove church of Christ, Missouri (remote): Brent Lebaron (evangelism coordinator) reports, “Keith Cozort, our minister, presented the first sermon on John 4 in the first assembly. He continued with ‘Making It Operational’ for our second assembly (our meeting times are in the a.m. back to back). The bookmarks were handed out to those who were not there previously, and their purpose was explained again. We are optimistic and looking forward to getting to work.”

Samford church of Christ, Steele, Missouri: Kyle Imel (deacon) reports, “We are sending compassion cards to three individuals this week. Two lost loved ones, and one was recently diagnosed with MS.”

East Flushing church of Christ, New York (remote): Clarence Jenkins (preacher) reports, “After worship service, we watched the HTHSOE YouTube video ‘NEW APP REVEAL.’ We immediately downloaded the app on our phones after watching the video. The brethren continued on our reboot, going through the ‘COORDINATORS SPREADSHEET,’ to help us decide who, what, and when we should use to grow an effectively executed model. Our metrics thus far for January are nine visitors, ten prospects, and made 22 visits. We currently have four Bible studies ongoing. We appreciate all prayers.”

New Concord church of Christ, Ohio: Terry Townsend (preacher) reports, “We had five first-time visitors from our community in our morning service. One family recently moved into the area, and the other gentleman and his son have left denominationalism and are ‘looking for a new church home.’ Both families received welcome bags, and will receive cards in the mail in the coming days. Personal follow-up visits will also be made. We started a new Bible study with two local high school students attending our Wednesday evening services over the past year. We completed Book 1 of Back to the Bible and will do Book 2 this week. Two of our sweet, dear sisters completed Book 3 of Back to the Bible with two ladies. That study has been difficult as one lady believes she is already saved. The other lady knows what she needs to do but is hesitant to do so. Currently, we are working with four individuals in studies who know they are lost and understand completely what the Lord requires of them—yet they have not done so. We remain hopeful and prayerful that these precious souls obey soon! We did send out a compassion card (signed by the entire congregation) to a non-member who lives outside our area and recently lost a loved one. The work continues to be slow, but we remain hopeful and vigilant!”

Sullivan Village church of Christ, Oklahoma: Steven Hill (preacher) reports, “We had a baptism yesterday, a young lady named Isabella, and we are working on her father as well. We are continuing our new converts class and seeking to make inroads with several visitors!”

Coweta church of Christ, Oklahoma: Keno Shrum (regional trainer) reports, “On Tuesday evening, Jamie and I went through Lesson 1 of Back to the Biblewith Dakota and Alyssa. We met them the previous Saturday at the wedding of Dakota’s sister. Dakota has no religious background. Alyssa has been studying with some ladies from work who are Mormons. After going through Lesson 1, Dakota kept smiling. He said he wants to keep learning as he really enjoyed the study. Alyssa acknowledged that the New Testament is our only guide to salvation. She said she would not be continuing the study with the Mormon ladies. Lesson 2 will be this week. On Thursday evening, we studied with Cardell, Marissa, and their 14-year-old son, Jaiden. We originally went through Lesson 1 with Cardell and Marissa four years ago, but we never got past that first lesson. On Monday, I received a text from Marissa; she said they want to study again and include Jaiden. So, we started over with Lesson 1. This week, we will continue with Lesson 2. We try to remember that evangelism is a marathon, not a sprint. Sometimes, the seed has to germinate for a long time—in this case, four years. Now it has sprouted and can begin to grow.”

York church of Christ, Pennsylvania: Mark Rashke (deacon) reports, “Evangelism was mentioned from the pulpit during our morning announcements, as well as part of the sermon. We will have our monthly evangelism visitation meeting next week. However, we did not receive any new visitors or contacts this week, so we did not have any new cards to send.”

Union church of Christ, South Carolina (remote): Terry Hale (preacher) reports, “This week has been difficult, but even through the tough times of a virus spreading through the area and postponing many studies, progress was made by mailing cards to three prospects. Also, a couple of studies with Book 2 had eye-opening results. We appreciate prayers for our workers and prospects as we learn together and battle this virus.”

McEwen church of Christ, Tennessee: Jonathan Jones (preacher) reports, “Our evangelism table is up and looks good. The accountability board is going up this week, and we will start organizing our contacts. We hope to mail compassion cards soon.”

Cookeville church of Christ, Tennessee: Jonathan Medley (deacon) reports, “We finally got Diana into a study. She called at 3:00 p.m. on Friday and said she wanted to be baptized. I figured that was the best possible reason to leave work early, so I met Diana and her study leader at the building and baptized her into Christ. We are still working on reaching out to the young couple who visited during our ‘Seek Ye First’ event. We are on our third week of sending cards, plus one of our couples took a fresh loaf of bread to recent visitors. They have not visited again, but we will continue to encourage them. We are officially set up now on the New Movers program. We have responsibilities outlined, and several couples have already volunteered to coordinate various aspects of it, such as shopping, assembling baskets, and delivery. I feel like we are finally starting to gain some traction.”

New Union church of Christ, Manchester, Tennessee: Paul Fulks (elder) reports, “We had two visitors and two new contacts this past Sunday. We wrote 38 compassion cards. We made four visits to our prospects and delivered one new mover basket.”

Ocoee Street church of Christ, Copperhill, Tennessee: R.E. Vann (elder) reports, “Our first transition visit did not materialize as scripted, but the results were still fruitful. We were unable to catch our new movers at home, so on our concluding attempt, we left our gift (never go empty-handed) in their mailbox with an invitation note. Guess who showed up to worship with us Sunday morning! They already had meal plans but agreed to a rain check this week; we are praying. Our invitation cards came in this week, and the training lesson was presented on Sunday evening. We will continue to work the process, and God will give the increase.”

Rivergate church of Christ, Madison, Tennessee: Doug Tooley (preacher) reports, “Last week, we had eight visitors on Sunday. One of the couples who visited is a co-worker of one of our members. The wife has expressed interest in being baptized but wants to study first. They plan to start on Tuesday. We made three visits last week.”

White Oak church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee (remote): John McGiffin (preacher) reports, “This week we passed out bookmarks. We got several who filled out names right away, and many reported they will do so this week. I hope to go over those contacts this coming week and solicit a few names to prospect. We have purchased four cardholders. On the side of the holders are stickers with our congregational contact information. They have four different business card slots. The first one will be filled with our YOU ARE INVITED cards. The others will have cards for the WVBS ‘What Must I Do to Be Saved,’ ‘Why Are There So Many Churches?’ and ‘Where Do We Go When We Die?’ These will be placed in doctor’s visiting rooms around the area. One was placed this past week. As members have doctor’s appointments, they are to take the cards and ask if they can leave them in the office. We are trying alternative ways of reaching the community as our youth group consists mostly of 50-year-olds. The youngest congregant is 48, and the average is in the mid-80s. We are having our men’s planning meeting on Saturday to approve the community outreach plan for 2025.”

Hillcrest church of Christ, Springfield, Tennessee: Tim Taylor (associate preacher) reports, “One of our recent visitors has expressed an interest in placing membership with us at Hillcrest and will meet with our eldership. We are thankful for our continual growth! Also, a compassion card recipient from last fall visited with us for Bible study and worship yesterday.”

Blackman church of Christ, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (remote): Brian McCord reports, “The first sermon in the recommended sermon series was taught yesterday, and we handed out the bookmarks. We have sent eight additional cards in the past week.”

Chapel Hill church of Christ, Tennessee: Matt Jones (deacon) reports, “We continue to have a steady stream of visitors attending our services. Our visitor team has done a great job contacting them and making them feel welcome. We have talked with several and are close to starting Bible studies. We do have a couple of ongoing Bible studies at various phases as well. Our monthly meeting with the full coordinator team is planned for this week, and we hope to add a few more tools in the coming months so our members can use them to reach out to prospects.”

Rome church of Christ, Lebanon, Tennessee (remote): David Oxley (elder) reports, “We continued our study of the Back to the Bible on Sunday morning in Book 3. We will meet this week for our advanced class and will be focusing on finding more contacts. We had three new prospects this week and began one Bible study.”

West Fayetteville church of Christ, Tennessee: Steve Jefferson (elder) reports, “West Fayetteville has added three new contacts to receive compassion cards. We are working on improving and encouraging more members to help with our transition team. We are also working on ways our pew greeters can be effective. We are planning to have refresher classes on February 9.”

Freewill church of Christ, Gainesboro, Tennessee: Andrew Scott (preacher) reports, “We completed Book 2 of Back to the Bible yesterday with Carolyn Dunn. The study went well, and she learned the truth about the church for the first time. Book 3 is scheduled for next week. We sent out more compassion cards yesterday to a family that just moved to the area. They are relatives of one of our members and are looking for a church home; what a great opportunity! We are happy to work with so many new prospects. We thank God for these opportunities to seek and save the lost.”

Mountain Creek church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Michael Tomshack (elder) reports, “As we commence our second year with the School of Evangelism Process, Gary Massey (elder and minister) distributed new Prospect Cards to the congregation on Sunday. The focus will now shift to form classes spanning age groups from Teenagers to Adults and to establish contact with prospects through their life events in each age bracket.”

Covington church of Christ, Tennessee: Wayne Dalrymple (elder) reports, “We had several visitors. Many of them were relatives of our members. We wrote compassion cards to these and others who are on our prospect list. One of the visitors is Chris. Chris is the brother of Charles, one of our members. Chris has visited our Sunday evening services twice in the past couple of weeks. On his attendance card Sunday, he asked for prayers for his daughter. I reached out to him to let him know we are praying for her and to see if we can send cards to her as well. He also checked the box on his card that says he is interested in learning more about the church. We will definitely be following up on that this week. May God give us the courage and wisdom to say and do the right things that will lead Chris to the cross.”

9^th and Main church of Christ, San Angelo, Texas: Leon Martinez (evangelist) reports, “Our evangelism efforts continue to be strong. We have had one conversion this year. We currently have three Bible studies in progress, and we have four prospects.”

Northern Oaks church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas: Mel Hutzler (elder) reports, “We are in the process of rebooting our evangelism program. I am studying with a young lady, and Joe, our other elder, has a study in progress.”

Hondo church of Christ, Texas (remote): Andrew Patterson (preacher) reports, “We are still training on Back to the Bible, and we are about to finish the third book. One of our members will try to study with a friend of hers.”

Fruitvale church of Christ, Texas: Carl McCann (elder) reports, “We had another good turnout of visitors. Of the sixteen visitors, one was a new family. The rest were returning visitors. Of those, four were Christians. Now we have to attempt to get these visitors into Bible studies. This past week, we offered ‘follow-up’ training and then applied what we learned to nine contacts. We also went to a local nursing home in Grand Saline, met the residents, and talked to them while they got their hair and nails done. We used this opportunity to hand out fliers and invite them to a Bible study we will offer once a week in their dining facility. Also, one of our members will offer a weekly Bible study in their home for the people of their community. They went door-knocking and handed out fliers for the study they were offering. We still have seven ongoing Bible studies, and we hope to schedule more. We concluded Book 3 with Linda Moon. She was baptized nine years ago in another town and never had anyone to follow up with her. She came to understand what the church is and that she had a responsibility to the body as a fellow Christian. She realizes the danger of forsaking the assembly.”

Midtown church of Christ, Victoria, Texas: Cody McCoy (preacher) reports, “I started my new work with Midtown on January 19. The elders already planned to have a congregational evangelism refresh on January 26 with Keno Shrum. We have the evangelism table in place and materials on hand to supply it. The congregation is ready to do their part. A member responded publically (and many more privately), saying they have not been pursuing the Great Commission as they should. This week begins with a focus on completing the contact bookmarks and assigning duties from greeters to compassion card coordinators and everything in between.”

Roanoke church of Christ, Texas: Caleb Rutherford (preacher) reports, “We are working with several prospects right now. This marks the third week of sending cards to five of our unfaithful members. The elders will be making some visits to them beginning next week. We are also about to begin working with a new group of prospects, starting this coming Sunday. We have one study currently ongoing, and we are in the process of setting up four more studies. Three of those should begin this week. We also have two transition group training sessions and two Bible study group training sessions set up over the course of the next four weeks. Our greeter teams will be rolled out soon. We are excited for the future.”

Colleyville church of Christ, Texas: John Garza (regional trainer) reports, “The elders and the members are very encouraged. Our spreadsheet says it all! Concerning our Bible studies and the compassion cards we are writing, things are going well, and we have received encouraging feedback. Last week, we did follow-ups and set up two Bible studies. Additionally, we have seven active Bible studies taking place. One may be ready for baptism by tomorrow.”

Wheeler church of Christ, Texas: Garrett English (preacher) reports, “I will be downloading the app and looking for ways to keep improving. We have had no visitors, but we continue to send cards to our community. We have a new evangelism idea given to us called the ‘Words of Wisdom’ project, which will likely give us more contacts in the community when we implement it.”

Bridgewater church of Christ, Katy, Texas: Doug Suggs (deacon) reports, “Card Team 2 met Sunday evening to address cards to visitors and prospects. We had a good number of members staying to write cards. A couple have been coming for a few weeks to our services, and Jim and I will be confirming a time to study with them this week. Please pray for John and Laura. We are having several visitors at our services.  Many are from other churches of Christ, but we do have those from the community who are attending as well. We are getting their information so that we can keep in contact with them.”

Granbury Street church of Christ, Cleburne, Texas: Ryan Cowan (deacon) reports, “Keeping the congregation updated with a weekly email is proving to be a valuable practice. My update includes Bible studies, our list of compassion cards, an update on in-person visits, upcoming efforts, and a section for general reminders. Yesterday, fellow member Ed Davidson attempted a visit near his home. Sadly, the prospect was not home. Ed and I had a great visit and enjoyed spending time together!”

West Side church of Christ, Salem, Virginia: Jeff Durham (elder) reports, “One of our church families submitted an idea for the elders’ consideration for evangelism. It would be a community event that includes free clothing, a simple meal to take home, and lunch provided. We would use this event to make local contacts and share Bible materials with those in attendance. We are developing options for activities that will maximize evangelism opportunities for those who attend. We will share more information soon.”

Culpeper church of Christ, Virginia (remote): Dave Calvert (elder) reports, “We are continuing to receive sermons from our minister concerning evangelism during the morning worship hour. Our Sunday evening services are now focusing on providing training specific to our evangelism efforts. We are getting close to assigning coordinators to specific areas. We were blessed to have five new visitors to our worship service yesterday morning. Some new contact cards were received. We will reach out to these new prospects soon.”

Williamsburg church of Christ, Virginia: Jim Bishop (elder) reports, “God blessed us again by adding a young man to His church. This is the first baptism of 2025, and the ninth baptism since the HTH seminar in late July 2024. We continue to emphasize the importance of the congregational evangelism ‘Model’ by viewing a HTH video each Wednesday evening before Bible Study. Sunday evening services contain core points of intentional contact and reviews of Bible study techniques.”

Peninsula church of Christ, Hampton, Virginia: Ben Phillips (preacher) reports, “We have been blessed over the last few months to have a regular visitor from the community who is connected to members of the church who regularly visit family in the area. We continue to encourage our members to provide new contacts that we can prospect. As I am settling back from the campaigns in Costa Rica, I am working to organize our next round of follow-ups. Speaking of Costa Rica, there has been an additional baptism connected to the campaigns there. Six individuals have come in faith to be immersed for the remission of their sins because of the campaigns the congregation here supported, and I was blessed to take part in. God’s Word still works in Hampton, Costa Rica, and the rest of the world!”

Bermuda church of Christ, US Territory (remote): Tavaro Levar (preacher) reports, “At the moment, our congregation of 11 Christians collectively have five prospects, 12 contacts, and 10 Bible studies ongoing. Two weeks ago, we started ‘Texting the Text’ as a group effort. We have committed to sending out a Bible text with one question about that text before we begin every mid-week Bible study. So far, it seems to be going well.”