Success Stories: May 20, 2026

Welcome, Carriage Oaks church of Christ, Bossier City, Louisiana: We welcome the Carriage Oaks church of Christ to the House to House/Heart to Heart School of Evangelism. The congregation has a love for souls, and workers are ready to implement the model.

Andrew Wynn (preacher) reports, “The Whitacres arrived in Bossier City over the weekend. Last Saturday, the Whitacres, elders, deacons, preacher, and their families shared a meal together. Afterward, we had a meet-and-greet. It was a great evening of fellowship. This past Sunday (5/17) was a wonderful Lord’s Day. Brother Rob shared some powerful lessons from God’s Word on the subject of evangelism. Five precious souls from our members came forward and asked for the prayers of the church. A fire has been lit at the Carriage Oaks church of Christ, and we have a group that is motivated and ready to hit the ground running in our efforts to reach the lost. We look forward to the rest of the week with brother Rob as we grow in our knowledge and application of God’s Word, specifically as it relates to the subject of evangelism. Please pray for our efforts in the Bossier City/Shreveport area, that once the seminar concludes, we will continue to implement the plan and execute our mission using the biblical principles learned in the seminar.”

Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: Keith Ritchie (evangelist) reports, “The thrust of evangelism is the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. Invitations are sent, visitors attend, and some hear the truth preached for the first time. A Gospel Meeting is a perfect opportunity to invite and encourage souls to visit. Glencoe continues to have visitors each week, and this Sunday was no different. Our meeting kicked off this Sunday, and Brother B.J. Clarke is preaching the Gospel of our Lord with simplicity and love. Take full advantage of special events to seek and to save.”

Mountain Home church of Christ, Arkansas: Joshua Adams (preacher) reports, “This past Sunday, we began a new sermon series focused on renewing our congregational mindset toward evangelism through the character study of Barnabas. Looking at passages throughout Acts, we emphasized how Barnabas continually gave of himself for the growth of others — whether through generosity, encouragement, mentorship, or giving second chances. Using the imagery of a greenhouse, we challenged the congregation to become the kind of people who create environments where faith can grow naturally and the Gospel can flourish in the lives of others. The response to the lesson was very encouraging, and we are prayerful that this series will help cultivate a stronger culture of personal evangelism, discipleship, and spiritual investment within the congregation. Additionally, we had a New Mover’s Basket team meeting on Sunday to help reinvigorate our team to get out into the community and make contacts with those new to our city. Of all of the HTHSOE aspects, this one has fallen a bit by the wayside. However, after the meeting, there is a new resolve, and we have 15 teams committed to delivering baskets. Also, we had 17 people stay after evening service to write 12 compassion cards and sent out 37 invitations to our upcoming Vacation Bible School.”

Petersville church of Christ, Alabama: Adam Richardson (preacher) reports, “At Petersville, we are planning our VBS and looking for positive ways to include contacts and prospects in our efforts. Recently, the elders and ministers sat down to identify those attending regularly at worship who haven’t committed their lives to Christ. We will be actively planning opportunities to have an honest conversation with them about their situation. We appreciate prayers for those whom we contact, that they may receive the message well!”

Cedar Grove church of Christ, Andalusia, Alabama: Josh Halloway (preacher) reports, “Our evangelistic outreach efforts continue to stay active and encouraging here at Cedar Grove. We are thankful for the many opportunities God continues to place before us. We still have several Bible studies taking place each week. We are especially thankful for two new Christians, Nena and Michael, who continue to study and grow in their faith. In addition, we currently have studies ongoing with several non-Christians, including Sandy, Casheria, Lontae, Shon, Ian, and Matt. We appreciate all prayers for these people, that their hearts will remain open and receptive to the truth of the Gospel. This week, we also had another congregational door-knocking effort, and it was a great success. Several contacts were made, conversations were started, and a new Bible study was established with a woman named Linda. We had a good number of our congregation come out and participate in this event. At the same time, preparations are underway for our upcoming VBS. This year, we are placing a special emphasis on making VBS even more evangelistic. We want it to be more than just a good week for our children. We want it to be an opportunity to reach entire families with the Gospel of Christ. This week, three different elementary schools helped by sending home our VBS flyers, and we are thankful for those opportunities to spread the Word throughout our community. Our Compassion Card teams are still going strong. This week we will be sending out 73 cards. That brings our total to 200 cards for the month of May and a grand total of 5,203 cards overall. We will keep working and pray that God will continue giving the increase.”

Creekwood church of Christ, Mobile, Alabama: Tucker Presley (preacher) reports, “We have one Bible study going on, and another is beginning this week, Lord willing. Cards continue to be sent out, and contacts are being made. We are praying for these studies to produce fruit for the Kingdom.”

Northside church of Christ, Harrison, Arkansas: Larry Keener (elder) reports, “Northside’s Sunday sermon and training on Sunday nights continue to focus on evangelism training and compassion for the lost. Our visitor and card-writing teams are being formed and trained to accomplish our goals. Our attendance is growing on Sunday mornings. Pray we glorify God.”

Bergman church of Christ, Harrison, Arkansas: Vince Stewart (preacher) reports, “We have two new prospects, Sherry Shatwell (has cancer) and Travis Rogers (going through a difficult time). I inquired a little more information on both from one of our members. Sherry has not been baptized. Currently, she is going through cancer treatment and cannot go anywhere due to a very low immune system. She may not be able to attend here, but if we can work up to a visit and a Bible study, we can do so on her front porch. It sounds like she may not have much time left, but we know she needs to be baptized into Christ. We also know a man named Travis who lives close to our congregation. I was told he attended a different congregation some years ago, but I am not sure if he was baptized. He is going through many rough things in his life, and he needs to get back in the saddle. We started signing compassion cards for Sherry and Travis yesterday. Several members started signing cards before Bible class yesterday morning, before it was announced. Day 2 of the evangelism class went well. I allowed for questions twice, once after a review of last week, when none were asked, and then after we went over our obligation and motivation to do the work. I reminded the class of a phrase we said many times in the past: ‘If they obey the Gospel or are restored, whatever the case may be, it was worth it.’ Many heads nodded. Then, the second half of Lesson 1 of the seminar was shown, again, but no questions were asked. I plan to make it through all the videos on the thumb drive. I intended to visit Patricia Fitch this weekend, but she was out of town. One of the ladies is currently working on setting up a time to visit Patricia this week, perhaps for coffee (she loves coffee). We heard that she got good news on her cancer, and Patricia said prayers were answered. We are trying to move quickly on a visit.”

Concord Street church of Christ, Orlando, Florida: Billy Dickson (evangelist) reports, “Since the seminar, Concord Street is already putting the HTHSOE training into practice. Members have written 90 compassion cards for three contacts: two restoration contacts and one visitor/contact from prior door knocking. Each contact has already received six cards and will continue receiving two cards per day. I’m also encouraged by Bible studies already underway. Immediately following the seminar, one member asked his two sisters to study, and they have now completed Lesson 2 of Back to the Bible. Our preacher has also begun a study with a visitor named Cameron, who has completed Lesson 1. Please pray that God will open their hearts and bless the work at Concord.”

Margaret Street church of Christ, Milton, Florida: Troy Spradlin (preacher) reports, “We need to recruit a few more volunteers for our third Sunday Compassion Card team! The other Sundays are well covered with team members, but the third Sunday team is short-handed. We are going to try opening up a few more time slots for writing cards to see if that helps recruit more. We are also redesigning our ‘Welcome Visitors’ pew card so that we can get more contact information from visitors. Our total 2026 Accountability Board numbers are: 133 Contacts Received; 97 Neighbors (Prospects); 505 Compassion Cards sent; 16 Bible studies; one Restoration, and six Baptisms.”

Stuart church of Christ, Florida: Tom Neth (deacon) reports, “This week we continued to work the program faithfully and were encouraged by several positive developments. We were thankful to have five first-time visitors attend our worship services this week. We continue to follow up through compassion cards, personal visits, and by actively seeking opportunities to begin Bible studies. This week, we wrote another 100 compassion cards as part of our ongoing outreach efforts. We currently have three active Bible studies in progress, and we are grateful for the doors the Lord continues to open.”

Milestone church of Christ, Cantonment, Florida: Randy Brantley (elder) reports, “Five visits were made this week, two of which look promising. An elderly lady was visited by two of our ladies. She was so appreciative of the compassion cards that she invited them in for a long visit, showing her cards that she has placed all around so she can see them every day.”

Warner Robins church of Christ, Georgia: Damien Walker (evangelist) reports, “We had 20 visitors Sunday, made at least two visits last week, and began one Bible study with a young man while visiting with a member. We had a graduation ceremony following morning service for our seniors, and several visitors stayed and joined us for that, so those are now in our follow-up pipeline. Transition team training is still rolling along, and we are looking ahead to VBS on June 24–26 and a Youth Sunday right after to re-invite those families. We will have a lesson geared toward families, and we will sing songs that kids know well (and take that opportunity to evangelize those families!). We are grateful for the momentum God is giving us here! We also have an ‘Evangelism Tracker’ spreadsheet. Its purpose is self-explanatory. I shared it with several preachers and elders in our area at the last area-wide leadership meeting, and they seemed to find it helpful. I recommend sharing this with other congregations involved with HTHSOE. It may be altered to reflect HTH branding, but we give permission if changes are needed. If it helps the brotherhood even a little bit, to God be the glory.”

Cartersville church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Charles Harris (regional trainer) reports, “Sunday afternoon, we baptized Linda into Christ. Linda is the mother of one of our newer members. Months ago, I tried to start a friendship with a grandson of a member. Last week, he reached out to me, expressing a desire to get right with God and wanting to help others do the same. Yesterday was our first Bible study, and it went well. The HTHSOE Student Program continues to grow. Another student enrolled this past week. I often hear positive feedback from those who are enrolled.”

Woodstock church of Christ, Georgia: Matt Amos (preacher) reports, “Woodstock church of Christ (WCOC) and the Sunabella Assisted Living Home had a celebration of life on Sunday. They had 85 in attendance. The Compassion Group sent out 21 cards this week. We had five visitors this past Sunday. WCOC had two Bible studies.”

Gray church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Keith Dixon (preacher) reports, “We had a great Sunday. We had five visitors. We also sent 52 cards and made one visit! We currently have four prospects.”

Collinsville-Troy church of Christ, Illinois: Jason Wright (evangelist) reports, “Keno Shrum visited last week for our Evangelism Refresh. We were so thankful that he and Jamie took the time to stop in and give us a boost. He did a great job. We had great crowds all four nights. We had three Bible studies. Our numbers have been down the last few weeks due to sickness and people being out of town. Parents and teens are asking for evangelism training. Since summer vacation is here, all we have to do is figure out a schedule. Two of our teens have a study scheduled with a friend, and one of our SOS team members will lead the study. We made five New Mover basket visits with three at home. We had several visitors. One of our new converts brings visitors with him every week. I am currently studying with two of them. We mailed 100 compassion cards. We will do SOS training this Sunday. Our VBS is approaching. The Lord’s work rolls on!”

15th Street church of Christ, Ottawa, Kansas (remote): Brady Altic (associate minister) reports, “We did not get an opportunity for the third lesson with Jessy last week, but we hope and pray that we get an opportunity this week. Some women from the congregation are meeting today to begin assembling new mover baskets and visitors’ gifts. Prayers are appreciated and needed for ongoing studies. Also we pray our congregation will stay steadfast in this work for the Lord.”

Beloit church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dustin Dougherty (regional trainer) reports, “We broke 30 this last Sunday and had a couple of visitors for worship. We continue the lists of thanks and concerns, striving to find local contacts so we can send compassion cards. We are gearing up for several local events. There will be a ‘sidewalk sale’ in our downtown area during the first part of June. We will have a booth for the local congregation and we will hand out Bibles to whoever wants them during the event. We will also invite people to this year’s VBS. Hopefully, there will be a lot of foot traffic during the event.  We are also planning for the booth at this year’s county fair and VBS right after. To God be the glory.”

Pittsburg church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dan Eckerly (preacher) reports, “Recent refinements made to our process for our last card writing session helped our work to be more effective and enjoyable. Ninety-seven cards were sent to our prospect list.  Our accountability board is digital; it is running on a TV screen in our foyer. Our evangelism table is also in a prominent location in the foyer, neatly arranged and fully stocked. We know these are small details, but we are excited about the enthusiastic participation of so many of our members. The momentum is building, and we hope it will lead to many souls coming to Christ in our community. We had one visitor, and we are currently engaged in three Bible studies.”

Columbus church of Christ, Kansas: Matt Fowler (member) reports, “Beth and I completed Believe the Bible Lesson B with Jacob and Paige. They very much appreciated the study, and we hope to share Lesson C with them this weekend. The congregation wrote compassion cards to Beth’s brother, who is recovering from brain surgery. We are praying that his heart will be softened through this process. We appreciate all prayers for opportunities for us as we continue to pray for the Lord’s work everywhere.”

Flatwoods church of Christ, Kentucky: Nathan Adkins (elder) reports, “The Flatwoods congregation continues to move forward with our evangelism efforts. So far this month, we have sent 23 cards and held three Bible studies. Last month, we started two new Sunday morning classes: one for new converts and one for young adults. Both have been well attended. Five of our new brothers and sisters have been very faithful and engaged in the class. One of our new converts, however, has been a little shy. One of our new sisters came forward at the invitation last night, asking for prayers to overcome her sins. That was encouraging to us all. She is trying very hard, and we can see how happy she is to be part of the church.”

Central church of Christ, Paducah, Kentucky: Adam Faughn (preacher) reports, “While this last week was slow in terms of Bible studies, we had a good number of local guests on Sunday, and we look forward to following up with them. At least two were taken out for lunch, and we are praying for leads. Our Vacation Bible School is the next big event on our calendar, as it is just three weeks away, and we are trying to ensure that we have processes in place to deal with follow-up for contacts. We appreciate all prayers as we count down the days to this great event.”

Gonzales church of Christ, Louisiana: Ben Vallery (deacon) reports, “Our metrics are: Visitors: eight; Visits Made: four; Cards signed: six for the week / 58 for the month; Prospects/Neighbors: nine; Bible studies: three; Baptisms: three. Our 2026 Baptism goal is 20. Our New Converts’ classes continue on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. Our coordinators met on Sunday to fill the rest of our team in on our one-year meeting with you. We discussed our upcoming VBS from an evangelism perspective and made a plan to be very focused on our visitors.”

Waldorf church of Christ, Maryland: Joseph Day (member) reports, “On May 17, we had eleven visitors. We processed 48 compassion cards and had one baptism. We hope to schedule two Bible studies this week. We will also do some more porch visits with several contacts. The baptism was with one of the community service outreach contacts during the AMC event.”

La Plata church of Christ, Maryland: Eric Sykes (regional trainer) reports, “We had a great week at the La Plata church of Christ. Our young Davids and Proverb 31 Girls visited the home of one of our widows. The young Davids, under the guidance of the elders and several brothers, took care of some much-needed yard work for our dear sister. Our Proverb 31 Girls sat at the feet of one of our Titus 2 sisters to learn about the full armor of God in Ephesians 6. We are still processing the ‘Post Evangelism Seminar Surveys’ and assigning members accordingly. Twenty-two members of the congregation signed up to support our door-knocking efforts. We decided to combine our Transition Visitation and New Movers teams. We got together on Sunday after worship for our first team training session. Everyone was enthusiastic and engaged, which made it a truly uplifting experience for everyone. We currently have 16 new movers and 11 prospects on our transition visitation list (including 27 active prospects). We built 20 new mover baskets. We are meeting tomorrow evening to give each team member door-knocking assignments and pass out new mover baskets and transition visit gifts. We appreciate prayers for our efforts. We had 12 visitors; we added three new card writers to our compassion card writing teams. We wrote 126 compassion cards this week. One of the prospects (Jennifer McConkey) received our compassion cards several months ago; she was baptized last Wednesday at the Culpeper church of Christ. She placed membership here at La Plata this past Sunday. We have already assigned her a mentor and enrolled her in ‘Your First 40 Days in the Wilderness’, the new convert’s Bible study series. We currently have five open Bible studies. Since this year’s AMC, we have been super busy implementing the ‘evangelism model’ here in La Plata; we are grateful for every step forward. We appreciate all prayers as we continue to strive to make a difference in our community.”

Iuka church of Christ, Mississippi: Sam Glover (preacher) reports, “Our evangelism committee meeting this week was encouraging. We have two prospects for Bible studies that our members are working with independently. We’ve also identified nine people/couples that the committee agreed to take turns reaching out to on a rotating basis, an ongoing opportunity for community engagement from now until October, and a major opportunity for a “homecoming” designed to focus on reaching out to the lapsed/disillusioned members and prospects. Even when the work is slow going or only producing a handful of visible results, I’m grateful for and encouraged by our members and the work they repeatedly show themselves to be willing to do.”

Plainview church of Christ, Fulton, Mississippi: Tom House (preacher) reports, “Things continue to progress. The organization is getting better. Other prospects have come up since the photo of our metrics board was taken. Back to the Bible training continues. We have four prospects.”

Fulton church of Christ, Mississippi: Richard Comer (deacon) reports, “We are working on compassion cards each week. We have 20 ready to send. We made a one-visit transition. We are working on getting a time set up for a Bible study.”

Aberdeen church of Christ, Mississippi: Jonathan Hagar (preacher) reports, “This Sunday, we had several visitors from the family members of our graduating seniors. Most of them were return visitors, and some are members of the church; it was great to see them and welcome them. Some of our new converts have been inviting their friends and family to church with them, which is really encouraging, and we greet them and reach out to them. The New Convert’s class is going well, and attendance remains steady.”

Concord church of Christ, New Hampshire (remote): Terry Hale (evangelist) reports, “We had a very good study in Book 2 this week. We hope to begin Book 3 on Friday with the prospect. We also have a prospect who is attending services, and we hope to begin a study soon. We had a very interesting discussion about evangelism with reference to Luke 14.”

East Flushing church of Christ, New York (remote): Clarence Jenkins (preacher) reports, “Richard studied the Bible with Athalia using the method Back to the Bible. He diligently went through Books 1, 2, and 3. Many times he would also come when we made calls on Tuesday nights. We have singing, prayer, and a reading from God’s word. Also on Wednesday nights, we have a Bible study via Zoom. To the honor and glory of God, Richard was baptized into Christ on Saturday, May 16, 2026. We are rejoicing as the angels in Heaven are rejoicing that we have another precious soul, saved by the love and grace of our Lord. To God be the glory! Our metrics thus far, through and for April 2026, are three baptisms, 16 visitors, ten Bible studies, and a member in our New Convert class. We appreciate all prayers.”

Linville Forest church of Christ, Kernersville, North Carolina: Steve Hare (elder) reports, “We have several people visiting at this point who have expressed approval of Bible-only teaching. I have had a study with a chaplain from the Baptist Hospital that went very well. I’m expecting to get another Bible Study by next week. We are still actively working on the new mover leads we get.  We have had a recent visitor from this effort.”

New Concord church of Christ, Ohio: Terry Townsend (preacher) report, “Two Bible studies continue. We are working on mailing our summer schedule to all our past compassion card recipients. This will include an announcement about our Family Bible School, our Wednesday night Summer Series (topics and speakers), and our upcoming Friends and Family Day. It is an attempt to reach out again to these folks and remind them that we are still here, and that we care! Things have slowed significantly in recent weeks. Graduations and the economy (higher gas prices), may be contributing somewhat to this. We have even seen a drop on our Sunday ‘visitors’, which is very unusual for our congregation. We continue to press onward, keeping our heads up, and looking to the fields that are ripe for harvest.”

Alkire Road church of Christ, Grove City, Ohio: Tony Dunnagan (member) reports, “We had four visitors from another congregation. We passed out several new mover’s baskets and made 12 contact cards. We have three Bible studies ongoing. We sent 41 compassion cards.”

Barnes church of Christ, Oklahoma: John Bellah (deacon) reports, “On Sunday, Gary Henson preached the second lesson from Book 1 of Back to the Bible. We prayed for our contacts, and after last week’s plea for prospects, we have added two for our list of sending cards. To date, we have sent 281 cards, and several visits have been made. We are working hard at our Three P’s: persistence, patience, and prayer.”

Grove church of Christ, Oklahoma: Juan Jarmillo (preacher) reports, “This past week was a little disappointing. We had to postpone our transition visits because only two pairs of people came in to do these visits. A sermon was preached on the importance of working as servants for the Lord, and we will try this upcoming Thursday again. Many members have already asked what they need to do for this event, so praise be to God. We are sending cards to eight more prospects, and we hope to be able to visit them next month, Lord willing! We appreciate all prayers; to God be all the glory!”

Guymon church of Christ, Oklahoma: Chandler Henderson (preacher) reports, “Last week, Monty   finished Book 3 in our study, and she understood what she needed to do. She had previously been baptized two different times in her life, but she had never been taught accurately what she needed to do to be saved, and what baptism into Christ truly was. After studying, she decided to be baptized in Christ for the remission of her sins. When we were having our first free meal at the College Bible Chair this semester, she came in to eat and was all covered in paint. I asked her what kind of painting she did, and she said she redid old houses. I asked her if she would be interested in doing all of the painting for our remodel after the fire. She was very excited, and after looking around, she accepted the job. She began coming to the Thursday evening Devos our interim director was leading, so he started BTTB with her, and it led to this! She started with us on Sunday morning in our New Convert’s class and is eager to grow and continue learning. We started our series of lessons in Book 2 on Sunday mornings. We have 12 contacts, seven prospects, three visitors, seven Bible studies, one New Convert’s class, and men’s and women’s Bible studies. We are excited to welcome to the Kingdom our sixth new convert this year.”

York church of Christ, Pennsylvania: Mark Rashke (deacon) reports, “As we approach summer, attendance was down significantly in York. We continue to work to strengthen the faith, connection, and enthusiasm for the work among our core group. We have been delighted that one of our recent converts, a high school senior named Aden, has brought his grandmother, Edla, to both Wednesday evening Bible class and Sunday evening service this past week. We sent cards to Edla this week. We still have some follow-up visits to make with recent prospects, and we are also planning an event for the 16-26-year-old young men of the congregation to strengthen their bonds and encourage them to remain faithful.”

St. Andrews Road church of Christ, Columbia, South Carolina: Jamie Byrom (preacher) reports, “This week we began a Bible study with a couple who have been visiting with us for the past couple of months. The study went very well. We finished Book 1 of Back to the Bible and have scheduled the second study for next week. The husband’s second language is English, so we bought him a bilingual Bible in Spanish and English, which was most helpful to him in this study. One of our prospects, for whom we are in the process of sending compassion cards, wrote a ‘thank you’ note to the church about the cards, but we have not finished sending him cards yet! I look forward to that transition visit.”

White Knoll church of Christ, Red Bank, South Carolina: James Reynolds (evangelist) reports, “The elders are still putting a detailed plan together for the rollout of what we have learned. We are hoping to begin in about two weeks by collecting contacts and getting our New Convert’s class started. Optimism is high still, and the brethren are eager to get to the work of winning souls.”

Southern Hills church of Christ, Franklin, Tennessee: Fredrick Klein (preacher) reports, “We had our monthly deacons meeting, and the first item on the agenda was discussing individuals who have been attending who are not yet members of the Lord’s church. That was a very encouraging discussion and a reminder that there are opportunities before us. We also discussed moving forward with the new movers program as a way to reach out to our community and make connections with families who are new to the area. There is more discussion to come. In addition, we talked about several upcoming events, including VBS, and how those can serve as opportunities for outreach and evangelism. We spent some time discussing Keno’s upcoming visit and how we can prepare in the coming months to make the most of that opportunity as well. After morning worship, I visited with some recurring visitors and invited them out to lunch. They appreciated the invitation, and we can try to make something happen soon.”

Soddy Daisy church of Christ, Tennessee: Joe Mallory (preacher) reports, “This week, Care Team 3 will send out compassion cards to our prospects, which include visitors and family members (warm contacts). We pray for opportunities to meet with many of our prospects and continue building strong connections with them. It is such a blessing to continue to be encouraged and challenged by God’s Word to grow thereby (2 Peter 3:18). Yesterday, we focused on the key concept of mentoring while reminding ourselves of the importance of ‘keepers’ and meeting the needs of our new converts. We appreciate all the resources on the HTHSOE website!”

Cookeville church of Christ, Tennessee: Josh Kennedy (preacher) reports, “There were ten cards sent out this week. We have two studies set up. We had multiple visitors. Also, we are still waiting to see about a study with an atheist, and we are waiting for a second study with another contact.”

Birdwell’s Chapel church of Christ, Cottontown, Tennessee: Kerry England (elder) reports, “Sunday was Senior Graduation Recognition Day at Birdwell’s Chapel with many family members visiting. We also had visitors from the community visiting because they were invited by friends. We will begin to establish a relationship with them through cards. Someone we recently helped, who has begun worshipping online due to health issues, posted a very nice message yesterday. She specifically mentioned wanting to attend in person when her health improves. She was very appreciative of the cards and prayers; in a recent phone conversation, she mentioned by name the people who had sent them. It was very encouraging to see the compassion cards working! We are praying for her continued recovery.”

Hillcrest church of Christ, Springfield, Tennessee: Tim Taylor (evangelist) reports, “We have had four baptisms in the past two weeks! We are thrilled to know that Cale, Camille, Skyla, and Caleb are part of the Lord’s church and have committed themselves to following Christ. We look forward to seeing their Christian examples bear fruit in the coming days and years!”

White Bluff church of Christ, Tennessee: Shamron Jackson (elder) reports, “We are sending out 105 cards this week. We have transition visits scheduled for May 28. We are working on getting better participation, so that we can do a better job of transitioning to Bible studies. We had eight visitors. We know we need to do better in this area. We appreciate prayers for workers.”

Freewill church of Christ, Gainesboro, Tennessee (remote): Andrew Scott (preacher) reports, “We just concluded a very successful Gospel Meeting with Robby Eversole. Two of our prospects visited, and we have lunch scheduled with them next Friday. We pray for a smooth transition into the Bible study. We will be sending them visitor cards this week. Gospel Meetings work when we make them evangelistic! We will now be gearing up for our VBS in June. To God be the glory!”

West Sparta church of Christ, Tennessee: Justin Turney (deacon) reports, “We are currently trying something to help with our evangelism. We are working on a website called spartabiblestudy.com. We are hoping to put up a billboard featuring this website to attract people to it. We will see how it works. We had a visitor from last week repeat this week, which was good to see, and we currently have one Bible study.”

Chapel Hill church of Christ, Tennessee: Matt Jones (deacon) reports, “Following last week’s report, we have good news to share. The study with the family went great, and the husband was baptized into Christ this past Wednesday. His wife was already a member of the Lord’s church, so we rejoice with his decision to lead his family. They are very engaged and faithful in their attendance. We will continue to study with them to ensure their foundation in the truth of the Word is established. We continue to pray for all our efforts!”

Mountain Creek church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Michael Tomshack (elder) reports, “Last week, we reported a new member of the body of Christ and the process leading up to his decision. On Sunday evening, May 31, we will have an ice cream fellowship with a devotional and singing. Yesterday, he informed me that he has invited his brother and sister-in-law to attend as a way to get to know people in the congregation. They have agreed and want to personally thank the congregation for all the cards his sister-in-law has received during her health challenges. Gary Massey, Elder and Minister, has visited with them and is seeking a Bible study. The man also arranged a lunch with him, his sister-in-law, and Deena Hixson, our greeters coordinator, which turned into a wonderful lunch that built a bond between them. He also said, ‘Put me to work wherever you can,’ so I said he can help with cleanup duty after the ice cream fellowship. He was delighted to be given a role, even a role of taking out the trash and cleaning tables. Immediate engagement in a role in the congregation is a very important step in training a new Christian so that they feel a place in the body of Christ.”

Rivergate Church of Christ, Madison, Tennessee: Doug Tooley (preacher) reports, “We had three visitors on Wednesday night. On Friday night, we had a youth devo/event, and we had 11 visitors. Keno Shrum was with us on Saturday and Sunday for a Continuing Education Workshop. We are prayerful that these efforts will strengthen our evangelism efforts. In all, we had about 12 visitors over the weekend. About five were not members of the church.”

Collierville church of Christ, Tennessee: Justin Evergarden (associate minister) reports, “At this point in the year, we have reached 19 new visitors and mailed out 483 cards. Our current prospect list stands at 34 contacts, and we are thankful to now have three ongoing Bible studies. It has been encouraging to watch these efforts continue to develop and gradually build momentum. The consistency of the congregation in outreach, follow-up, and personal involvement is helping create more opportunities for connection and study.”

Dover church of Christ, Tennessee: Cody Brown (preacher) reports, “We asked that the congregation have the surveys done by this upcoming Sunday, so that we can start putting other aspects of the model in action. I preached the second lesson from John 4 on Sunday night, and someone turned in a contact card to begin prospecting. For Sunday morning, I preached a lesson on the church of the New Testament, and we had two visitors from the community present for that sermon. Metrics are: Contacts-800, Visitors-two, Prospects-six, Bible Studies-three, Baptisms-one and Baptism Goal-eight.”

Centerville Road church of Christ, Garland, Texas: Alan Stevens (elder) reports, “We sent 86 cards this past week, and additional prospects continue to be identified. A study has been set for next week with one of the individuals we have been prospecting. We pray that no distractions arise and that we are able to share the sincere Gospel. Next quarter, we plan to offer an adult Bible class that provides an overview of the curriculum, in something of a ‘teach the teacher’ format. We hope this will assist in coordinator development.  Our brother, Tyler Bush, prepared a good study plan for the class this past week.”

Eisenhower church of Christ, Odessa, Texas: Allen Weakland (elder) reports, “As summer arrives in west Texas, we are in full swing toward our planned efforts for the cause of Christ.  As we prepared for our summer series this year, many of our visitors expressed how much it meant to them to see a family-like atmosphere within the congregation. They mentioned how good it felt and how they wanted that in their own lives. As a result, the elders have focused this summer on the home. Many of our visitors have been delighted in this theme and expressed how much they appreciate the effort. We are also in full devotion toward our VBS; in fact, we had another planning meeting immediately after services Sunday night. Around 50 individuals attended; it was a great turnout. We continue to bring lessons focused on evangelism. This has inspired several of our members to reach out and invite others, which has resulted in numerous people visiting our services. May God be praised. Our New Convert’s class is moving along.  These brethren are maturing at a rate that has impacted the entire congregation. Presently, there are four studies occurring, and it is our hope that God will continue to bless such efforts. Let us be reminded that it is a privilege to tell others of Jesus.”

Northern Oaks church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas: Mel Hutzler (preacher) reports, “We had another baptism. Isaiah Najera was baptized by his dad. We are thankful for his decision to be immersed for the remission of his sins. Our congregation continues to work on the evangelism plan. We are grateful to have a growing congregation. The number of our youth through age thirty continues to grow. We have visitors from all age groups. The result of organized methods being taught in the youth class, coupled with Gospel preaching that aligns with the material taught in class. Currently, we have eight prospects,  seven ongoing Bible studies, and 11 new convert studies.”

Colleyville church of Christ, Texas: John Garza (regional trainer) reports, “We do have a few Bible studies taking place, and we do have prospects. However, we are planning and stressing strengthening the new converts, especially in training them to teach the lost.”

Bridgewater church of Christ, Katy, Texas: Doug Suggs (deacon) reports, “We have a sister who is studying with a friend of hers. One of our newer members has begun a study with her cousin. We have ongoing studies with some of our newer converts. Our attendance has gone up, and we are getting visitors each week. We are trying to reach them.”

Wheeler church of Christ, Texas: Garrett English (preacher) reports, “We are advertising now for our weekly VBS that starts next month. This brings in new and existing contacts we can prospect. One new person signed up. We pray for laborers and good soil. I invited many personally just last week and will continue to do so over the next few weeks.”

Stratford church of Christ, Texas: Chad Thies (preacher) reports, “Following the model, we have the following numbers:  Contacts: two visitors; Prospecting: we made one visit; Bible Studies: two. We had one new convert in class on Sunday morning and one on Wednesday night. We have a new convert’s continued study taking place on Monday evening. Two of our ladies are getting together for a ladies-focused Bible study. Growing church: We received a card from a man in town who received our cards after his mom passed away. He said that he appreciated the cards and the visits. He does not want to have a Bible study at this time, but we are still glad we had the chance to show him compassion during that difficult time. It is a seed planted. A couple of brothers helped a man who is in a current Bible study with us. He was working on a project, and the brothers were able to help him for free. That man was invited to church and had even called later that night, saying that he would try to come. Unfortunately, he did not make it, but the Bible study continues, and that was a positive encounter.”

San Saba church of Christ, Texas: Justin Bell (preacher) reports, “We made another transition visit this past week. The individual did not agree to a Bible study right away, but we are hopeful that our work with her will result in one. She is the daughter-in-law of the preacher at a Baptist church here in San Saba, so the soil might need to be softened a little more. We added three new prospects to our list. We currently only have four prospects, so we are trying to get that number back up to eight where it was a few weeks ago.”

North Jefferson church of Christ, Mt. Pleasant, Texas: Davin Whatley (evangelist) reports, “On Tuesday, Estaban and I finished Book 3. He told me he had been baptized in the church of Christ in the ‘90s, but I was unsure whether he understood why. After study and discussion, he told me he understood his baptism and that it was for the right reasons. He had not been worshipping with the saints, and he told me he wanted to do that in observance of Hebrews 10:25. He attended his first service on Sunday and loved it! We are so excited to have a restored brother! My study with the Mormons went alright, but they are deflecting objective questions with subjective answers. Hopefully, our study on Thursday will help them more. Andrew did not meet me to study on Sunday. On Sunday, we had our first transition visits meeting and scheduled seven visits! Team 2 met and wrote 61 cards. Members are providing prospects, and one member spoke with me yesterday about her desire to be more involved. Thanks be to our God who allows us to steadily grow in this amazing work.”

Seagoville church of Christ, Texas: Kodie Martin (evangelist) reports, “We were blessed by our Senior Sunday presentation/luncheon. Not only did we get more visitors, but also one was a young lady named Trinity who felt compelled to go to church. She was unrelated to any of the graduates, but members welcomed her, got to know her at the luncheon, and this led to her having a study with a sister and me. We will begin Book 2 next week, but I am thankful for the unexpected opportunity and how the congregation worked together to make that happen! We will be sure to connect her with the other young ladies in the congregation to help her feel more welcome. We also have other studies in the pipeline, ready to begin. We will likely begin prepping the congregation in the upcoming weeks for the change in how we want to work our VBS from this point on. We also wrote 39 more cards for our prospects.”

Williamsburg church of Christ, Virginia: Jim Bishop (elder) reports, “We have been busy planning our summer and fall outreach programs. Our focus is on the apartment complexes close to our building. Our usual bag lunches for the kids have been successful. Our next step will be to have a cookout at a complex and invite all children and adults to share the meal. Then in late summer or early fall, we will have another cookout. VBS will be a multiple-day event for children and adults this year. Our door-knocking days will be staggered between Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Thanks to those men who worked with others in the congregation to formulate and build these plans. Two of the men met with the elders during the recent elder’s meetings to present the plan. May God bless all those reaching out to spread the Gospel.”

West Side church of Christ, Salem, Virginia: Jeff Durham (elder) reports, “We are thankful for the opportunities to share the Gospel with those in our community. In the past two months, we have been engaged in more than 40 Bible studies. We are praying that the hearts of these individuals will be soft and accepting of the saving message His word contains. Our monthly Family Day yesterday provided another opportunity to invite friends and loved ones to worship together, enjoy a meal, and get to know the loving, supportive church family we have at West Side.”