| Reaching the Lost- Success Stories
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Editor’s Note: Adult classes are a dangerous place for new converts. I know this is hard to hear and understand, but the article Troy Spradlin submitted puts the precious name of a lost soul on it. New converts need special care, and they cannot be put into the “general public” of congregational life. They need individual attention, filtered content (milk and not meat), and a lot of love.
Featured Congregation: Margaret Street church of Christ, Pensacola, Florida
If We Just Had a New Converts Class
by Troy Spradlin
Sadly, one of our recent converts has left the church. Although we had many good measures in place to help this precious soul grow spiritually, looking back has revealed a few areas where we need to improve. We taught this individual using Back to the Bible; we provided the new convert’s study, “Your First Forty Days in the Wilderness” (which was studied), and we assigned a mentor for this person. However, this person did not attend the New Converts’ class, and we did not emphasize its importance enough.
This person said the decision to leave was partly because another member had made derogatory comments about denominational teachers whom the person still respected but simply disagreed with some of what they were being taught. Could the New Converts’ class have helped address those concerns? Without a doubt. While we cannot know for sure whether attending the class would have changed the outcome, it most certainly would have provided an opportunity to ask questions, work through disagreements or misunderstandings, and receive much-needed encouragement.
I have long believed that a lack of spiritual knowledge lies at the root of the “back-door syndrome” in the church—when people become Christians but later fall away (cf. Hosea 4:6). This sobering reality reminds us that our responsibility does not end at conversion. New Christians remain spiritually vulnerable and need time to develop the depth of faith needed to face the challenges of their new walk with Christ. We must therefore continue to provide the teaching, support, and encouragement they need to grow and remain faithful. This process requires patient, diligent effort over many months, perhaps even years. We work so hard to bring someone to the baptistry; we must work equally as hard to help the new Christian build a strong and enduring faith.
Remember, Paul wrote, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Likewise, Peter urged, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble” (2 Peter 1:10). A New Converts’ class provides a valuable environment to put these teachings into practice. By ensuring that our new brethren attend and actively participate in the class, we can ground them in God’s Word, nurture their spiritual growth, and equip them to remain faithful. May we never lose another soul because of a lack of diligence!
Congregational Reports
Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: Rob Whitacre (evangelist) reports, “We are in the process of writing compassion cards to all the contacts we made during our recent Fall party. We will be mailing most of them, but we plan to hand-deliver a few to see what kind of difference it makes.”
Hatton church of Christ, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “We rejoice as Theron Grimes was baptized yesterday afternoon after finishing a study with him. Theron was baptized very young at a holiness tent meeting and realized after studying what he needed to do. He was nervous about obeying the Gospel in front of the church, and when one of our ministers told him he could heat his newly constructed pool up and be baptized there, Theron immediately said he wanted to. To God be the glory! Next week, our associate minister is going to a small church in Spruce Pine, Alabama. We love this congregation and have close connections with the members. We want to share with them the process we learned in the School of Evangelism, in hopes of helping revive this congregation and see their numbers increase. We ask for prayers for the Spruce Pine church.”
Salem church of Christ, Zip City, Alabama: Perry Bretherick (elder) reports, “On Sunday morning, Justin gave a wonderful lesson on the parable of the talents, and the congregation completed their post-seminar questionnaires. Three people also responded to the invitation after his lesson. Each elder collected many of the questionnaires and received excitement and positive comments from many. We met before Sunday evening service and selected Doug Carmack as our administrator. Also, Travis Burgess will soon begin our weekly communications with Rob. I gave the ‘Let’s Get Started’ lesson on Sunday evening. The excitement and anticipation are the most I have ever seen at our congregation. I have gone through maybe a fourth of the questionnaires, and they are very encouraging; in some cases, the response was even a bit surprising. I think that we have total participation, and we will follow up with any member who has not turned in the questionnaire.”
Petersville church of Christ, Florence, Alabama: Adam Richardson (preacher) reports, “Petersville had a good Sunday of worship. We had an update for the congregation on a recent trip that seven of our men took to the Dominican Republic to build a church building in Jumini. We sent 28 compassion cards, and the preacher had two different Bible studies with people interested in baptism. The first is the son of one of our families, and the second is a visitor who has been coming with a friend for several weeks. We appreciate prayers for these studies to go well!”
Creekwood church of Christ, Mobile, Alabama: Tucker Presley (preacher) reports, “We are continuing to write cards to trunk or treat visitors, and we continued a study with a young couple last week. They are so close to giving their lives to Christ! We had another study with a woman recently, and I believe another baptism will come from that.”
Cedar Grove church of Christ, Andalusia, Alabama: Joshua Holloway (preacher) reports, “We are thankful for the opportunities God continues to give us to reach out to others and spread the Gospel in our community. We continue to focus on our Compassion Card ministry. It has been the backbone of our efforts. Cards continue to reach visitors, prospects, the sick, and others who need encouragement. We were excited to have new visitors attend our services because of our New Movers program and invitation card efforts! We made great contacts and plan to follow up with these individuals and families to continue building relationships, and, hopefully, open doors for Bible studies. Currently, we are studying the Bible regularly with five individuals. We appreciate continuing prayers for these studies and for open hearts as we share God’s Word.”
Mountain Home church of Christ, Arkansas: Joshua Adams (preacher) reports, “This past weekend, we enjoyed our annual Men’s Retreat under the theme ‘Letting God Fill Your Cup.’ Together, we explored how David allowed God and the men He placed in his life to fill his cup. We had 30 men gather on Friday evening and Saturday for a meaningful time of study, self-reflection, and fellowship. At our Men’s Retreat two years ago, we established the theme ‘Seek and Save the Lost’ from Luke 19:10. This year, we took a moment to reflect on the progress we have made. We were excited to share that we saw 28 baptisms in 2025, and we have already seen another 28 in 2026! Our Compassion Card ministry has played an important role in that effort. In 2025, we sent 890 cards to 170 individuals. So far in 2026, we have sent 405 cards to 135 individuals. Each card represents an opportunity to encourage someone, build a relationship, and point another soul toward Christ. It was a wonderful weekend of encouragement. While we celebrated what God has accomplished through our congregation, we were also reminded that this success is not the result of our own power or ability. It is the result of what God has supplied. We are thankful for the opportunities He continues to give us, and we look forward to seeing how He will continue to work through His people!”
Rison church of Christ, Arkansas: Keden Shrum (preacher) reports, “Care Team B met Sunday to work on compassion cards. We are still working to schedule a Bible study with one of our recent visitors. Due to some ongoing health challenges, finding a suitable time has been difficult. We hope to arrange a study soon. I went through Book 1 of BTTB with a man from town whom I had the opportunity to spend a few days with on a recent hunting trip. He greatly enjoyed the study and has expressed a desire to go through it again with his wife present. Lord willing, we will be able to do that soon. On another note, we have an intern joining us this week! Josh Kingston, a recent graduate of TXSOP, will be coming to work with us. We look forward to having him here, and we would appreciate prayers for him as he makes this transition.”
70 West church of Christ, Hot Springs, Arkansas: Josh Romo (preacher) reports, “Our Compassion Card team has been working hard. We wrote 380 cards yesterday, and they are being prepared to be sent this week. We know it takes a lot of love to open hearts to teach the Gospel. We are sowing and watering!”
Washington Avenue church of Christ, Jonesboro, Arkansas: Parker Pribble (member) reports, “As he does each week, Austin (preacher) led the weekly prayer for our evangelism effort right before giving the lesson on Sunday morning. Before he prayed, he encouraged the congregation to look for opportunities to make new contacts in the coming weeks. During the evening service, he mentioned the invitation cards and encouraged the congregation to focus on handing these out during the week as we have opportunity. After the service, Card Team 2 met and filled out 66 cards for six prospects. We had one visitor at services who had visited with us before. Over the course of the week, our Visitation team made two transition visits, and there were three new movers baskets delivered.”
Northside church of Christ, Harrison, Arkansas: David Glenn (deacon) reports, “Northside church celebrated with one of our youth putting on Christ in baptism. Trunk or treat was a success. Our youth had a fall retreat with four other congregations. Card ministry continues each week, with several cards being sent. Our next outreach will be Breakfast with Santa, which has always brought several visitors from the community. One Bible study is scheduled to start this Wednesday. We request prayers for this study. All glory to God.”
Harrisburg church of Christ, Arkansas: Mark Weston (elder) reports, “We had nine visitors for the month, mailed 153 compassion cards, worked 15 prospects, made six visits, and conducted two Bible studies. Of course, these are just the numbers that were turned in. There may have been more visits and Bible studies that were not known. We have had seven baptisms this year and our goal as we started was eight. We must not get complacent; we must continue. As we start November, we have had four visitors to our services, and we have sent out 47 compassion cards. We have six new movers’ packets that I have not completed for our members to distribute. As soon as they are delivered, we may possibly have some contacts there to start working. We have several contacts that have come to our attention this week, so we will begin sending compassion cards to them next Sunday. We have also appealed to our membership for the need for new contacts. We are currently only sending cards to four people. I know that our members will respond and get us some contacts. It is amazing how important those contacts are. The whole success of our program hinges on those contacts. We do have some visits scheduled and hopefully can get some of those made. I am currently reviewing all of our contacts from day one to see what we might have missed or what may still be done for some of those. We still feel confident that we have some that are so close to obeying, and we will continue to work on their hearts with love and patience. Lots of things are going on within our congregation. We understand the need to keep things in focus and not lose our priorities. Evangelism should always be our main focus, and we are trying hard to make it our first priority.”
Mammoth Spring church of Christ, Arkansas: Barry Odell (preacher) reports, “Good morning! Things at Mammoth Spring are progressing. On Wednesday night we discussed the ‘Unfaithful’ and ‘Invitation Card’ training cards. We also made copies of the filled-out post-seminar surveys and returned them to each member so they could keep them with their other materials. We have ordered and received our first box of personalized invitation cards. We have also had to order 15 additional evangelism handbooks. We completed the series of sermons on John 4 and Jesus’ evangelism methods last night (11/8). My (Barry) office has been rearranged in order to accommodate our compassion card racks. Kevin (elder) and I met last week and went over the list of leaders for each specific area on the coordinator’s chart. We have a public prayer at each service specifically addressing our evangelistic efforts.”
Warrington church of Christ, Pensacola, Florida: Twayne Mobley (member) reports, “This has been a great week. Our Compassion Card coordinators have organized groups and started training and preparing to push cards out to our prospects. They have done a wonderful job, and we look forward to developing our list of active contacts/prospects. We also have set up our Evangelism table. We will send photos when we can. Overall, things are progressing as we train in Congregational Evangelism.”
Concord Street church of Christ, Orlando, Florida: Billy Dickson (evangelist) reports, “We had a wonderful opportunity to welcome guests to our congregation this past Sunday for Friend’s Day. We are now preparing our Compassion Card team and Transition team to follow up with those who attended. Our goal is to continue building the connections made on Friend’s Day to show our guests that we care about them, and we are looking for opportunities to share God’s Word. We appreciate prayers for those who we visited, and that they will be receptive to our follow-up efforts and open to studying the Bible. We are grateful for our members’ involvement, and we look forward to seeing how God may use these connections to open doors for the Gospel.”
Oceanside church of Christ, Atlantic Beach, Florida: Wesley Green (member) reports, “This week, we sent cards to three prospects. Four ladies helped to prepare the cards, and about 25 members stayed after to sign them. Last Sunday, we sent compassion cards to one of our prospects, Nicole. She posted pictures and comments on her Facebook page, writing: ‘I got these three cards and encouraging notes on the back of them from a church that I have never been to! God always sends reminders that you are not alone on this journey!’ This week, before Wednesday Bible study, evangelist Victor Eskew will host ‘Transitional Visit’ training. Yesterday’s Bible study was hosted by Wesley Green, who led ‘Back to the Bible: Your Spiritual Condition,’ Lesson 3.”
Milestone church of Christ, Cantonment, Florida: Randy Brantley (elder) reports, “We had seven visitors Sunday. One was from new movers and compassion cards that we had sent out. We just finished setting up a room for our new movers’ baskets and visitor bags. This is an addition to the table in the foyer. We can make and store the baskets and extra Bible study supplies to make them easier for anyone to access. We are sending 24 more compassion cards this week.”
Niceville church of Christ, Florida: Joe Palmer (preacher) reports, “At our Mid-week Bible study, Jim Merz was baptized. Jim came to us through his wife and daughter. Several of us have been studying with Jim for the past several months. He has been counting the cost and learning. He works on Sunday morning, so he usually attends on Sunday night. He has become more faithful in attendance than he was in the past. Greg, one of our active evangelists, had been teaching him, and this week he agreed he was ready. This weekend we had a Ladies’ retreat. We had a few prospects attend, and one Bible study was set up with a lady who has been visiting with us for several weeks. Saturday we will have a ‘Friendsgiving’ meal. We hope to have lots of visitors. Sunday night, we had two visitors come, and one was brought by a visitor. I talked to them about coming out for a meal.”
Stuart church of Christ, Florida: Tom Neth (deacon) reports, “This week, our focus has been on preparing for our next congregational outreach event, ‘Friends and Family Day,’ coming up this weekend. We are looking forward to welcoming friends, family, neighbors, and members of our community for a day of barbecue and fellowship. Building on the success of our recent Trunk for Treats event, we continue to encourage our members to invite others and use these opportunities to build relationships that can lead to Bible studies. Our regular evangelism efforts continue as we write compassion cards, greet visitors, and follow up with contacts, including the families we recently met through Trunk for Treats. We currently have two active Bible studies and have had 18 baptisms year to date.”
Woodstock church of Christ, Georgia: Matt Amos (preacher) reports, “The Woodstock church of Christ (WCOC), attended two Assistant Living Facilities’ devotionals this Sunday. Combined, we had 14 non-Christian residents in attendance. The Compassion group sent out 12 compassion cards. For the Sunday morning worship, we had 13 visitors. WCOC had seven Bible studies last week.”
Cartersville church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Charles Harris (regional trainer) reports, “We have been mailing compassion cards for two years. Every month there has been at least one Bible study setup as a result. This month we will personally deliver compassion cards to our 24 prospects. Deliveries start tomorrow. The HTHSOE Student Program is designed to help individual members strengthen their evangelistic efforts. Occasionally, a lost soul will try to enroll. When that happens, we try to set up Bible studies so they can be saved. On Monday evening, I have a study scheduled with William; he lives in a part of the country where the church is weak. Please pray that he will obey the truth, and that we can help him strengthen the church in his area.”
Gray church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Keith Dixon (preacher) reports, “We had a good Sunday; we had ten present and still have some missing due to sickness. We have sent nine cards and made one prospect. This Saturday we are going to have a booth at a festival. We hope and pray that we will have good success there. We appreciate all prayers for us. To God be the glory.”
Cumming church of Christ, Georgia: Murphy O’Brien (member) reports, “Last week, we had five new contacts, bringing our total for the year to 73. We received information for one new visitor, bringing our yearly total to 20. We completed one visitor follow-up, bringing our total follow-ups this year to 73. We sent out 26 cards last week, bringing our yearly total to 956. We currently have 15 prospects. We had two Bible studies last week, bringing our total for the year to 58. We had no baptisms last week, keeping our total baptisms for the year at three.”
Eight Mile Rock church of Christ, Grand Bahama Island: Tavaro Hanna (preacher) reports, “On Saturday, we went out to visit the nine prospects who had joined us for worship during our prayer service. Our mission was to reconnect with them, thank them for attending, and deliver thank-you cards. We also presented each individual with a thoughtful gift inspired by their specific prayer requests. We were warmly received, and the visits were very encouraging. At our next point of contact, we plan to ask the three big questions, hoping to open the door to Bible studies. We appreciate all prayers as we continue nurturing these connections. Pray that God will bless our efforts and that these visits will lead to meaningful Bible studies and, ultimately, new converts.”
Freeport church of Christ, Grand Bahama Island: Ellison Delva (member) reports, “We launched HTHSOE on Sunday and distributed the participation survey. We also began five days of morning prayers for workers. Our ladies are organizing the cards, and we are excited about the work.”
Honolulu church of Christ, Hawaii: Tagiiliima Esene (regional trainer) reports, “Aloha from the Honolulu congregation. There are a total of four souls in Bible studies at this point. We are getting ready to start our Evangelism Sundays as part of our work going forward. This will be every third Sunday of the month, training in and practicing evangelism as a congregation. Our youth group did some door knocking in the North Shore part of the Island where there is no church. We gave out Bibles donated by Apologetics Press and a bag of goodies for families that were affected by the heavy rainfall. The bag contains our church name and a QR code with our contact information. We appreciate all prayers.”
Collinsville-Troy church of Christ, Illinois: Jason Wright (evangelist) reports, “Some are sad about the election; we are excited about evangelism. So we mailed out 46 compassion cards. We conducted five Bible studies. We did two follow-up visits, and from that, Christina, who had been to our food giveaway, came to Wednesday Bible class. She then came to Sunday services and has a study scheduled on Wednesday afternoon. The second visit lasted over an hour with a lady to whom we sent cards for cancer. She is now cancer-free, and we plan to study with her as well. We gave out two visitor bags. This couple was invited to church by one of our grade school kids. They really enjoyed the service. Get those kids involved!”
Columbus church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Matt Fowler (member) reports, “We had another great session in our New Converts class on Sunday morning. I am praying that we can gain some more contacts from this group soon. We wrote compassion cards to a visitor who recently lost a family member. We are praying that this could lead to a Bible study soon.”
Beloit church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dustin Dougherty (regional trainer) reports, “We had four visitors yesterday at services; two were hunters in the area and stopped in to worship with us, the other two were local visitors, family members, or soon-to-be family members of some of our number. I look forward to getting to know them more and prospecting them in the coming weeks.”
Flatwoods church of Christ, Kentucky (remote): Nathan Adkins (elder) reports, “We revisited John 4 with two lessons regarding evangelism, sowing, and reaping. We were encouraged to press on with our efforts and reaching our goals by year’s end. We prepared 11 cards to be sent. There are several ongoing Bible studies. We rejoice in the souls that have been saved so far this year.”
Spring Creek church of Christ, Hickory, Kentucky: David Morse (elder) reports, “Greetings from the Spring Creek congregation. We are continuing the efforts to reach the new movers in our area. Our white group wrote cards this week to nine of the new movers on our list to welcome them to the community and invite them to services. Our numbers for the week include: Visitors: 36, Prospects: 28, Cards: 3,554, Baptisms: six, and Baptism Goal: seven.”
Carriage Oaks church of Christ, Shreveport, Louisiana: Andrew Wynne (preacher) reports, “This past week, we mailed out another batch of compassion cards. Yesterday, brother Ronnie Scherffius from the Texas School of Preaching came and presented a lesson for our Bible class and two sermons to us. It was very encouraging not only to hear sound Gospel preaching, but also the good being done at TXSOP. We are continuing to see visitors on Sunday mornings. This coming Sunday, I plan to finish our study of Back to the Bible that we have been doing for several weeks. We appreciate all prayers for our efforts as we seek to reach the lost in our community.”
Gonzales church of Christ, Louisiana: Ben Vallery (deacon) reports, “We reached out to six contacts today with a total of 66 cards collected and ready to be sent during the course of this week. Our New Converts’ classes continue, along with several Bible studies.”
Aberdeen church of Christ, Maryland: Will Brown (preacher) reports, “We have two Bible studies that are progressing. Our prospect list has ten names, and we are reaching out with love. God is good, and we are thankful.”
La Plata church of Christ, Maryland: Eric Sykes (regional trainer) reports, “This week, the saints of the La Plata church of Christ wrote 17 compassion cards to members of the community. We also welcomed three visitors to worship this past Sunday. We currently have three new-convert training classes, with 11 people in attendance. We are also working to begin a Back to the Bible study with two of our recent visitors on Thursday. Please continue to pray for the success of our efforts as we reach out to our local community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Waldorf church of Christ, Maryland: Joseph Day (member) reports, “The new Spanish worship service has been underway for one month. We had 37 visitors this week. The adult Bible class completed the Back to the Bible series. This week’s sermon was based on the AMC lesson on reaching the prodigals.”
Aberdeen church of Christ, Mississippi: Jonathan Hagar (preacher) reports, “We had a great Sunday with six visitors! On their second visit with us, one family expressed interest in placing membership with us, which is very exciting. We also had a return visitor and two new visitors who just moved into the town. I set up a Bible study with the family who wants to place membership this week! We gave visitor gifts and packets to the two new visitors. We will be writing them follow-up cards this week with our Card-Writing team. We are very proud of our Visitor team this past Sunday. They were stationed at the door and handled all our visitors with expertise. Our Visitor team has really become a fine-tuned machine at this point! I am really happy with how this congregation handles visitors. We also had our Door Knocking team go out this past weekend. They knocked several new doors and visited with some visitors from last Sunday, which is awesome! Our Compassion Card group is ready to go with the new project of sending holiday cards to all our prospects from this past year’s holiday cards list. They are taking the initiative and creating a new system of card writing to handle the load! They are doing great work! We are also dealing with lots of sickness during this time of year, so we appreciate prayers for our workers.”
Fulton church of Christ, Mississippi: Richard Comer (member) reports, “Our Compassion Card team will be sending 15 cards this week. We had three visitors to add to our Prospect List. We are hoping to make transition visits soon.”
Broken Bow church of Christ, Nebraska: Lynn Bartak (member) reports, “Blessings! We have placed four prodigal brothers and sisters on our Prospect List, and the Congregation wrote compassion cards to send them individually for the next week and the following. We have chosen a Coordinator for the Compassion Card Ministry. We are considering who our other Coordinators should be for the other areas. We signed up to receive New Movers mailings and have House to House develop and maintain our website. We also signed up to mail House to House to over 1,000 homes in Broken Bow on a Quarterly basis.”
McCook church of Christ, Nebraska: Taylor Wendt (member) reports, “This week, we finished the series on John 4, marking the final week before our first work day. We have determined the groups and are excited to get started. We still have several studies going on, and we appreciate the prayers for those. God bless. Metrics: Visitors: Two; Prospects: tbd; Cards sent: not started; Studies: Three.”
Concord church of Christ, New Hampshire (remote): Terry Hale (evangelist), “We are beginning to teach the model to our newest members, who seem eager to learn. We appreciate prayers for the contacts we are prospecting.”
Oak Forest church of Christ, North Carolina: Dennis Mays (elder) reports, “We have wonderful news. On Saturday, November 7, Dylan Harper was baptized by Gordon Whitfield. Dylan had been studying with Gordon and Michelle, who are members at Oak Forest and who were friends with Dylan. Then, on Sunday afternoon, Thomas Barefoot, one of our teenagers, was baptized by Chris Phillips, our teen Bible School teacher. Our Hispanic congregation also had a baptism on Sunday. This Sunday we had three visitors. Two of the visitors are in Bible studies. After our evening worship, we had the following service activities going on. Two of our members delivered new movers baskets. The Compassion Card team wrote 99 cards. A group of our members undertook writing 75 thank-you cards to the families who came to the Trunk or Treat event we held for the community on October 30. They also included an invitation to come and worship with us, and we told them when we meet. Another group meets to begin discussing what types of community activities the church could have in the upcoming New Year. We pray that by interacting with our community we can bring positive leaven to those we meet.”
Abilene church of Christ, Statesville, North Carolina (remote): Gary Dull (minister) reports, “For the last 15 days, I have been in Cuba, along with my daughter. We had five baptisms. We had 35 Bible studies with an average of 15 people in each one, and we used the Spanish edition of Back to the Bible. Back at home, Bible studies continued. D’Lea McDaniel and my wife, Deborah, have been in a Bible study for several months with two ladies, and both of these ladies are attending our services. There are several more happening, but slowly. We are still sending out the compassion cards, and we get a lot of great responses from them.”
Glendale Street church of Christ, Newton, North Carolina: Dayle Taylor (coordinator) reports, “Prospects – Our worship gathering was blessed with seven visitors, six of whom were returning visitors. One returning visitor expressed an interest in learning more about the church, and we are currently discussing a schedule for BTB studies. To reduce reliance on ad-hoc evangelism training opportunities for the congregation, we have added dedicated evangelism training dates to our 2027 calendar. We believe this will help us train together more consistently and strengthen our use of the tools provided by the HTHSOE. New Converts / Restored Members – Most of our new converts attended both the weekly Bible study and morning worship. Commitments to consistent attendance were renewed during both gatherings. Of the seven baptisms during the past twelve months, two are currently not attending. One continues to face challenges with life choices; however, attendance has recently improved. Restored members are also showing improvement in attendance. Visitor Follow-Up – No compassion cards were sent during this reporting period; however, we are following up this week with the prospect who expressed an interest in studying.”
Barnes church of Christ, Oklahoma: John Bellah (deacon) reports, “This Sunday, as has become our custom, we prayed for those who are on our bookmarks. We increased our number of prospects, with Group 2 writing individual cards to four individuals and sending a single card to two different individuals. Our card total is now at 586; we are anxious to resume follow-up visits, which will hopefully result in more Bible studies.”
Guymon church of Christ, Oklahoma: David Henderson (elder) reports, “It has been a great week; we had four visitors this week. We sent 90 cards, had 12 visits, and currently have 18 prospects. There are at least five Bible studies ongoing. We have not had a baptism this week but we have had nine for the year. TO GOD BE THE GLORY FOR ALL. We are praying for God’s blessing on the church and our country.”
Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Goodwell, Oklahoma: Raoul Ferris (evangelist) reports, “This week, we began two Bible studies using the God and Man book, one with Tyler and Taylen and another with Cash Miller. Unfortunately, our study with Shawn ended after he decided not to continue. We had 13 attend services in Goodwell, seven at the Ladies’ Bible study, and one new participant in EBS. No one attended Wednesday’s Young Adults’ class. Thursday lunch welcomed 45 people, despite several athletes being away for games. We also followed up by delivering photographs, developing two new contacts, and providing food to one of them. Overall, we are thankful for the opportunities to study, serve, and build relationships in the community.”
Grove church of Christ, Oklahoma: Juan Jarmillo (preacher) reports, “Some of our members are starting to do their visits, especially since we have a game night planned for Tuesday, November 17. They have been inviting our prospects to this event, and we pray it is successful. We also have a training session planned for tomorrow, November 10, to train door and pew greeters. A lot of the members have been really excited about this, so we are also hoping it is a great success! We are so excited for all of these events to come to life and for them to produce much fruit! All prayers are always appreciated!”
Owasso church of Christ, Oklahoma: David Combs (elder) reports, “Following evening services, Group 2 met to write compassion cards. Fifteen card writers met to write 16 cards that will be mailed out this week. This week: one new prospect, one new visitor, 16 cards were written, 15 card writers, one Transition Visit next week.”
Fairborn church of Christ, Ohio: Karl Kuwik (elder) reports, “This week, we focused on assigning coordinators, visiting potential prospects and new movers, writing cards, and adding an accountability board. We assigned five coordinators, with more assignments still to come. Our recent survey identified additional people willing to participate in and support our evangelism efforts. We made four visits to encourage members and non-members. We had a good visit with the husband of an older couple whose wife has cancer. The couple may be a prospect. Earlier in the week, we spoke with their daughters. More visits are planned. We knocked on six new-mover doors and connected with one household: a young couple expecting their first child. The husband welcomed our visit and shared his contact information. We offered a spaghetti basket, which was graciously accepted. On Sunday evening, eighteen people prepared 120 cards. Cards were sent to all six new-mover homes we door-knocked. On Friday, a 55-inch monitor was added as our Accountability Board. It was on full display Sunday at our evangelism table. One visitor attended our worship service. She is taking a month-long university class and will then return to her home state. She is warm and friendly, and we invited her to lunch.”
New Concord church of Christ, Ohio: Terry Townsend (preacher) reports, “We welcome our new sister in Christ, Barbara (picture added). She has attended our services for over a year and recently completed the Back to the Bible study series. She finally made the decision to obey this week; to God be the glory. Two of our dear sisters continue their study with a lady. This week, they completed Book 2 of Back to the Bible. We continue to pray for her.”
Alkire Road church of Christ, Grove City, Ohio: Tony Dunnagan (member) reports, “We had two visitors yesterday and obtained two contact cards. We had one visitor from the delivery of the new movers’ baskets. We are having our second Impact Sunday in two weeks, and we sent 70 compassion cards.”
York church of Christ, Pennsylvania: Fred Nowell (elder) reports, “We had our men’s breakfast on Saturday. Sixteen attended, including two from a nearby congregation and one who comes with his wife; we have really been encouraging him to obey the Gospel. I pray he is getting closer. Our attendance was in the mid-60s, and a mom and her children came with her mom, who attends fairly regularly. We have many activities coming up that we hope will not only strengthen the church but also encourage visitors who may attend.”
St. Andrews Road church of Christ, Columbia, South Carolina: Jamie Byrom (minister) reports, “This past Sunday night the lesson was about mentoring new converts and getting that part of the evangelism process going. We already have a New Converts’ class with five in it on Sunday mornings. I found it encouraging that two members came up to me after the lesson and requested to be put on the mentoring team. Our congregation wrote 30 compassion cards. We gave out two visitor bags to visitors from the community and received their contact information.”
White Knoll church of Christ, Lexington, South Carolina: James Reynolds (member) reports, “New convert studies are going well with brother Michael Watts; our elders have started walking the congregation through Back to the Bible on Sunday morning Bible class, and my studies with a co-worker are ongoing and doing well. Our prayers are with your efforts.”
Cookeville church of Christ, Tennessee: Daniel Burton (deacon) reports, “We currently have six prospects receiving compassion cards, and we have been given two names of new prospects. We also have encouraging news on our Bible studies. The second study with a young man went very well, and another study is expected soon. It is encouraging to see doors continuing to open and opportunities to share the Gospel.”
Collierville church of Christ, Tennessee: Justin Evergarden (evangelist) reports, “Our Collierville board records three total prospects and 21 compassion cards sent. Our year-to-date figures now stand at 85 new prospects, with 1,127 cards sent, 51 new visitors, seven visits made, 92 baskets delivered, nine new Bible studies started, and no baptisms. My study with Nathaniel, the Jehovah’s Witness preacher, is continuing. Following our discussion, he sent further thoughts on John 1:1 and John 20, giving us another opportunity to examine what the Scriptures teach about the nature of Christ. I am working to help him consider how the Father and Son are distinct persons while sharing the same divine nature, using questions to encourage him to examine the passages carefully. We appreciate prayers for Nathaniel and for the evangelism work here at Collierville.”
Hillcrest church of Christ, Springfield, Tennessee: Tim Taylor (evangelist) reports, “Another of our dear sisters responded to the invitation Sunday morning, seeking prayers and restoration. We are so thankful for her desire to be right with the Lord. We have now had 13 restorations and 11 baptisms for 2026. We have at least two ongoing Bible studies, and pray for more increase as the seeds of the Gospel are sown.”
Covington church of Christ, Tennessee: Wayne Dalrymple (elder) reports, “It has been a great week at Covington! The best part happened Monday night! Ben is a 16-year-old who has been visiting with us regularly for the past couple of months. He lives in a mobile home about a quarter mile from the church building. When I asked him why he decided to visit, he said that he just wanted to go to church. Several of our members have befriended him and made him feel welcome and loved. Jon, one of our deacons, started studying with him Saturday evening. He loved it so much that they continued the study Sunday and Monday. We are so happy for him! We have reassured him that we are here to help him as he begins his Christian walk. We have had several other visitors as well. I am trying to start a study with one of them, Larry. I hope to do that in the next week. Other members of our church are prospecting more contacts. We also have a special event this Sunday. We have been feeding the middle school football team all season. Their season is over, but we have invited them to be with us for our Sunday morning worship service. We hope to get to know them even better and show them the love of Christ. Jeff’s Bible class at one of our schools continues to go well. Perhaps studies will come from that as well. We are excited for the direction things are going at Covington!”
White Bluff church of Christ, Tennessee: Shamron Jackson (elder) reports, “We had 23 visitors. We are sending out 170 cards this week. We had our transition visits. We had six groups to go out. We were able to visit with four of those we’ve sent cards to. Pray we can convert those to Bible studies.”
Freewill church of Christ, Gainesboro, Tennessee: Andrew Scott (preacher) reports, “Our Gospel Meeting with brother Allen Webster was a great success. We were able to make more contacts and will be sending out more compassion cards soon. I have added a coworker to the card list who has been dealing with health issues. We pray that these efforts will open up doors for Bible studies. God bless!”
Mountain Creek church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Michael Tomshack (elder) reports, “This past Sunday morning around 8:00 a.m., a former member called about a woman who wanted to attend worship and lives just an eight-minute drive from the building. We naturally picked her up and brought her to Bible class and worship. She is staying at a halfway house during recovery from drug abuse and past abuse. She did not have a Bible, but we keep new copies on hand for needs like this as part of our outreach. Greeters and elders welcomed her once word spread about her attendance. The Young Adult class engaged and encouraged her. One young woman sat with her during worship and afterward took her on a few errands before returning her home and continuing the conversation. After the assembly, the visitor noted that crowds and new people usually cause anxiety, yet she quickly felt calm with us. She has some biblical background because her grandfather was a deacon in a denomination, and she has attended worship without instrumental music before. Her stay may be brief because her sponsor is seeking a halfway home in another city that offers housing with a job, transportation to work, recovery meetings, and worship. Once she learns of the new location, we will contact a congregation there to connect with her. In the meantime, we will arrange transportation to our Bible classes and worship, using these moments for study.”
Chapel Hill church of Christ, Tennessee: Matt Jones (deacon) reports, “This past Wednesday we started a personal Bible study training class. We had over 20 people in the congregation in attendance! We continue to pray for several ongoing Bible studies.”
Rivergate church of Christ, Madison, Tennessee: Doug Tooley (preacher) reports, “This past week we had four visitors on Wednesday evening. We had five visitors on Sunday morning. An elder took two to lunch. One is considering placing membership. One visit was made.”
Birdwell Chapel church of Christ, Cottontown, Tennessee: Kerry England (elder) reports, “We rejoice to announce that Sean Bond was recently baptized into Christ by Ken Walls! He and his family have been attending for several years. They are a blessing to the congregation! Several visitors were in attendance Sunday. We spent time getting to know them and will follow up with compassion cards.”
Soddy church of Christ, Tennessee: Joe Mallory (preacher) reports, “We appreciate the consistent support and prayers from all of our brethren in the School of Evangelism! It is an enormous blessing to receive the weekly tips and reports from everyone involved in this encouraging effort. As our Fall series concluded, we were able to count five new contacts that we have been getting to know and sending weekly compassion cards to. One soul obeyed the Gospel because of the Gospel messages and the efforts of our team, and we are currently praying for the souls of many we hope to begin studying with. Care Team 2 will send out compassion cards to many of the visitors that have blessed us with their interest. We appreciate all who have the continued zeal to take the Gospel to the world!”
West Sparta church of Christ, Tennessee: Justin Turney (deacon) reports, “We recently talked to the couple who has been coming, and they have agreed to a Bible study, which is exciting! We know he has been an erring Christian, and we also found out that she has not been baptized. We are grateful to have a study, and we hope this one turns out well, and we hope and pray for more studies.”
Burkburnett church of Christ, Texas: Jamie Beller (preacher) reports, “On Sunday, November 8, 2026, our Bible class focused on ‘The Sound Church: Continues in the Apostles Doctrine of Evangelism’ (Acts 2:42-47). The Sunday morning sermon was on ‘Magnify the Lord’ (Psalm 34). It was announced that a wonderful Christian couple had placed membership with the Burkburnett church of Christ. They are ready to work and worship with the church. Our Sunday evening sermon was ‘Blessings of the Biblical Life: Blessed Assurance’ (1 John 1). Our Wednesday Men’s class is focused on training others to teach while also addressing leadership and evangelism. On Saturday, November 7, 2026, we had our Clothes Closet, in which 761 pieces of clothing were given and 37 families were served. Among those served, five expressed interest in a Bible Correspondence Course/Bible Study; one indicated that she grew up and was baptized at the Burkburnett church of Christ and would like to return (two of the ladies who were serving at the Clothes Closet engaged her in conversation, and they are working to convert her–James 5:19-20). During registration at the Clothes Closet, individuals are asked to provide their name and contact information. After the Clothes Closet, we will send postcards and invitations to each family that registered. Bible studies: seven, Contacts: 50, Prospects: 25, Baptisms: one, and Cards Sent: 104 these include cards to visitors, congregations, and bereaved.”
Northern Oaks church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas: Mel Hutzler (elder) reports, “We had a family place membership with us recently, and it was great to see our two young converts in services. They were married, and both of them were baptized. We continue to get visitor information and send out cards. New mover’s baskets and follow-ups are ongoing. Our evangelist has a mission trip, and we continue to be evangelistic in all that we do. We also continue to take new converts or potential new members out to eat. We continue to pray for our ongoing Bible studies and future studies.”
Lovelady church of Christ, Texas: Jeff Rollo (preacher) reports, “Tim reached out this morning. We are working on a date and time that works for everyone. I look forward to the meeting. We just finished teaching Book 1 of Back to the Bible in Bible class. We start Lesson 2 on Sunday. We have had a few visitors and a few Bible studies. The ladies are sending out cards every week.”
Centerville Road church of Christ, Garland, Texas: Alan Stevens (elder) reports, “Saturday was the culmination of a month of diligent preparation for our Harvest Festival, and we were greatly encouraged. An estimated 120-150 people attended, most of whom (estimated 80% plus) were not members of the Lord’s Body. Eleven attendees asked for specific prayers, which we began in our assemblies the following day. One attendee requested yard services; we can follow up on that. We obtained approximately 13 contact cards, in addition to those from the preparatory door knocking two weeks before. Two attendees returned to visit with us for Sunday morning worship, and one young man (visiting with his sister) has indicated he wants to study regarding baptism. The day included a professional photography opportunity, and more follow-up is expected when delivering the portraits. Many attendees expressed that the time was a blessing to them; it was also a blessing to the congregation to do good while seeking the lost. We pray that God is glorified in all we do.”
Stratford church of Christ, Texas: Chad Thies (coordinator) reports, “This past week we were blessed with seven visitors, and we conducted two Bible studies.”
Roanoke church of Christ, Texas: Cleatus Copeland (elder) reports, “We rejoice as we gained a new sister in Christ this week as Juline Lawshaw made the decision to be baptized on Friday. We met Juline during our recent AMC, and she engaged in a Bible study with ladies from our congregation and the studies will continue as she starts her Christian journey. We were blessed with 22 visitors yesterday. One of our visitors was the result of AMC’s ‘random act of kindness’ effort during AMC. As we were visiting with her, she reached into her purse and pulled out a big stack of cards of well wishes and invites to our services. She was so joyful about receiving the cards. She committed to returning soon to another worship service. It has been five months since AMC, and the Lord’s congregation in Roanoke continues to receive benefits from that effort. We are preparing to follow up with those who requested being added to the House to House publication, and we are prayerful that more doors will be open. The Card-Writing team wrote cards to contacts from Celebrate Roanoke and our Fall Festival. In the coming weeks, we will be starting the transition visits for these cards.”
14th & Main church of Christ, Big Spring, Texas: Jesse Stuart (preacher) reports, “Howard College Studies: Onyx, college student: Andy began Book 3 of Believe in the Bible with Onyx. Stacia, college staff: Andy also began Book 3 of Believe in the Bible with Stacia. New Convert Studies: Andy and Nancy began the New Converts program with Ruth. Steve Green, one of our elders, and his wife, Trissa, were joined by a widow from the congregation to take Ruth out for a meal and spend time with her. Also, Steve Green, Clay Harris, and Andy continue to lead Blake’s New Converts study. Donna and Nancy continue studying with Savana Turner and her daughter, Abby. Then there were studies with those attending our services: Jesse, Angel, and Andy completed Book 2 of Back to the Bible with Noel and Janis Blake.”
Vidor church of Christ, Texas: Johnie Scaggs (preacher) reports, “The Sunday sermon was ‘What Can We Do About the Prodigal Child of God?’ The lesson ended with an encouragement for each member to write down the names of those whom we know in our community who are currently prodigal children of God. Then we ask them to pray for them, or call them, or send them a card, or perhaps pay them a visit. We asked for contact cards with names on it so we can all pray for them. We also had four names of new movers turned in, and they are in the process of taking them baskets.”
Seagoville church of Christ, Texas: Kodie Martin (evangelist) reports, “We are happy to announce Jair and Maya’s decision to put Christ on in baptism! They found their way to us, and after studying with Marco and understanding that they were lost, they obeyed the blessed Gospel. Maya had been inquiring after questioning her background in Catholicism, and Jair had at least a basic understanding of the Lord’s church; we rejoice with them! We also took them out to eat as a group this past Sunday and are going to place them with mentors and into New Converts’ classes. Additionally, we wrote 100 thank you/invitation cards to our Trunk or Treat visitors, and plan to begin prospecting several of them who have been repeat visitors. Many great things are going on here!”
Bridgewater church of Christ, Katy, Texas: Doug Suggs (deacon) reports, “We began a Gospel Meeting with Mike Vestal last Sunday. After our morning service, we had a potluck fellowship. We had a few visitors we look forward to returning. We are studying the topic, ‘Thirty Years That Changed the World.’ This is a study of the book of Acts. We have some young people who have been going out into the community on Sunday afternoons and passing out invitation cards to our services. This next Sunday, we will have one of our compassion cards team meetings.”
North Jefferson church of Christ, Mt Pleasant, Texas: Davin Whatley (associate minister) reports, “Reach Team 3 met on Sunday and wrote cards. Book 2 went well with Shirley, and we will start Book 3 on Tuesday. We have run into a roadblock with Joe; the day before we were scheduled for Book 3, he postponed the study. He did not come to worship on Sunday, and I am trying to figure out why he is postponing the study. I am staying in touch with Nathali to continue our study when school eases up for her.”
Whitehouse church of Christ, Texas: Cody Stewart (evangelist) reports, “Our congregation remains focused on reaching out to the community. We had a visitor who has attended several times; he joined some of our members for a soup and sandwich meal after our morning service yesterday. We are continuing to follow up with this individual and are seeking an opportunity to begin a Bible study. Compassion Card Team 2 met before our evening service and wrote 61 cards to those currently on our Compassion List. The evening lesson focused on material from Book 2 of Back to the Bible and increasing the members’ confidence to lead a study. We currently have four ongoing Bible studies.”
Colleyville church of Christ, Texas: John Garza (regional trainer) reports, “As I have been writing recently, we have been thinking through our evangelism work. This year has been filled with many blessings that have taken some of our attention from this particular work. However, we are entering a new season, and it looks bright for evangelism at Colleyville. Last Saturday morning, a few of our members went out to show the love of Christ through prayer and compassion cards (door knocking). From that, they acquired six contacts, and we wrote a total of 34 cards yesterday. We will deliver them in person this week, next week, and the week after. We have some hard workers in the congregation. To God be the glory.”
Bridge Avenue church of Christ, Weslaco, Texas: Braulio Carvajal (evangelist) reports, “Bridge Avenue church of Christ celebrated our 100th anniversary here in Weslaco, Texas. We celebrated our anniversary with the community, former members, and our current members. Resolutions recognizing Bridge Avenue were conducted at both the city and state level. Overall, close to 400 people attended our services over three days. On Thursday, we learned about the Ancient Gospel; on Friday, we studied about the Gospel for all nations; and on Saturday, we focused on the Gospel’s impact. Saturday was a combined youth event with a focus on passing the Gospel to the next generation. We collected contact information from some former members who are no longer attending services. We will be reaching out to them soon. On Sunday morning, we had seven visitors in attendance. We continue to have good attendance at our New Converts’ classes. We have four ongoing Bible studies.”
Abingdon church of Christ, Virginia: David Dixon (preacher) reports, “Compassion Card Team 2 prepared 30 cards to be mailed out this week. We have diligent card writers, and we know we are making a difference. Another outreach we have at Abingdon is hosting weekly meetings for a local American Heritage Girls troop and a Trail Life USA troop. These two troops bring numerous families from the community into the church building on a weekly basis. We have tracts and Discovery magazines prominently displayed at all times. We pray that these efforts bring souls to Christ!
Williamsburg church of Christ, Virginia: Jim Bishop (elder) reports, “The Williamsburg church of Christ was today with God, adding to HIS church. The new convert from two weeks ago brought a friend. His friend came forward this morning asking for prayers. After a Bible study, he wanted to be baptized. We also had a local couple who returned for a second time. They have lived in Williamsburg for a short time and are looking for a church. We pray for all those who are seeking to save the lost. May God provide many opportunities.”
West Side church of Christ, Salem, Virginia: Jeff Durham (elder) reports, “We continue having local visitors at our services. We have several Bible studies ongoing. Our members are eager to greet and welcome them, being careful not to be overwhelming. One of our young men presented the evening lesson that focused on the importance of being a friend. He applied it to relationships between our brothers and sisters in Christ. He also stated how being a trustworthy, loyal friend with our neighbors and co-workers gives us opportunities to influence positively, and eventually, to teach them.”
Note: These reports are from Christians and congregations enrolled in the House to House/Heart to Heart School of Evangelism. We send these emails to teach and provoke one another to remain focused on the mission of Christ. Each week, we share several reports and highlight one with more details. We hope you enjoy reading them.
*To view our HTH workers’ speaking appointments, go to
https://housetohouse.com/
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