By Luke Puckett
I want to specifically mention a promising contact. The Carrico family lost pretty much everything. We have helped with food, gifts for their children, and other supplies. Please pray for this family that they will be receptive of the Truth as we grow our relationship with them. We have also been made aware of a few Christian families who have had damage to homes and property. We have been helping them financially, and I know they would appreciate your prayers. This upcoming week we plan to follow up with the Carrico family and others that we contacted. We will be knocking on more doors to make personal contact with families that may be in need. We will also be using social media to advertise delivery of supplies that may be needed.
The devastation that was caused by this tornado is unlike anything we have ever seen before, and it is beyond words. We covet your continued prayers on behalf of those who have lost their homes and for us as we try to meet their needs. We have left tracts and contact information at each home we have visited in hopes that they will reach out to us for Bible studies. Please pray that our efforts lead to studies and above all bring glory to God.
[The church’s phone number is 270-489-2219. You can reach them by emailcoldwatercoc@wk.net. You can contact Luke Puckett on Facebook, or his cell: (270) 227-3744. Their mailing address is: 8467 ST Route 121N Murray KY 42071.]
Crossville church of Christ continued: Brandon Savage (deacon) reports, “Last Sunday we cleaned up one of the New Mover’s yards. She called me Monday and we talked for 20 minutes. We were going to go visit with her this past Sunday afternoon, but she was out of town; we think she will be back on Thursday. We have cards being sent to her. She has not attended anywhere for the past four years but recently started back at a Baptist church with a friend. She does have some history with the Lord’s church. She is a widow, from my understanding. I believe she will study with us, and we are trying to line up a husband-and-wife team to visit with her, so there is another female available.”
Coldwater church of Christ, Oklahoma: Gage Coldwater (preacher) reports, “We had several visitors today at worship. One was a family from the next town who came with a family member who is a member here. One of my elders, Eddie Neill, took them to lunch and was able to arrange a Bible study with them! Today I preached about being a promoter of the gospel in every area of life. We have plans of starting a new mover program in January.”
Warner’s Chapel church of Christ, North Carolina: Todd Hinson (elder) reports, “The congregation has been sending compassion and visitor cards for eight weeks. We have been participating in the New Movers program for two months, and so far, nearly 300 new movers (just in a 6-mile radius) should have received the special edition HTH mailer along with the custom HTH postcard invitation to visit the Warner’s Chapel congregation. We have narrowed down our basket delivery to new movers within a mile of the church building and clusters of homes in new developments within the mailing radius. So far, 17 baskets have been delivered. We will have about 15 more to deliver as soon as our basket supplies are re-stocked. Our students currently taking an evangelism class in the NC School of Biblical Studies have been instrumental in the deliveries and learning at the same time.
What is really exciting to share is that back in November we had our annual chicken stew. While several were outside cooking, a young single mother happened to drive by the building. She actually was lost and looking for a place that was giving away free food and diapers that day. One of our deacons met her at the grocery store and told her to get anything she needed and invited her back. Several in the congregation have gotten to know her, and we put her on the card list. This family was in true need and several members, along with a youth basketball team, pitched in to buy Christmas presents for the children. The exciting part is that yesterday she had Back to the Bible Study 1 with two of our ladies and study 2 will happen next Sunday!! Please pray that she is touched by the compassion and desire we have for her soul and that she will obey the gospel.”
Eisenhower church of Christ, Odessa, Texas: Allen Weakland (elder) reports, “Though things are normally slow during this time of the year, God continues to bless us with those who have needs within their lives. We are seeing more and more members involved with our card signing. God is blessing us in our efforts as we finalize our new converts class, and our center piece, which focuses on evangelism and presents materials to evangelize, is coming together.”
North Jefferson church of Christ, Mt. Pleasant, Texas: Jeff Whatlley (associate preacher) reports, Happy Holidays to you and yours. I trust y’all are doing well and prayers have been lifted often for your entire family’s tireless labor of love in serving in the kingdom. I was asked to update you with our current totals.
My records indicate 14 baptisms. (I’m racking my brain, thinking we had at least 16) Currently we have several (8) members conducting (12) Bible studies. I’m not sure if any others have had (like I have-1) where the study seems to be on “pause.” The prospect has had a lot of “reasons” to reschedule & now has postponed to after Christmas.
Our giveaway was great, over 100 people came, met many people. We have 25 detailed prospects with addresses that have been added to our compassion card list, with 1 currently being a part of the 12 current Bible Studies.
I hope this is not late and is helpful. Your skills & techniques in evangelism are appreciated & very helpful. I also wanted to say “THANK YOU,” for your encouragement, motivation and most of all your family’s fine example (Phil 3:17). Y’all’s love of the Lord and commitment to service is commendable. Also, you do so with such passion for sharing the gospel and helping others to share the gospel! This will stick with me all the days of my life. Thank you.
Ironaton church of Christ, Alabama: Dale Harris (deacon) reports, “Card writing is still going beautifully with so many excited and participating. We have had multiple people reach out to us and say how much the cards have meant, and we are in the process of setting up Bible studies as a direct result of compassion cards. Others have been evangelizing in their workplace, and Bible studies are currently happening! Please pray that those will continue and that conversions will result. Our evangelism table is a big hit among our members, and we have had to replenish our visitor bags already. By the way, Sheri, one of our members, Phillip, and I just finished Book 2 with a good prospect! Lord willing, Book 3 next week. Please pray for Deana!”
Warner Robins church of Christ, Georgia: Daniel Stearsman (preacher) reports, “WR participated in some relief support for Lehman Avenue in Bowling Green last week. We made a quick round trip to Kentucky. The human side of the damage is so riveting. One of their members found seven people dead. I cannot imagine what that would be like and the rawness of it all. It felt good to support them with generators and heaters. Some are expected to be without power through Christmas. Lehman is using this as an opportunity to shine bright in some very dark hours. Neal Pollard says, ‘We do not know what will lie on the other side of this.’ God is at work! Locally, Bible studies are ongoing here in WR, and we are excited about visitor bags being handed out for the first time this past Sunday. God bless!”
Forestburg church of Christ, Texas: Mark Lindsey (preacher) reports, “One of our members has been studying with her daughter, and that is going well. We are praying that she will obey the gospel soon. Our members have been active and participating in the community holiday events. House to House just went out this month, and we will continue to send that next year.”
University church of Christ, Montgomery, Alabama: Faires Austin (elder) reports, “1. We have relocated our Evangelism Table so that it is more visible to more people. Since the University Church of Christ has three foyers, we moved the evangelism table to the foyer where most people enter, but we are looking to place evangelism material in the other two foyers to reach others that might enter the building there.
2. Visitor bags and the New Movers buckets are being readied.
3. We plan to have a training meeting, in a few weeks, of all people that are directly involved in all areas of our Evangelism Program.
4. Bible studies and visits are continuing. God’s work does not take vacations.”
Eastmain church of Christ, Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Brad Rowley (elder) reports, “We currently have five Bible studies in process. We are excited to announce we have a young couple who was baptized last week. Gavin Torino and Alundra Rodriguez are scheduled to be married and are going through marital counseling with our minister, Jon Mitchell. David Brown and Steve Arnold will start a new convert class on January 9.
January is the official kick off for our evangelism plan. Several programs are already in progress. We will have a final training session in early January to discuss individual areas and reinforce how these individual programs work together as a whole. We will be reaching out in January to other congregations to understand best practices that have made them successful. We are thankful to have Gerry Whitaker here at East Main to help guide us with these new programs. Please keep East Main in your prayers.”
Chase Park church of Christ, Huntsville, Alabama: Pat Cowden (preacher) reports, “The last six months since our HTHSOE seminar have been a wonderful period of growth for our congregation. We have several folks who have participated in Bible studies who had never done so before. We have several Bible studies nearing completion. Sadly, some of our studies have ended with the prospects not obeying the gospel, but that is part of it. One thing we must never do is give up because souls are at stake. Our Compassion Card ministry is doing very well as well as our prospect lists and intentional benevolence with an evangelistic focus. Chase Park is excited about evangelism and reaching the lost in our community. As we come out of the pandemic, we have great anticipation for 2022. Please keep us in your prayers as we strive to please God in our efforts to reach the lost.”
Peninsula church of Christ, Hampton, Virginia: Ben Phillips reports, “We are so thankful for the training that HTHSOE provided us this year. It has provided us the foundation and tools to make a cultural shift in the work of the congregation. We have been implementing the practices and doing the work. As we head to the new year, we are committed to continuing the work and will pray for the ongoing revival of evangelism at home and throughout the brotherhood.”
Siwell Roach church of Christ, Mississippi: Derek Broome (associate preacher) reports, “2021 has been a great year. We have been working hard at these new evangelism strategies for the past six months. We have seen several baptisms, conducted a lot of Bible studies, and made a lot of contacts. Our most recent contacts are from our December New Movers baskets. We are praying these new contacts will become studies. We have several Bible studies that are ongoing, and we are daily receiving new contacts and prospects from various members. We are looking forward to the new year and new opportunities to spread the gospel.”
Jacksonville church of Christ, Alabama: This week we took Margie out to dinner with new convert friend Geneva. We learned a lot more during this meal about her life and current situation. We then transitioned to our home for Back to the Bible book 1. It was a great study. She knows her books of the Bible and has a basic understanding of Christianity. She did not understand the concept of the Old and New Testament but freely accepted the truth. She has a great heart. We will schedule book 2 soon. Please pray for her.
Northern Oaks church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas: Mel Hutzler (preacher/elder) reports, “Our card evangelism groups are going well with our team leaders. We continue to prospect those who are lost. We sent a total of 36 cards this week. We have a few members who are in Bible studies with one baptism so far. We continue to implement the evangelism plan and add new items each week. One of our elders are doing a special training class on Wednesday night, and we hope to have more.”
Corinth church of Christ, Portland, Tennessee: James Parker (elder) reports, “I will be having my third study with the newly married couple Monday evening! This will be the second lesson in Back to the Bible studies. We have had two families that have placed membership that we think resulted in the card shower that we gave each of them. We continue to have visitors each week! Thankful to God for the great blessings we have been given!”
Eisenhower church of Christ, Midland, Texas: Allen Weakland (elder/preacher) reports, “Though things normally slow during this time of the year, God continues to bless us with those who have needs within their lives. We are seeing more and more members involved with our card signing, and God is blessing us in our efforts as we finalize our new converts class and our center piece, which focuses on evangelism and presents materials to evangelize, is coming together.”
Cowetta church of Christ, Oklahoma: Keno Shrum (elder/preacher): “Our Bible studies are going well. One was canceled Thursday as the people we are studying with will be out of town, but we are praying the study will resume soon. This has been a wonderful year of growth both spiritually and numerically for the Coweta congregation, largely due to the instruction on personal evangelism we received from HTHSOE. I am encouraged greatly by the reports we read weekly of so many baptisms taking place in a nation that seems to be trending away from God. It tells me that there are many out there looking for the truth, and I am so thankful for all who are laboring to spread the gospel. I pray God continues to bless you and all those who are working to evangelize the United States of America as well as other parts of the world. Lord Willing, 2022 will be just as productive, if not more so, than this year was.”
East Homer church of Christ, Alaska: Robert Austin (member) reports, “A quick update on the congregation here. We have a preacher candidate who will be speaking for us the next two Sundays. Another candidate has expressed great interest, but he will not finish Preacher Training School at Bear Valley until next December. I reached out to one of our members who has not attended in months and extracted a promise that he will be here on Sunday. I pray that he keeps his word. Our card ministry has been very busy. We have helped financially and sent many cards to two families who have lost their houses to fires in the last month. My son Connor was able to obtain a name, address, and phone number from a customer at work who mentioned his wife was having thyroid issues, and the congregation sent them several cards to let them know we are praying for them. We have had some thank you cards from those contacted through the New Movers program last month, and we will be visiting and distributing baskets again before the end of the year to those names we received since the last distribution. Thank you for remembering us in your prayers, and we will continue to do the same for you!”
Gonzales church of Christ, Louisiana: Patrick Adkins (deacon) reports, “Did you see the post?! This has made my day! We are reaching out to this family through compassion cards and offering a helping hand” (See photo of post from Gonzales regarding a comment from the community regarding their outreach to a new movers).
Hico church of Christ, Texas: James Nash (preacher) reports, “We just finished using the study booklet Does It Matter with Mecca and Jacob Hickox (brother and sister). They saw the truth and wanted to obey immediately.”
Suitland Road church of Christ, Maryland: Eric Sykes (preacher) reports, “Our new sister’s name is Danielle Wheeler. She is the girlfriend of one of our younger brothers, Joel Bernola. He has been bringing her to worship services since May. He told me he had been fielding her questions about the church, always telling her that a personal Bible study would do a better job at answering her questions. Well, she finally agreed. He told me he thought she was close. He had sat in on a couple of Back to the Bible study lessons that yielded fruit in the past, so he knew. Nevertheless, he was not comfortable conducting the study by himself. So he called me and asked me to meet them at the church. I did, and after sitting down and speaking with her I decided to use Does it Matter? The rest is recorded in heaven. The word of God did exactly what it was designed to do; it helped another lost soul recognize her condition and pricked her heart to change and obey the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus, accepting His gift of salvation and being added to the only church you can read about in the Bible. Thank you, my brother, and the HTH/HTH family for all that you do. We love you guys and look forward to seeing you next year!”
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