Success Stories: April 9, 2025

Welcome Cedar Grove church of Christ, Andalusia, Alabama: We welcome the Cedar Grove church of Christ to the House to House/Heart to Heart School of Evangelism. We are thankful for the good work that brothers Joshua Hollaway and Ethan Hix have been doing prior to our arrival. The congregation’s attendance was very good, and the elders are ready to lead the congregational training.

Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: Keith Ritchie (evangelist) reports, “Glencoe was blessed with several visitors Sunday. Two of them were teenagers about to begin college. We have been richly blessed at Glencoe with young people. Also among our visitors, we had one whom we have been prospecting. Our four Bible studies remain at the forefront, with more soon to be set. Nicole and Hannah conducted a Bible study with Paulette at their home, completing Back to the Bible, Book 1. Our new converts classes are going great! We have several outreach efforts planned shortly. To God be the glory!”

Chase Park church of Christ, Huntsville, Alabama: Pat Cowden (preacher) reports, “We are pleased to report that we have had three baptisms since the last report I sent. We had studied with one man off and on for around 30 years. He was married to a member of Chase Park, and he was finally ready to study seriously. He was baptized four weeks before he passed away. We rejoice with his family in the hope that he still had time and opportunity to do so. Our second new sister in Christ has been visiting with us for months, and she was baptized after services on the last Sunday of March. She and her family have indicated they want to worship and be recognized as members here at Chase Park. Our third conversion was the result of several people working with her for several months. Rachel is shown in the picture I have included shortly after her baptism. She is shown with John and Caroline Young, who were instrumental in her coming to Christ. John and Caroline both came to Christ in early 2024 and have opened their home several times to multiple people for Bible studies. They are amazing examples and encouragers to the church here in Huntsville. We have three other ongoing Bible studies. We appreciate all prayers for our evangelistic efforts.”

Hartselle church of Christ, Alabama: Justin Smith (preacher) reports, “On Friday, we had our first baptism as a result of the seminar and Back to the Bible. A lady with a church of God background has been in our pews the last year. Our secretary decided to ask her to study so she could “practice,” and it led to her putting on Christ. We celebrated this baptism on Sunday.”

West Huntsville church of Christ, Alabama: Paul Owen (evangelist) reports, “Our Compassion Card program is thriving and establishing a strong foundation for future outreach and engagement with the hope of saving souls. With six dedicated teams, our members consistently excel in identifying and nurturing new prospects each week. We are praying for a harvest!””

New Hope church of Christ, Florence, Alabama: Doug Jackson (preacher) reports, “We had a great meeting this morning with our elders about getting the wheels turning. More surveys were turned in, and we are getting a little clearer picture of those who may be good leaders in various work areas. I will update more, Lord-willing, next week.”

Highland Park church of Christ, Muscle Shoals, Alabama: Andrew Myhan (deacon) reports, “We were able to start a new chapter in our Compassion Cards Ministry. This should get more of the congregation involved. We also request prayers on behalf of the ongoing Bible studies with our prospects.“

Central church of Christ, Saraland, Alabama: David Dixon (preacher) reports, “I have to remind myself that there will be periods where we do not have a Bible study or a baptism for a couple of months. We are in one of those times. Evangelism is still our focus. We are ready for visitors and new movers; we are sending cards, and we are using postcards. We have prospects all around us; we are just in a time of cultivation rather than reaping. The fruit will come. We trust that, but it can be frustrating when it does not happen as frequently as it once did. That frustration proves to me that our culture has changed. I still have to brag on our New Converts class. They are thirsting for Biblical knowledge and studying outside of class. They come to class prepared. It is so encouraging, and it is a vital part of evangelism. I have to keep telling myself that.”

Creekwood church of Christ, Mobile, Alabama: Tucker Presley (preacher) reports, “We have continued training, writing cards, and making visits. We are still trying to get other parts of the program (such as new movers) going. We have not had any new Bible studies, but two families have expressed interest in visiting Creekwood. David and I are continuing to study with Viktoriia (the new convert) on Thursday afternoons.”

Petersville church of Christ, Florence, Alabama: Adam Richardson (preacher) reports, “Petersville sent about 50 invitations to our Easter egg hunt next Sunday. We have just begun to send compassion cards through our adult classes instead of the previous groupings, and we will have different kids and teens add drawings and notes to the cards sent as well. We will order the new ‘who is my neighbor cards’ this month, and the elders continue to mention them in their welcome at the start of services each Sunday morning.”

Hatton church of Christ, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “All of the recent converts are doing well and are consistently growing. We have others who are in the midst of studies, and we assigned visits for this month as well. Our Gospel Meeting is going on right now with several visitors attending.”

Mountain Home church of Christ, Arkansas: Joshua Adams (preacher) reports, “This past week, we collected contact cards from our congregation’s contact lists in anticipation of beginning our compassion cards next Sunday. We received eight contact cards yesterday morning, with an additional four last night. We specifically asked for contacts that are sick, having surgery, or recovering. Being a congregation of over 300, we hope to begin with 20-30 prospects. We will do one more round of ‘asking’ next Sunday morning, expanding the type of individual to any ‘new challenge or life event’ in order to increase the total number. Additionally, during our Sunday night Bible class, we went over in detail why compassion cards are so vital to evangelism, how we have structured it, the various teams, and their upcoming date assignments. Many in our congregation are excited at both the ‘team effort’ approach to reaching out to the contacts they have given as well as the ‘easy entrance’ into helping out with the evangelism process. People who are fearful of being asked to lead a Bible study feel confident in their ability to write cards and help in the effort!”

Windsor church of Christ, Colorado: Lucas Stephens (member) reports, “We had a great worship service yesterday at Windsor followed by our monthly potluck. We signed compassion cards for our members and their loved ones that we have either missed or that have been sick over the last several weeks. We enjoyed time and fellowship with one another. We began our new movers program officially with our first meeting last week, and we are assembling new movers’ baskets for delivery this week to six new neighbors in our community. This month, we hope to have many more who will visit and help us grow our prospect list.”

Wildwood church of Christ, Florida: Tony Clay (evangelist) reports, “We had the first John 4 lesson and distributed HTHSOE Contact Bookmarks. Our table cover for the evangelism table came out nicely and will be set up soon. We will continue John 4 this upcoming Sunday and will begin getting the membership used to working from their bookmarks and developing their target list. There has been considerable excitement thus far, and we are excited to see what the Lord can do as we continue to train and develop the path forward.”

Margaret Street church of Christ, Milton, Florida: Troy Spradlin (preacher) reports, “Our hearts are both happy and sad this week! One of our members, Ms. Josie, who is 95 years old, made a good prospect with one of her neighbors, Ms. Linda Rafaele. We immediately started a Back to the Bible study with her and went through all three books over the course of four weeks. Upon completing Book 3, Linda obeyed the Gospel that same evening, April 1! We rejoiced that another soul was added to the Kingdom, but then we received a message on April 5 Ms Linda informed us that she was going back to her old (denominational) church to ‘tie up loose ends.’ Now she is struggling with her loyalty. Her old church is confusing her. However, we are not giving up! We are going to try a ‘reverse evangelism model.’ We are going to send her compassion cards to encourage her and let her know how much we love her. We believe once she sees the love we have for her, it will help her with her decision, and we can teach her more about the truth of God’s word.”

Niceville church of Christ, Florida: Joe Palmer (preacher) reports, “One of the cultural changes that needs to take place in a church is making everything Gospel-focused. This week, we had our annual Ladies’ Day. The theme was the ‘Tree of Life.’ From this event, we had two people ask for further study because the Gospel and salvation were the focus. We will likely have other prospects, and hopefully, some of the other congregations that attended will have some responses. On Sunday, we had three new visitors. We sent out 16 cards and have two studies this week.”

Avalon church of Christ, Florida (remote): Preston Silcox (elder) reports, “Last week, we worked on cultivating five contacts by sending out 18 compassion cards. We had 17 visitors this Sunday. Several of these are prospects; some have already engaged in Bible studies. Some of the visitors came because their family members were engaging in Lads to Leaders practice. Grandparents have a hard time turning down invitations to see their grandchildren participate in these activities. What an opportunity!”

Eatonton church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Roderick Coney (minister) reports, “We did not send any cards this past week. We have put together a dozen welcome packets for visitors. We are training the congregation on working with and supporting the visitors’ ministry. We have two contacts that we are prospecting, and today one person expressed interest in a Bible study. We are working to get that scheduled.”

Lafayette church of Christ, Georgia: Jesse Teague (deacon) reports, “Group 1 met last night, and we had about seven members sending cards to two souls. We met tonight to review cards from last month and prior visits. We have at least one active Bible study, and we will make follow-up visits soon. Ken is starting an evangelism class and has about nine members signed up to participate. Lord willing, we will meet this weekend to visit new movers.”

Cartersville church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Charles Harris (regional trainer) reports, “We rejoice that Sebastian and Tiffani were restored. Many of the churches here in Cartersville have been reaching out to them and praying for them. Our VBS will begin June 9, and our theme will be ‘The Eternal God.’ We are looking forward to using this as an evangelistic opportunity.”

Collinsville-Troy church of Christ, Illinois: Jason Wright (elder) reports, “We have 12 Bible studies in progress. They have their own challenges, but we push on. We delivered several new movers baskets last week and made some follow-up visits as well. We mailed 129 compassion cards and handed out a visitor bag to a lady who had come to our Food Giveaway on Saturday. Three of our members took her out for lunch; she was grateful and said she would return next Sunday. We had several visitors, which seems to be the case week after week. Our Food and Clothing Giveaway yielded several contacts. Our training continues every week. Our minister and I work side by side, continuing to train the brethren and ourselves on seeking and saving the lost. Have a great week!”

Highland Village church of Christ, Bloomington, Indiana: Mark Stauffer (elder) reports, “On the first week of April, we sent 15 cards, made three visits, had six visitors for worship, and added a recently-moved-to-the-area family of five to our roles. The wife is a member of the church, but the husband is not. A Bible study is in the works. We continue to pray for our contacts every week and emphasize how important evangelism is for the saving of lost souls, for the saving of our own souls, and for pleasing God.”

Beloit church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dustin Dougherty (regional trainer) reports, “Yesterday morning, we had 31 in attendance. Things are progressing slowly. A lot of work is going on behind the scenes at the moment, as we are preparing, planning, and training. We have had two sisters say they would like to help with the visitor bags, so specific training will occur to that end very shortly. I invited all of my local daily Bible-by-text readers to services yesterday. Sadly, none of them were able to make it this time. We will continue to prospect and till the proverbial soil with several locally as well. To God be all glory and honor.”

Poole church of Christ, Kentucky: Andrew Wynne (preacher) reports, “We started our Gospel Meeting on Sunday, April 6. It was an outstanding day. For April 7-9, in conjunction with our meeting, we have ten students from the Memphis School of Preaching who are going to assist us in our door-knocking efforts. We request prayers for seeds planted and watered over time, and we trust God, in His divine providence, will help us connect with hearts that are seeking the truth.”

Madisonville church of Christ, Kentucky: Russell Kline (preacher) reports, “Our numbers were down because of the flooding in our area. We sent out another barrage of compassion cards. Right now, there are no ongoing Bible studies, but we are still pursuing them aggressively.”

Central church of Christ, Paducah, Kentucky: Adam Faughn (preacher) reports, “Last week, a lot of conversations occurred following our ‘refresh’ Sunday with Keno Shrum. We now see ways we can be more efficient, and we are working to implement ways to reach more souls and lead them to salvation. Two Bible studies occurred last week. One was conducted by one of our deacons with a man who is an ‘associate pastor’ of a Baptist church. He said the study was slow, but the man is excited to study again when he returns from a spring break vacation. The other study was conducted by two of our teenagers with one of their friends who has been coming for a long time. The study went very well, and we hope she is moving closer to a decision point. We are now praying for a lady named Rachel, who has been visiting with us for some time. She was taught in our jail ministry but was not baptized. One of our ladies has been studying with her, and we believe Rachel is very close. They are to study again on Tuesday, and we pray that she decides to be clothed with Christ then.”

Aberdeen church of Christ, Maryland: Will Brown (preacher) reports, “We have three ongoing Bible studies. We are in week four of our New Christians class. We continue to maintain our accountability board. We are working toward a new prospect list. We still have a card team in place. We appreciate all prayers for our efforts.”

La Plata church of Christ, LaPlata, Maryland (remote): Eric Sykes (regional trainer) reports, “God is still in the blessing business. We sent out 17 compassion cards. We had six repeat visitors. We held another training session for the New Movers Ministry with 15 folks in attendance. We plan to start delivering new movers baskets this Thursday. We have 49 folks on our new movers list, and we plan to whittle that list down, starting this week. We completed a Does it Matter? study with a couple late last night. They said that they want to be baptized, but because they have small children, they want to come to the building tomorrow and be baptized. We are in the process of adding three more folks to our Bible study list. Our advanced teacher training class is growing in popularity. We have four new attendees, bringing our attendance up to ten. We are starting Chapter 3, ‘Essentials to a Successful Close.’ We expect to finish the training before the end of the month.  We currently have eight folks in our new converts class. God willing, we will soon have several more.”

Looxahoma church of Christ, Mississippi: Tim Burrough (preacher) reports, “We held our annual Friends and Family Day yesterday at Looxahoma. We had 13 visitors. All of them stayed for our fellowship meal, and we were able to make contacts through this effort. We are still in the planning stage of SOE. Lord willing, we will be further along in the very near future.”

Marshall church of Christ, Missouri (remote): Charles Reid (preacher) reports, “I watched the video ‘New Converts Letter to Self.’ I hope to begin a Soul Winners and New Converts class and put them both in the same class. They can benefit from being in class together. We know that new beginners are often some of the best evangelists. Also, it might be a good way to continue encouragement for the soul winners and new converts.”

New Concord church of Christ, Ohio: Terry Townsend (preacher) reports, “We had four first-time visitors on Sunday morning, all of whom stayed for our potluck. Cards will be sent, and follow-up visits will also be made. Two Bible studies continue. A new Bible study has also been scheduled with a couple who have been attending services for several months. Our annual ‘Golden Agers Day’ will be this Saturday. We had one baptism! His name is Waylan, and he is one of our youth.”

Whispering Hills church of Christ, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma: Matt McBrayer (preacher) reports, “Last week I had been out of town for the Memphis School of Preaching Lectureship. It was good to be there as they are also a congregation involved in the HTHSOE. We were able to get some insight as to what they were doing that might help us move forward. We had 10 visitors yesterday, but one of those indicated that they wanted to place membership with us. We have been doing everything that we can to train our brethren and stick to the guidelines as much as we can. The congregation is still excited, and we try to keep the excitement by reviewing aspects of the Evangelism Model as well as asking for contacts. We also mailed out 65 compassion cards this week. We would appreciate your prayers as we are going to be doing our annual “Swap” on Saturday. This event has been going on for 10 years or so and is an effort where all the brethren bring their unwanted items to the church building, instead of Goodwill and then we swap our items between ourselves and then invite the community to take what they want. We now have a new focus on how to make contacts out of the 300 people or so that will be entering our building this coming Saturday. Pray for our success as we prospect for souls.”

Sullivan Village church of Christ, Lawton, Oklahoma: Steven Hill (preacher) reports, “We are continuing to seek out prospects, pray for studies, and make the most of opportunities! God has blessed us with many visitors and friends of members who are learning more about Christ! Our New Convert class is going strong, and several of our new Christians are growing leaps and bounds! We are grateful to God for this growth!”

Owasso church of Christ, Oklahoma: David Combs (elder) reports, “We rejoice with the angels in heaven as Garrett and Cassidy were baptized into Christ this past Thursday at the end of Lesson 3 of Back to the Bible. They were presented with Bibles yesterday. Dan presented another fine lesson yesterday. It was our third from John 4. We prayed for people on our bookmarks. We passed out three contact cards for people in Owasso who are nonmembers but are friends of members. One had minor storm damage from a recent tornado, one is an 84-year-old with cancer, and the last is a neighbor of a member who is in the hospital. He cannot walk and needs constant care and assistance. His wife is overwhelmed. Last night, we had a training session for writing compassion cards. After services, Group 1 went to the annex and wrote 45 cards for this week. We currently have two Bible studies in progress. We are getting a New Converts class ready to start in the very near future.”

Porter church of Christ, Oklahoma: Nathan Boyd (elder) reports, “The Porter congregation had our Sunday evening class on visitor greeters, pew greeters, and inviting visitors out to eat presented by me. We had our first official compassion card night. We wrote 180 cards and will mail out 60 envelopes for 16 individuals from our care list (prospects) to be delivered over six days. Compassion card coordinator Pat (elder) and his wife did a great job with organization and setup, and he provided education on the process before card writing began. Group A compassion card team members showed up ready to show their faith through their works. Thank you to the members of the congregation. On the last Sunday of March, we had an impromptu compassion card writing session to send cards to the three visitors we had that day. All three of them returned, and one brought his son also. A lady visitor who received cards told Dan, our preacher, the cards were just what she needed that week: ‘Compassion.’  Officially, I started putting the metric board numbers up for April: five visitors, 180 cards, and 39 prospects.”

Coweta church of Christ, Oklahoma: Keno Shrum (regional trainer) reports, “On Thursday, Garrett and I wrapped up Lesson 3 of Back to the Bible with Breylan. Breylan had been ‘baptized’ by pouring as a baby in the Catholic church. He quickly recognized as we went through BTTB that pouring is not the One Baptism (Ephesians 4:5) that the Bible commands. On Thursday evening, we went straight to the baptistery, and God added Breylan to His church. He is now beginning his New Convert studies, and mentors have been assigned to him. Our prayer is that through Breylan, doors will be opened to his family. In Coweta, much like the rest of the congregations enrolled in HTHSOE, we sit right at a 90 percent conversion rate when using Back to the Bible. Our goal for 2025 is 12 baptisms. Breylan was number five. To God be the Glory!”

Cheyenne church of Christ, Oklahoma (remote): Nathan Brewer (member) reports, “Chad, the husband who was baptized two Sundays ago, came to worship Sunday morning. On the surface, that might not be a big deal, but his wife, Cammy—who was baptized the same day as Chad—had already announced that she had a previous commitment and would not be at worship on April 6 or 13. Chad came by himself, the first time he had attended without her in the five or six months since we had known him. Chad also stayed for our fellowship meal after services. In our men’ Business Meeting, we discussed the need for a New Converts class. The goal is going to be getting Chad and Cammy to attend Bible class before worship on Sunday mornings so they can be in the class for New Converts. Getting them to worship is our first baby step. It will be an uphill battle, and we appreciate prayers.”

York church of Christ, Pennsylvania: Mark Rashke (deacon) reports, “We had a visitation meeting between worship and our fellowship meal. We divided the names of three recent visitors so that we could knock on their doors to say hello. We had some new people get involved with creating gift bags to take along to the house visits, and we also had a new participant in the visitation itself.”

Union church of Christ, South Carolina (remote): Terry Hale (preacher) reports, “Our new brother in Christ, Robert Edward, was baptized Thursday evening. Good studies continue in Book 3, and prayers are needed for those prospects. Training continues with updates on our board with progress reports weekly. We are thankful to our elders for making sure we pray as a congregation every week for our prospects.”

Philadelphia church of Christ, Lebanon, Tennessee (remote): Alex Graves (associate preacher) reports, “We still have one study going and are praying that it can lead to another study with someone else. This last Sunday, I preached the second half of the John 4 sermon, and the congregation spent one minute in prayer for our contacts. Next week, we will begin looking for prospects among our contacts. Lastly, we went through the third training video about the methods we need to use to help us find prospects who are willing to schedule Bible studies.”

McKenzie church of Christ, Tennessee: Randall McAdams (elder) reports, “We initiated our April mailouts today, April 7, with five contacts, of which three are non-members. However, as in the past, we will get more as the month goes by.  Our group leaders and members are remaining steadfast. Otherwise, all is going well; I am praying for the tornado and flood victims across the country who have lost so much.”

Rome church of Christ, Lebanon, Tennessee (remote): David Oxley reports, “We will meet this week for our advanced class. We are sending cards this week to four prospects. We will meet on Monday night for our New Convert’s class. We have a Bible study scheduled for this week, along with some prospect visits.”

Blackman church of Christ, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (remote): Brian McCord reports, “We will send out around 30 cards this week as well as leaving invitation cards with servers at meals. We have made two visits in the past week.”

Hillcrest church of Christ, Springfield, Tennessee: Tim Taylor (evangelist) reports, “We have some exciting upcoming events that we hope will generate some new contacts and prospects. Our community breakfast and Easter egg hunt will be April 19, and our annual Friends & Family Day is on April 27. We are including flyers for this in all our compassion cards starting this week. We are looking forward to the opportunity to make both of these events evangelistic as we make new contacts among our community. We had four first-time visitors and passed out two welcome bags. Two contact cards were completed.”

New Union church of Christ, Manchester, Tennessee: Paul Fultz (elder) reports, “We had six visitors on Sunday morning. Our members turned in one contact card. Our Compassion Cards team filled out 29 cards. We made five transition visits this past week.”

Chapel Hill church of Christ, Tennessee: Matt Jones (deacon) reports, “We continue to keep the focus on local outreach. Isaac has done a great job delivering messages that connect our obligation to reach the lost and our efforts as a congregation. We also have a Bible study planned to start on Tuesday, and we pray that it will go well.”

Cookeville church of Christ, Tennessee: Jonathan Medley (elder) reports, “We are continuing to send cards to three of our new movers, as well as two other prospects. This week, our preacher Josh interacted with a lady who lives in Gainesboro who would make a good prospect. Based on where she lives, we passed her contact information to Andrew Scott at the Freewill church of Christ. They started sending cards to her this week. It is wonderful to work together with other congregations to save souls!”

McEwen church of Christ, Tennessee: John Jones (preacher) reports, “We are thankful for all prayers. We have new visits to do this week and new contact cards. The recent storms have slowed down our Bible studies, but we hope the studies resume this week. We hope we can schedule our three-month Zoom meeting soon.”

East Main church of Christ, Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Brad Rowley (elder) reports, “In the month of March, East Main had seven contact cards, delivered six new mover baskets, made three follow-up visits, and continued five Bible studies. We had good attendance at our last Mission Day. One of our deacons, Joshua Knight, has been working very hard on our website, and it looks great. We are praying this will help us spread the Gospel. Chris Taylor, one of our deacons, has set up CHMtgs so that visitors can log in to our app. We are approaching the end of several Bible studies; we are praying for open hearts.  We are thankful for those who work so hard in our evangelism strategies at East Main.”

Birdwell Chapel church of Christ, Cottontown, Tennessee: Kerry England (elder) reports, “Our new mover baskets for the first month have been made. We are anticipating receiving a list of names to visit soon. Three families visited this past Sunday, and we are following up with them with cards. The compassion card room is nearly ready, and we will soon begin that effort.”

Ocoee Street church of Christ, Copperhill, Tennessee: R.E. Vann (elder) reports, “We had eight repeat visitors this week. Our March metrics include 12 prospects, 132 compassion cards sent, one completed Bible study, and no new studies, but we have one new sister in Christ. To God be the glory!”

Rivergate church of Christ, Madison, Tennessee: Doug Tooley (preacher) reports, “It was a rough week at Rivergate. We had severe storms on Wednesday night and then again on the weekend and were not able to have services on Sunday due to power outages. But we were blessed because we did not have any damage to our building. All we can do is reset and keep doing the stuff. Our compassion cards will go out soon, and we made two visits last week.”

White Oak church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee (remote): John McGiffin (preacher) reports, “We distributed 200 door hangers in our immediate area. We will distribute 200 more this week. Our Facebook advertisement has been viewed by 5,319 people, and 98 have clicked onto our website page to sign up for a Bible correspondence course. Not one has completed the form. We are evaluating how to convince people to fill out the form. Perhaps we could use graphics with a link to go to a video like “What Must I Do to Be Saved?” or a link to an online course. Any suggestions are welcome. Since the advertisement, we have had visitors from the local community at EVERY meeting. Interestingly, they were all members of the church, but they were not connected to a local congregation. One liked the advertisement because she knew the speaker. She visited last Wednesday. Another group of two couples had been attending a congregation over an hour away. They visited on Sunday morning.  We are currently designing yard signs for our members. We are investigating using the community newspapers to distribute our postcards for upcoming events. There are only a few able-bodied persons participating in distributing door-to-door.”

West Fayetteville church of Christ, Tennessee: Van Massey (elder) reports, “This past week was great! One wayward sister responded to the Lord’s invitation yesterday morning and was restored to Christ. Bible studies are ongoing with at least three souls. This past Saturday, the West Fayetteville congregation set up a booth on the public square for what is called “First Saturday.” About 35 Bibles were given away, plus other study materials. We want the congregation to have a good and well-known presence in the community.”

Mountain Creek church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Michael Tomshack (elder) reports, “Gary Massey, Elder and Minister, is currently involved in two Bible studies. Establishing relationships with individuals who are transitioning into Christianity and guiding them on their life journey after baptism is a crucial aspect of the evangelism process. As individuals from diverse backgrounds integrate into a local congregation, building enduring relationships can be challenging due to their significantly different life experiences. Mature Christians may sometimes feel disconnected from the realities of new Christians who were not raised in a strong Christian environment, with loving parents, a stable family life, and a generally happy upbringing. Their lives may revolve around family, friends, and colleagues who are not supportive of the changes they perceive in a new Christian. Their faith can be tested by the world’s objections to Christ, leaving the new Christian isolated by the lack the maturity to handle these questions. Relationship building extends beyond weekly Bible classes and worship assemblies. It requires a dedicated mentor for several years, similar to how a newborn child requires careful nutrition for healthy growth. Therefore, a new Christian also needs the guidance and support of a mentor to navigate the challenges and joys of their faith journey.”

9^th and Main church of Christ, San Angelo, Texas: Leon Martinez (evangelist) reports, “The congregation here at 9th & Main has been working to reach out to the community; there are numerous contacts and prospects. In addition, there have been Bible studies that have taken place, and there are multiple other opportunities if God permits. We ask for prayers for our continued efforts.”

Southwest church of Christ, Austin, Texas: Bryce Mayfield (evangelist) reports, “This Friday, we plan to have a morning of evangelistic outreach. We will knock on doors and deliver new movers’ baskets. On top of this, we have a study planned in two weeks when a particular person is available. I continue to look at the HTH Evangelism Checklist to see what areas are lacking here. We have many with hearts to serve and evangelize. It will only be a matter of time before we start to see the fruit. We appreciate all prayers.”

Howe church of Christ, Texas: Aaron Alsbrook (preacher) reports, “We pray for the HTHSOE work and all involved in it. This week, we finished the series of lessons for the quarter. We will begin our first card writing group on May 4, with visits to those within the area within three weeks. Before our evening services, we studied the Back to the Bible books and emphasized ‘defer, not debate.’ Deferring questions will help to foster continual study if the person chooses not to obey and will help to answer questions in a New Converts class. We look forward to congregational growth as every member has a place.”

Roanoke church of Christ, Texas: Caleb Rutherford (preacher) reports, “Great things are happening here at Roanoke, especially this past week. Two specific transition visits have resulted in scheduled studies. One study is with some long-time visitors who are Christians but not faithful in attendance. Another study is with a member contact to whom we have sent compassion cards. We are excited about these! We also have five other studies ongoing, with what looks like four more in the process of being set up. Each elder is involved in a study of his own. Both preachers are involved in either setting up studies or actual studies themselves. We had 31 visitors on Sunday morning. Members are submitting contacts. The whole congregation is writing cards. It is truly a whole membership effort. What a blessing!”

Hondo church of Christ, Texas (remote): Andrew Patterson (preacher) reports, “On Wednesday night, Samuel asked to be baptized. Since he had not gone through the third booklet, I asked him several questions about a few key things to be sure he was ready. Craig and a few other members previously had several long discussions with him, so he understood baptism very well already. After our discussion, we got ready. Just like the first believers, Samuel went down into the water and came back up for the forgiveness of his sins, rising as a disciple of Jesus!”

Fruitvale church of Christ, Texas: Carl McCann (elder) reports, “This past Sunday, we had 14 visitors. One family that came was a direct response to our community giveaway on Saturday. On Saturday, we made 14 good contacts from the community giveaway. In addition to handing out clothing and household items, we handed out copies of the book God and Man. We were also pleased to have Mike, Sherri, and Belinda, three of our prospects, helping us with the giveaway. We are excited to have Tyberius Tooley, a brother from San Antonio, Texas, with the Fort Sam Houston church of Christ, spending two weeks with us training in the evangelism model. He made the majority of the contacts from our giveaway after being shown how to reach out to folks. We continue to have five ongoing studies and one planned to begin this week.”

Midtown church of Christ, Victoria, Texas: Cody McCoy (preacher) reports, “We had more visitors this week! The congregation is active in inviting friends and co-workers to our services, and we are showing a genuine care toward souls. We continue to have contacts from our members’ bookmarks as life’s situations arise. Flyers and invitation cards are being made for our Friends and Family Day on May 4.  This will add to our contacts and prospects list and keep us busy. Compassion cards are still going out. We ask for prayers for a contact, Brian, who has inoperable brain cancer but will undergo chemo and radiation treatments soon.”

Wheeler church of Christ, Texas: Garrett English (preacher) reports, “The study last week had to be postponed, but the goal is to have it ASAP. I will also contact the denominational pastor and ask to set up a study. We are currently sending cards to about six prospects.”

Southside church of Christ, Lubbock, Texas (remote): Joshua Hubbard (associate minister) reports, “We have had a great week. Our compassion card mailing is moving along smoothly. This week we will add about four or five new people to our list. One of our elders has been studying with a man who visited with us this Sunday, so we ask for prayers that good things come from that effort.”

Bridgewater church of Christ, Katy, Texas: Doug Suggs (deacon) reports, “On Saturday, a group of us met at the church building to go into the community to invite them to worship with us. Sunday was a good day for us as Israel Rodriguez was here for a one-day meeting. His lessons inspired the leadership and members to be involved in the church’s work. A young couple from Oklahoma who will be moving to our area was at our meeting Sunday morning. We had a fellowship meal after our morning service, and they stayed and ate with us. They said they would be back to our congregation when they moved down here from Oklahoma. After the afternoon service, our card team met to address cards to our visitors. On Monday, my wife and I visited the Good Feet store to follow up with a young man Andre who we invited to our worship service a while back. He said he and his wife would come on Wednesday evening as he is off on Wednesdays. We have members who are encouraging people they meet to come visit and study the Bible.”

Granbury Street church of Christ, Cleburne, Texas: Ryan Cowan (deacon) reports, “This coming Friday evening, we will meet for pizza and then head out to reconnect with some prospects. We will also use this time to review some of Rob’s key videos about how we properly make an in-person visit.”

Abingdon church of Christ, Virginia: Freddie Klein (evangelist) reports, “We concluded our Transition visits this week, identifying a potential lead from the eleven locations we visited. Individuals expressed gratitude for the cards and demonstrated exceptional friendliness. Our visitor bags are nearing completion and will be ready for distribution this month. Nathan delivered a sermon based on part of the second book of Back to the Bible. We experienced a strong turnout for card group number one, during which we wrote numerous cards and anticipated a significant impact on our community. The contact cards are being submitted in steady numbers, and we are not encountering difficulties in securing support in this area. In the evening, Nathan preached on the importance of Christian mentors. We anticipate a series of converts and desire to equip the congregation to effectively integrate new members. The cultural landscape is evolving, and the members are enthusiastic.”

West Side church of Christ, Salem, Virginia: Jeff Durham (elder) reports, “Our Sunday morning  and evening lesson were centered around the topic of ‘endurance.’ We defined it as ‘to withstand hardship or adversity, especially a prolonged stressful effort or activity.’ One of the questions we focused on was, ‘What effect can endurance, and the character and patience that it produces in us, have on our evangelism efforts?’ Good feedback was given to remember the results of our efforts are not always immediate. We need to be consistent in our efforts to evangelize. Remaining focused on the objective of teaching others the Gospel is what God expects of us. Thankfully, He only requires that we ‘plant and water’ His truth, and it is He who gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:7).”

Culpeper church of Christ, Virginia (remote): Dave Calvert (elder) reports, “On October 27, 2024, our congregation officially kicked off our House to House School of Evangelism efforts. Our regional trainer, brother Eric Sykes of La Plata, Maryland, came to our congregation and presented sermons that helped us to understand the importance of evangelism and how this program can be a valuable tool to help us. Our minister, Mike Morgan, has done a wonderful job of using the material provided to present sermons focusing on specific methods that have been proven effective. The elders have procured the necessary resources to ensure the best opportunity for success. Our deacons and their wives have willfully accepted the task of greeting our new visitors and creating new contact cards. We have many new contacts and are developing prospects from them. Many of our members are regularly writing compassion cards. We have been blessed with several souls being added in baptism. Our attendance has increased from an average of about 80 to 121 this past Sunday. To God be the glory. He is definitely blessing our efforts right now.”

Williamsburg church of Christ, Virginia: Jim Bishop (elder) reports, “This week, one of our Outreach teams met the students and parents of the homeschool that meets in our building and offered them cookies and gift bags. Many of the parents wait in their cars while the children attend classes. They also received a gift bag with our church information and other goodies. Forty-eight bags were distributed. Bag lunches will be passed out in the apartment complex behind the church when school is out for the summer. Many of the kids look forward to the lunch delivery. This helps us know the families in the immediate area. May God bless all the work throughout the world. If we do not have the boldness to ask the right questions, how will those who are lost ever be saved?”

Eight Mile Rock, church of Christ, the Bahamas (remote): Tavaro Hanna (preacher) reports, “This evening (Saturday, April 5th), my eldest daughter, Genesis, made the decision to become a Christian. My wife had been studying with her, and today, Genesis felt ready to accept Christ and be saved. At 15-years-old, we are incredibly proud of our beautiful daughter and the faith she has embraced.”