Success Stories: August 28, 2024

Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: Brooks Boyd (elder) reports, “This past Sunday at the Glencoe church of Christ, we were blessed to have the mother of one of our newer members visit with us. She came for the morning worship service and stayed for the afternoon. We also had a young couple (boyfriend and girlfriend) visiting for the second time. He is a Christian; she is not. Another man has visited with us several times, but he has not yet committed to a Bible study.

“One of our newer members said, “We are glad we are here. We like the ‘follow up’ that we see being done.” It was great to see both of our newest converts in Bible class (one in our New Converts class, the other in our teenage/college-age class) and at both worship services on Sunday. Stabilizing new converts is so essential to their spiritual success as well as ours. The icing on the cake was to have Rob Whitacre present a Jamaica mission challenge Sunday afternoon. He, Nicole, Hannah, and Jared are truly a blessing to us. Several of our members have signed up for this endeavor. It is as if we are living the song’s words, ‘There is much to do; there is work on every hand.’”

Highland Park church of Christ, Muscle Shoals, Alabama: Andrew Myhan (deacon) reports, “Our congregation had two more Bible studies this week. Four more people that came to our Samaritan House giveaway on Tuesday requested Bible studies. Our eldership met to name team leaders and coordinators. We are compiling our first prospect list and have set a date for our first compassion card day.”

Central church of Christ, Saraland, Alabama: David Dixon (preacher) reports, “Nothing ever stays the same. When an elder must resign his post to focus on his own health, it could easily be a detriment to a new evangelism work. But for us, it has not been. The focus remains steady. The work continues. I believe this is because evangelism has truly embedded itself into our identity as a congregation of the Lord’s Church. We are not receiving contacts as fast as when the work was new, but we have plenty to keep us busy for years. We have sent out almost 2000 cards in less than six months. We have a Bible study currently ongoing with a couple, and we have had five baptisms to date. We know we still have more work to do, but that does not seem daunting or depressing. It feels right. God bless everyone who is working to add more to the Church.”

West Huntsville church of Christ, Alabama: Paul Owen (associate preacher) reports, “We rejoice that Saturday evening Catherine Whitcomb was baptized in Christ! She had been visiting for the last few weeks. We have five ongoing studies, with a few more starting next week.”

Petersville church of Christ, Florence, Alabama: Adam Richardson (preacher) reports, “Petersville outreach sent 97 compassion cards this week. In September, we will dedicate a quarter to teaching members how to conduct Bible studies. I included a picture of the classroom as we will use this room for Bible studies when needed.”

Hatton church of Christ, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “One of our studies is reaching the point of deciding to obey the gospel; we are hopeful this will happen this week. We reviewed the BTTB studies in a combined class on Sunday; we had a lot of great participation. We are excited about having more and more new visitors.”

Malvern Church of Christ, Arkansas: David Burruss (preacher) reports, “We currently have one Bible study under way and will start Book 2 of BTTB next week. Compassion cards are still being sent weekly, but starting in September, we will meet after morning services every other week to get additional participation in the compassion card program. We are preparing for our upcoming Gospel Meeting and our preaching seminar. Preachers from the local area will hear evangelism lessons and have an open round-table discussion.”

Rison church of Christ, Arkansas: Keden Shrum (preacher) reports, “On Thursday, I studied Lesson 1 of Back to the Bible with Shad. Shad is the man we met doing a door-knocking before our VBS. Sunday was the third time he and his family had visited us. The study went well. Lord willing, we will complete Lesson 2 this week. Additionally, I will be preaching at a man’s funeral this Thursday. I never met this man nor any of his family, but his daughter called and requested that I do the service. I pray that this will open doors to reach others and develop new contacts.”

Niceville church of Christ, Florida: Joe Palmer (preacher) reports, “I returned from PTP on Thursday. It was good to see the congregation still working on evangelism. The card teams take care of their jobs very well. One of our evangelistic leaders went prospecting while I was away. We had one study with two people. One of our new Christian families came to the potluck Sunday, and one of the new members that we restored encouraged a co-worker to attend worship. This brought us two new prospects. We studied with three prospects during church on Sunday as well as with several new Christians. We sent out 30 cards and had four new prospects on Sunday.”

Bremen church of Christ, Georgia: Scott Broughton (member) reports, “The eldership decided to continue the New Converts class with the same class leader, Bob Staples. We have two Bible studies in progress. During our fellowship meal on Sunday, we shared names of contacts and asked members to pray for them.”

Cartersville church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Charles Harris (regional trainer), “August has been another productive month for our Lord here in Cartersville. We have not had a baptism this month yet, but Bible studies are ongoing, and we had a restoration. By September, we hope to have new brothers and sisters in Christ. Our New Converts continue to grow, thanks to our weekly New Converts Class and Mentorship. For the month, we sent 190 Compassion Cards. In the past two weeks, we had several visitors to our services. We are visiting prospects. The culture continues to change to a more evangelistic one.”

Lafayette church of Christ, Georgia: Jesse Teague (deacon) reports, “We had several visitors during worship who stayed for our monthly fellowship meal yesterday. One of them was a gentleman who is currently doing a Bible study. He is a relative of one of our members, and we expect he will finish his second study this week. We experience true fellowship when we meet and work toward the common goal of saving souls. At least two other studies are brewing. I hope to have many good updates soon.”

Woodstock church of Christ, Georgia: Matt Amos (preacher) reports, “The New Movers Group had eleven volunteers who passed out eight baskets to people who were home, and they left five-door hanger invites for those who were not home this past Sunday. The Prison Ministry Group has received favorable results from the students in implementing Back to the Bible and Does It Matter Presentation on Gwinnett County Detention Center’s (GCDC) tablets. We are hopeful that this will lead to baptisms.  The Pre-Convert/Evangelism Class had eighteen attendees on Sunday morning.  WCOC had two non-Christian visitors at our Sunday morning service.”

Collinsville-Troy church of Christ, Illinois: Jason Wright (elder) reports, “As servants of the highest God, we seek to save souls who are in trouble and need Christ, and so we have named our Sunday evangelism period Servants of Souls (SOS). This past week, we mailed 161 compassion cards and made over 25 follow-up visits. We have planned our annual food giveaway for October, focusing on making contacts. Our members continue to prospect souls, and three Bible studies are active. Prospecting contacts continue, and our mentoring program and New Converts’ class are in place and ready to go.”

West Hammond Church of Christ, Indiana: Robert Webster (preacher) reports, “We have continued to send out cards to our contacts (26). Five other members and I are conducting four ongoing studies, all using the simple Back to the Bible series. Our efforts have begun to bear fruit, as this past Sunday we had our first baptism and one restoration (pictures attached), Ahmad Powell and Tiara Thompson.”

Beloit church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dustin Dougherty (regional trainer) reports, “Yesterday morning, I was privileged to visit the Scott City Church of Christ in Scott City, Kansas, and worship with them and teach and preach for them during their services. They are very small congregation in western Kansas, but they are a very welcoming bunch. There were ten people in attendance yesterday morning, including myself. I enjoy being able to travel throughout Kansas and speak to and have fellowship with different congregations. I did talk to them about the possibility of coming back and doing evangelism studies with them and teaching them how to do it more effectively. Yesterday, Beloit had four visitors, two locals and two passing through. The local couple had expressed interest in a study after services were over, so we will begin prospecting procedures with them soon. There are a handful of others that I am working on, and I am praying for the opportunity to study shortly. I am thankful for the opportunity to do this work. To God be all glory and honor.”

Paintsville church of Christ, Kentucky: Zach Collins (preacher) reports, “One of the women we have been studying with had knee surgery this past week. One of our elders and I have reached out to her in her time of need. On Sunday evening, her husband expressed his appreciation for our love and prayers to him and his wife. He attended both services on Sunday! We hope to send her cards next week. It is our prayer that showing how much we care will also aid in the Bible study we are having with this couple. We appreciate prayers for this couple as we hope they will be receptive to the gospel’s message and see the love among God’s people!”

Central church of Christ, Paducah, Kentucky: Adam Faughn (preacher) reports, “This was a slower week, but we still had some good events. Starting on Saturday, August 24, we have secured a booth at our downtown farmers’ market through the season’s end, and we hope to gain more contacts through that effort. Two Bible studies are in progress, and we should have more this week. We were blessed with guests who were encouraged on Sunday. In addition, our card-writing and guest bag groups continue to do well. It was also good for us to attend Polishing the Pulpit and get several new ideas and great motivation. To God be the glory!”

Aberdeen church of Christ, Maryland: Will Brown (preacher) reports, “As of today, we have three Bible studies in progress. Yesterday, one of the youths who grew up in the church obeyed the gospel. She is an encouragement to us all. She heard many sermons and understood clearly what was needed in her life. She is a third-generation Christian, which is rare for this part of our country. We have had several visitors since Vacation Bible School. Our church is growing with many challenges. Lastly, the accountability boards continue to make an impact. We appreciate prayers for our efforts in Maryland. Currently, we have three ongoing Bible studies, and we have had seven baptisms for the year.”

La Plata church of Christ, Maryland (remote): Eric Sykes (regional trainer) reports, “Yesterday, we received a message from Mac Middleton. His wife Joanie is on our compassion card list. Joanie passed away from stage 4 cancer. Mac thanked the family here at the La Plata Church of Christ. He said that the cards meant so much to them as they would read each card together. We appreciate prayers for the comfort and uplifting of the Middleton family and the saints here in La Plata. We strive to show them the compassion of Christ and spread His gospel in our community.”

Siwell Road church of Christ, Jackson, Mississippi: Derek Broome (associate preacher) reports, “We have had a great couple of weeks here at Siwell Road. So many people have been so responsive to visitors. Numerous cards are going out every day. People are inviting these visitors out to eat or into their homes, and Bible studies are being conducted. We have had multiple Bible studies and baptisms in the past two weeks. So many people have shown love and compassion as we invest time with each of these individuals. That authentic Christian love allowed us to study with two precious souls who have now put on Christ in baptism. These past two weeks have been so encouraging. We pray that we continue these efforts and not let opportunities like this pass us by.”

East Main church of Christ, Tupelo, Mississippi: Barry Kennedy (preacher) reports, “It is great to see the congregation coming together to invite and welcome visitors to worship services. This past Sunday, I was moved by watching it in action. People would meet them, get their information, and invite them to lunch. We are excited to see the work growing into reaching out to the lost! I am looking forward to seeing more growth, love, and fellowship in the work of the Lord.”

Samford church of Christ, Steele, Missouri: Kyle Imel (deacon) reports, “We are sending compassion cards to James. He has had cancer and is about to undergo treatment. Please pray for him.”

West End Blvd church of Christ, Cape Girardeau, Missouri: Jared Scaggs (preacher) reports, “What a great week Polishing the Pulpit was! This week we will be focusing again on the evangelism model. We appreciate prayers for Jewel as we will study the last book of Back to the Bible with her this week.”

East Flushing church of Christ, New York (remote): Clarence Jenkins (preacher) reports, “Geri Jenkins knew Betty Burke for approximately 50 years. We had not seen her for about ten years. On June 11, Geri and I had to go into Manhattan, New York. While we were waiting on a particular platform for the Long Island Railroad, we saw Betty Burke returning home to Maryland. I helped her with her suitcase, and we all took the train together. Geri gave her a copy of House to House and got her phone number. Geri began calling her; he asked for her address and then sent her another issue of House to House, rekindling their relationship. They began studying BTTB on August 8.  Glory be to God for His grace; Betty Burke has submitted to and was baptized into Christ on August 25, 2024, at the East Baltimore church of Christ. To God be the glory! The biblical HTHSOE evangelism process works if we work it. Praise God!”

Carthage Church of Christ, North Carolina (remote): Randy Chambers (preacher) reports, “This past week, we had three personal Bible studies and continued our mailing to the two prospects. We also had two visitors during worship service. They seemed to enjoy the services. We gave them a visitor bag, and some of our members took them out for lunch. We wrote cards thanking them for attending service and began mailing some out today.”

New Concord church of Christ, Ohio: Terry Townsend (preacher) reports, “We had another baptism this past Wednesday afternoon. We have been working with this woman for several months. We started by giving her a new mover basket. Then we sent compassion cards and made follow-up visits. Finally, she attended and studied!

Our New Mover teams have been busy visiting and making new mover basket deliveries in the last few days. This effort has resulted in several new promising prospects! We had five more first-time visitors this Sunday morning, including a lady related to one of our newer members. We began a study with her today (Wednesday). We will follow up with another visitor this week. She is a friend of a lady of the congregation who has been working with her for years. Several other folks who have been visiting with us over the past couple of months continue to come and show interest.

“Our two new converts received their baptismal certificates and Bibles during our Sunday morning service. Our Sunday morning New Converts class (taught by one of our elders) continues to grow! One of our recent converts has not only been participating in that class, but she and one of our members are also getting together every morning for an in-home Bible study. She also told me on Sunday that she is working with her neighbor who may visit with us soon.

“One of our families hosted three newer families this past week. Some of those they invited are not Christians yet, but we pray they will be soon. We continue to be encouraged by the membership’s enthusiasm and the positive response we are receiving from those who frequent our assemblies.”

Streetsboro church of Christ, Ohio: Ralph Price (preacher) reports, “All aspects of the program are moving forward. We are sending out about 50 compassion cards this week. We did not have any visitors on Sunday, but we continue to work with the visitors on our prospect list. Our new converts class is also going well. I will check with the elders and see if they want to schedule a Zoom meeting.”

Coweta church of Christ, Oklahoma: Keno Shrum (regional trainer) reports, “After a great week at PTP, we are back in the swing of things in Coweta. On Wednesday evening, we will go back to our bookmarks and identify new contacts. We will then meet on Sunday to fill out compassion cards after worship services. In September, Don Blackwell will speak at our gospel meeting. Often, we judge the success of our gospel meetings by how many other congregations visit. This year, however, we are making a concerted effort to invite people from the community. We will use this as an opportunity to garner more contacts to prospect. Our scheduled Bible study with Austin had to be postponed, but we are hopeful it will occur later this week.”

York church of Christ, Pennsylvania: Mark Raschke (deacon) reports, “This week, we began to settle into our new routine at our new building. Our attendance numbers were back down to where they usually are, but we did have one visitor. We gave him a visitor bag and collected his contact information. We will be sending him cards this week. With Labor Day weekend upon us, we will likely have some members out of town, but we will continue to worship the way we always do.”

Union church of Christ, South Carolina (remote): Terry Hale (preacher) reports, “We are ironing out some of the ways we can be more productive together. Today we filled out cards for the visitors and started mailing them out. We hope our group will be more active with their talents and scheduling studies this week.”

Brushy church of Christ, Centerville, Tennessee: Kevin Johnston (preacher) reports, “There are many positive comments about our companion cards. Members are taking an active role in the process of signing cards. It seems that the culture of being evangelistic is shifting to the good. More and more people are getting people to come to the building, and we are making positive connections with them. Over the last few months, we have gained four new families, and they all have children. We are trying to get them into a Bible study. Other members are willing to do a Bible study, which is helpful since I have a full work schedule. Amy and I are compiling a list of stats, considering things that have worked thus far and discovering what needs improvement. I will present this to the congregation in mid-September to encourage and push them past where we are.”

Tazwell church of Christ, Tennessee (remote): Denver Tate (preacher) reports, “I recently started preaching for the Tazewell church of Christ as their new preacher. I was there only two weeks when a family walked in and was invited to worship service by one of the members. I walked up to them, said hello, and handed them the small Christian Gift Card I received from the seminar at the preaching school I attended. As the worship service continued, I preached about “Be Thou an Example unto he Believers.” As I was preaching, I noticed how well the visiting family was paying attention.

“After the worship service was over and everyone was having fellowship, the husband and wife came up to me, and the wife said, “I want to be baptized.” I gathered some information about them and asked them if they would be willing to study to ensure they understood what would take place, and they both agreed to the study.

“This is a rare case of a husband and wife obeying the gospel. We had only one study with Does It Matter. With the help of one of the congregation’s men, the four of us studied together, following the pattern instructed to do when using the booklets. The husband commented during the study that he was baptized as a baby. The wife said she had never been baptized. In the middle of the study, the husband said he didn’t think he was ever baptized. When we got to Romans 6:3-5, I could see by their faces that they understood the importance of obeying the Gospel. I baptized the husband, and I asked him if he wanted to baptize his wife, and he said yes. Both are now added to the Lord’s church and are attending faithfully. The congregation was blessed with a small family of five.

“I am also working with five more individuals, asking the congregation for prayers so that an opportunity to study with them opens soon. I also prayed for men to help with the studies.”

White Oak church of Christ, Tennessee (remote): John McGiffin (preacher) reports, “We have scheduled a family and friends’ day for our first attempt at inviting the community. It will feature a fellowship meal after morning services. We have postcards made, and members are addressing them so we can mail them. We are also handing them out to waitresses, mailmen, and anyone in the community we can contact. We hope that if we hand out 200, we can get up to four non-christians from the community, along with several prodigal members. We will assign a visitor coordinator and train the congregation to receive visitors. We will continue this training for several weeks to prepare for the Family and Friends Day on September 22.”

New Union Church of Christ, Manchester, Tennessee: Paul Fultz (elder) reports, “We had ten visitors from the community this past week. Our members submitted two contact cards. We wrote 40 compassion cards to be sent this week. We made four visits and have one ongoing personal Bible study.”

McKenzie church of Christ, Tennessee: Randy McAdams (elder) reports, “The McKenzie family once again celebrated a baptism yesterday, Sunday, August 25, after the evening service.  Cristian, who was baptized last week, brought his girlfriend Nevaeh, and she also decided to put on Christ in baptism. Both young adults are juniors in high school and will serve as good role models for Christ among their peers. Another exciting point about this baptism is that her mom and siblings are planning to begin worshipping with us. Our Evangelism team will mail out Round 4 of this month’s cards to members and non-members. We have begun building next month’s list, primarily from those turned in for prayers and remembrances.”

Covington church of Christ, Tennessee: Wayne Dalrymple (elder) reports, “We rejoice that two more souls have been washed in the blood of the Lamb! Justin Harrell and his daughter, Lyla, were both baptized Sunday night, a couple of hours after our evening service. Justin’s wife is a Christian and a member at Covington. Jeff, our youth minister, has been working with Justin for a long time. Jeff drives the bus for the softball team that Justin coaches. Lyla has been considering baptism for a while but had just not made the decision until now. We are thankful the Lord was patient with them. We had several visitors Sunday, including Charles, who has been studying with our brother, Frank. Dustin visited us last Wednesday evening and is interested in learning more about the church. I will be contacting him this week. Another person who has indicated a desire to learn more is Asia, a friend of Jill, who is one of our members. Asia has visited a couple of times. She just had a baby two weeks ago. We hope to show love and compassion to her during this time of change in her life.”

Hebron church of Christ, McMinnville, Tennessee: Derrick Stiles (preacher) reports, “We are pleased with the current results as one family has placed membership, and another continues to attend. We are hopeful we will begin another Bible study very soon. The compassion card team met and sent out over 70 cards on Sunday. Materials for visitor bags and new mover baskets will be purchased within the next two weeks. Gift cards have been purchased to take visitors out to lunch. Our Sunday night HTHSOE training card routine has been disrupted over the last several weeks due to meetings and guest speakers. This Sunday, we will return to our routine of training. We appreciate all prayers as we work to move the church forward!”

Hillcrest church of Christ, Springfield, Tennessee: Tim Taylor (associate preacher),  “At Hillcrest, four more people from two families placed membership with us yesterday! That makes nine total since the SOE seminar! I do not believe this would have happened without implementing our new practices for greeting visitors, sending cards, and making in-home visits. These efforts have made an enormous impact! We have not seen fruit from personal Bible studies yet, but we are confident that the increase will come soon. We are making plans for a day of door-knocking on September 29.  We decided to go with a Sunday afternoon and believe we can get a better turnout from our members rather than on September 21.”

Stoney Creek church of Christ, Elizabethton, Tennessee: Mike Blevins (elder) reports, “We have two studies on hold.  Three new studies (that I know of) started last week and are continuing tomorrow night. We installed a new Elder, David Crockett, last week. We are doing what we are supposed to do as Christians as we work to get more people involved.”

Celina church of Christ, Tennessee: Daniel Burton (member) reports, “I wanted to share some wonderful news about our ongoing evangelism work. This past week, we had multiple families visit us, and some of them visited because of our card-sending process! One family are Christians and has recently moved to the area. We will individually extend personal invites and cards.

We have now gone through two full months of the compassion card process. It has been a rewarding effort, and the results are very evident. The coordinator and leaders of the compassion card groups are in tandem and doing a great job. We need to add three names to our prospect list; that should not be hard to do. We will continue praying for those who receive cards and those on our bookmarks.

“The invitation cards are truly making an impact. One member has even started placing them in shopping bags at her store; another is taking them to soccer games. This is such an easy and effective way to invite others. Anyone can do it. It is inspiring to see more and more people getting involved. We are going to keep the momentum going. We remind members to remember to carry invitation cards as they grab their coffee and wallet in the morning.

“Now on to a great piece of news. We have a new sister in Christ! Our sister Judy obeyed the gospel and was added to the Lord’s church like those in Acts 2:47. It is our fervent prayer that there will be many more precious souls added. To God be the glory!”

Hillsboro church of Christ, Tennessee: Chris Sliger (member) reports, “Hillsboro had four returning visitors from our community dinner last week. The Mercados (Mom and three children ages 8, 6, and 2) visited us on Wednesday night, August 21. They plan to return this upcoming Wednesday. We are very happy that they have shown interest in church, and we thank God for touching their hearts. Team C met Sunday evening to send cards to eleven (11) contacts. This is the most Comp Card contact since Hillsboro began the RTL program.”

Mountain Creek church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Michael Tomshack (elder) reports, “On Sunday, after our worship assembly, Danny and Jennifer Ellis, presented Baptismal Certificates and Bibles to our New Christians. The Elders gathered with them, and the congregation circled the meeting room, joining hands for a song and a prayer. It was an uplifting experience, symbolizing our bond in Christ in all stages of our life’s walk in Him. We continue visitation attempts with compassion card recipients.”

Rivergate Church of Christ, Madison, Tennessee: Doug Tooley (preacher) reports, “Last week, the painting project was finished in our auditorium, and we were able to worship there on Sunday. We painted it and installed new lights in the auditorium and foyer. It is much brighter and more inviting now. We removed the old peg board in the foyer for attendance. We are looking at up-to-date digital ways of tracking attendance. We want to evangelize, but we also want to be sure we are taking care of our members. We had six visitors on Sunday. Two families were taken to lunch. We also had four visits that were made last week. One of our Bible studies has stalled. It is with a youth, and the family has a language barrier. But we are still prayerful about this situation. We have secured members for another card team, which is now in place.”

Chapel Hill church of Christ, Tennessee: Matt Jones (deacon) reports, “Things are progressing well. We have been getting additional contacts submitted by the congregation. Our card teams are doing a great job of staying on top of the weekly distribution. Many in the community have received our new movers’ baskets well. We occasionally have those who do not want kindness sent their way, but we are reminded that they did the same to the apostles and Jesus himself. This does not deter our efforts. We still have several people willing to do a Bible study and are working to set the best start time. We are still staying focused on the job of seeking the lost.”

Graceton church of Christ, Diana, Texas: Johnny Willeford (elder) reports, “The Graceton congregation continues to reach out into our community, contacting lost and wayward people. From time to time, we as elders must encourage our brothers and sisters to be committed to being an evangelizing congregation. They need to hear of our successes. We did that this past Sunday morning. We had five families visiting with us at the morning service and will have our First Sunday Fellowship Meal this coming Sunday. Our Mission Monday group will be meeting next week. Group B met Sunday evening and will send 66 compassion cards to six new contacts. We held a back-to-school bash for our kiddos with games and a good meal and had a few visitors join us. We believe in the power of prayer and will continue to offer prayers for those who work for God.”

Colleyville church of Christ, Texas (remote): John Garza (regional trainer) reports, “After a great week at Polishing the Pulpit, we are even more excited to teach the Word of God to the lost souls in our community. Since this is a new work for me and my co-workers, we are starting the process of implementing the House to House School of Evangelism program, specifically by setting up a plan. I am making sure that we spend much time in each step so we can take it to their next work and effectively train the congregation to practice evangelism. This week, I will preach the “Quantity, Not Quality” sermon, and we will hand out the bookmarks for our congregation to fill out. We hope to get some contact cards filled out to start our compassion card program. We are working on the curriculum that will be taught to the members here on Wednesday nights. Truly, we have much work to do, but we are blessed to work in His kingdom.”

Fruitvale church of Christ, Texas: Carl McCann (elder) reports, “This week, we focused on following up work. We have also begun to emphasize training in various areas of evangelism. Because of this, we could make new contacts each day while conducting follow-up visits. We have also begun to advertise our ‘Coping’ class. We hope to use the book and workbook Coping by Brother Steven Lloyd. We will use this format to make new contacts in our community. In addition, our new Facebook page, Fruitvale Bible Study, has received many comments and private messages. We continue to receive new contacts from this social media method. We studied with three people this week. One couple is in Book 3 of Back to the Bible, and one man is in Book 1.”

Granbury Street church of Christ, Cleburne, Texas: Ryan Cowan (deacon) reports, “Two Bible studies are taking place right now. I am meeting with a man named Joel. Joel’s dad contacted Granbury Street about a month ago on behalf of his son. Cody Grinnell is studying with a man named Sean. Sean is a guest of member Michael Flores. Kerista is doing a follow-up study with two of our recent converts, Leann and Paula Diane. Progress is continuing as we focus on what is being called our ‘mini AMC,’ which will be held the weekend of September 20, 2024.”

Wheeler Church of Christ, Texas: Garrett English (preacher) reports, “This past Sunday, I preached n what we learned at VBS. This was after inviting those who joined us. We had one family visit, and they received a warm welcome. We will have a family visit with them about the service and their impression of the Lord’s Church. We have materials lined up, and most families are matched to deliver them as a follow-up to our VBS. We have our Apologetics Press Bibles in, and I am working on an invitation to pair with the Bibles when we give them out to the sixth graders in our county.”

Bridgewater church of Christ, Katy, Texas: Doug Suggs (deacon) reports, “At Bridgewater, we have several studies in progress. One is with David, a young man from China, who is learning about God and the Bible. Wade and I are studying with him. One of our Spanish sisters has an ongoing study with a woman who is a Mormon. Andre invited Geovanny to visit our services, and he came yesterday. Andre took him to lunch. Hopefully, a study with him will be soon. One of the compassion teams met Sunday evening to address cards to prospects. Some visitors who received our cards were at our Sunday morning service.”

Southwest Church of Christ, Austin, Texas: Mark Speir (deacon), “We had the same three families of returning visitors, and we are working to get them to study. A Bible study was started. One new convert Bible study was started as well. We had numerous other visitors who did not give addresses, but we will look for them again and contact them to get additional information.”

Wasatch church of Christ, Clearfield, Utah (remote): Daniel Welker (preacher) reports, “Yesterday we had several visitors. Our Sunday morning lesson was entitled “Why I Attend Your Service of the Lord’s Church.” It challenged our members to strive to be at every service possible. Our attendance last night was double the normal attendance, and I hope this keeps going on Wednesdays. We started our Bible class by discussing evangelistic conversations over the past week. This week, we heard about several conversations. I recently purchased a new automobile. In the process, I talked to my salesman about the church, and he committed to coming to my house for a meal and Bible study. I took a line from Rob’s book and bragged about my wife’s cooking, and he said, “I see why you can get people to study, because of the food, you are speaking my language.” One of our members had spent a week in the hospital. She used the time to prospect one of the nurses tending to her and made a lot of headway. One of our members built the courage to take some tomatoes to her new neighbors to open the door to future spiritual conversation.”

Buda Kyle church of Christ, Texas: Ronnie Scherffius (preacher) reports, “Evangelism efforts at Buda-Kyle continue. Training classes for Back to the Bible continue Sunday mornings. Compassion Cards and weekly visits are also ongoing. Training classes will begin in September to train members on how to visit new residents as we plan to implement the New Movers program offered by HTHHTH. Additionally, some men are diligently working to develop multiple events that express the purpose of establishing contacts. We appreciate prayers for all our evangelistic efforts.”

West Side church of Christ, Salem, Virginia: Jeff Durham (elder) reports, “This past Sunday was our Friends and Family Day.  We used the beginning of the school year to present lessons to the youth (morning) and parents (evening).  We gave practical examples of how children and parents can fulfill the teachings of Ephesians 6 and other passages each day at school and at home.  One of our recent compassion card recipients attended, and we added one new local contact to our compassion card list.  80 cards were written that evening to be mailed this week.”

Chesapeake church of Christ, Virginia: Ernest Benjamin (regional trainer) reports, “We had a blessed day of worship yesterday, with quite a few visitors. I am focusing on implementing the curriculum’s visitor portion because I know we are missing out on some low-hanging fruit. I messaged you about ordering more bookmarks today.  I am going to take the congregation through the bookmark exercise again.  There may be more power in focused prayer for the salvation of specific souls than we realize. (Acts 6:4). I spent some time counseling Kay Dolberry today.  She is an elderly lady that I am studying with. I was able to help support and encourage her, and she’s eager to study Thursday at 6 p.m.

Peninsula church of Christ, Virginia: Ben Phillips (preacher) reports, “We had a good day of worship yesterday with many of our members returning from PTP. One of the families involved in a study was present. It is good to continue to see them participating. We had other contacts unable to make it due to illness. We did have the blessing of another visitor from the community who came due to the AMC door knocking. At the close of services, she indicated a desire to visit again after she concludes some travel she has to do. We have added her to the compassion cards list. We hope to engage with her further when she returns and after she has received the cards.

“I am also continuing the work of going through the 12 weeks of preaching and introduction as we fill out the program. We have collected responses from most of our members from the post-AMC survey. As we implement the additional practices, this information will help get everyone involved. Right now, we have two active studies; one is pending scheduling due to a difficult work schedule, and one is pending scheduling due to illness. The good news is that interest continues to be shown, additional contacts continue to come, we continue to visit other contacts for follow-up, and the congregation continues to be engaged.”

Williamsburg church of Christ, Virginia: Jim Bishop (elder) reports, “The church in Williamsburg has had a very productive week. On Monday, August 19, we had our third baptism in three weeks. Praise God for adding Ashton King to the Lord’s church. On Tuesday, one of our prospects received much-needed school supplies and backpacks. We completed our summer reading program on Wednesday with invitations for all parents to attend. This is another way to procure contacts. Items such as chairs, end tables, and three bed frames were delivered to a family. Friday consisted of the ladies organizing and preparing compassion cards. We sent seven cards and prepared additional cards for next week. Many have been active, and we can see the excitement of doing God’s work among church members. Next week, we have two Bible studies scheduled.”

Marlon Retana (regional trainer): “We are back in Texas after an incredible week at Polishing the Pulpit (PTP). While the PTP tiredness is real, we are deeply grateful to God and to everyone involved in making this event such a spiritual blessing. My wife and I returned home spiritually refreshed, renewed, and recharged. Surrounded by thousands of brethren, I had the opportunity to share extensively about our involvement in the Lord’s work, in addition to my two speaking engagements at PTP. Though my voice needed some recovery time afterward, it was all worth it.

“We are returning to the studio this week to record our Bible courses on 1 and 2 Timothy. We hope to complete the lessons on Titus as well. Additionally, we have started translating How to Close the Study by Bobby Bates and Rob Whitacre.

“Our schedule is full, but there is no greater joy than being busy in the Lord’s service and helping our Hispanic brethren access the resources they need for evangelism and spiritual growth.”