Highland Park church of Christ, Muscle Shoals, Alabama: We want to welcome the Highland Park Church of Christ to HTHSOE. On Saturday evening, the eldership responded with their preacher, Ben Hayes, asking for prayers of strength to focus the congregation on the Great Commission. Attendance throughout the event was excellent. The elders assigned Andrew to help administer the HTHSOE model. We pray for them as they train the saved to reach the lost.
Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: David Marker (elder) reports, “We have two hot prospects that have visited several times. We had good visits with both, and they are interested in Bible study. We will schedule those studies at their earliest convenience. We continue to have new convert classes that are going well. Also, we have been studying with some of our new youth converts at their request on Wednesday before mid-week Bible study. That has been very encouraging. We have good participation in all our evangelistic efforts. Our members are engaged, and we will have a planning session to discuss additional opportunities. We have contacted the local elementary school’s guidance counselor to help families who are struggling. That work will continue throughout the school year.”
Canal Heights church of Christ, Demopolis, Alabama: Bryan Cook (preacher) reports, “Our recent Vacation Bible School and Back to School Bash at the church ground were both successful. We gathered a list of names from the waivers signed for the bouncy house at the Back to School Bash. Forty people attended, and most were from outside the church. During the Back to School Bash, we enjoyed hours of fun, food, and fellowship. We had a short devotion, engaged in meaningful conversations, told individuals our worship times, and extended invitations to our upcoming Harvest Festival. Thanks to the contact information collected through the waivers, we now have the addresses to send out congregational cards to express our gratitude for their presence and invite them again to join us.”
Central church of Christ, Saraland, Alabama: David Dixon (preacher) reports, “The work continues. Every other Monday is for our Monday Night for the Master meeting. We still have teams meeting weekly to send out compassion cards. Our New Converts Class is in full swing, and we have ongoing Bible studies. The culture of the congregation has changed.
“Last week, we called or sent cards to some of our wayward or unfaithful members. As a direct result, three separate members whom we have rarely seen in the last few months were all here Sunday for services. It remains to be seen whether they will persist in their attendance, but we know our outreach to them had an effect.
“I have realized that there is no substitute for consistent communication. Whether through cards, calls, or visits, sincere concern for our brothers and sisters in Christ and for the lost all around us is undeniably impactful. It does not take occasional overt exertion to the point of awkwardness; it takes timely and regular effort to get the congregation comfortable with evangelistic outreach as the main work of the church.
“I am so thankful for the truths I have learned through the work of the House to House/Heart to Heart School of Evangelism!”
West Huntsville church of Christ, Alabama: Paul Owen (associate preacher) reports, “While on a mission trip, each one of our youth at West Huntsville took the initiative to write a card to an individual who has fallen away. The cards were written with such love and compassion that they are bound to impact the individual! Praise God for our youth in the Lord’s church.”
Petersville church of Christ, Florence, Alabama: Adam Richardson (preacher) reports, “We had a great 3-month follow-up meeting with Rob, and several of the new coordinators attended with the elders and ministers. We are excited to keep things rolling and have five visits planned for the coming week. There were eight visitors Sunday, and the compassion card group sent out 35 cards this week, bringing the total number of cards sent to over 1,000 since we started!
Hatton church of Christ, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “We had our mission Sunday meal yesterday with a great turnout. We assigned eight new visits in hopes of Bible studies or restorations. A recent ramp was built for a community member, and other service projects are going on to help them, again with our goal of setting up Bible studies.”
Rison church of Christ, Arkansas: Keden Shrum (preacher) reports, “We have been sending cards to a man from the community who recently had surgery. His wife contacted me Saturday, thanking us for the cards. She belongs to a denomination, and she said not one person from there has inquired about her husband’s surgery. She was touched by the compassion and love shown by the church. I plan to visit them this week. Care Team B met Sunday evening to continue working on compassion cards. We are sending cards to three people this week.”
Malvern church of Christ, Arkansas (remote): David Burruss (preacher) reports, “As of yesterday, we have one Bible study underway and potentially another one in the works. Compassion cards are being sent weekly, but we are adjusting to the meeting times to get additional people to help with the cards.”
Lake City church of Christ, Florida: Jim Flegert (elder) reports, “Our new mover team was allowed to present baskets to seven new movers to our community this week. We pray that these new movers will soon become recipients of our compassion card writers. We thank God for these opportunities.”
Niceville church of Christ, Florida: Joe Palmer (preacher) reports, “This week, we did not calculate our cards mailed because we charged our teachers and the church family to send personal cards to visitors. We had a meeting to discuss our prospects and plans for follow-up. We handed out cards and the prospect list from VBS. One of our evangelistic couples has already set up a possible study with one visitor. You can see how our culture is slowly changing. We had two new visitors Sunday, and I set up a study for this week with the family. We had two studies this week.”
Lake Forest church of Christ, Florida (remote): Brian Howard (preacher) reports, “Chris Sayer was baptized on Wednesday. His wife and son have been members for a few years. We went back to the Bible, and he obeyed the gospel. It was a wonderful blessing for his family and the Lord’s Kingdom.”
Bremen church of Christ, Georgia: Scott Broughton (member) reports, “On Sunday, we presented three of our recent converts with their baptismal certificates and new converts packets. During our evening worship service, Chad revisited the Congregational Evangelism process. He focused on generating contacts.”
Cartersville church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Charles Harris (regional trainer), “The work at Cartersville continues. Wednesday we will begin a New Converts class. We will use Growing in Christ by Bobby Bates. All of our church members here have welcomed our new brothers and sisters. This week we are going to reach out to certain members about being mentors. We will also continue visiting those who received compassion cards during July.”
Lafayette church of Christ, Georgia: Jesse Teague (deacon) reports, “Last night, Group 1 met to send compassion cards. We had about ten members sending cards to five souls who needed to hear the gospel. We added a list of those who are lost to the prayer list during announcements as a regular reminder to pray for the folks on individual lists. Reid has been working on getting a Bible study. I hope he misses our meeting tonight because of that study.”
Woodstock church of Christ, Georgia: Matt Amos (preacher) reports, “Our ACTS (Actively, Caring, Teaching & Serving) Evangelism Program is one of our most important programs at WCOC. The Prison Ministry Group met with Snellville church of Christ. We have agreed to work together regarding virtual Bible studies and conversion care. The Snellville congregation is very excited to begin the virtual Bible studies. We had twelve who attended the Pre-convert/Evangelism class. WCOC had two non-Christian visitors. We conducted fourteen Bible studies this last week.”
Eatonton church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Roderick Coney (preacher) reports, “We continued with card sending to six or seven people. We began one Bible study using Back to the Bible. We also set up a church website and ordered the banner for the evangelism tables today. We handed out the post-seminar survey on Sunday. Hopefully by this Wednesday, we will assign some roles to members based on the survey.”
West Hammond church of Christ, Indiana: Robert Webster (preacher) reports, “We had a busy weekend. Last Friday we sorted out items for the Free Giveaway. On Saturday, we had scores of community residents coming out with their kids to collect items. We made 37 contacts and are currently mailing out cards. Members were quite excited to see the evangelism table populated with information. We have four ongoing Bible studies, and we ask for continued prayers for these souls.”
Collinsville-Troy church of Christ, Illinois: Jason Wright (elder) reports, “The eldership decided to make a small change to our Sunday morning schedule. After our worship and Bible class, we have our third hour and use the time for Lads to Leaders and evangelism activities. We plan to visit 30+ people who have received cards for three or four weeks. We will also use this time to write compassion cards and hand out new movers’ baskets. On Sundays, when we have extra time, Renn (minister) will preach the Sunday evening training sermons, or we will review the videos. There is something for everyone to do, and this is the message we are relaying to the brethren.
“We mailed out 196 compassion cards this week and continue to have visitors. One of our shut-ins had a BTTB Book 1 study with her nurse. This got everyone excited! We are getting our pew greeter program on track, and our coordinator is working hard to ensure everyone is on the same page. Our Community Service coordinator arranged for a group of young men to complete yard work projects for two homes.
“Some of our ladies are in contact with one family who requested help with house cleaning and laundry. Eleven of our ladies are checking in on the ill and lonely whom we contacted during AMC. Another sister reads to an elderly woman at different times throughout the week. Seeing our church family working together to help the community is so encouraging. We are praying for more studies and opportunities to share the gospel.”
Beloit church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dustin Dougherty (regional trainer) reports, “What a great week this has been—very busy, but great! Following services on Sunday, several members stayed until late afternoon to set up for our VBS that began today. We are using the Apologetics Press “The Name of Jesus” curriculum this year. Several of the ladies put great work into the decorations to make it an immersive experience for the attendees. On the first night of VBS, we had about 40 people in attendance, including teachers and students. There were 20 children, and eight were visitors, though they were with us last year for VBS. Vacation Bible School is a great evangelistic endeavor with many seeds planted and watered weekly. We are looking forward to the opportunity to show our visitors hospitality and kindness while planting seeds and teaching the gospel. To God be all glory and honor.”
Central church of Christ, Paducah, Kentucky: Adam Faughn (preacher) reports, “We are thrilled to begin this week’s report with two more baptisms. After a couple of long days of study using Does It Matter, both Kymberly and Kayley Langston were baptized into Christ last Wednesday afternoon. These two young ladies had been thinking about baptism for quite some time and seeing them immersed in Christ was a joy.
“We are also excited to have several other Bible studies in progress. We know of at least four others (three ongoing and one beginning this week), and we hope others will begin soon. We feel we have at least two more prospects close to agreeing to a study. At least two of those involved in the studies were at worship services this past Sunday (one for the first time), and it seems those studies are going well. We are also still following up on the July County Fair contacts and are praying for good prospects. Card writing continues each week, guest bags are given out at every service, and prayers are said for the lost in our area. It is thrilling to see a congregation so focused on souls!”
La Plata church of Christ, Maryland (remote): Eric Sykes (regional trainer) reports, “This week at the La Plata church of Christ, the saints are still working hard for the Lord. We had three visitors this week. Our elders and our coordinator for the visitors’ program were able to take them out to lunch after worship. They had a fantastic time. One of them is looking for a church home. We are praying we can make it the La Plata church of Christ.
“I spoke with two people on our compassion card list, and they have invited us to their home for a Bible study. One is scheduled for Tuesday evening and the other for Wednesday afternoon. We appreciate all prayers. Tabetha and Jaumale will soon start Lesson 2 of Back to the Bible with one of Tabetha’s co-workers.
“We sent out four compassion cards with multiple signatures. We struck out on delivering our new movers’ baskets this week. We visited five folks on the list, but none were home. Four members attended our New Converts class, and seven members attended our video of the week class via Zoom. The topic of discussion was “Premillennialism: A Deeper Study” by Don Blackwell. We appreciate all prayers as we continue to seek the lost.”
East Main church of Christ, Tupelo, Mississippi: Barry Kennedy (preacher) reports, “Things are still developing here, and we are starting to receive feedback from the compassion cards. Lord willing, we will start making visits in the next few weeks! We are praying for success and fertile soil! We also have begun setting up our house on the property for a clothing giveaway headquarters. We call it Ginny’s House in memory of a dear sister who passed away recently. We are looking forward to developing contacts/prospects through this benevolent effort! To God be the Glory!”
West End Blvd church of Christ, Cape Girardeau, Missouri: Jared Scaggs (preacher) reports, “This week I do not have much to report. VBS was a huge success. We are following up with two families. Another one of our members has started a Bible study with one of their neighbors. Our contact list keeps growing, and our prospects keep showing themselves. I plan to get back to training from the model now that VBS is over. We want people to be excited about the work ahead of us. We are looking forward to PTP and being refreshed, renewed, and ready to energize the congregation the rest of the year.”
East Flushing church of Christ, New York (remote): Clarence Jenkins (preacher) reports, “The visitor whom we met about a year ago came to worship service for the second time in a row, and then came to our Back-to-School drive, helped us with it, and has consistently been studying BTTB. We currently have three consistent Bible studies, with others sporadically. On our Back-to-School drive, we gave out 101 school packages for students, and the event generated over 50 contacts. This week, we are preparing to put them on a spreadsheet so that we may send them compassion cards. All to the glory of God. We appreciate all prayers.”
Carthage church of Christ, North Carolina (remote): Randy Chambers reports, “This past week, we mailed nine compassion cards each to a prospect whose home was lost in a fire and one who lost a job. She was in a study using BTTB but did not complete it because of her busy schedule. We are praying this will be an open door to resume the study. We continue to encourage the saints to reach the lost in our communities.”
New Concord church of Christ, Ohio: Terry Townsend (preacher) reports, “We mailed 56 compassion cards. Two Bible studies are ongoing. Both studies are working through Lesson 2 of Back to the Bible. Our new convert received her Bible and certificate after our Sunday morning worship. She also began attending the New Converts class and our Wednesday morning class. We continue to be encouraged by the number of community visitors who attend services. Several of them even stayed for our potluck on Sunday afternoon.”
Streetsboro church of Christ, Ohio: Ralph Price (preacher) reports, “The work continues. We currently have six on our compassion card list. We are working on passing out new mover baskets to the community. We had a visitor yesterday who was a recent recipient of our compassion cards. We will follow up with him.”
Cheyenne church of Christ, Oklahoma (remote): Nathan Brewer (member) reports, “We gathered those who were willing for an intimate training session yesterday morning before Bible class. We went over making visits; we stressed being careful about opposite-gender visits by individuals; it is best to go in male/female pairs. We discussed the need to work towards asking the three transition questions. We also emphasized how much having meals with prospects would help lead to Bible studies. We updated our Prospects List.
“A woman from town we have been prospecting visited services. We heaped attention and appreciation on her and gave her a visitor’s gift to take home. She said she planned to come back. We will keep prospecting her to get a study.”
Coweta church of Christ, Oklahoma: Keno Shrum (regional trainer) reports, “We had a great VBS last week. We had several contacts that we will now prospect in hopes of getting some Bible studies. We had an average attendance of 60. We used the Apologetics Press “The Name of Jesus” curriculum. All children and adults enjoyed it thoroughly.
“After VBS, Jamie and I traveled to Sint Maarten, an island in the Caribbean. On Sunday, we worshipped with the family at Cole Bay church of Christ in Phillipsburg. I was honored to preach both the morning and evening lessons. I spoke about evangelism and our Christian responsibility to teach the gospel to the lost. They were very excited to learn about evangelism and the HTHSOE. Moving forward, I will stay in touch with them as we work to bring the proper training to them so they can be equipped to spread the word to those around them. They are eager to grow and eager to work. They have a good knowledge of the word and are a small but strong congregation. We appreciate all prayers for the Cole Bay church, especially since it is the only faithful congregation on the Dutch side of the island.” As always, here in Coweta, we pray regularly for each of you laboring in the name of Christ!”
Union church of Christ, South Carolina (remote): Terry Hale (preacher) reports, “One study last week included a prospective daughter, which is great. I am hoping she will come back to the study tomorrow. In a different study, the prospect finished Book 1 and said he had never known the information he learned, and he can hardly wait to study Book 2. We have up to 20 on our board with 11 active studies.”
Cookeville church of Christ, Tennessee (remote): Jonathan Medley (member) reports, “We had four baptisms this past week. Back to the Bible is an easy tool to use and has proven very effective. We look forward to enrolling in HTHSOE this fall.”
Covington church of Christ, Tennessee: Wayne Dalrymple (elder) reports, “Many parts of the body in Covington have been working hard recently. Nine of us returned home last week from our door-knocking campaign in Hawaii. We made several good contacts. We pray God gives the increase. Back home, several good things are going on. We rejoice that an erring sister has come home. Donna Sonwineski expressed her willingness to repent of the sin of neglecting to assemble. Andy, one of our elders, prayed with her to ask God to forgive her. She was present at both services on Sunday. Her husband, also a Christian, was with her Sunday morning.
“We have a few studies in progress. Frank Brown is studying with Charles. I plan to resume my study with Travis this week, and I hope to set up a study with Renee. Another eager prospect is Emily. Emily, a friend of Cody and Kozy, has been visiting with us for several months. She came with them to the young adult Bible class I am teaching on Sunday morning. We have been going through the BTTB booklets to teach members how to conduct a Bible study. We were in the middle of the red booklet. Since Emily was there, I quickly reviewed the main concepts of the first two booklets. We went through the section of the red booklet dealing with the conditions of salvation. I was careful in how I presented the Scriptures. Emily even read one of the passages. I referred to some of the charts in Evangelism Visualized during class. After class, Kozy came with Emily to ask if they could borrow a copy of the book of charts. Of course, I said yes! I suspect we will be baptizing Emily very soon.
“During our elders meeting on Monday night, the elders and ministers planned our leadership retreat for next month. We hope to refocus the congregation to be united in serving God and reaching the lost.”
Hebron church of Christ, McMinnville, Tennessee: Derrick Stiles (preacher) reports, “We gathered to write compassion cards and sent out 80 cards on Monday. We had approximately 40 contact cards handed in Sunday night, and the coordinator will be transferring those to the prospect list. Our elders and deacons meeting to determine overall coordinators has been delayed until this Sunday due to Covid running through the congregation. We ask for prayers that we will all be better soon. Our spirits are high, and we are moving forward with the programs. God bless all who are working in the Kingdom!”
Hillcrest church of Christ, Springfield, Tennessee: Tim Taylor (associate preacher) reports, “We participated in the First Friday Market in downtown Springfield as a means of outreach to the community. Although hindered by a torrential downpour, we persevered and engaged many of our neighbors, handing out invitation cards and SOE DVDs.
“Our compassion card leader is maintaining the prospect ledger, so I do not have that exact information at my disposal. We are sending cards for four weeks, as we have four groups of card writers. We have six that graduated to a visit this week. Those visits are planned for Thursday/Friday. We have already completed one round of visits. We will follow up with one individual in particular. I believe we added seven new prospects this week. I am confident that we have at least 20-25 current prospects.”
Stoney Creek church of Christ, Elizabethton, Tennessee: Mike Blevins (elder) reports, “We had a great week with Don Blackwell in a gospel meeting. Groups are running more smoothly, with four studies in progress. We have a potential new study with a family member this week.”
Madison County church of Christ, Jackson, Tennessee: Steven Sprouse (preacher) reports, “We had two new visitors. One is the result of the New Movers contact. We have a total of nine prospects. This week we will have a transition Thursday.”
Celina church of Christ, Tennessee: Daniel Burton (member) reports, “We are beginning month two in our congregational outreach. This Sunday, the congregational efforts were very apparent. Two families who have received our cards came to our worship service. One family was new to the area and brought the cards that we had been sending. One said, ‘These cards were not wasted on me.’ It was very encouraging to see and hear their thoughts.
“We had a meeting to distribute names for those going out and delivering the new mover baskets. One visit was made after that meeting, which was great. We went to the home and were surprised to find two families living at the same address. As a result, we added two new families to the prospect list! They commented, ‘If you can visit us and give us a nice basket, then we could visit the Celina church of Christ.’ It is remarkable how far a small amount of care and compassion can go. We currently have seven prospects and continue to seek more prospects. With one month of cards being completed, we are beginning our transition visits. After a lot of time, thought, and prayers, our teams will be ready to study the Bible with these prospects, and we continue to pray for receptive hearts and willing minds.”
Hillsboro church of Christ, Tennessee: Chris Sliger (member) reports, “Hillsboro had another baptism! Luke Baskin was added to the Kingdom on Saturday, August 3. We thank God for working in Luke’s heart and rejoice with the angels in Heaven at his decision to put on Christ. Meanwhile, Hillsboro continues planning the upcoming RTL Community Dinner on August 14. We have advertised via social media, created flyers and a banner, and targeted the Hillsboro Elementary School (located across from the church building). We pray that this is a fruitful endeavor and that we pique someone’s interest to visit. Finally, Compassion Card Team C sent a Group Card on Sunday evening, August 4.”
Mountain Creek church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Michael Tomshack (elder) reports, “On Monday night, our visitation team, led by Ken and Angie Chambers, will meet to discuss the previous month’s contacts made and receive assignments for August. This month, we will begin adding members of the church in need of restoration due to lack to attendance. Part of our weekly Elders’ meeting includes a review of attendance. Week one of absence creates a call to determine if it was sickness, work, travel, or something else. When two weeks of consecutive misses occur, a card is sent if there is not a valid reason for the first week’s absence. If someone is absent for three consecutive weeks, an Elder is assigned to call the member. We look at each situation independently to determine the reason of missing fellowship and worship. We are now moving a few members into a visitation cycle to restore them when other efforts to bring them back consistently have not been successful.”
East Main church of Christ, Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Brad Rowley (elder) reports, “For July, East Main had 30 contact cards. This fantastic number was a result of our backpack drive on July 27, and it produced 16 contacts who indicated they were interested in a Bible study. We had eight people who indicated they were looking for a church home. We have already started one study, and several more are pending. We are thankful to those who diligently worked on this community outreach. We pray for Bible studies and open hearts. “Our CHMtgs app worked great. This app collected all the information from the backpack drive electronically. Converting the names of 24 contacts over to an electronic contact card was simple. We are still testing the CHMtgs app to assign tasks and receive feedback from the results. “During July, we also sent out 115 compassion cards, had seven new Bible studies, and six ongoing Bible studies. We are still working on our new website. We have received our college ministry (214 House) invitation cards. We had an amazing Mission Day last Sunday with 82 people (new record) present. Our focus was to brainstorm our current community outreach.
“East Main has joined forces with Deason church of Christ to assist us with Spanish contacts. Deason helped us with the backpack drive and attended Mission Day. The next step is to meet with our community outreach team and discuss all the ideas from Mission Day. The team will put together a presentation and get the elders’ approval. We aim to increase the frequency of community outreach and improve opportunities to build relationships with more diverse contacts. To God, give the glory!”
Rivergate church of Christ, Madison, Tennessee: Doug Tooley (preacher) reports, “We had eight visitors on Sunday. Two of these are repeat visitors who are not members. We have two ongoing Bible studies. I also have two prospects that I am trying to lead into an official study. We are preparing to deliver baskets from our July New Movers contacts. We started the painting process for our auditorium this week and have already upgraded the lighting. This has been much needed to improve our first-impression appearance. We also made two transition visits.”
Chapel Hill church of Christ, Tennessee: Matt Jones (deacon) reports, “We will meet as a coordinator team this Thursday to discuss the latest status in everyone’s area. We continue to have many first-time visitors, and our visitor teams are welcoming them well. One visitor recently mentioned to a member that this was the friendliest church they have visited! New mover baskets are still going out monthly. We still have several Bible studies and a couple more that are about to start. Also, we continue to provide teaching for our new converts to ensure they have a solid foundation. God is continuing to work in Chapel Hill.”
Graceton church of Christ, Diana, Texas: Johnny Willeford (elder) reports, “The Graceton congregation has had a very busy summer. Our local school district starts classes on Tuesday, August 6. We have been working with our school-age kids to be positive examples to other students and have worked on their approach to evangelism. Group B met Sunday afternoon to sign compassion cards for three new contacts. We will be sending 19 cards this week.
“We also had five visitors for our first Sunday of August, and two stayed for the fellowship meal afterwards. We hope to add to our Mission Monday group to help with home visitations. We appreciate all prayers for us as we work to help lead others to obeying the gospel. We had a surprise baptism on Tuesday. One of our members had a friend visiting from out of state with whom he had been working with for several years and decided that it was time to put Christ on in baptism.”
Fruitvale church of Christ, Texas: Carl McCann (elder) reports, “The Fruitvale church of Christ officially welcomed the Ferris and Stuart families on August 1. We anticipate their arrival and look forward to receiving further training and practical guidance from them in the coming months. The following report indicates their commitment to evangelism, and we greatly appreciate it.
“This past week, we have had the opportunity to show compassion during a time of grief to a family whose members worship with us. Because of this, we could deliver a hospital basket for the concerned patient and family. Hospitals can be expensive for families who are visiting. We encourage providing a simple snack basket for the visiting family members.
“We also reached out to an inquirer because of our new “Fruitvale Bible Study” Facebook page. One of the evangelists had the contact and a couple from the congregation over for dinner. This relationship-building led to them visiting our congregation twice. They have now asked for a Bible study.
“We will soon begin a systematic approach to door-knocking, using the tools learned at the most recent AMC in Hampton, Virginia.”
Granbury Street church of Christ, Cleburne, Texas: Ryan Cowan (deacon) reports, “We had a productive meeting regarding our upcoming September 20 evangelism event. One aspect discussed was to combine our door-knocking efforts with our regular new mover’s basket deliveries. We all agreed upon another principle: personal appeals for specific participation would always be preferred over a generic sign-up list or routine announcements.”
Buda-Kyle church of Christ, Texas: Ronnie Sherffius (preacher) reports, “The evangelistic work at Buda-Kyle continues to progress, although slowly. Through ten visits, we are prospecting for good soil to plant the seed. We also have one active study with a young couple, and we hope for another by the end of this week. Our Sunday and Wednesday training classes on Back to the Bible and Growing in Christ continue to profit the church.”
Wheeler church of Christ, Texas: Garrett English (preacher) reports, “We had our last day of our weekly VBS today. Two of the eight children are connected to the church, but their families are not members. Many of those who came throughout the summer did not show up today, so we have things to deliver to them in a couple of weeks and ask them their impression of the church. We had visitors passing through on Sunday morning. Many spoke with them, and a few invited them to lunch, but they politely declined.”
Bridgewater church of Christ, Katy, Texas: Doug Suggs (deacon) reports, “At Bridgewater, we have ongoing studies, and some are just starting. David is from China and has been studying with Wade and me. He met with Wade after services on Sunday evening. We ask for prayers for him. One of our members will begin a study with one of his relatives this week. We continue to have visitors at our services. Also, one of the card teams will meet next Sunday evening.”
Canyon Lake church of Christ, Texas (remote): Bryce Mayfield (preacher) reports, “Today is my first day of work here with the Canyon Lake church of Christ. We have many contacts from the door-knocking efforts of our brothers Raoul and Jesse. A few of us are sorting the names into hot, warm, and cold contacts. I will begin working on that list immediately. To God be the glory!”
Southwest church of Christ, Austin, Texas: Mark Speir (deacon), “We had three prospects last week. We have two potential Bible studies. We continue to work the model and pray for souls to be saved.”
Windmill church of Christ, Texas (remote): Sean Tipton (deacon) reports, “Three more contacts were made this week; we are praying for them and sending cards to them. Also, Paul Warnack, the first preacher at Windmill and still a member here at 94, baptized his grandson, Scott, this past week. When someone asked Paul how long he had been studying with Scott, Paul said, “All his life.” Paul has been evangelizing the area since the 1980s. When our members are out doorknocking, it is not rare to find people we meet who mention “Preacher Paul” fondly when we tell them where we are from. What an example for us all.”
West Side church of Christ, Salem, Virginia: Jeff Durham (elder) reports, “A visitor from our community has attended several times for the past month. She began receiving compassion cards. During Bible class, she asked several questions about baptism (which was on-topic for our class), including her own, and commented about how touched she was by so many cards coming to her. After worship, we had a good discussion, and she agreed to have a Bible study this week. A traveling visitor commented to us privately he had never seen that type of discussion during a Bible class and really appreciated the approach and the use of Scripture to answer the questions that were being asked.”
Chesapeake church of Christ, Virginia: Ernest Benjamin (regional trainer) reports, “I have amazing news. Brandon Trotter, one of our teenage young men, and his mother Vanessa used BTTB to study with Jeremiah, one of his friends from school. Jeremiah obeyed the gospel on Friday, August 2, 2024. The family resides closer to the Peninsula church of Christ’s building. They were once members there, and it was the place where Jeremiah’s baptism took place. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
“We had a blessed day of worship yesterday. We continue to have a great number of visitors. Many of them are Christians, but some are non-Christians. I am personally focusing on the non-Christians and wayward Christians. In addition, I am working on developing visitors, new movers, and invitation cards. I am focusing on these three things and prayerfully taking progressive, though sometimes small, steps forward. THANK GOD FOR PROGRESS, GREAT OR SMALL!
“On Wednesday of last week, I completed Lesson 1 of Back to the Bible with my son Caleb and Nakiyah, a young lady from the congregation. I also completed Lesson 1 with Kay Dolberry on Thursday. I can see she is already wrestling with the truth. She wants me to tell her instead of showing her, but I believe the word of God will prevail. THERE’S POWER IN THE WORD! Savannah was out of town. We are to continue studying this week.”
Peninsula church of Christ, Virginia: Ben Phillips (preacher) reports, “We had a great first-week post-AMC. My wife and I did Lessons 1 and 2 with one of our contacts from AMC. One of our young men helped to cultivate the soil further by mowing the contact’s lawn. Lesson 3 is scheduled for Tuesday of this week. We are praying that God will bless the study! As a result of AMC, we had two more families visit from the community on Sunday. We also had another visitor return from the previous Sunday. God blessed us with a visitor who found us on her own and may be an opportunity for restoration. We are sending cards to and following up with these contacts and those from last Sunday this week.
“In addition, we have another contact from AMC who attended VBS but has not been able to return due to family situations. We have reached out with some benevolent help (school clothes and supplies) and are continuing to prospect. Based on conversations with her, we are convinced that the church’s kindness produces good fruit.
“Yesterday, in the afternoon service, we discussed the evangelism table and reemphasized the need to complete the post-AMC survey we had distributed. In a later meeting, the elders, deacons, and I divided the remaining few from AMC who had already received cards. We are starting to visit and follow up with these individuals and the others we are contacting.
“Finally, one of our elders and his wife are studying today with one of the contacts from AMC. We are praying for much fruit for God’s glory!”
Williamsburg church of Christ, Virginia: Jim Bishop (elder) reports, “A key to the success is for us all to review and work through each model of the HTHSOE database. This is crucial for all of us to understand the process. One of the things that needs to be identified and discussed is the Preaching/Training Schedule. Our preacher Archie will follow the schedule in the database on Sunday worship.
“This Sunday, August 11, we will hand out the post-seminar survey, the contact bookmark, and the evangelism process card. During Sunday Bible study (Bishop, Joe Garcia, and the Elders when needed) will use the videos and the PowerPoint to train the congregation. I recommend that this Bible study be held in the auditorium. During our Sunday 1:30 meeting, Brother Archie will follow up with a biblical study lesson. On Wednesday morning (Archie)and evening, we will use this time as a breakout for different team training activities. I will meet and discuss with the compassion card leaders this Wednesday, August 7, at 1:00 p.m. Michelle Hicks has agreed to be the card coordinator.
“In addition, we will have a weekly Zoom update meeting each Monday at 7:00 p.m. Jerry will set up this meeting with the elders and Archie. We need to add others as we grow. We will review the HTHSOE Checklist Review Coordinators list for recommendations.
“Just this evening, I received an email from a sister she had as a contact who qualified as a prospect and needed a compassion card. Sunday, August 4, 2024, we briefly discussed some of the aspects of the process and announced we would officially begin on Sunday.”
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