Success Stories: January 4, 2023

Each year, we set a goal to reach more and more souls with the gospel of Christ. When we started HTHSOE in 2018, we did not know what to expect. We had five evangelism lessons that we taught and these resulted in 118 baptisms. Each year, the numbers have increased as we have become better equipped and informed on what works in our quickly changing culture. In 2019 there were 227 reported baptisms; in 2020 the number rose to 374, and we rejoiced together. In 2021 God gave the increase as 649 souls came to the cross.

In 2022, the goal was 850. HTHSOE traveled the nation and worked with 43 congregations plus 14 digital enrollments. Each week we receive reports and add the baptisms to our totals. We also keep an Excel spreadsheet with the date, name of congregation, and name of the person who was baptized.  During December, we confirm all the numbers by contacting every congregation. Matt Wallin reports the baptisms that are a direct result of congregations using HTH/HTH, who are not enrolled in HTHSOE.  We are thankful to God to report the final number for 2023 is: 980

The goal for 2023 is 1,000. We believe with God’s providence, HTHSOE is well positioned to reach and exceed this number. On Friday, we will make the biggest announcement since the formation of our school. This will be a huge leap forward for encouraging congregations to reach the lost. God has blessed this work with incredible growth. HTHSOE resources are growing, and we are building upon success and learning from failures. We are thankful to God for blessing this work, and we pray for the church of Christ to turn the tide of losses and achieve net growth in the near future.

Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: David Marker (elder) reports, “We are off to a running start for 2023. First, we have already had seven visits that I am aware of. Second, 66 cards will be mailed out this week. Third, we have had six visitors who could be hot contacts. We presented our plan to the congregation Wednesday.”

Eastridge church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Charles Cochran (preacher) reports, “We need to add another baptism for last year. Last night one of our men went to visit a House-to-House request. We plan to add them to our compassion card list. We have a study arranged for this week. Our goal for 2023 is 23 baptisms in 23! The theme for this year for East Ridge is Make Me a Servant.”

Bethel church of Christ, Martin, Tennessee: Brad Brewer (preacher) reports, “The men of the congregation met on Sunday, and we decided to set a ten percent goal for 2023. The congregation has never had a stated numerical goal before, but we understand that we need a target to aim for. This is an achievable goal for us, and we are committed to working the Evangelism Model to make it happen. We met Sunday night and talked as a church about where we are and where we want to be. We discussed our goal for the year, and we realized that we must have congregational involvement to make it happen. We will be meeting regularly throughout January to make plans for the year. Currently, we are working on generating a list of contacts.”

McKenzie church of Christ, Tennessee: Chance Steen (preacher) reports, “We met to further organize and prepare for our official start on Sunday. I will preach part one of John 4 and presenting the HTHSOE model to the congregation on Sunday PM. We are excited about beginning the program!”

Smyrna church of Christ, Tennessee: Bob Horn (preacher) reports, “Our attendance was the best that it had been for a little while as we started the New Year. One member had been out of town, and the family was overwhelmed with all the Christmas cards sent their way from the congregation. I can see just how it must feel for those outside the church to receive such a response from ones they do not know. This week, we plan to have our visitors’ bags and card stations set up so we can start working immediately.”

Mid-Town church of Christ, Victoria, Texas: James Cammock (deacon) reports, “We had two baptisms this week! As mentioned earlier, we have had a large, extended family attend worship for several weeks. A few weeks ago, two brothers and a cousin were baptized. Last Sunday (January 1), the mother and her nephew also obeyed the gospel! We are grateful to God for the number of baptisms we have had of late. We reached the four-week mark of sending compassion cards to our first set of contacts. We will now personally follow up with them with the goal of getting into personal Bible studies with them!”

Fruitvale church of Christ, Texas: Carl McCann (elder/preacher) reports, “Monday Missions begins soon. There were 18 families represented tonight; excitement continues to grow as evangelistic efforts also continue. To God be the glory.”

Highway 95 church of Christ, Taylor, Texas: Benjamin Dossey (preacher) reports, “Yesterday we had our first Sunday potluck. The family that visited us last week returned, and we were able to visit with them over a meal. Our compassion cards are ongoing as we seek to follow up with those, we have been praying for over the past few weeks.”

Natalia church of Christ, Texas: Jim Word (preacher) reports, “I ask for prayers for a current study with Riley. The first study went well on Thursday. Her cousin joined us for the second study is Tuesday. Now we are studying with both of them.”

Central church of Christ, Martinsburg, West Virginia: Robert Veil (preacher) reports, “This Sunday evening we began a new sermon series entitled, Answers from Acts, designed to reach the lost. This is a personal evangelism opportunity for our people to invite friends to Sunday evening services, since many religious groups have stopped having evening services. The series is designed to encourage questions and further investigation from nonmembers. We are dealing with timely religious questions that are answered in the book of Acts, some of which are controversial in today’s religious climate.”

New Union church of Christ, Manchester, Tennessee: Paul Fulks (elder) reports, “We review bookmarks at the close of Sunday service. We pray for individual prospects and those on our compassion card list. Our members have consistently completed and submitted new contact cards each week. This week we added four new recipients for compassion cards. Sunday evening, we completed 78 compassion cards. We continue to make follow-up visits with those whom we have showered with compassion cards. Four visits were completed this past week.”

West End church of Christ, Knoxville, Tennessee: Adam Wilson (member) reports, “The opportunity for the church to serve has no off season. A contact card was submitted for a friend of the congregation named Bob. His wife, Elizabeth, started having stroke-like symptoms around Christmas. A trip to the ER and three days at the hospital revealed that she has a brain tumor. A meeting with their surgeon is scheduled for Friday with hopes of surgery ASAP. Bob was told that we would be praying for Elizabeth and their family, and we asked if West End could send them cards. He was thankful for the prayers and responded that cards would be great. We also sent him a restaurant gift card to see them through this week, and we hope to set up a meal train next week, depending on what the surgeon says. Please pray for Bob’s strength to support his wife, Elizabeth’s health, and their awareness of God working through West End.”

Karns church of Christ, Knoxville, Tennessee:  Terry Clark (elder) reports, “We rejoice in the baptism of two newly saved souls. Barbara and her son Miguel obeyed the gospel on New Year’s Day and were baptized for the remission of sins! It was a great start to a new year. Barbara and Miguel have been visiting for some time and were recognized as hot prospects. We give thanks to several members who invested themselves and were instrumental in teaching them the gospel. God is great!”

East Main church of Christ, Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Brad Rowley (elder) reports, “We had two Bible studies and wrote 92 cards last week. One deacon, Tim Hayes, will start a Bible study next week. This study is a result from door knocking, a follow-up visit, and a service project. This is one example of the fruits of our labor. We must pray, trust in the Lord, have faith, and go to work. This year we will enhance our digital outreach (Facebook and website). We will revise our House-to-House magazine. We started BTTB booklets in our teen Bible class. We are starting our new convert class Sunday.  It is our prayer that we can get more members involved in the Great Commission in 2023.”

Hatton church of Christ, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “At Hatton, we continue our card ministry, along with the new converts class that has been effective. We are working to schedule studies with a number of prospects. Most encouraging has been the interest of recent converts who want to share the truth with their friends and family; they have been bringing visitors with them. We look forward to a great year for the Lord’s work in 2023!”

Covington church of Christ, Tennessee: Wayne Dalrymple (elder) reports, “On Christmas Day, we had a family visit who are friends of one of our members. On their attendance card, they marked they are interested in learning more about the church. On Wednesday, we wrote compassion cards thanking them for their visit. I emailed them to ask when they are available to meet. On Friday, our family had our newest convert, Dustin, over to our house to study. We looked at the importance of commitment as he begins his Christian walk. We also went through a portion of material that covers the 15 periods of biblical history. Dustin is extremely bright and had some thoughtful insights as we studied. We also discussed how we can reach his mother and stepfather with the gospel. His mother attended Sunday with him. Dustin has integrated himself with the young adults.  On Sunday, Nikki was present for our morning and evening services. After the evening service, she went to Brad and Becky’s house to continue studying Believe the Bible. They are working through the third book. After that, she will hopefully be ready to begin Back to the Bible.”

Greenfield church of Christ, Tennessee: Cline Monroe (elder) Reports, “Hey Rob, We are excited about the potential in 2023.  With four recent baptisms, we hope and pray to keep up the momentum.  Plans are to send out compassion cards to some of our new movers.  The elders are planning to make visits along with some of our members.  We will continue to work on gaining prospects from our members.”

Parkway church of Christ, Fulton, Kentucky: Will Hester (preacher) reports, “On Sunday, we rolled out our congregational theme for the year! The theme is Chainbreakers: Breaking Free to Serve God. What better way to support this theme than a baptism? That was what happened Sunday night, as we welcomed Ray Thomas into the kingdom of God! We are just getting started in 2023, and we expect to have a great year!”

Jacksonville church of Christ, Alabama: Keith Ritchie (preacher) reports, “On January 1, the Jacksonville congregation welcomed a new brother in Christ as Evan Somers obeyed the gospel. The next day we had a Bible study with a college visitor named Emmanuel. He visited Sunday morning, and we took him out to eat. During the meal, he had some questions, so we set up the study. He loved the study, and we have lesson 2 scheduled for Thursday. To God be the glory!”

Honolulu church of Christ, Hawaii: Tagiilima Escene (preacher) reports, “Aloha brother, I pray that our God will bless your family with strength as you continue to help members become soul winners. Here is our report for the week. We started this year worshipping God in spirit and in truth. We had some visitors from the mainland who joined us for the potluck after services. We currently have one ongoing online Bible study, led by one of our members. The highlight so far this year is seeing some of the new converts serving in the worship service. It is very encouraging to see these young men grow in Him. Pray for us as we do the same for you all.

Aberdeen church of Christ, Maryland: Will Brown (preacher) reports, “We will roll out the New Year’s baskets in two weeks to families on our large contact list. We are redoubling our efforts to complete studies that have finished one lesson. We still have our card teams in place, and we are rolling out our basket drop-off teams. Pray for a fruitful 2023.”

New Hope church of Christ, Middleton, Tennessee: Cole Wade (preacher) reports, “I recently had a conversation with a visitor at church, and we were able to dig deeper into reasons this person had not become a Christian. We will follow up with a Bible study. Prayers for the success of this study!”

Rogersville church of Christ, Tennessee: Ethan Tate (preacher) reports, “A family who had been coming to worship agreed to a Bible study. Please pray as we work with them, along with a young man who has expressed interest in wanting to know more about the church. Lord willing soon we will have good news from these studies.”

Paintsville church of Christ, Kentucky: Zach Collins (preacher) reports, “Our New Year’s Eve Party was a great success! We had nine visitors present who had been invited by members. Our members stepped up to the challenge. Yesterday, in our sermons, we discussed our recent evangelistic success and began to prepare for continued success in the future. Keep praying for us!”

Canal Heights church of Christ, Demopolis, Alabama: Bryan Cook (minister) reports, “This Sunday, we announced the installation of a qualified man as a deacon. One of the struggles our congregation has had includes the need for more people to be in charge of taking care of the physical works within the congregation. Having another deacon is a step in that direction. We also are emphasizing our monthly door knocking campaign. We moved Mission Monday to coincide with the door knocking Saturdays. Contacts we make will be fresh on our minds as we plan and then go back to visit and set up Bible studies. People are stepping up to do evangelism who have never before. I have never been part of a congregation with such a large percentage doing actual work and studies. It is an exciting thing to behold.”

Riverbend church of Christ, Georgia: Austin Fowler (member) reports, “Jason Duggin finished study one over the phone with my niece who lives in Hohenwald, Tennessee. We will do study 2 next Monday. She has some family in a nearby congregation. She did well finding the verses. For the next few months, I will be helping the White Oak congregation in Chattanooga while they look for a full-time minister. Luke Griffin and I have been tag-teaming the responsibilities here for the last few months. Wednesday, we began watching a seminar. Sunday, I preached about New Year’s Resolutions. One goal I put before the congregation is to teach opportunistically to the lost. I told them that over the next few weeks, we will learn how to do that and bring more souls to Christ. Saturday, I will talk more about it to the men and present a plan of action. I am excited about helping this congregation become more evangelistic.”

Adairsville church of Christ, Georgia: Rick Lawson (preacher) reports, “I started the New Year with a great Bible study! The adult nephew of a member moved to the area and came forward desiring a study. We sat down with Back to the Bible, and he took to it immediately! We will continue our study today.”

Adairsville church of Christ, Georgia: Rick Lawson (preacher) reports, “I started the New Year with a great Bible study! The adult nephew of a member moved to the area and came forward desiring a study. We sat down with Back to the Bible, and he took to it immediately! We will continue our study today.”

Southwest church of Christ, Austin, Texas: John Garza (preacher) reports, “With this first update of 2023, allow me to express the excitement and encouragement here at Southwest. We have been blessed with growth spiritually and numerically. Spiritually, we have been encouraged by lessons from Bible classes and the pulpit, and I believe there is a fire in the congregation to teach lost souls the gospel. Numerically, we have had many souls added to the kingdom since July. Additionally, we have had many others move into that area who desire to work with us. All in all, the work of Christ is being done at this congregation.”

East Flushing church of Christ, Flushing, New York (virtual): Clarence Jenkins (preacher) reports, “We thank God for the 12 baptisms we had by His grace last year, and we continue to look forward to 2023. We continue to send compassion cards. The brethren leading our evangelism efforts met Sunday evening and decided to intentionally schedule and do self-directed training so that we may progress more effectively in seeking and saving the lost.”

Coweta church of Christ, Oklahoma: Keno Shrum (preacher) reports, “Yesterday, I talked to an acquaintance who had posted on Facebook that he is quitting alcohol this year as his resolution. I told him we have a couple of members who have walked that road and successfully quit after giving their lives to God and receiving support from a church family. I invited him and his wife to dinner for a Bible study and offered to discuss how we could help him in his efforts to quit drinking. So far, he has not committed. We are going out Saturday to knock a few doors with new movers’ baskets. Hopefully we can get something working.”

Carthage church of Christ, North Carolina (virtual): Randy Chambers (preacher) reports, “We ended the year by reminding the saints of God’s purpose for the church and the importance of the work He has given us to do. We thank you and your family for the vision and the development of the SOE, a sound plan by which to execute God’s purpose for His church. The majority of the congregation are all in and doing a great job, and we are still encouraging the rest to totally commit. We have several Bible classes being taught, and three of them are on BTTB lesson 3. We celebrate with the heavenly host over the one soul that stepped out on faith the first Sunday of the year to be baptized and begin his new life in Christ. We thank God for all that played a part in this good work. We are mailing compassion cards, visiting, and giving gift baskets. We are having non-Christians in our homes, and my wife, son, and nephew went out after service to wish our neighbors a Happy New Year and give them a loaf of my wife’s homemade blueberry bread to establish a contact and start building relationships. (We moved in September).”

Coldwater church of Christ, Kentucky: Luke Puckett (preacher) reports, “This past week we continued to send cards, make calls, and visit with contacts. We have been sending cards to one family. The husband has been battling cancer. Thankfully, he is doing better. We visited them last week and asked them if they would like to know more about the congregation. They agreed. We will start book one of BTTB with them this Thursday, Lord willing.”

Beloit church of Christ, Kansas: Dustin Doughtery (preacher) reports, “We were talking about visitor bags during our VBS meeting Wednesday. One sister said she had recently been a visitor somewhere, and the congregation gave all the visitors a pre-made loaf of banana nut bread and a coffee cup with the congregation’s name on it. I thought that was a great idea.”

Killeen church of Christ, Texas: Lee Fisher (elder) reports, “We had another baptism tonight. We baptized Billy Gaither. His wife was baptized last year about this time. Praise God!”

Willette church of Christ, Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee: Jack Honeycutt (preacher) reports, “We rejoice tonight as Linda Hoskins, the aunt of Teresa Pinson, was baptized into Christ after services. May we encourage our new sister and pray for her as she begins her walk with the Lord!”

David City church of Christ, Iowa: Diane Richardson (member) reports, “We had another baptism after using Back to the Bible. Raven is 22 and has a baby. Raven is a friend of another recently baptized lady. She saw what our new convert had and wanted that for herself and her baby. We are also studying with two others.”

Newton church of Christ, Iowa: Fred Rhodes (preacher) reports, “The church has had a great year. The church here was planted in 2007 with an emphasis on reaching out and growing our membership. We enjoy getting updates from HTHSOE and passing them on to members to gain insight into reaching their neighbors. We have gained many ideas to apply to our outreach. This year, we have baptized seven souls and continue to help them grow in the faith. These results come from everyone being involved. Some things we do include sending cards to people to make contacts and finding people in need so we can help them. We have several members from that outreach alone. We pass out welcome packets to new addresses in town that we get from House to House. We practice doing good to the people we contact. We had a study with a man in the hospital who was on hospice. We taught him and he was baptized in the hospital. Since then, he left hospice and is doing quite well.

“We allow our building to be used for community events and family gatherings. One couple that was baptized this year is a result of that outreach. We get involved in community gatherings with the goal of making contacts. One member works at a place that provides opportunities to invite people to come to services, so she constantly invites people. One new convert simply attended services and a study was set up. In the process of that study, she moved, but we continued to study over the phone. When she wanted to be baptized, we had to travel to baptize her. She continues to grow and send us more contacts to teach from a distance. Our newest member was a tenant in a building that a member manages. He invited her to services, and she is our sister now. These are good results from members simply doing everyday things with a focus of winning a soul.

“I appreciate the focus of HTHSOE on generating contacts. There are many lost and few saved. We work to encourage members to always look for a new soul to teach. We are studying with one family who attends regularly; they were initially invited by a member who passed away recently.  That member’s memory lives on.”

NOTE: These reports are from Christians and congregations enrolled in the House to House/Heart to Heart School of Evangelism. These emails are sent to teach and provoke one another to remain focused on the mission of Christ. Each week, we share several reports and highlight one with more details. We hope you enjoy reading them.