Success Stories: January 7, 2026

Welcome Milestone church of Christ, Cantonment, Florida: We want to welcome the Milestone church of Christ to the House to House/Heart to Heart School of Evangelism. We could not ask for a better response for the first church of 2026.  Attendance of the congregation and the visits of area congregations were high. The desire to reach the lost from everyone present was contagious. We look forward to watching this congregation execute the plan!

Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: Keith Ritchie (evangelist) reports, “The year started with a baptism, a restoration, and two placements of membership. Easton Hale obeyed the Gospel on January 2. Ian Goodwin and Cali Wells placed membership with the Glencoe congregation on New Year’s night. There is no doubt that God continues to bless us with workers. Ian and Cali will not only add to the congregation as a whole, but also to our growing college/young adults’ class.”

Fayette church of Christ, Alabama: Josh Taylor (deacon) reports, “We start our 2026 Mission Sunday this Sunday morning. We had a great 2025; now we are looking forward to the new year. We will continue to develop our teams and work through our contact list. Our emphasis this year is on knowing God. What better way to know God than to do His will in evangelizing our community? That was the great command. We will work with our teams to continue building on the great success we had this past year, and Lord willing, we will continue to progress. To God be the glory!”

Hatton church of Christ, Town Creek, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “We had a mission meeting on New Year’s Eve, and we are also reviewing new materials that have been sent out by HTHSOE to work continually toward doing the best we can. Our card groups meet each Sunday afternoon, and we are already receiving good leads on potential studies soon. We are prayerful for a productive 2026!”

Central church of Christ, Saraland, Alabama: David Dixon (preacher) reports, “We started 2026 on a positive note. A lifelong friend of one of our young men attended services with his grandmother. The grandmother has long-time ties to Central, and she made connections with many people immediately. The grandson returned Sunday evening for our singing service and seems very interested in becoming a Christian. We pray that his heart will be open, and the truth will be received. Our elders are taking the lead on renewing our focus for 2026. Our goal is 10 baptisms this year. They have also begun leading the evangelism prayer at the beginning of our service each week. This was something that I had been doing exclusively for over a year. These men have evangelism in their hearts, and it shows. We have incorporated our New Converts class into an Overview of the Bible class for all members. We continually receive positive feedback from this effort, and we pray it is a benefit for all who attend. We expect that 2026 will be a year of growth and glory for God and His Kingdom!”

Petersville church of Christ, Florence, Alabama: Adam Richardson (preacher) reports, “Petersville sent 63 compassion cards this week. We started our 2026 theme for the year, which will focus on finding our true identity and what that means for us as Christians. Evangelism will be one of the key elements of that identity, and we hope to build up the work we are doing as a congregation. We have two Bible studies set up, and two families have placed membership at Petersville over the last month. We are striving to stay on fire for the Lord!”

Creekwood church of Christ, Mobile, Alabama: Tucker Presley (preacher) reports, “We had a baptism last week! McCain Sieving has been visiting with us for several months. He has jumped right in at Creekwood and has a hunger for God’s Word. We were able to study with him and baptize him into Christ last week! Two more Bible studies are going on right now, and another one is set to begin soon. The New Movers’ work is set to begin this month! It is a great start to the year!”

Hartselle church of Christ, Alabama: Justin Smith (preacher) reports, “We are looking forward to ramping up our evangelism efforts even more in 2026. This week, we had eight families visit with us in worship. We currently have four Bible studies ongoing. God is moving in our area, and we are thankful to be part of His work!”

Cedar Grove church of Christ, Andalusia, Alabama: Josh Halloway (preacher) reports, “We are preparing for another year of evangelism. Our members continue to turn in contacts and write cards. We are working with new converts. The congregation is working together to bring the lost to Christ. We are praying for a fruitful year!”

Rison church of Christ, Arkansas: Keden Shrum (preacher) reports, “Sunday was a great day as two families visited us. One of the families recently moved to the area, and this was their second visit after receiving cards and a new mover’s basket. The other family was a young mother from town who came with her two children. Her father (a member of the church) recently moved back to town and invited her. Care Team A met on Sunday evening to sign cards for the visitors and a young lady from the community who is currently in rehab and battling addiction.”

Margaret Street church of Christ, Milton, Florida: Troy Spradlin (preacher) reports, “We are rejoicing as God is already providing the increase for 2026 with another precious soul being added to His Kingdom today! Joey Stromsness obeyed the Gospel after studying with Stephen English. We also had one of our prodigal members return to services this week, so we are giving all the glory to God! Our new 2026 Accountability Board numbers are two contacts; one Bible study; one restoration, and one baptism.”

Stuart church of Christ, Florida: Tom Neth (deacon) reports, “The new year brings new energy and a fresh commitment for reaching the lost in our community. This past Sunday, we were blessed to have five visitors who had been receiving cards from our compassion card program. The appropriate teams are following up on the next steps. We are focused on retraining the congregation. Each Sunday this month, we will conduct training with a different coordinator and teams. Our accountability boards are reset to zero, but God is already blessing us in the new year.”

Niceville church of Christ, Florida: Joe Palmer (preacher) reports, “This is a looking-forward week. It is time to get everything back on track and start building momentum for 2026. Our goal this year is to engage and train more people to do the work of making disciples, and to engage the church in the business of the church. We are planning a kickoff meeting for 2026 for later this month. We want to bring the church together for a sort of “State of the Union” type meeting and talk about where we are, where we are going, and how we can get there. This will be for the purpose of allowing people to give input and to refocus us on the work. We want to build enthusiasm, excitement, and teamwork. This week, we mailed 20 cards and had one study. We had two returning visitors and one new visitor. I would like to ask all the churches and individual Christians who read this report to say a prayer for one of our elders, Jim Gummere. He will have a very serious heart surgery in Minnesota next week. The Kingdom in Niceville and beyond needs him, and we are asking for your prayers for him as he faces this obstacle.”

Edgewood church of Christ, Georgia: Mitchell Deering (deacon) reports, “Here are our Key Metrics for 2025: Visitors: 60+ documented, Active Bible Studies (current): 14, Total Bible Studies Initiated: 25+, Compassion Cards Sent: 1,610 (exact, documented), and Baptisms: 9. Our program Highlights include the following: Bible studies remained the strongest and most consistent area of growth. Congregational participation in the compassion card ministry was strong and sustained. Follow-up effectiveness improved as systems and teams were developed. Nine baptisms resulted from ongoing studies and personal outreach. Team & Systems Development: Our Follow-up team expanded to six brothers; Visitor bags and pew greeters were established; visitor contact and follow-up processes were implemented. Shared Google Doc follow-up tracker was developed. The leadership team met with Rob Whitacre to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Our primary focus moving forward is to rebuild and maintain a consistent prospect pipeline and to strengthen coordination between visitors, cards, and follow-up. In conclusion, we are encouraged by the work accomplished in 2025 and grateful for the guidance provided. We look forward to building on this foundation with clearer systems and intentional follow-up.”

Warner Robins church of Christ, Georgia: Damien Walker (evangelist) reports, “Things are exciting in Warner Robins. Zackary Williams, our new Pulpit Evangelist, has made his trip from Arkansas to Georgia, and we are blessed to have him and his family with us now. On the first Sunday of the year, we took the opportunity to re-implement the prospect bookmarks. We are going to be prompting the brethren to pray for those on their lists and asking every time we meet if someone on their list has something going on—looking for opportunities to get contacts on our card list! We are planning to start training a few families soon on what to do when visitors come in, so we can obtain their information and send cards to them as well, with the step after that being to train a few more for transition visits. The staff and elders met and discussed goals today (Monday, Jan. 5). The meeting went for more than three hours, but it was incredibly productive. We have great plans to engage the congregation more and to strengthen bonds of faith and fellowship, as well as to get the members into the mindset of leaving no soul behind.”

Gray church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Keith Dixon (preacher) reports, “We are doing the basic Bible lessons during worship. Some members are asking questions about the organization of the church. We have not done any cards in the last two weeks, but we will start again Wednesday. We have visits to make, and we will see who will go to see whom. We did make a visit before the holidays. We need to revisit that couple. We have five prospects.”

Cartersville church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Charles Harris (regional trainer) reports, “For January we have six prospects and have mailed 30 compassion cards. We have Bible studies with three prospects from December.”

Woodstock church of Christ, Georgia: Matt Amos (preacher) reports, “WCOC and the Sunabella Assistant Living Facility devotional had approximately eight non-Christians at the devotional on Sunday. The Compassion Card Group created and sent 15 cards. WCOC had 15 non-Christian visitors this past Sunday morning worship. We had three Bible studies and two baptisms.”

Collinsville-Troy church of Christ, Illinois: Jason Wright (evangelist) reports, “I have a study using Book 3 this Wednesday. In December, we delivered 10 of 17 New Mover baskets for a 59 percent success rate. Follow-ups were 33 percent. We had several things going on in December. We mailed out 70 compassion cards last week and have at least five studies planned for this week. We continue evangelism training every third and fourth Sundays after Bible class. Our New Christians class continues.”

Judah church of Christ, Bloomington, Indiana: Joe Moon (preacher) reports, “We had one in-person visit this week. These visits are very important as they help us transition from a prospect to a Bible study. We also had at least one long phone call with a prospect.”

Columbus church of Christ, Kansas: Matt Fowler (member) reports, “We began the New Year with continued evangelism training. We went over the new MDR bookmark study this Sunday, and we are planning to do the other one on Cohabitation next. We are continuing to mentor and work with our new converts. Please be praying for them. We are praying that 2026 brings even more growth to the Kingdom.”

Beloit church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dustin Dougherty (regional trainer) reports, “We had 34 at services yesterday. I preached the second half of ‘Your Spiritual Condition,’ from the Back to the Bible Book 3. We started a New Testament read-through again to start the New Year. There are 18 readings this time; several new ones are receiving the daily texts. I delivered two new mover’s baskets yesterday following services, and both families were very thankful. We had nice brief visits. Next, we will send them some welcome-to-the-area cards in the mail to follow up. We are also going to send ‘we miss you’ cards to some that we have not seen in a while. To God be the glory.”

Spring Creek church of Christ, Hickory, Kentucky: David Morse (elder) reports, “We ended the year on a high note as one additional lost soul was added to the Lord’s Kingdom as a result of an HTH Evangelism Bible Study. That is our second baptism in two months. This past Saturday, we held a training session for 11 of our members who have agreed to be our Bible study leaders (also a part of our transition team). We have reached a point where several prospects have received three weeks of cards and are ready for the transition visit. Our Sunday morning lesson during worship service was on ‘Be a Barnabas.’ On Sunday evening, the topic was how to treat and engage visitors, taken from James 2. Both lessons focus on our evangelism efforts. At the following morning service and prior to evening service, our ‘Red’ group assembled to write compassion cards. Our leadership group continues to meet every Wednesday before services to discuss where we are in our evangelism efforts. Beginning in February, there will be a group meeting on a designated day each month for our Bible Study Leaders and the transition team members to make sure we are on track. Numbers since the beginning of November include the following:  Visitors: eight; Current Prospects: 20; Cards Sent: 837; Current Bible Studies: one; Baptisms: two.

Madisonville church of Christ, Kentucky: Russell Kline (preacher) reports, “A visitor came to our services who had moved to Madisonville. He is receptive to a Bible study. We expect to have a study going with him soon.”

Central church of Christ, Paducah, Kentucky: Adam Faughn (preacher) reports, “Sunday, we ‘reset’ our board in the front of the auditorium for 2026. I even commented that it should be ‘jarring’ to see zeros on the board! We reminded the congregation about our ongoing need for contacts, especially for our card-writing teams. We were blessed with at least one local guest who was present for about the fourth time. We have tried to set up a Bible study with a woman and her husband (who has visited a couple of times), and we will be trying to do so again this week. For 2026, our goal is 19 baptisms (our ‘posted’ goal is 20 because it is a nice round number), and we are praying that God blesses our efforts as we seek to win the lost.”

Gonzales church of Christ, Louisiana: Patrick Adkins (deacon) reports, “Cards signed: 30; Prospects/Neighbors: 12; Bible studies: 1; 2026 Baptism goal: 20. Our New Converts’ classes continue on Wednesday nights and Sunday morning. Darren Kyle, our overall coordinator, gave us a great update on the progress over 2025 and refreshed our outlook for 2026.”

La Plata church of Christ, Maryland (remote): Eric Sykes (regional trainer) reports, “We wrote 17 compassion cards this week. We have ten folks on our prospect list; seven are in the process of transitioning from compassion cards to personal visits. They are all on our list of folks to be visited this week. We are continuing to push AMC registration in our congregations, and our members are getting excited. March cannot get here fast enough. We appreciate all prayers as we strive to create the ‘Soul-Winning’ enthusiasm and excitement of a foreign missionary campaign, amongst the brethren of the Lord’s church—right here in our nation’s capital! All honor and glory be to God. ‘Let’s take back what the enemy stole!’”

Aberdeen church of Christ, Mississippi: Jonathan Hagar (preacher) reports, “We had three return visitors this past Sunday, and I was able to get a Bible study with one of them. One of the other visitors has already gone through the booklets but has yet to be baptized. The fact that he is still coming is encouraging to me. We ask for prayers that he makes the right decision! Next Sunday is our Card-Writing Sunday, and we are getting ready for that event. The door-knocking team has already been out this month, knocking on seven doors and finding two who showed encouraging interest in returning and possibly joining us for the worship service. The Youth Group just returned from EYC, and they picked up some new teaching materials for me and the elders to look over from World Bible School. We are thinking about how to incorporate the new materials into the class curriculum and which classes they might benefit, so we are updating class materials this month, which is fun and exciting for the members. The New Converts’ class is holding strong, with many individuals enjoying themselves. The church collectively has four Bible studies planned for this week. We appreciate prayers that they go well.”

Iuka church of Christ, Mississippi: Sam Glover (preacher) reports, “Last week, we capped the year off with another baptism thanks to tireless work from members, bringing our total this year to three. January will likely be a slower month, but our evangelism committee is planning to convene this month and focus on evaluating last year and redoubling our commitments and efforts. I’m especially excited because there’s been renewed interest in the ‘how’ of personal evangelism rather than just generic ideas or giveaways.”

Oak Grove church of Christ, Missouri: David Wiseman (elder) reports, “We have two active Bible studies going on. Last year, we sent out approximately 1600 cards and letters. These cards went to the sick, new movers, visitors, and other people we became aware of who needed help. We are active on Facebook and stream most of our services live. We are in the process of changing our mailing program to go to fewer addresses and mail them more often. We have received positive feedback from our congregation, and we look forward to implementing the program this year as it was presented to us.”

East Flushing church of Christ, New York (remote): Clarence Jenkins (preacher) reports, “Caniya and her husband John were studying the Bible diligently long distance with Crystal, who is Caniya’s aunt. To the glory of God, they both were baptized into Christ on January 3, at the Wildercroft church of Christ in Maryland. The angels in Heaven are rejoicing, as we are. May we continue to pray for them and their children, that God may continue to be glorified, and that the blessings of the Lord may continue to be upon them. Our metrics thus far through January 2026 are two baptisms, four visitors, nine Bible studies, and two in our New Converts’ class. We appreciate all prayers.”

Oak Forest church of Christ, Goldsboro, North Carolina: Dennis Mays (elder) reports, “We completed 75 compassion cards last evening and had a good turnout for our initial meeting. We had eight visitors for Sunday service; seven were repeats. We appreciate prayers for our members who are sick with the flu.”

Abilene church of Christ, Statesville, North Carolina (remote): Gary Dull (preacher) reports, “I am currently in a Bible study (Does it Matter) with a young 22-year-old. I am sure baptism is in the near future.”

Glendale Street church of Christ, Newton, North Carolina (remote): Dayle Taylor (minister) reports, “The 16-year-old daughter of our new converts has scheduled to study BTTB this Saturday. She will be accompanied by her parents, but she will study separately from them in our home. With this request made recently, we learned she did not study last week with teachers David and his wife, Maria, as his helper. Dana returned Sunday with her three young daughters for Bible class and worship. Dana has expressed her desire to obey the truth but wants to wait until the study series is complete. Her young daughter is being taught the Gospel and has expressed a desire to be baptized when her mother obeys. Pray with us for these two souls. Compassion cards were sent to four prospects. Ten visitors were among us this week, including five returning visitors. Congregational training continues on Wednesday nights following Bible study, reviewing and discussing the ‘Reaching the Lost’ videos, and sharing experiences in teaching BTTB.”

Concord church of Christ, New Concord, Ohio: Terry Townsend (preacher) reports, “We started 2026 with some great news! Two precious souls obeyed the Gospel Sunday afternoon after completing Back to the Bible. Linda Fleming, one of our sweet dear sisters, has been studying with them for several weeks (attached is a picture of Linda in the middle, Debbie on the right, and Jennifer on the left). I am continuing my study with a gentleman who has been attending services for a couple of months now. We will finish Book 2 of Back to the Bible this week. We had one first-time visitor on Sunday morning. Next Sunday, one of our elders will be preaching the AM service and will be issuing a challenge to the congregation to get involved in our evangelistic effort. The elders are planning to meet with every member (I believe individually) to determine which part of the evangelism model they want to serve. They are revamping it and attempting to get more folks involved. The week after next, I will be preaching through the Back to the Bible series on Sunday mornings (three weeks) with hopes of reaching those few who attend who have never obeyed, as well as re-educating the membership so that they will feel more confident to teach the Gospel to others.”

Alkire Road church of Christ, Grove City, Ohio: Tony Dunnagan (member) reports, “We prepared 131 cards to send. We had one visitor on January 4, 2026. We have one Bible study ongoing. We have several transition visits planned for this week. We will be delivering new movers’ baskets as well.”

Coweta church of Christ, Oklahoma: Keno Shrum (regional trainer) reports, “We handed out our Plan of Work booklets to inform the membership of our plans and goals for our 2026 evangelism work. We also completed our Continued Education Workshop. Thursday we have Lesson 2 of Back to the Bible with Kylie. She was very receptive to Lesson 1 and has been attending every Sunday for several weeks.”

Owasso church of Christ, Oklahoma: David Combs (elder) reports, “We passed out invite cards in packs of ten to all members yesterday as we do each first Sunday of the month. Tim Bowman gave us an overview of our accountability board. Team 1 met last night after services to write compassion cards. Fifteen card writers wrote fourteen cards to be mailed this week. Below are our 2026 numbers: two new visitors, 16 cards were written, and we have one prospect on Week 1. We have four Bible studies ongoing. We set our baptism goal at 18.”

York church of Christ, Pennsylvania: Mark Rashke (deacon) reports, “Some family members visited from out of town, and we greeted them warmly. We had a small fellowship meal this week. We will renew our evangelism focus on January 18 with a meeting to review contacts, prospects, congregational survey results, and plans for visits and cards.”

St. Andrews Road church of Christ, Columbia, South Carolina: Jamie Byron (preacher) reports, “Part 3 of the sermon, ‘Jesus, the Politically Incorrect Evangelist,’ was preached Sunday. At the end of worship, we had everyone take out their bookmarks, and we prayed for the names on them. There were two who were in our New Converts’ class. The elders appointed a coordinator for the compassion cards.”

New Union church of Christ, Manchester, Tennessee: Paul Fulks (elder) reports, “We had five visitors from the community. We sent out 16 compassion cards. Our members turned in one new contact. Our evangelism team made three visits.”

White Bluff church of Christ, Tennessee: Shamron Jackson (elder) reports, “We had a good turnout for writing compassion cards. We wrote and signed 190 cards. A family that had been wayward for years has come back as a result of the cards and follow-up. We had 14 visitors. We have no new Bible studies for the new year yet, but we have several contacts to visit this month. We finished Book 1 of Back to the Bible from the pulpit and will begin the second book this Sunday. Seeing results from the card writing has boosted the program. We appreciate all prayers to keep us going strong. We have set a goal to work towards 26 baptisms in 2026.”

Freewill church of Christ, Gainesboro, Tennessee (remote): Andrew Scott (preacher) reports, “We are ready to begin saving souls in 2026. We had lunch with one of our long-term visitors and her husband last Friday. The meal went really well, and they both opened up. Ms. Regina is ready for the Bible study, but her husband is not just yet. They have invited us to their home in the coming weeks, and at that time, I hope to transition into the Bible study with both of them. At the end of January, we will begin the yearly reboot with congregational training from the pulpit. We had more new visitors at services yesterday and are on the verge of record attendance. We thank God for this growth and give Him the glory.”

Cookeville church of Christ, Tennessee: Joshua Kennedy (preacher) reports, “We had one baptism on January 1. We are also sending compassion cards out to five new people. We have also increased the number of contacts being turned in, which has been a fantastic blessing. We are still setting up some possible studies, but we will have to see how it turns out. We are praying for continued success!”

McKenzie church of Christ, Tennessee: Randall McAdams (elder) reports, “We started January with a large number of contacts (19), due primarily to our Community Kitchen on December 11, when we fed chili to the community. We had around 117 non-members to benefit from this meal, thus generating contacts to add to our card mailing list. Unfortunately, there have been numerous deaths in our community, but we are reaching out to the families. We reviewed our four groups and their members to add new members of our congregation who were not previously assigned to a group. Little by little, inch by inch, we are prayerful to sow the seeds of the Kingdom and spread the Gospel to our community and our world. May our Lord bless our efforts.”

West Sparta church of Christ, Tennessee: Justin Turney (deacon) reports, “We have ten prospects to begin the year. We have two current Bible studies, and we are hoping to add more very soon!”

Grundy Street church of Christ, Tullahoma, Tennessee: John Duncan (elder) reports, “2025 ended, and we ushered in 2026 last Sunday.  Looking back, we made headway in our evangelism efforts in 2025 and hope to grow on that progress in 2026.  Changing the members’ mindset regarding evangelism and outreach is a slow process, but we see interest and desire.  Teaching people how to be effective in reaching out is vital.  The tools are available, and we intend to utilize them to continue to grow.  Not counting our college students who are home for the winter break, we had a family visit for the second Sunday in a row.  We continue to send cards of encouragement to several individuals and have seen some response in attendance.”

Arlington church of Christ, Tennessee: Brandon Tibbits (preacher) reports, “We have two ongoing Bible studies. We are getting multiple prospects for studies through our new converts; they are consistently bringing prospects with them to worship. They are super excited and ready to work. It has been an encouragement to the congregation to have new faces.”

Chapel Hill church of Christ, Tennessee: Matt Jones (deacon) reports, “We are still receiving plenty of visitors at our services. Additionally, new contacts have been coming in for our card-writing teams. We still have a couple of Bible studies that are set to resume this week after the holiday travels. Overall, things are going well.”

Mountain Creek church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Michael Tomshack (elder) reports, “The most significant news we have today is the announcement of a new sister and brother in Christ. After a discussion with them, Gary Massey baptized a mother and her son who have been visiting us for about two months. They have been attending and studying with one of our recent converts. The attention from our greeters and the entire congregation over the past two months has also played a role in their conversion. The mother invited her father and sister to attend worship and to witness their baptism. Our greeters and the congregation quickly engaged with them. The hugs and attention they received both before and after the baptism left a lasting impression. Small gestures like smiles, handshakes, and hugs create opportunities for personal connection, which helps build trust during the conversion process. Gary is currently studying with a young adult man, and Lord willing, he will be added to the Lord’s church soon. Additionally, something I do not recall witnessing before is a young middle school boy who walked to our worship two weeks ago from the apartments near the building. He mentioned that he would be gone next Sunday and returned yesterday on his bicycle. Naturally, the congregation was warm and welcoming, and our youth minister, Justin Ellis, is engaging with him for more study while also learning about his home life. It is clear that either his parents or his guardian is allowing him to attend our assembly.”

McEwen church of Christ, Tennessee: John Jones (preacher) reports, “We have successfully concluded our first New Convert’s class, and the two new families are getting plugged in to the work of the church. One new brother is hosting the men’s Bible study at his house this Saturday morning! We have had a number of visitors lately from the new movers’ baskets; unfortunately, they have turned down the offer to go out to eat, but we will keep working on them with compassion cards. The lineman school has a new class of students in. Initially, the director of the school seemed very optimistic about us coming in to invite them all to Bible study and a meal but now that it is time to start, he has not been returning my calls. Please pray for this opportunity to succeed.”

Soddy Daisy church of Christ, Tennessee: Joe Mallory (preacher) reports, “Our yearly theme for 2026 is ‘Think Souls.’ We are excited to continue our growth in congregational evangelism, seeking the lost and bringing back the erring. As we began our study in considering the eternity of our own souls and the souls that we come in contact with every day, a brother in Christ came forward, desiring to be restored! We rejoice with the Father in Heaven as Brother Nathan humbly stated with tears in his eyes and in many words, ‘It is time to stop living with one foot in the church and one foot in the world. I want to fully commit my soul unto God and be restored!’ Praise God for His mercy and forgiveness! Pray for us this week as we send out cards and connect with many of our contacts. We are thankful for our bond in Christ and strive to serve with you all in the Kingdom!”

Collierville church of Christ, Tennessee: Justin Evergarden (evangelist) reports, “Our evangelism program began last May, and looking back at our 2025 numbers, we are thankful to God for many good things. During this past year, we saw five baptisms, mailed 929 cards, welcomed 16 visitors, identified 57 prospects, made one home visit and delivered 37 new mover baskets, and conducted ten Bible studies. These numbers represent real souls—and we rejoice that lives were changed for Christ. Scripture reminds us in 1 Corinthians 3:6–7, ‘I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.’ All growth belongs to God, but He invites us to be faithful workers in His field. As we move into this New Year, the key word we want to keep before us is ‘growth.’ We seek spiritual growth in ourselves, not just numerical growth, as well as a growing willingness to step outside our comfort zones to reach those souls who need the Lord. Paul encourages us in Galatians 6:9, ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.’ Let us enter 2026 with open hearts, ready hands, and a shared commitment to the Lord’s work, remembering that ‘your labor is not in vain in the Lord’ (1 Corinthians 15:58). Thank you for your love, your service, and your continued support of the work here at Collierville. May God bless our efforts as we seek to grow and glorify Him together.”

Hillcrest church of Christ, Springfield, Tennessee: Tim Taylor (evangelist) reports, “We continue to follow up with compassion cards for our 17 new contacts from our food giveaway. We had another family contact us this past week that also had a need for benevolent help. Our name and reputation are becoming more well-known in our community! We pray that our ability to meet physical needs will allow us the opportunity to meet spiritual needs. One of our sweet young ladies, Landyn, responded yesterday seeking prayers and restoration.”

Birdwell Chapel church of Christ, Cottontown, Tennessee: Kerry England (elder) reports, “Sunday the 18th, after worship services, we will have lunch and pass out cards. We will make transition visits to try to set up Bible studies with individuals who have received compassion cards recently. We will be praying that God opens doors for us to have these studies. Compassion cards were mailed yesterday to five contacts. We have one study this week. Also, we are making plans to do a food basket outreach, possibly on January 24.”

Rivergate church of Christ, Madison, Tennessee: Doug Tooley (preacher) reports, “We had six visitors Sunday morning. One transition visit was made. We had two baptisms on Wednesday. It was a daughter and son-in-law of one of our members.”

Colleyville church of Christ, Texas: John Garza (regional trainer) reports, “We continue to show people how much we love them and how much we love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Currently, we have three Bible studies taking place with 13 prospects on our list. I do not doubt the next couple of weeks— our Bible studies will increase.”

Roanoke church of Christ, Texas: Caleb Rutherford (preacher) reports, “Contacts make contacts! One of our new converts, Veronica, has been bringing her daughter, Kelsey. The same ladies that studied with Veronica have also been studying with Kelsey, and that has been going on for a couple of months. On New Year’s Eve, she expressed concern about her fear of death; she does not want to be afraid of it anymore. She wanted the hope that being a Christian provides, and she obeyed the Gospel. What a way to end 2025 and ring in 2026. We also look forward to January 10, which is our congregational communication meeting concerning our hosting of AMC. We plan to inform our members of what the overall plan looks like and field any questions or concerns.”

Southwest church of Christ, Austin, Texas: Bryce Mayfield (evangelist) reports, “We currently have three Bible studies going on with the potential to get several more in the upcoming weeks. (One study was a result of our New Movers Baskets program.) All the studies are progressing well. Next week, we will have our quarterly canvassing. We will spend time door-knocking and doing other evangelistic activities. We are blessed here and are becoming more organized and focused on our mission to save souls. We are thankful for what we have learned, and we are looking forward to the work ahead in 2026.”

Northern Oaks church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas: Mel Hutzler (elder) reports, “We are grateful for follow-up work. Sunday, after services, we were able to get Randy to agree to a study. He had visited with us, and we reached out to him. So when he visited again, one of our elders took the opportunity to invite him to learn about the church. This week, we will follow up with four more people. One of our deacons is mailing our evangelism materials to a gated community with the hopes of reaching the lost by this method. One of our families is hosting the young adults of our congregation to teach them how to use their home as a source for Bible studies. During our New Year’s game night, one member brought a cousin, who is from Costa Rica. Plans are underway to get a long-distance study started with him. We are currently in four Bible studies and seven new convert studies.”

Seagoville church of Christ, Texas: Kodie Martin (evangelist) reports, “Sunday, Marco preached through the second section of Book 1 of Back to the Bible. The feedback has overall been positive from the congregation. We pray that the lessons will be beneficial to our prospects and unfaithful members who have visited. As we get into the New Year, our focus is on transition visits and unfaithful members. Again, we have been blessed with prospects in attendance, and two of our prospects will be having meals with several of our members who are making the visits. Overall, we are excited and will be continuing to follow up to schedule studies! Tyler, one of our deacons, is studying through Back to the Bible Book 2 with one of our prospects, Thomas. We are praying for that situation as it unfolds.”

Bridge Avenue church of Christ, Weslaco, Texas: Braulio Carvajal III (preacher) reports, “On Sunday, we had 12 visitors, and two prospects also attended services. On Friday, we had our annual fish fry, and we had a total of 11 visitors from the community, and two prospects attended services. On Saturday, we conducted three follow-up visits and attempted several others. We had six in attendance at our New Convert’s class on Sunday. We are continuing to implement pieces of the program. Bridge Avenue is looking forward to a great 2026.”

North Jefferson church of Christ, Mt. Pleasant, Texas: Davin Whatley (evangelist) reports, “Reach Team 4 wrote compassion cards on Sunday. We hope to continue follow-up with our prospects and resume our study with Tonya. We are excited for Keno Shrum to come in on January 17-18 and for all the growth and renewed zeal that will come from it!”

Bridgewater church of Christ, Katy, Texas: Doug Suggs (deacon) reports, “Wade and I have a Bible study this week with Bernadette. She has been attending for a while. Andre is going to study with Andrew. Silver visited our service yesterday, and we are trying to set up a study with her. Keisha placed her membership with us on Sunday.”

Williamsburg church of Christ, Virginia: Jim Bishop (elder) reports, “This week, we have three prospects for Bible studies that need to be scheduled. We pray for opportunities to find contacts. We have received several letters from the Lads to Leaders. The cards were sent to be given to new converts. One beautiful card, signed by those in Lads to Leaders, contained several scriptures. These scriptures were from Colossians 3:16-17, Ephesians 3:14-21, and a card that the new convert can carry with them that contains scripture from Deuteronomy 20:4. This is a great way to welcome new converts and to let them know that they are part of the church that Christ is the head. The work is larger than a local congregation. This group truly glorifies God through their works. Thank you!”