Honolulu church of Christ, Oahu, Hawaii: “We have finished our extended evangelism training on Oahu. HTHSOE training was located at the Honolulu church of Christ but also involved the Wahiawa congregation. The attendance was excellent. Both congregations made a commitment to enroll in HTHSOE and have already begun working the evangelism model. Tagiilima Ecene has two Bible studies planned this week. We look forward to his first report next week.”
Aberdeen church of Christ, Maryland: Will Brown (preacher) reports, “This week we collected all our congregational contact cards. We are building our contact database based on the cards collected. Next Sunday evening, our card team will send the first set of compassion cards. Also, we are beginning further training on prospecting contacts and training on how to use Back to the Bible. We are training on one lesson at a time. We have a Bible study scheduled. The contact came from an old information card collected from a Trunk or Treat back in October 2021. On the back of the card a family member requested a Bible study. We called them and asked if they were interested in a Bible study, and they said YES! The first Bible study will be in the next two weeks. Please pray for the success of the study.”
Jacksonville church of Christ, Alabama: Keith Ritchey reports, “We had supper with Paul Studdard, a prospect. He has been attending with us on and off for about a month. I believe we will have a Bible study soon. Today we took one of our widows, Shirley Cypert, to lunch. We have been here over a year, and Shirley had never met our daughter Nina. Tuesday night we are having Derek and Amanda Raulerson over for supper. It is time to encourage some who have left the fold.”
Church of Christ, Guam: Joey Treat reports, “We have been using Back to the Bible with Filipinos and Chamorros (the local people of Guam), and it works well. The Chuukese have a very low grasp of English, so we boil down the basics with them, but they like having the booklets and filling in the blanks. A Filipino lady was baptized a week and a half ago, and we have a new Bible study with a Filipino man. Just like you said in your recent email—we meet, build interest in a Bible study, invite to learn more about the church and the Bible, and then get into the study. We let the Bible do the talking by reading the verses together, and the baptisms come very easily. They just cannot argue with the Bible.”
Oak Hill church of Christ, Covington, Georgia: Tate Sutton (preacher) reports, “This week our elders announced we will be appointing married couples to be our door greeters. We had some that did this but will now be more organized to make sure we greet our visitors and spend time with them.”
Warner Robins church of Christ, Georgia: Daniel Stearsman(preacher), “The Warner Robins congregation is continuing withsending compassion cards, distributing new movers baskets, giving out welcome bags to visitors, and carrying on with several studies in Back to the Bible. The care teams within the congregation have found opportunities to help one another. These teams are dedicated to reaching out and caring within.”
Canal Heights church of Christ, Demopolis, Alabama: Bryan Cook (preacher) reports, “The congregation is still excited about the evangelistic effort. This week we have started our campaign for erring brethren. We decided to further our efforts for a second week in this area because the elders saw what a great number we have that are unfaithful. There are some hiccups with some of our members getting cards back to us in a timely manner, but we are working on various methods with our team leaders to take this on. This last Sunday, the Evangelism Flow chart was finally finished from the pulpit as our Sunday morning sermon. We finalized our routes and set up for a House to House mailing that as of now will be to a smaller area but consistently sent to two routes monthly. This is a step of faith since contribution will have to increase for this effort to continue. We are trusting God that the funds will be there. Culture is truly changing at our congregation. The excitement is back in reaching the lost. Continue to pray for our efforts as we pray for you.”
Town Acres church of Christ, Muncie, Indiana: Mark Reynolds reports, “It has been a good week. We had a baptism, and our compassion cards are having great results. We received a heartfelt letter from a man we have been sending cards to who recently lost his wife. He invited the entire church to her memorial service in July. We are also having a Friends and Family Day next Sunday and inviting all our contacts, wayward members, and many other friends and family.”
University church of Christ, Montgomery, Alabama: Faires Austin (elder) reports, “We are rejoicing because four individuals were added to the Lord’s church this last week. Tucker Presley baptized two young people and our Hispanic minister, Isaias Sarellano, baptized a married couple. The University church of Christ supports the Capital Heights Hispanic, church of Christ, here in Montgomery. The Bagent family received the new movers listing for May and have assigned several of our members to deliver the New Movers Baskets. We are grateful for Nancy Itson,Jennifer Brenneman, and Terri Bagents who buy the products and assemble baskets. We continue to contact our local visitors and make sure that they receive a Visitors Bag. We are grateful for Teresa Mathews and her two daughters, who buy the products and assemble the Visitors Bags. We are getting to know better some of the ladies at the Eastdale Estates Retirement Facility. Several of the ladies ride our bus to services, but to our knowledge only one lady is a member of the Lord’s church. As we get to know more of the residents through our Sunday afternoon service at Eastdale, we hope to begin some Bible studies with them soon.”
Southwest church of Christ, Austin, Texas: John Garza (preacher) reports, “About noon today, Dennis Rabideau made the decision to put on Christ in baptism for the forgiveness of his sins! He and Ed Grumbles have been studying the Scriptures together using the Back to the Bible studies, and after hearing and understanding the gospel of Christ, he knew what needed to be done. To God be the glory! Dennis is now a child of God, in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is always encouraging to know that there are good and honest hearts in the world that are willing learn and obey.”
Coweta church of Christ, Oklahoma: Keno Shrum (preacher) reports, “Things are moving right along here in Coweta. After our gospel meeting, we started studying with a woman named Sarah who attended. She recognized her need for God and had been searching various denominations but was not finding what she was looking for. After being taught the truth through the BTTB study, she submitted to God’s will and was baptized! Heaven is rejoicing over another saved soul. Please keep her in your prayers as she begins her walk with Christ!”
Shiloh church of Christ, Florence, Alabama: McKinley Pate (preacher) reports, “Once again we had a great week at Shiloh. We sent out more compassion cards and made more in-home visits.However, the best part about the week happened Friday night when Kayla Pettus obeyed the gospel. Kayla had been coming to services for six months or more. She stated that the lessons that had been preached from the Back to the Bible lessons helped her see her need to obey the gospel. One of our elders, Danny Jenkins, baptized her into Christ! To God be the Glory! Also, our first new mover basket was delivered by Kurt and Danielle Aston, Morgan Marks, and Cassidy Ayers. They stated that the couple received the basket with gladness, and we have begun sending cards to this couple.”
Wewoka church of Christ, Oklahoma: Gage Coldwater reports, “The work here in Wewoka is going great. We have had multiple visitors and opportunities to meet new people. This last week, westarted a summer devotional night out at our cabin. It is for all ages,and we encourage everyone to bring visitors. We had several visitors (our neighbors), and they showed some interest in having a study with us. We have had a new family place membership with us, and they have been active and encouraging. We count ourselves so blessed to be at this congregation serving the Lord.”
Riverbend church of Christ, Georgia: Austin Fowler (member) reports, “Sunday was an exciting day at Riverbend. We had five non-Christians visit with us. All of them were returning visitors, except one. One of them said, “This is a very friendly congregation. We have received cards thanking us for coming and hoping we would come back.” My family went to eat with one of the visiting families after services. It was a good time. I am getting closer to a Bible study with them. Sunday afternoon, I praised the congregation for the outstanding job they are doing by sending cards. Then I read a card from someone on our compassion card list for the last three weeks. In the card, she said she would be visiting us soon once she gets well. I believe that we are close to a Bible study with her. After the PM services, I did our normal routine of telling the members to get out their contact bookmarkers to see who we needed to add to our compassion card list. Then I reminded the congregation that VBS is not only for our children but also for an opportunity for an evangelistic outreach. We are going to give out a Bible to the child and adult who brings the most visitors next week to our services. My Bible study with Terry had to be postponed to next Sunday. I am looking forward to that study!”
Deerfoot church of Christ, Birmingham, Alabama: Richard Harp (preacher) reports, “Richard’s final study with Pamela Duke should be this week. She has had to cancel three times but is still very interested. Richard was out of town last week, and Pam was moving the week before that, so the study has been delayed. Currently the study with Jim McDonald continues as well. Frank Salumn has maintained attendance but has not obeyed.”
New Hope church of Christ, Middleton, Tennessee: Cole Wade (preacher) reports, “We had an event last night called The Cookout, and we had around 70 people there! Many who were there were not members! We had several games set up, and many young children were able to come and play. We had a devotional and singing, and a new movers family came. We spent a lot of time with them, and they said they have been looking for a church in the area! I recently had a visit with one of our people (who attends) about becoming a Christian, and the discussion went very well. Please pray for that individual along with the others who have come our way!”
Monroe church of Christ, Georgia: Charles Harris (preacher) reports, “There are a few ongoing studies here at Monroe. Other members are learning how to set up studies. I have been getting questions lately from various members on how to address particular subjects that arise during studies, how to set up studies, and how to get a conversation turn toward a spiritual discussion. It has been a great encouragement to me that members here are concerned about souls, and they are trying to become more effective in evangelism. Last month we started a monthly door knocking work. We went to an area for a couple of hours asking for prayer requests. We havesent cards to all who requested prayers. We have received a few calls of thanks for the cards. In June, we are going back to the same area to promote two events for the month and to get updates concerning the requests from May. We will send more cards. Then in July, we plan to door knock in same area looking for Bible studies. My goal is for every member of the church in Monroe to be a soul winner. The mindset of several members is making that goal achievable.”
Shertz church of Christ, Texas: Jay Stewart (elder) reports, “This week we added one new name to the compassion card list and are starting to develop prospects. We are receiving feedback from compassion card recipients, thanking us for the cards. One person asked for continued prayers for her medical situation. This Wednesday night, our elders will begin teaching and training members on the evangelism tools we are using. Finally, our fellowship and visitor group meals kick off next Sunday.”
Northern Oaks church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas: Mel Hutzler (preacher) reports, “We are starting to get in the habit of taking visitors’ names and meeting every week to write cards. We still need to add the House to House mailer and new movers program. We hope to do that soon. We have multiple events coming up and hope to gather more contacts and prospect them. We still have a few members in Bible studies. We hope to have extra training sessions for evangelism coming up as well.”
Siwell Road church of Christ, Jackson, Mississippi: Derek Broome (preacher) reports, “New movers baskets are prepped and ready to be handed out. We are continuing to follow up with one of our most recent contacts. They just returned home from their trip. We hope to confirm a time when they can come to our house for a study. We are praying for this opportunity. We have also continued a Bible study with a lady the past two weeks. After studying yesterday, we found out last night that her husband wants to join us for our study that is scheduled for Thursday night. We are so excited for this opportunity as we pray for open hearts. We had a conversation yesterday with a young lady that is also interested in studying the Bible. Hopefully, this study will begin soon. In preparation for our VBS, we have been encouraging members to reach out to those in the community. We had a great opportunity the other night at my son’s ballgame with parents and kids everywhere. We made sure we had our VBS flyers in hand. We took a picture of our daughter walking around the ballpark handing out flyers to everyone she saw. It was a good night. We continue to pray for more and more opportunities and the boldness and courage to seize the opportunities we have.”
Rogersville church of Christ, Tennessee: Ethan Tate (preacher) reports, “This past Friday we had lunch with a family to whom we had been sending cards, and they requested that we begin to talk about the Bible. This family has been begging other preachers (they called them pastors; not worth that battle to correct terms right now!) to sit down and talk about the Bible, but because of all the questions they were asking, no one would answer them. Lord willing, we will sit down to talk more this Friday, and we ask for prayers for the Smallwood family that we can help them to learn the gospel.
“Another development has come from one of the members who made a major contact and prospect in one day! She deferred, responding with questions to help the person think more, and then the person requested to know more about God and the church. The young man’s name is Joe, and he has a lot he wants answered. Help us as we begin to work with him lead him to find God too!
“We have faced a lot of potential converts in the past three weeks that did not go the way we intended, BUT that is not the end of cultivating their soil. Fruits leading to righteousness and repentance take time to produce, and we are thankful for every opportunity God continues to open for us. Please continue to pray for us that more souls will come our way to help and one day soon, save many.”
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.
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