Success Stories: November 26, 2025

Glencoe church of Christ, Alabama: Keith Ritchie (evangelist) reports, “The Glencoe congregation is busy planning the work for 2026. The attendance is still excellent, and we are looking forward to growing even more, God willing. The elders, deacons, and preachers’ meeting was informative, and much good was accomplished. We will be having a meeting with all coordinators in the evangelism model, and training through HTHSOE will be a large part of our preparation for the upcoming year. Our cup overflows with God’s blessings at Glencoe. May God help us to remain strong in the faith, seeking, and saving the lost. Our efforts to study with Matea continue. To God be the glory!”

Hatton church of Christ, Town Creek, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “We have several studies going on. A family of six has been coming for several weeks, and we hope to set up a study soon. They seem extremely interested. Card groups and benevolent groups are doing great, and we still emphasize our effort every Sunday from the pulpit.”

Central church of Christ, Saraland, Alabama: David Dixon (preacher) reports, “We need your prayers. The first couple who obeyed the Gospel after we went through the School of Evangelism last year just had their first baby. Dalton and Mallory Powell welcomed baby William this past Saturday evening. But there were some complications, and they all need our prayers. Mallory is fine, but it is still unclear what William’s condition will be. Please lift them up to the Father! Our Thanksgiving fellowship meal was a big hit, as it always is. I know every preacher says this, but I believe Central has some of the best cooks in the brotherhood! Our attendance was well above normal, and we had one response to the invitation from a sister asking for forgiveness of sins. We also delivered numerous meals to shut-ins and the needy. We pray that from these efforts, opportunities will be presented to teach someone the truth.”

Petersville church of Christ, Florence, Alabama: Adam Richardson (preacher) reports, “The Petersville family sent 17 compassion cards last week. We are gearing up for a breakfast with Santa community event, specifically looking for contacts from the community. The entire congregation enjoys working with this great effort. I still need to schedule the coordinators’ meeting for December. The study from last week revealed that she had been baptized for the remission of her sins in her 20’s. This was after a first baptism as a teenager that she “knew she did not do it for the right reason,” so she responded to the Gospel.”

Creekwood church of Christ, Mobile, Alabama: Tucker Presley (preacher) reports, “We hold an annual areawide singing at Creekwood called, ‘Thanksgiving Songfest.’ We held it last night and had a great turnout! Hundreds of Christians gathered here to praise the Lord together. Although most of the people in attendance were Christians, some from the community joined us, and some brothers and sisters who have not been coming in quite some time were here. It was a great night! We are continuing to write cards each week. We have been consistent with getting contacts recently! One Bible study is still going on, and one is set to begin soon. We are still trying to get our new movers’ work off the ground, but a good discussion was held in a recent meeting. It should start soon.”

Chase Park church of Christ, Huntsville, Alabama: Pat Cowden (evangelist) reports, “Shannon and Emily Smith started visiting our services at Chase Park at the end of the summer. After meeting them, Maria and I asked them over for dinner at our house (always eat) and for a Bible study. They accepted the invitation because, in their words, they “wanted to just know what the Bible says and not what men say”. We had them over three other nights for dinner and Bible study and finished the study this past week. Emily’s story is interesting because she went to school at Madison Christian Academy here in Huntsville. Although she was around the church, her family was not in the church; they just decided they wanted her to go to a private Christian school. On Sunday, Emily came forward during the invitation and said she was ready to obey the gospel. Shannon is still working through some things, but he is very close to obeying the gospel. He has been a lifelong Southern Baptist and now knows the truth about the Lord’s church. We ask for prayers for Shannon to make the right decision and act on it to have his sins taken away. Please pray for Emily as she starts her new walk with Christ. The fields are truly white unto harvest. We also have six more studies going on now. We ask for prayers for them as well.”

Cedar Grove church of Christ, Andalusia, Alabama: Josh Holloway (preacher) reports, “This week was a wonderful one at Cedar Grove. We had three great Bible studies with Nena, Micheal, and Stephanie. We are preparing for our first responder outreach. We will deliver breakfast to all of our first responders, and we will bring our benevolence information and see if we can make more contacts. This week we went on our second congregational door knocking. It was very successful, and we made several contacts. One of whom was a woman named Stephanie Herring. Stephanie had a very troubled childhood but ended up in a children’s home in Alabama that was run by members of the church. She is 48, but she remembers the Bible teachings from her childhood. She was insistent that she wanted to study and make her life right. On Sunday, she was not able to come to services. She is on a walker and cannot drive. However, she stayed on the phone with the secretary almost all of Bible class, wanting more information. After the morning service, we went to her home and studied the booklet, What Does it Matter? with her. She made the decision that she was going to obey the gospel. We took her to the building, but we have several steps that lead up to the baptistery. She was in tears but motivated. She told me, “Mr. Josh, nothing’s gonna keep me from being baptized today!” She got on her hands and knees and crawled up the stairs. I, another member, and one of our elders lifted her down into the water, and she had her sins washed away. She wanted to wait for evening service, so after she crawled back down the stairs, she sat in the pews for an hour or so until our evening service, so she could worship God with us. Please remember Ms. Stephanie Herring in your prayers as she begins her new journey. Her baptism brings our number to 12, plus five restorations, for a total of 17 toward our salvation goal.”

Rison church of Christ, Arkansas: Keden Shrum (preacher) reports, “Care Team B met on Sunday evening to work on compassion cards. I have a visit scheduled this week to follow up on a new mover who has been receiving cards.”

Mountain Home church of Christ, Arkansas: Joshua Adams (preacher) reports, “With the holiday season upon us, we are grateful for several new opportunities for service that we pray will open doors for the Gospel. Each year, our congregation provides Thanksgiving meals for inmates at the county jail and for women at a local shelter—efforts that have consistently built goodwill and reflected Christ’s compassion in our community. Because these programs offer only limited personal interaction, one of our deacons recently suggested an additional outreach: gathering food items for holiday meal boxes and hosting a holiday meal in our fellowship hall. Our elders approved the idea immediately, and the congregation has responded with generosity. We are praying that these efforts will allow us to sit down with friends and neighbors in need, meet their physical concerns with love, and naturally enter conversations about the hope found in Christ. Several Bible studies remain active, with more set to begin soon. We were also encouraged that 11 members stayed after services this week to write 160 compassion cards—an outpouring of sincere care that we trust God will use for His glory.”

Margaret Street church of Christ, Milton, Florida: Troy Spradlin (preacher) reports, “What began with a simple invitation to attend a youth event resulted in a soul being added to the Lord’s kingdom this past Sunday! Ashton Hall has been studying on and off for a year with our youth and family minister, Casey Bearden. He stayed diligent in following up, and the word finally penetrated Ashton’s heart. We rejoice and praise God for providing the increase! Our current 2025 Year-to-Date Accountability Board numbers are: 345 Total Contacts received; 85 Total Visitors; 266 Neighbors (Prospects whom we have loved and/or studied with); 80 Bible studies (total completed); 2380 Compassion Cards sent; two Restorations, and 19 Baptisms.”

Stuart church of Christ, Florida: Tom Neth (deacon) reports, “Our congregation continues to show great enthusiasm for the work. This past Sunday, we welcomed more than ten visitors, providing an excellent opportunity to refine and strengthen our visitor engagement process. On Sunday evening, we completed our first card-writing session, preparing 100 cards that will be mailed out this week. We currently have five active Bible studies underway, and we are prayerful and optimistic that several more will begin in the near future.”

Niceville church of Christ, Florida: Joe Palmer (preacher) reports, “This week we had four studies, sent out ten cards, and had three returning visitors, but no new visitors. We have a few studies scheduled for this week and are working on the plans and budget for next year.”

Cartersville church of Christ, Georgia (remote): Charles Harris (regional trainer) reports, “We had two baptisms this month. There are 13 souls we are prospecting for the month, and we will be making 20 transition visits this week.”

Woodstock church of Christ, Georgia: Matt Amos (preacher) reports, “Woodstock Church of Christ (WCOC) and the Sunabella Assistant Living Facility had approximately eight non-Christian at the devotional on Sunday. WCOC is preparing for the Thanksgiving Luncheon as an evangelism effort within our community on Thursday. The Compassion Card Group created and sent twenty-six cards and received one contact card. WCOC had fourteen non-Christian visitors this past Sunday morning worship.”

Collinsville-Troy church of Christ, Illinois: Jason Wright (elder) reports, “We had lots of visitors Sunday from the Lord’s church in other areas. It is always good to visit with them. We mailed 90 compassion cards this week. We conducted three Bible Studies. One of the studies is with a recent convert. We are working through the Acts workbook. We passed out several Thanksgiving boxes and delivered six NM baskets. We made three follow-up visits as well.”

Highland Village church of Christ, Bloomington, Indiana: Mark Stauffer (member) reports, “The past week, we have been primarily occupied with matters related to the loss of our eldership. The transition is going smoothly. The spiritual growth of our members since we hosted the SOE in September of 2024 has helped us to be united in this challenging time. We sent 14 cards last week and have two prospects ready for transition visits. We also have one Bible study, which is continuing from last week. God has blessed us richly this year. Praise Him!”

Columbus church of Christ, Kansas: Matt Fowler (member) reports, “We are rejoicing that another soul has been saved and added to the Lord’s church! I have a close relationship with Dominic Smith who is one of my senior football players. When he suffered an injury this past fall, the congregation did their part in sending him compassion cards. I asked him at school one day if he had received some cards. His face lit up, and he asked me if those were from the church I attend; he said the cards were amazing. I asked him if he went to church anywhere. He said, ‘I have never been to church Coach, but I have always wanted to go.’ I visited him at his house and asked Dom and his mom if they wanted to do a Bible study. Mom was not interested, but she really wanted Dom to do it. We began our study with Believe the Bible Lesson B. Dom was impacted by learning about the inspiration of the Bible; he especially liked learning about the interaction between Jesus and Thomas after His resurrection. We had a hard time getting together again with the business of football season, but this Monday we were out for Thanksgiving break. Dom came over for Lunch and we studied Does it Matter?  He saw the truth immediately and wanted to be baptized. He went home and picked up his mom and younger brother, and they came along to witness the baptism. His mom was moved to tears and was clearly impacted. We are praying that now he may be able to help us reach his family also. This was our ninth baptism this year. We started in January with an average attendance of 17. My in-laws, Chris and Laura, delivered four New Movers baskets this week. We have sent out 92 compassion cards this month. We are rejoicing in the growth of the kingdom. Your prayers are working, brethren! Keep sowing the seed, for the fields are ‘white unto harvest.’”

Beloit church of Christ, Kansas (remote): Dustin Dougherty (regional trainer) reports, “We had 43 in attendance yesterday; seven were family of one of our members who were in town for the holiday. There is one study happening this week, and we are praying that it will result in a conversion. I have one contact/prospect for follow-up whom another member planted. My wife and I were able to deliver one of two new movers’ baskets yesterday, following services; the other was not home, so we will follow up again. I will be traveling to Scott City, Kansas, next Sunday to teach the adult class and provide the morning lesson. I am looking forward to being with them again.”

Spring Creek church of Christ, Hickory, Kentucky: David Morse (elder) reports, “The Spring Creek congregation is three weeks past our HTH Evangelism Training Seminar. This week, our Sunday services all centered around evangelism. Samuel, our minister, presented a lesson during our Sunday morning class period centered on Isaiah 55, “Why We Should Point People Towards God.” Our Sunday morning sermon on evangelism was Part 2 of the lesson presented the previous week, taken from John 4:11-29, on Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. During our evening service time, the congregation went through the second half of the first Bible study booklet, as we feel it is important that we, as a congregation, are comfortable presenting the materials. We have passed out bookmarks and are encouraging our members to bring them to every worship period. Our plan is to take a moment each Sunday morning and ask our members to pray for those on their bookmark list. Our weekly summary includes six visitors, ten prospects (an increase of two), 120 compassion cards to be mailed this week, three Bible studies, and one baptism. “

Flatwoods church of Christ, Kentucky: Nathan Adkins (elder) reports, “In the past week, we conducted three Bible studies, and made 12 follow-up home visits. Also, we continued to have community visitors. We had two new first-time visitors and eight visitors who have been coming regularly in the past 2 months.”

Central church of Christ, Paducah, Kentucky: Adam Faughn (preacher) reports, “We were blessed this week to begin a study with Marilyn. We have been trying to set up a study with her for many weeks, and we are so glad that it finally is underway. We are using the Visualized Bible Study with her, and she really enjoyed the first video. She has been coming—as her work allows—to services for quite some time, and has expressed a great interest in learning, so we believe this will turn out very well. We continue our work through card writing, guest bags, and new mover bags and cards, and we are praying that these help us gain more contacts in the coming weeks.”

Gonzales church of Christ, Louisiana: Patrick Adkins (deacon) reports, “We have had seven visitors in November. We have made four visits. We signed 30 cards today and signed 165 total in November. We have 13 neighbors/prospects and five ongoing Bible studies. Last but not least, we had two baptisms this week, bringing our 2025 total to 20 and surpassing the goal of 15.”

La Plata church of Christ, Maryland (remote): Eric Sykes (regional trainer) reports, “This past week, three returning visitors attended worship with the saints here at the La Plata Church of Christ. We wrote 15 compassion cards. Our Wednesday night Bible study class started Chapter 12 of Growing in Christ, “The All-Sufficiency of the Scriptures.” We still have several members engaged in Bible studies. Sister Cynthia and Sandy completed Does it Matter? with one of Cynthia’s former co-workers who said she wants to be baptized soon. For now, she wants to continue studying, so, they will start a study of  ‘Searching for Truth’ next week. We conducted the first of three ‘Kick-Off Sunday’ lessons (Developing an Evangelist Culture from Scratch) at the Waldorf Church of Christ. We are preparing the members of their congregation for the upcoming American Mission Campaign in March of 2026. The members are truly excited about the lesson, and they are looking forward to the upcoming events. We request prayers as we plan and prepare our members to register and get engaged in the process.”

Aberdeen church of Christ, Mississippi: Jonathan Hagar (preacher) reports, “We have restocked our evangelism table with new materials. The door-knocking team went out this past Saturday. Four members knocked on eight doors and spoke with four people. I have one Bible study set up for this week. The transition team has visited several of our prospects this past week. None of contacts were interested in doing a Bible study, but a few of them acted like they would be interested in coming to worship service. I think the biggest challenge for the church at Aberdeen, at this point, has been mentoring. The church has been great about outreach and getting contacts. They enjoy the thrill of seeing people get baptized. However, once a person is baptized, the church experiences what I call, ‘growing pains.’ These new members are fresh from the world and carry many false ideas about God, and they bring bad habits into the church. The mentors want to help and teach, but they are struggling with all the new problems. It seems that five new problems spring up from every new member. I ask that the churches in the brotherhood pray for our mentors in the church here.”

Iuka church of Christ, Mississippi: Sam Glover (preacher) reports, “I made contact with the new mover I was assigned, and that went well, I think. Given the situation, I am going to follow-up personally this week with a letter, an invitation to worship with us, and information about the Thanksgiving dinner that we host. I will also ask for cards to be sent. Thursday will be a big day, as we will likely have over 100 people at the building that we otherwise may never reach. I ask for prayers, especially that we can seize the opportunity it presents.”

Samford church of Christ, Steel, Missouri: Kyle Imel (deacon) reports, “We had three studies with different families yesterday. I work with one of the families that has a grandma, her daughter, and a granddaughter (age 15), and they showed up yesterday for class; we finished Book 1. Another family is a friend of a recent convert. They started talking, and his family came yesterday. There was a study with them during class by Tim. Then Tim did a study yesterday afternoon with a family who had visited in the past. It is a good reminder that God will work; sometimes we just have to be patient.”

Oak Grove church of Christ, Missouri: David Wiseman (elder) reports, “We had four visitors on Sunday;  we shared banana bread with them. On Sunday at noon, we had a baptism from a study that began in June 2024. Last week we sent out 30 cards.”

Concord church of Christ, New Hampshire: Shane Belanger (member) reports, “The last couple of weeks have been somewhat quiet for us to spend some time, but we have been moving forward with the program. Two current studies are on hold due to individual life issues. We have a prospect who has been attending regularly, and we hope to begin the Back to the Bible study soon. He has been impressed by the fact that the church here is focused on the Bible only for authority. Crystal has also finished her studies and will hopefully be baptized soon.”

East Flushing church of Christ, New York (remote): Clarence Jenkins (preacher) reports, “Shaneil was studying diligently long distance with her aunt, sister Crystal. Glory be to God, now sister Shaneil traveled from Maryland to New York and was baptized into Christ on Sunday. She also brought a friend who wanted to start a Bible study the very next day. The word of God is living and powerful! To God be the glory! We had six visitors this Sunday. Our metrics thus far for the month of November are nine baptisms, 16 visitors, 35 prospects, ten Bible studies, and two for our new converts’ study. We appreciate all prayers.”

Oak Forest church of Christ, Goldsboro, North Carolina: Dennis Mays (elder) reports, “We had 30 visitors this past Sunday.  11 were families of our members who were visiting and were members of the church. The others were returning visitors. We are continuing to send cards. We had our 2nd John 4 lesson on Sunday morning. This coming Sunday evening, we will begin training on the compassion cards and will be praying for those on our contact list.”

Abilene church of Christ, Statesville, North Carolina (remote): Gary Dull (preacher) reports, “It is wonderful to report that we have two Bible studies ongoing. We have sent out over 150 compassion cards in the last month. This week, we will prospect three more contacts for Bible studies. We are also using compassion cards to reach out to the absent members, with good results. It works if we do it right!”

Linville Forest church of Christ, Kernersville, North Carolina: Steve Hare (elder) reports, “We had a baptism tonight—Hayden Parrish was baptized into Christ. Grace first saw him at the gym, then added him on Facebook. Later, Hayden posted on Instagram that he was looking for a church. Grace reached out, and they began talking. He came to services the past four Sundays, and they studied in the evenings about salvation and baptism. This morning he said he wanted to attend the evening service. After the morning service, baptism came up, and he said he was ready. When the evening service ended, she asked him again, and he smiled and nodded. Jerry Clark also spoke with him, and Hayden confirmed his decision. It is amazing how people come to Christ in different ways, but the message is always the same. We just need to watch for open doors and be ready to share the hope within us.”

Glendale Street church of Christ, Newton, North Carolina (remote): Dayle Taylor (minister) reports, “We currently have six active Bible Study sessions in Back to the Bible. These include three couples (one spouse is an erring member) and a single mother. Two erring members have returned and have been present for consecutive weeks. Prayers continue and are requested for their full restoration. The Compassion Card Coordinator has informed us of mail endings for prospects, which enables planning and scheduling home visits. Congregation training continued in-house on home visits. Twenty-one compassion cards were mailed for the week.”

Concord church of Christ, New Concord, Ohio: Terry Townsend (preacher) reports, “We had an enjoyable and well-attended ‘Community Thanksgiving Lunch’ this past Saturday. Several from the community attended, including one who came back on Sunday to our services. Contacts were made, and soon compassion cards will be sent. We had another great Sunday service, and as is the norm, we had a few first-time visitors from the community. Each visitor received a welcome gift and will also be put on our compassion card list. We have had a young couple attending services for a few weeks now (non-members). The elders and I sat down with the husband on Sunday, and he agreed to a Bible study. I hope to begin that study very soon. More details to come!”

Alkire Road church of Christ, Grove City, Ohio: Tony Dunnagan (member) reports, “One of our visitors came late and left quickly. One of our members caught up with him in the parking lot and was able to get his name. We sent out 57 compassion cards sent and have one ongoing Bible study.”

Owasso church of Christ, Owasso, Oklahoma: David Combs (elder) reports: “Sunday night, following services, 13 card writers met to sign 60 cards to be mailed out this week. We currently have one New prospect. Two of our prospects are in Week 3. One is on Week 2, and one is on Week 1.”

Whispering Hills church of Christ, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma: Matt McBrayer (preacher) reports, “We had 7 visitors this past Sunday and sent out 24 cards. We had added a single mother to our prospect list as our hearts are broken for her after the loss of her 2-year-old son. She attended years ago with her grandfather, who recently passed away. Our hope is that, like David, we can prepare her to go see her son again one day (2 Sam. 12:23). Please say a prayer for this young woman and her two remaining boys as they face the days ahead. We also had a ray of sunshine as we gained two new members. We are so thankful, as one is a solid man who is a retired preacher. We look forward to them being a part of the congregation and helping us in our work.”

York church of Christ, Pennsylvania: Mark Rashke (deacon) reports, “We had some visitors this week in York. A family attended the Bible study but left before the worship service. One of our members was able to speak to them briefly, and they said that they had somewhere that they needed to be quickly, but that they would plan to return next week. We were unable to obtain their contact information or provide them with a visitor bag. The second visitor was a friend of Jay, one of our elders, who was filling in to preach while our preacher, Fred, was out of town for his daughter’s wedding. We were able to give him a visitor bag and fill out a contact card. In the evening, we were glad to see Aden back with us again.”

St. Andrews Road church of Christ, Columbia, South Carolina: Jamie Byron (preacher) reports, “This last Sunday, the sermon “Jesus: The Politically Incorrect Evangelist (Part 1)” was preached from the pulpit. The bookmark was introduced to the congregation and handed out to every member, with the request to write down ten people they know who are lost. They were instructed to bring their bookmarks back next Sunday. We have one Bible study in process; Book 3 of Back to the Bible will be covered this week. A leadership meeting was held to discuss potential coordinators, and a Zoom meeting was also held with Keno Shrum to review the website and to have a Q&A session.”

Rome church of Christ, Lebanon, Tennessee (remote): David Oxley reports, “We are continuing three Bible studies this week. We will also meet for our new converts’ class on Monday.”

Blackman church of Christ, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (remote): Brian McCord reports, “We have tried door-knocking at various times and days. We have also been stopping with three but leaving a small gift basket with information. We have had more luck with older people answering the door than younger folks.”

White Bluff church of Christ, Tennessee: Shamron Jackson (elder) reports, “Wow! What a week. We had six new visitors. We had a meal at the building and invited those visitors to stay. We moved this week’s compassion cards to next Sunday (fifth Sunday), which allowed our members to attend the annual Thanks singing at Walnut Street. We have added one Bible study. One of our studies ended with Gary Burgess being baptized into Christ. We also had one of our sisters, Hannah Pickard, restored to Christ. Praise God! If we do our part, He will give the increase.”

Freewill church of Christ, Gainesboro, Tennessee (remote): Andrew Scott (preacher) reports, “We had a very successful Gospel meeting with Brandon Blackwell. We have made new contacts, and visitor cards will be going out this week. We have lunch scheduled with one of our prospects next week. She has been visiting for a while now, and we are ready to make the transition. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.”

Cookeville church of Christ, Tennessee: Joshua Kennedy (preacher) reports, “Things have been a little slower this month, but we have some exciting things coming up. We hope to start another study soon. We have sent out compassion cards to a couple of individuals. We are working on getting the congregation to come up with more contacts to reach, and we hope to have more soon! Our door-knocking efforts will resume in the spring, and we are very hopeful about those results!”

West Fayetteville church of Christ, Tennessee: Steve Jefferson (elder) reports, “Good morning from the West Fayetteville congregation. Over the last two Sundays, we have been working on improving the weak areas of our SOE program, mainly in visitor/pew greeters and transition visits. We also plan to add more members’ access to the full program online. The elders believe that the more members who know the program, the more effective it will be. We are thankful to report that we had one wayward member restored. We have been sending compassion cards to her due to her health issues. This week, Team 3 sent 12 cards to five people for a total of 60 cards.”

Ocoee Street church of Christ, Copperhill, Tennessee: R.E. Vann (elder) reports, “We continue having a good number of returning visitors but no new prospects this week. We made several good visits and are still waiting on several Bible studies to develop. Timing is everything, so we try to be patient. We were blessed again when two of our longtime visitors placed their workmanship with us at Ocoee Street. To God be the glory.”

West Sparta church of Christ, Tennessee: Justin Turney (deacon) reports, “We continued with studying through the Back to the Bible series last night with the congregation, and we were very excited that after last night’s service, we had a restoration! We also have another Bible study added for this week, so it was a very good past week!”

Grundy Street church of Christ, Tullahoma, Tennessee: John Duncan (elder) reports, “We had four visitors this week. We are currently sending care cards out to ten prospects and mailed 30 cards last week. We obtained the names of four families from a member, and we plan to provide them with Thanksgiving dinner. This will present an opportunity to invite them to visit with us and inquire about a Bible study.”

Arlington church of Christ, Tennessee: Brandon Tibbits (preacher) reports, “We have someone starting a third study with one of our deacons sometime after Thanksgiving! We have started rolling out the new movers’ program under our other deacon! We are having multiple visitors each week. Our next mission on Monday is going to be after the holiday to set up even more studies.”

Chapel Hill church of Christ, Tennessee: Matt Jones (deacon) reports, “We are gearing up for a community giveaway day that will occur at the beginning of next week. We have asked families to preregister so that we can ensure we have enough clothes and a toy for each of the kids. This will be a great opportunity to make contact with many in the community and hopefully open a door with those who will be receptive to the gospel message. We still continue our Wednesday night community table meal as well, and we have had regular visitors. We have started Bible studies with some of them. Several members have mentioned conducting Bible studies with friends or family, which is encouraging. We continue to pray for each one of these opportunities.”

Mountain Creek church of Christ, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Michael Tomshack (elder) reports, “As we approach a time when many individuals in the United States will gather with family and friends to express gratitude for one another and plan for the season of Christmas giving, this may present opportunities for visitors to our worship assembly. This could be a moment when those who receive the monthly House to House publication and have never truly read it decide to open the mailing and contemplate life beyond this physical existence. This is one way we sow seeds, and while results do not manifest immediately, each individual has a time when they seek truth, and we must be prepared to guide them to the path of truth. Maintaining a robust greeting system is crucial at all times, particularly during seasons when individuals seek greater meaning in their lives by exploring knowledge about Christ. Each member of a congregation is essential to planting and nurturing, although we each possess distinct skill sets. We work as one body, with prayer as the catalyst for growth from God. Each member must be prepared for deployment by engaging in consistent practice that makes planting and nurturing automatic.”

McEwen church of Christ, Tennessee: John Jones (preacher) reports, “After finishing the Bible studies with six of the linemen, four of them concluded that they had been baptized for the remission of sins into the Lord’s church. One concluded that he had been baptized for the remission of sins, but the ‘Christian Church’ he attends is teaching some false doctrines. One young man, Nathan Fry of Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania, realized that his ‘baptism’ as an infant was not the one baptism we read about in the Bible. Tonight he was baptized for the remission of his sins. He plans to attend the Uniontown church of Christ in Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania, with his good friend Ty who has also gone through the studies with us. Please pray for his spiritual growth and development and all of these young men who are about to finish lineman college and start looking for jobs.”

Collierville church of Christ, Tennessee: Justin Evergarden (evangelist) reports, “This week we sent 53 cards to six prospects. Our year-to-date totals now stand at 700 cards mailed, 35 prospects, 14 New Movers Baskets delivered, and three active Bible studies.”

Soddy church of Christ, Tennessee: Joe Mallory (preacher) reports, “As we reflect upon the mercies of God, it is impossible to count each blessing that the Lord has given us, seeing that they transcend any numeric value. We are so thankful for the opportunities we have been given in Christ to reach souls with the gospel. We continue in prayer for those whom we have met through our evangelistic efforts and seek many more in prospect. This week, we continue our Bible study with our dear friend, Marsha. Care team 4 will be sending compassion cards for the next two weeks, and plans are underway for transitional visits. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15)!”

Philadelphia church of Christ, Lebanon, Tennessee: Alex DeGraves (associate minister) reports: “We are sending cards to three prospects plus one other person. Additionally, we have an evangelism meeting tonight to discuss where things are with the program here.”

Hillcrest church of Christ, Springfield, Tennessee: Tim Taylor (evangelist) reports, “Sometimes the seeds of the Gospel require time, patience, and lots of watering to grow. Our associate minister Cole has been encouraging and studying with his sister Bailey for quite some time. She reached out to him this past Tuesday afternoon and wanted to study together some more; then she was baptized into Christ that same night! Praise God for providing the increase!”

Birdwell Chapel church of Christ, Cottontown, Tennessee: Kerry England (elder) reports, “This weekend The Forged men’s group had a weekend retreat at Big Reedy church camp. There were over thirty men in attendance for at least part of the activities. It was a great time of fellowship and spiritual enrichment. We had several visitors in attendance as we try to make connections. Saturday at the retreat, a young man told us he really appreciated the cards we had sent him. It was so encouraging to hear that the compassion cards worked! He became a Christian early last year but had drifted away and quit attending services. He has been attending worship services and recently started attending the new converts’ class. He and his teenage son were at the men’s retreat. We will be mailing out invitations to Pancakes with Santa later this week. It is also being advertised on social media and HTHHTH. We are expecting a good turnout from the community.”

Rivergate church of Christ, Madison, Tennessee: Doug Tooley (preacher) reports, “We had three visitors on Wednesday, including a couple who attended the past two Wednesdays. We had four visitors on Sunday morning. One visitor was taken to lunch. We had one visitor on Sunday night. One visit was made last week. Sellers Crain reported that there were two more baptisms at the academy where his wife works with the incarcerated young ladies.”

Eisenhower church of Christ, Texas: Allen Weakland (preacher) reports, “As we revealed last week, our focus upon the mission which our Lord commanded will not be set aside during the Holiday season. This resulted in Nataly Serrano obeying the gospel. We are in the process of setting up follow-up studies and have encouraged her mother, who is a Christian, to attend as well. It is our hope that God will provide an open door toward her dad, who has attended worship services in the past. Also, a young man attended worship services this past Sunday morning, and several of our young family welcomed him; he also accepted their invitation to lunch. He spent the entire afternoon with them and returned for the evening service as well. I will be giving a more detailed report on this young man once I am brought up to speed. On another note, several weeks ago I reported of a restoration of a young Christian lady named Kamilia. Shad had taken her restoration to heart; she had been talking with her brother Isaiah and was successful in bringing him back this past Sunday morning. The congregation has been involved in writing cards and notes to this young man in the past; he stated that he knew what he needed to do but refused due to pride. Please pray for this young man, that he will focus upon God and return to his Heavenly Father. As we close out this report, may we all focus upon our Lord, His mission, and our responsibility to our brethren. Let us forever be grateful for the privilege of being Christians and never allow Satan to tempt us to dim or extinguish our light (Matthew 5:14-16).”

Northern Oaks church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas: Mel Hutzler (elder) reports, “This past week, things slowed down for us in the follow-up department due to many members being out of town or ill. We know that with the holidays approaching, follow-up work can be challenging. We continue to have a lot of visitors. Our members are bringing friends and family with them. We are grateful for this. We currently are engaged in six Bible studies. We have seven in our New Convert Bible studies. Over a year ago, we had a new member invite a friend who was baptized into the church. That new convert invited his girlfriend, who was also baptized. Both of those new converts recently invited a friend, Arturo, who was baptized recently. It is wonderful to see invitations to come to worship services and baptisms becoming commonplace.”

Seagoville church of Christ, Texas: Kodie Martin (evangelist) reports, “Our card writing ministry has ramped into full gear, with our teams writing 64 cards this last week to our first ten prospects. We will train our selected members on how to make the transition visits starting in two weeks. Marco preached on the importance of contacts, particularly that it is all about ‘quantity, not quality,’ and reminded the audience that not everyone who is called is chosen (Matthew 22:14). This again allows them to see their role as important but also to be patient with the HTH model as we go forward. Finally, I talked with and selected Tyler, one of our deacons, to coordinate our invitation cards ministry that we will begin this next Sunday. We ordered several thousand and will challenge our families to hand out ten per month.”

Wheeler church of Christ, Texas: Garrett English (preacher) reports, “Our church provided a Thanksgiving meal and made a few new contacts from those who invited their neighbors. We will send them cards to encourage them to visit or study with us. I have continued conversing with the two I studied with last week, and we have scheduled times to study after this week.”

Bridge Avenue church of Christ, Weslaco, Texas: Braulio Carvajal III (preacher) reports, “Bridge Avenue continues to be blessed in our evangelistic efforts. We have three ongoing Bible studies at this time with non-members. On Wednesday, we had four prospects and one visitor. On Sunday, we had three visitors and three prospects. We have a women’s new converts class with three attendees and two teachers who rotate teaching. On Sunday morning, we have a new converts class with eight members in attendance. We are looking forward to meeting family members and friends of our members as the holidays approach.”

North Jefferson church of Christ, Mt. Pleasant, Texas: Davin Whatley (evangelist) reports, “Reach Team 2 met Sunday and wrote Compassion Cards. Jeff, one of our ministers, began Back to the Bible Book 1 with Terry on November 17. The study went very well, and afterward Jeff and Terry watched the Cowboys game with two other members. Terry said he is excited about the next study! This past week, we partnered with one of our local elementary schools to provide Thanksgiving dinner for seven families in need. We arranged for the families to pick up their meals at the church building. Each family received information about the church and WVBS (in both English and Spanish), as well as details about our ‘S’mores and More’ event and the upcoming December Giveaway Day we are hosting for our community. Two ladies returned for the ‘S’mores and More’ event and brought their granddaughters, who seemed to have a wonderful time playing games with the other children (e.g., spinning our wheel of Bible knowledge). The ladies are now receiving thank-you cards for visiting. Additionally, Barbara and Mary shared that they still want to study, though it will likely need to be in January. They even have another friend who is interested in joining the study!”

Bridgewater church of Christ, Katy, Texas: Doug Suggs (deacon) reports, “Wade and I had our second study with Keisha Monday morning. She is very excited about this study. We will have another study next Monday and are hoping to be able to teach more of her family. Keisha just recently lost her father and an aunt. We appreciate prayers for her and her family. Torie’s mother has agreed to let us visit with her, and we pray this will lead to a study. Jim is following up with a couple who are dating who are already Christians.”

Howe church of Christ, Texas: Aaron Alsbrook (preacher) reports, “This Sunday we had an enormous card-writing group. Brothers and Sisters are writing cards together to all of our recent contacts from all of our fall events. Brethren are still working the ‘Biblical Evangelism’ model and praying for contacts to move to prospects and then to Bible studies.”

Williamsburg church of Christ, Virginia: Jim Bishop (elder) reports, “God has provided for us again this week. One couple who had moved into the area were looking for a place to worship. Another local family, who visited last week, returned to attend worship and Bible study. Last Tuesday night, one of our members brought a friend to the weekly Bible studies. We also continue to reach out to the new movers and contacts within the community by sending compassion cards. May God bless all those seeking to spread the gospel!

West Side church of Christ, Salem, Virginia: Jeff Durham (elder) reports, “We had encouraging lessons yesterday to be PREPARED for serving our Lord every way we can.  From Matthew 22, we learned that having been added to the body, the church, wasn’t enough.  We need to be active and grow in our faith and in serving/teaching others so they might have the same opportunity to obey.  That evening, in Exodus 33, we saw Moses’ commitment to not just have God’s favor for himself, but for all the children of Israel.  Christians should be eager to share the message of God’s hope and blessings they’ve received so others can also obtain the same peace and joy for themselves.”