Success Stories: October 26, 2022

Editor’s Note: This week we chose the West End church of Christ as our featured congregation because they learned two lessons recently and wanted to share with other congregations. Evangelism works best when we work together in the spirit of cooperation. Since the training began in July, they have had eight baptisms.

Improving Membership Participation

West End set a goal for every single member to participate by keeping a bookmark and turning in contact cards. We have made an announcement regarding the bookmarks every Sunday morning for the past six weeks, and we spent a Sunday evening explaining the nuts and bolts of the program in a classroom format with the church in three small groups.

Over the past week, we have discovered that we had confused some of the congregation in two ways. First, some thought they could not turn in a contact card for anyone not on their bookmark. Second, some thought that they could only turn in a card if it was for the topic (cancer, surgery, erring member, etc.) that we were emphasizing that weekend.

So, this past Sunday, Mark Newby (elder) explained that we will take a contact card for any soul at any time for any concern. Mark said that whenever you say, “I am going to pray about that” to a co-worker, neighbor, family member, or anyone else, that is your mental prompt to ask them if our congregation can pray for them and send them cards! Over the next several weeks, we will try to talk one-on-one with all of the members in the congregation to see if there are any additional misunderstandings we need to clarify and to ask each one for suggestions to improve this effort. Hopefully, this note can help other congregations improve participation and outreach as it has already helped us.

Since July, West End has mailed out over 1,000 compassion cards! The girlfriend of the erring member who visited us two weeks ago (following compassion cards) has made it known that she would like to study the gospel. We can hardly wait to report about her progress! We also have a new brother in Christ, Jacob Hill! He has been visiting West End with his girlfriend for the past two months, and I genuinely believe that all of the buzz about the Great Commission and needing/wanting to study the Bible made it easier for Jacob to obey the Lord after his own study with Jeremy Weekley (preacher). Keep praying for us and for those who need divine appointments with us!

Congregational Reports

Highway 95 church of Christ, Taylor, Texas: We welcome the Highway 95 church of Christ to the House to House/Heart to Heart School of Evangelism. Attendance during the workshop was very good. The elders are laser-focused on helping this congregation become intentional about evangelism. We look forward to their first report next week.

Lackland Terrace church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas (digital): We welcome the Lackland Terrace church of Christ to the House to House/Heart to Heart School of Evangelism. Greg Campbell (preacher) reports, “My family was in Houston this weekend due to my mother-in-law’s battle with stage 4 lung cancer. Please keep her in your prayers as she is a recent new convert. One of the elders (Dennis Ramsey) preached in my place at Lackland Terrace. I will be preaching about the importance of Bible study this week, per the elders’ request last week, and then I will be preaching about ‘Quantity over Quality’ (Matthew 22) the following week.

“This Friday we are having a game night featuring Bible Jeopardy. All are welcome. We will be using Back to the Bible as a Bible study guide for the questions and answers. Guests and members will get a Bible study without even realizing it. The Sunday before last, we were thrilled to baptize our first Back to the Bible prospect! His desire to know God’s Word has only grown since then! He is a prime example of how the Back to the Bible evangelism model can work. He constantly mentions the love he has he felt from members. He knew he needed to change, and finally he did when he obeyed the gospel. Many members in the congregation were involved with his conversion by sending cards, giving him a ride to and from worship, and constantly inviting him to meals. We sincerely hope this momentum continues. Please keep the Lackland Terrace congregation in your prayers as you all will be in ours.”

Central church of Christ, Martinsburg, West Virginia: Robert Veil (preacher) reports, “We are having an organizational meeting on Thursday. We plan to begin the program officially this Sunday. We will have much more to report next week.”

Edgewood church of Christ, Maryland (digital): John Wilkie (preacher) reports, “We have set November 6 as our startup date for using the HTH evangelism program with Back to the Bible. We already have four studies in progress, and we are praying for a fruitful outcome. We had one baptism this Sunday while I was out because of oral surgery. I will be meeting with the leadership to discuss the strategy wheel and make assignments.”

East Flushing church of Christ, Flushing, New York (digital): Clarence Jenkins (preacher) reports, “We currently have seven ongoing Bible studies, three on Book 3 and four on Book 2. We also have a growing new converts class of four students. As we are praying for each congregation seeking to reach the lost, please continue to pray for us so that we may have numerical and spiritual growth. To God be the glory.”

Bona church of Christ, Missouri: Corry Orr (preacher) reports, “This week the elders are putting members in the right place to help all contacts feel at home when they visit and begin Bible studies. The excitement in the church is truly contagious, and each member is striving to participate in as our evangelism program continues. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to evangelize our area.”

East Main church of Christ, Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Brad Rowley (elder) reports, “East Main elders and ministers continue to meet each week to develop a schedule. The schedule will blend our current evangelism program with the 50-week schedule Rob provided after our seminar. East Main started our own program in January of 2022. We have struggled with how to track contacts, get feedback, record action taken, and track the results. Our family and youth minister Avery Bayes came up with a database called “Customer Relations Management” (CRM). The database has the ability to document teams (volunteers), store contact information, assign tasks through text or email, and run reports. Team members have the ability to respond with results. We pray this will improve our program.

“We have also decided to revamp our visitor strategy with HTHSOE recommended methods. Members will be assigned to sections of the auditorium. This will improve getting contact information from visitors who come in late or were missed in the lobby. In place of gift bags, we have an information packet with quality ink pens for the visitors (see picture). We will kick off our new bookmarks November 6. Jon Mitchell, our pulpit minister, is preparing a three-part sermon series recommended by HTHSOE. We are praying for an increase in our contact list with the bookmarks. Nicole LeBlanc is a great example to all of us; she had three new contacts this month!

Our compassion card teams are busy writing cards to the door-knocking contacts. We are thankful that some of our members signed up for strategies as a result of the HTHSOE seminar. East Main continues to have several ongoing Bible studies. Tim Hayes, one of our deacons, is trying to arrange a Bible study with one of our backpack contacts. We have five members of the church who are learning how to teach the Back to the Bible series with David Brown and Brad Rowley. We are thankful for those who are interested in improving their Bible study skills.”

Hatton church of Christ, Alabama: Chris Miller (preacher) reports, “This week includes a transition. We sent cards to our original contacts for three weeks, each receiving approximately 50 cards. We will meet this Wednesday for our meal and then assign visits to those initial contacts in hopes of setting up studies. We also have a new group of contacts consisting of ten new names who will receive cards. Our sermons continue to be from Back to the Bible; this week we covered half of the blue book.”

Sunrush church of Christ, Chillicothe, Ohio: Jerl Webb (elder) reports, “We are hosting our fall gospel meeting with Phil Sanders from In Search of the Lord’s Way. Our attendance on Sunday was encouraging for both morning and evening services. Two weeks ago, we had a call from a gentleman who needed assistance to go to Columbus for a doctor’s appointment. He came to church Sunday. He spoke with the elders, and we were able to help him by putting some gas in his vehicle. We have his contact information now, and we invited him to come to services again.”

North Meadville church of Christ, Pennsylvania: Bryon Shultz (preacher) reports, “We have compassion cards going to those who are on our contact list, and we are spending time with our new converts. We are working to implement the first principles class for the new converts that should begin Wednesday. We had three new visitors this last week. We gave them the visitors bag and are putting them on our contact list. One visitor is Ryan, a grandson of Carol, a visitor who has been a prospect since July. Please pray for our interactions with him. He is currently enrolled in a local theological school, and I want to help him know God’s truth more perfectly before he continues that path. How wonderful it will be to teach the gospel to a person who is currently on the track to be a denominational preacher. We want him to work in the kingdom for the Lord. It is it a delicate situation, but we know God can do all things.”

New Union church of Christ, Manchester, Tennessee: Paul Fultz (elder) reports, “Charles Williams, our local preacher, presented a lesson that covered the last of Lesson 3, Back to the Bible at the Sunday service. On Sunday we had one couple from the community who were new movers. We sent them compassion cards for three weeks. We have been prospecting a young man with cards for three weeks after his grandmother died. It was great to have our first two visits as a result of compassion cards. Card Team 4 met after worship Sunday evening. Seventy-five cards were written. The enthusiasm continues for card writing.”

Karns church of Christ, Knoxville, Tennessee: Terry Clark (elder) reports, “For the past two Sundays, we have had a visitor named Aaron. He came because a coworker that attends Karns invited him. On his second visit, Aaron responded to the invitation and obeyed the gospel to be baptized! We are thankful that Aaron’s coworker made contact and invited him to services. For the past two Wednesdays, our compassion card group gathered before our midweek Bible classes to send cards of encouragement. The group prepared and sent 214 cards last Wednesday, and 163 cards the previous week. Our prayer is that the cards will touch the hearts of the recipients and help build relationships that will lead to souls being saved.”

Covington church of Christ, Tennessee: Wayne Dalrymple (elder) reports, “We continue to emphasize to our members the need for many contacts. We delivered new movers’ baskets this week. We have written many cards to those who have visited and those who have been sick or grieving. I was to have a study with Jason on Sunday, but he did not come. When I texted him, he said he was too stressed with circumstances in his life to think about other things right now. I told him that studying God’s word and developing a relationship with Him would give him peace. Hopefully, he will agree to study soon.

We had several visitors Sunday, including Marjorie and Brenda who are repeat visitors. We continue to prospect them. Brenda is a Christian who has not been worshiping consistently for a while. Marjorie is the caregiver for a lady who is a faithful Christian from another congregation in the county, but it is closer for her to come to our building. Sunday ended on a wonderful note when Grayson Womack decided to put Christ on in baptism. His parents are members. We rejoice for his new birth. God has truly blessed us this year. We now have had 16 baptisms, which puts us at almost 7 percent of our membership. We pray that God will continue to bless us as we try to help His kingdom grow.”

Greenfield church of Christ, Tennessee: Clint Monroe (elder) reports, “We are about to finish our first round of compassion cards for new movers. The elders will be working with those members who are willing to prepare and deliver baskets to them. Some Bible studies are progressing to crucial moment—the discussion of baptism. We pray that God will give the increase. The series of community worship services held through a cooperative effort of the congregations in the county last week was well attended, despite the cold temperature. Efforts are being made to determine how many contacts were gained.”

Parkway church of Christ, Fulton, Kentucky: Will Hester (preacher) reports, “We have had several visitors in recent weeks. We just finished the last lesson of the BTTB series of lessons. Our congregation has been invested in studying the Word through that series. We have been collecting necessity items for a local family who lost their home to a house fire. We have officially signed up for New Movers and will begin that program November 1.”

Fayette church of Christ, Alabama: Kaleb Hall (preacher) reports, “We met Sunday and are excited to begin Mission Mondays. Our plan is to use the first of these to hit a reset. We will remind everyone of the plan, answer questions, and role play. We will also focus more on the bookmarks and using them for warm contacts. Pray for us as we work to get on a more favorable track.”

Honolulu church of Christ, Hawaii: Tagiilima Esene (preacher) reports, “A few members were able to attend the Big Island Retreat (hosted by the Waimea church of Christ). Several local congregations gathered for singing and hearing God’s Word. I had the privilege to preach on “Paul’s Prescription for Purpose,” which consists of three lessons: “Forget What Is Behind” (Philippians 3:13), “Press Forward (Philippians 3:14), and “Be Like-Minded” (Philippians 3:15). The church needs to use the past to our advantage, focus on glorifying God, and remain united through it all.

“The highlight of the week was two souls came to Christ for salvation. Jewel found the Authentic Christian Podcasts on Spotify while changing her choice of music. She studied with Aaron from GBN, and I received the call that Jewel was ready to be immersed in Christ. We met at the Ala Moana Park and baptized her into Christ Wednesday morning. Carrielynn was baptized in February 2022. Her son Kalani has been searching for the Lord, and his mother had encouraged him to study the Bible. We first met him at our Friday Night Singing and Fire Works when his mother invited him to come. On Sunday, he decided to join our services through Zoom and was able to sit through the final lesson from book three of Back to the Bible. He wrote a question on Zoom: “When do you have baptisms?” We followed up with him and scheduled a study before Wednesday service. After learning about sin, the gospel, and how one can obey it, Kalani made the decision to put on Christ in baptism. These souls will have follow up studies for strengthening and growth. We still have two ongoing studies (one in book two, and the other in book three). Please continue to keep us in your prayers.”

Woodstock church of Christ, Georgia: Greg Garner (deacon) reports, “WCOC collected one contact card, so we can prospect this week. Our congregation is meeting on Sunday evenings to conduct the evangelism workshop. Last week, the cards group sent 45 cards. Last night, we wrote 36 compassion cards. The kids created five pictures to go with the compassion cards. On October 16, the service group helped with the inside and outside of a Stage 4 cancer patient’s home. They will continue to help as long as she needs it. The Visitation group delivered coffee stations and visited 15 new movers. Results are still being tallied. This week’s coffee station delivery is still in the planning stage. The Practical Application class had seven attendees. This class is working on the Does it Matter booklet. We added Timmy and Betty Charpentier to our congregational list. We have three Bible studies in progress.”

New Hope church of Christ, Middleton, Tennessee: Cole Wade (preacher) reports, “We have studied all of the material through our Wednesday classes. We finished Believe the Bible and Does It Matter. We have two people in our new converts’ class. They have been learning much, and have been active during our Wednesday night Bible study!”

Rogersville church of Christ, Tennessee: Ethan Tate (preacher) reports, “Last week we reached out to families who sent in a correspondence course. This helps build an initial connection through letters. It is our prayer that these studies will lead to visiting these families in a few weeks after they finish the fourth correspondence book. We also mailed five Bible study packets to various prisoners in the local prison. They reached out to us, and we are in the process of arranging a time to have consistent Bible studies through prison ministry. Please continue prayers for these efforts and for the ones God is preparing for us to cultivate.”

Aberdeen church of Christ, Maryland: Will Brown (preacher) reports, “This week we had our annual Trunk or Treat. We decided focus on contact for this event. We received 34 contacts. Also, we have 19 additional new movers contacts for this month. We now have enough materials for 43 new movers’ baskets. Please pray that our contacts turn into Bible studies. God is moving here.”

Southwest church of Christ, Austin, Texas: John Garza (preacher) reports, “Currently, we have three Bible studies going on. Each are at different points, but they seem to be going very well.

“We do have some exciting news! In a recent update, I mentioned about some who were no longer interested in studying. Well, one girl, Caroline, did have the Word planted in her heart, when she turned away from studying, we kept watering. To God be the glory, she overcame the Devil taking the Seed from her heart, and she was baptized Sunday afternoon!”

Northern Oaks church of Christ, San Antonio, Texas: Mel Hutzler (preacher) reports, “We have our Picnic/Trunk or Treat this Saturday to get to know our community. It is a huge undertaking and a great way to prospect some individuals for studies. We have a few members who are in Bible studies, and I have one this Sunday as well. Also, next Sunday, we have extra training for our New Movers program.”

Paintsville church of Christ, Kentucky: Zach Collins (preacher) reports, “We have developed a new prospect! Last week, an elder and his wife took a new prospect, Peggy, out to lunch. It was fruitful conversation. She has visited twice and expressed interest in learning more. After the lunch, she has agreed to three Bible studies! We will be using Back to the Bible. Pray for this study!”

Canal Heights church of Christ, Demopolis, Alabama: Bryan Cook (minister) reports, “For the second week in a row, we focused on getting visits. We are pushing this by announcements, bulletin, and even the pulpit message. It seems there is a flow that has started in our compassion cards that is working. Our small congregation has a renewed hope as we look at the future and plan for this growing community of Demopolis. There are more people participating in taking visitors out to lunch. We are still excited about what God has in store for us this next year as we march forward in His word.”

Chase Park church of Christ, Huntsville, Alabama: Pat Cowden (preacher) reports, “We had two visitors related to our recent door knocking outreach. We are trying to follow up this week so we can set up studies with both. One is a graduate student at a local university, and the other is a retired widow. We continued studies with two ongoing prospects, and they are looking good. We have almost completed our study with another family, but they had a tragic death in the family and could not meet last week. We must stay focused on our goal to bring them to a decision point about Christ.”

LaPlata church of Christ, Maryland: Eric Sykes (member) reports, “We have a new sister in Christ named Jasmine Roberts. I finished lesson three with her and her mom last night. They both agreed that they understood the need to be baptized. But when they arrived at the Manassas Church of Christ, in Manassas Virginia, Jasmine’s mom changed her mind. I do not know what happened, but I will find out later today. Nevertheless, I thank the Lord that the brothers in Manassas love God and souls enough to climb out of their beds and baptize our new sister last night a little before midnight, adding another soul to the family. We are going to stay in Chicago two more days to finish studying with Sandy’s childhood friend, Lori Harris. Prayerfully, we hope she will see the need too! Update: Lori Harris, a childhood friend of Sandy here in Chicago, is also our new sister in Christ. We will go home to Maryland in the morning. Keep us lifted up in prayer. God is Good!”

Rabun County church of Christ, Tiger, Georgia: McKinley Pate (preacher) reports, “We will look at the congregational plan this Lord’s Day. We continue to have local visitors and continue to send cards. One visitor has returned due to the compassion shown when she visited the first time. We are trying to schedule dinner in our home with her and her husband so we can get to know them better. She stated that her husband was not religious, but he has said that he is going to come with her soon. I believe a lot of that has to do with the cards. We just participated in a community wide Trunk or Treat with the focus on evangelism. We not only passed out candy to the kids but also cards with the church’s information for their parents. We are still standing, but not standing still!”

Chesapeake church of Christ, Virginia: Ernest Benjamin (preacher) reports, “We are studying through BTTB on Sunday morning to train the congregation. We had a baptism last Monday. I have completed lesson one with two prospects, Buck Williams and Stephanie Robinson, but they have not been in touch since the first study.”

Coldwater church of Christ, Kentucky: Luke Puckett (preacher) reports, “Thanks for the training videos. Last week we refocused on visitor bags, and on proper training for those handing them out. We are ensuring that every visitor is welcomed, getting a welcome bag, and that we get contact information so we can send them cards and establish a relationship. Last week we sent cards to a couple who are on our contact list. We pray these will turn to good prospects.”

Oak Hill church of Christ, Covington, Georgia: Tate Sutton (preacher) reports, “We had a baptism Friday night. His name is Scot Long (gentleman in the middle). This study came about because Steven (gentleman on the right) gave Scot some biblical material. The word pricked his heart. We had a study of Does It Matter after that he was baptized.”

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.