Family and Friends,
It has been an incredible two weeks for the church here in Williamsburg! The good that has been accomplished in bringing Jesus to the people of this community will never be fully understood this side of Heaven. We all will have to wait to see who and how many will enjoy that blessed home with our Father.
So, this is really an "incomplete" record because the task before us is ongoing and will never been fully completed as long as time as we know it exists!
Here are some interesting statistics that you can think about and work with as you wish!
[All "averages" are rounded off or approximated)
2,190 doors were knocked on between Thursday, May 22 and Saturday, May 31. That represents an
average of about 219 doors per day. Remembering that Saturdays were limited to just a morning
effort (giving everyone a chance to rest on Saturday afternoon), the least number of doors knocked on
was 167 on Friday, May 30. The largest number was on Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day).
801 families were found at home. This represents about 1 out of every 2.5 doors were opened to us.
119 Gospel presentations were given. This means that 1 out of 20 doors that were knocked on resulted
in a Bible study. Of the number of folk found at home the number would be 1 out of 7 resulted in a
Bible study.
146 individuals participated in those Bible studies which were led by a team of workers
47 more Bible studies were set and conducted either during the campaign or are scheduled to be completed at a later date by the local workers.
68 families either requested us to call back again or signs were clear that a Bible study was very possible
45 benevolent cases were found and met on an "as needed" basis. This represents 1 out of every 50
houses needed some type of benevolent act
24 persons obeyed the gospel during the twelve day period (additional one prior to May 22 and another
one since May 31). 1 out of 100 doors knocked upon resulted in one or more obeying the gospel. 17
of those obeying the gospel were women and 7 were men. The youngest was 13 and the oldest was
approximately 65.
The main three barometers are:
1 out of every 2.5 doors knocked on found someone home
1 out of every 7 people found at home resulted in a gospel presentation
1 out of every 3 gospel presentations resulted in someone obeying the gospel
The above figures do not tell the real story of how God blessed this effort. Just a few random thoughts
might help a bit:
-- Two couples were baptized uniting themselves in Christ and to each other.
-- One couple obeyed the gospel who were Hispanic, therefore, requiring some extra time and effort
before they understood the gospel and desired to obey it.
-- One mother and daughter combination obeyed the gospel
-- 52 of our own folk were involved in going out on the streets and teaching people
-- 90% of our own folk were involved in the campaign at some level, even higher if those who were only
able to devote themselves to praying for the success of the gospel
-- Several of our working folk took one week of their vacation and dedicated it to God's work
-- Over 4,000 meals were served to workers, cadre, and local guests
-- More than 70 boxes of groceries were distributed throughout the community
-- Only the second time that We Care had someone on every team everyday, except one afternoon when
one team lacked a "local" member
-- Two out of town couples delayed their departure due to scheduled Bible studies
The "personal" conversion stories are amazing and unique in themselves. The way God moved among
people to bring them in contact with the gospel was nothing short of incredible! Many of us will cherish
these "stories" for the remainder of our lives and will be the source of encouragement to continue
reaching out to our community.
-- One lady, Barbara, had been a part of a local church for 55 years and discovered that she had been
a part of a "false church" (her words) for all of those years.
-- A young man obeyed the gospel realizing that his father, a denominational preacher, would not be
happy about his decision
-- Another lady who had not left her home for ten years obeyed the gospel and has not failed getting out
her house since
-- One with an acute back problem "suffered" through the ordeal of baptism because she knew it was
what she needed and was present on "Victory Sunday" although in much pain
-- Two homeless individuals were guests at lunch one day and after studying with one of them, he
obeyed the gospel. He was present on "Victory Sunday" although had to hurry to work immediately
after lunch, but asked before leaving when the next service would be.
-- One door was knocked on with the intention of studying with the resident only to discover that the
caregiver was the one that ended up studying the Bible and obeying the gospel
-- Two of the early converts were out on the street knocking doors before the campaign was over
Well, you get the idea that we are enjoying some wonderful "conversion stories." The studies will
bring more such stories. Already, studies are being led with those who were listed as "call backs." One
of those potential studies called this morning to make sure she could reschedule the study with her
thirteen year old daughter. I will be studying with her and her daughter next Thursday at 3 o'clock.
Another study is scheduled for 9 o'clock on Saturday morning. I have a study tonight at 7 o'clock.
The campaign continues....and your help is desperately needed! God has opened up doors of
opportunity that we cannot allow to go shut! Please, let me, Jim Bishop, or Johnnie Madison know that
you want to continue being involved!
Family and Friends,
Now, if the title for this email doesn't catch your attention then you better lie down because you have died! Seriously, the above is the story of Matthew! Where do I begin?
On Wednesday (I believe) Matthew came wandering up our driveway here at the church building. He looked a bit confused and while I was chatting with Chuck Thompson about other areas into which we should move, I said, "I need to go see what that young man needs!" Before I could get out of the car, he had already entered the church building! Upon entering the building some of our young folk immediately latched hold of him and began building a relationship. Within an hour or so, Matthew was in a Bible study where he was being exposed for the first time in his life to the gospel. The study continued after dinner and was renewed the next day! Further study occurred his afternoon following our "victory celebration," and just a few minutes ago, we witnessed Matthew obeying the gospel for the remission of his sins.
Matthew will be here in the states until September which give us about three full months to mentor him and help him mature into Jesus Christ! We want to prepare him for his return trip to Russia (yes, I said, "Russia!") where he can remain faithful to God. This might be a monumental task, but there is no task greater than our God, right? I am praying that there will be a band of faithful Christians meeting near his home with whom we can connect. Please, pleas, pray that this will happen!
God does indeed help those who are searching for truth, doesn't He? We sometimes think that we "find" folk when actually it is God helping them find us! We are more of a pawn in God's plan than most of us want to admit! The problem is that often He is trying to lead us to someone and we don't pick up on the signals or we are not open to his guidance.
Matthew is the first one to obey the gospel after the campaign has been concluded! He won't be the last! We, as a church family, have committed ourselves to work with God in sharing the gospel with as many of the 69 contacts that we have now. We have several who are completely prepared to make the gospel presentation and we will do it! We are already making plans as to how we continue the outreach that has been going on for the last twelve days! We MUST strike while the iron is hot! There are dying souls that are depending on someone sharing with them the gospel! We MUST become God's instruments of peace! Please, please, pray for this church to continue with these gospel presentations!
Full details in a couple of days because other studies are still going on right now! WOW! God is good!
There is a sports expression that says, "The game's not over until the fat lady sings!" Well, I don't know about the "fat lady," but I know that a campaign is not over until it is over! "Officially" the campaign pretty much ended at noon today! Many of the cadre have left for home! Others are taking this last day to enjoy the sites in our historic community! While others are going here and there! (Two cadre went to see the ocean in Virginia Beach.)
Well, they missed numbers 24 & 25 obeying the gospel! That's right, I have just come from participating in the baptism of Yessica and Elias Robles. This young family (two children) are so sweet and so precious! The little girl and boy are beautiful children! Obviously, you can tell by their names that they have a Hispanic background! WOW! Is God directing us toward a Hispanic ministry? As in many growing communities the Hispanic population is on the increase and we are no exception! We have three brothers who are quite fluent in Spanish (something we did not have too long ago) and now we have a young family who will need some help understanding some of the principles of God! The Robles speak English, but are still much more comfortable in their native Spanish. So, here we go again! God just keeps working and working! Will He every stop? I sure hope not!
Last night was very special as a young lady about 40 years old was restored! Kiersten had been away from the church family for two or three years having been discouraged by some enemies of the church! She came back and in her written statement confessed her own condition, but told us what she needed to be able to remain faithful. Her concluding words were, "...if you will take me back into the family, I will fight with the heart of a lion to remain faithful!" Can we ask anything else? Again, only "WOW!" comes to mind!
I will probably be writing to you one more time to give you some of the "figures" regarding the campaign (how many doors were knocked on, number of folk at home, number of studies, number of benevolent cases, etc.) and I think you will find all of these challenging!
All I can say that any church that does not give "door knocking" another chance is missing out on a wonderful way to reaching the lost with the loving message of God! Also, you will be amazed at the reaction of people when the GOSPEL (1Corinthians 15:1-4) is preached and not church issues! People are fed up with hearing about "churches," but are dying to hear about "Jesus!" Give the GOSPEL a chance!
More later....probably on Monday!
Family and friends,
I cannot believe that I did not get to write to you yesterday, but there is a reason! I began writing an update three or four times and each time I was interrupted (not really an interruption)! because another person was wanting to obey the gospel! Now there's a nice problem to have, right? I finally gave up at 10:30 last night and decided to wait until this morning!
Let's see. In the last email report on Tuesday, the total was 13, I believe. We were waiting on Leonard Ash to come in to obey the gospel after he got off from work! Guess what? Leonard was baptized into Christ around 6 p.m. Tuesday evening...#14! Leonard is a wonderful young man whose father is a denominational preacher in Texas, I believe. Pray for him as he is concerned about letting his family know of his decision to obey the truth!
Yesterday began with the obedience to the gospel of Amie Hurst. This is a story in itself! One of our teams was working with one of "unfaithful sisters" as a result of knocking on doors. She lived next door to Amie. Amie became interested in hearing the gospel after hearing the introduction. She is a single mother of a cutest little girl you have ever laid eyes on by the name of Mariah. Now, here is another twist! Amie lives next door to one of our newer converts (two years ago), so we have three "sisters" living side-by-side-by side. This will be a wonderful opportunity to have a small group Bible study in that neighborhood that may attract even more folk! Keep praying about this!
Later, Quisha Picott, a caregiver here in Williamsburg, was found through knocking on doors. She studied with George and Betty Vinson and our own, Tom Little and decided that she want to obey the gospel. She got off from work fifteen minutes after the study, so the team sat in the car and waited for her to finish working. Off to the church building and into the water! Quisha (pronounced - Keesha) is so sweet and teared up as we sang "God's Family" with and to her after her obedience.
Oh, we are not done yet! After studying with one of our elders last week, Susan Harman, finally made the decision to obey the gospel. She had been attending about three weeks and responded positively to the gospel presentation. She will be a valuable asset to the church family, I believe! Susan was baptized right before the evening preaching service, but immediately afterward, her good friend, Jennifer Christol, also obeyed the gospel. It was such a joy to see both them hug and congratulate one another! God does bring people together for His purposes!
I thought I would be able to send this without any more of those "interruptions" (?), but, guess what? Yep, another young lady obeyed the gospel this morning after studying with Mike and Regina Boisseau. Tracy, the daughter of our own Betina Hundley, put her Lord on in baptism just a few minutes ago. Tracy is such a sweet young lady and her contribution to this family will be great! She works at Walmart and is affectionately known as "the prettiest girl that works at Walmart!" Well, at least, we all think she is!
So, let's see...that brings the total for right now to 19 and, trust me, we are still counting! Teams are in studies at the moment and others are pending for this afternoon! Please, please, keep praying for God's will to be done in the hearts of people in our community!