25/10/2024
Check out this week’s Reaching the Lost Success Stories!
Featured Work: Coweta church of Christ
Editor’s Note: A valuable lesson can be learned from the recent conversion at the Coweta church of Christ. Conversions are not made by mere happenstance. They are the result of consistent and persistent efforts to teach someone the Word of God. This report from Keno Shrum, an HTHSOE regional trainer, is submitted for your consideration.
Playing Long Ball in Conversion
by Keno Shrum
A few months ago, I baptized Jim. He had grown up in the Wesleyan faith and then Baptist, where he had served for a while as a youth minister. He and his wife started attending with us several years ago. We went through Back to the Bible with them, but it took a few years of work for him to realize he had not been baptized scripturally.
The story begins with his wife, Gina. She had attended there as a child. Her family lived in the area, and she and her siblings would walk to services at our congregation. That was 40+ years ago. Just before COVID-19, Jim and Gina began attending an unfaithful church of Christ in the Tulsa area that has begun allowing women to carry out leadership roles. Shortly after Covid struck, that congregation closed its doors for a while. During the pandemic, we were one of the only congregations in the Tulsa area that did not close the doors and continued worshiping as usual. So Jim and Gina started worshiping with us, albeit sporadically.
Over the next few years, we studied with them. Recently, their attendance became regular, and we really started to see them grow. As mentioned, in July, Jim recognized he had not been scripturally baptized and submitted to the Lord. Having been through BTTB and other studies, Gina had not yet come to that conclusion. So, one of our ladies studied with her weekly for some time. When her schedule no longer allowed them to meet, Rhonda gave Gina an Acts study workbook by Bobby Bates that we had in our HTHSOE resource inventory. As Gina went through Acts, she saw a common thread with conversions and salvation. Sunday, she came forward during the song of encouragement and was baptized into Christ.
There are times when you have to play long ball. Bobby Bates wrote, “The best way to close a study is to never close.” Never give up on someone who does not give up on you. Letting them sit in the pews without Bible study rarely works. If they don’t obey using BTTB, keep fishing, but change your lure. We are so excited for Jim and Gina. They are a wonderful, growing couple with hearts of service!
Click the link below to see the full report!
https://my.housetohouse.com/success-stories-october-23-2024/
