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Forty saved in Chattanooga Campaign
By Victory Sunday 40 new souls rejoiced in their newfound rescue ending the We Care Campaign at East Brainerd in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Thirty six had obeyed the Gospel and one was restored; more were reached during the day and then there were another two. One of those was reached actually a year and a half ago when Reggie Gardner and Syble West (both WCM Cadre members) had gone there to meet with members to even talk about having a We Care Campaign. Another was a member at East Brainerd, when as we were told he was motivated by the sermon the first Sunday morning dealing with overcoming fear. He went to a relative, asked her “The Question,” presented to her the Gospel of Christ and she obeyed. All in all, we saw 40 rescues. Praise God!
Seventy-one Cadre, including a few first-timers, from 20 states came and worked hard. Eighty-two local Christians stepped up to the plate and went out on teams with us to the streets! Eighty two! Praise God! Even new Christians reached in this very campaign then went with us! And in this campaign too, as in every one we can remember, someone reached his brother, sister, father, mother, son, daughter, neighbor, friend!
If you are interested in We Care Ministries coming to your congregation and are saying you couldn’t handle such sudden growth, please understand this church is over 600 members. We would tailor the help to meet your size. And if you are saying you couldn’t care for or “mentor” your new babes, know we have an “AfterCare” program to help you be better prepared. At this Tennessee campaign, the “mentors” (We now like to call them simply “Care Givers.) were sitting with them and they were standing with them when they were introduced during the Bible Class hour on Victory Sunday and they were eating with them afterwards. In fact, many had spent already many hours with their new charges during the days just prior to Victory Sunday. We will share our approach as to how to get this done. Please contact us.
As mentioned, it started about 18 months ago. Reggie and Syble had gone to promote even having a campaign and they ended up in a gathering of Christians. In the group was a visitor named Tahesha. Reggie met her and had already asked her “The Question” (What if the Lord were to come right now; would you know for sure, nothing doubting, you would go to Heaven?”) and he had even just ended the We Care interview. Someone then stepped up and asked Reggie to explain the We Care approach to the whole group. So, Reggie said, “I had to think fast as to what to do.” He decided to simply ask Tahesha to be his student and “let’s show the group what we do.” The whole room sat quietly, listening. Reggie unfolded our 27-reference Gospel Presentation. When he came to Acts 22:16, he asked her to read it. She did and looked up and asked him, “Are we still ‘role playing?’ And Reggie answered, “No.” And she said, “Yes, I need to arise and be baptized, calling on the name of the Lord!” And everyone jumped! And if you are concerned about the AfterCare work, just look at this picture:
Eighteen months later, she is sitting between here adopted “Mom and Dad,” hanging on to him and he her. (I caught them at a serious moment as we were listening to another speaker.)
Well, what a number of stories did happen in this wonderful campaign. See below as some of them unfolded in reverse order of time, the latest being recorded first.
Here are most of your new brothers and sisters with their mentors (This picture was taken during class time with others in other places in the huge facility):
During class on Victory Sunday, Dave Mellor, preacher, introduced the new converts, having them come to the front so everyone could see. Coming also with them were their mentors. And those “Care Givers” really are stepping up to the plate to adopt them. Joe Boone stood up in front of about 500 people and said, “I walked with Satan. I’ve come out of the Church of Satan. I know what it’s like to live on the dark side as a child of Satan. Now I am a child of God.”
In this picture you see Joe's tattooed arm. Near the top and just below "666" toward his shoulder and around the point of this tower you see a faint scripting, where he once claimed to be "Satan's child." See other satanic symbols as well. The tattoo fills his entire left upper arm. No longer Satan's child, now he's a GOD's child! He wants this tattoo covered up. Of course, it already is ... with the blood of Jesus. But since it can never be totally removed, he has already had it covered up with ink. We also brought his girlfriend, Vicki Parris, to Christ. They spent the rest of the campaign days and nights with us! They are absolutely jumping for joy!
Afterwards on Victory Sunday and at the lunch room our cadre had saved seats for them but then couldn’t find them; that was because their mentors had come after them to bond with them. It was wonderful!
The tears of joy were everywhere. Literally. Some could not leave the baptistery because they were crying so hard. We saw the hands of new Christians come out of the water, place their hands over their faces and weep. Maybe someone would hand them a towel; they would place it over their face and, with their shoulders bouncing, they wept tears of relief and joy.
Simply it was incredibly moving. It was wonderful.
Why churches across this country don’t pursue this route, we who are so involved in it just do not understand. It is revival. It is renewal. Where churches have split, it is healing.
Victory Sunday night we baptized number 39. Pat Walker, elder’s wife from the Brainerd congregation, tells about it, saying, “I could not wait to tell you that my daughter-in-law was baptized last night about 10:00 pm. Bo my husband baptized her. (Bill and Ruby Oden, staff, used the We Care Gospel Comic Book. This makes it the 142nd time they have used it and out of those studies have seen 137 obey the Gospel. See “Materials” page on web site.) Pat goes on: “She called her parents when we were on our way to the church to invite them to the baptism. They would not come and didn’t think she needed to be baptized again. She was sprinkled at some point of her life. She does understand that she needed to do it and did not hesitate even though he parents didn’t want her to do it. My son called me this morning and said he was so glad that I had asked them to come and study with the people from We Care. He told me he wanted to learn how to teach the gospel and wants to go with me when I go out to teach. Can you believe it? As you must know, we are so very happy and thankful to God. I prayed a lot for this.”
On the morning of Victory Sunday, Frederick Anderson stepped up to Larry and said, “I just must obey the Gospel.” Fred and his wife had come three nights to the preaching. Ted and Bobbie Hardwick (cadre, New Mexico) had taught them and brought them. And they kept coming. Then after Victory Sunday morning sermon, here he came in tears.
On Saturday night, Linda Murphy was snatched from the hands of the JWs. She had a very difficult time relearning the true identity of Jesus. Marco Senoret (staff) and Dianne Walls (cadre, TX) were able to do the rescue into the blood of Jesus. Meet Linda Murphy:
See the tears in the lives of new Christians. Please pause at each to try to feel their grateful hearts that someone knocked their door, confronted them, brought them hope, gave them CHRIST! See the tears:
And these do not count other new Christians who simply had tears in their precious eyes. The Spirit of God entering the life of a sinner rescued in the blood of Jesus brings love, joy, peace! Praise God!
This young lady, Tammy Leamon, brought four others to Christ BEFORE coming herself. When one of our teams stepped up to her on the streets, she saw the living Bread and that her family needed it and she ran to them and gave to them before she took and ate of Him herself.
More studies are scheduled for this coming week. Pray more will be snatched from the enemy.
Rejoice with the new souls. Invite We Care Ministries to your church.
Again, see more stories below as they unfolded in reverse order of time, the latest being recorded here first.
Eighth Day:
Twenty-five souls redeemed by Friday morning in Chattanooga Campaign
We have two days left to go in this Tennessee Campaign to end on Victory Sunday morning. So far 25 have come to Christ. More studies are expected to result in rescues today; then their stories of radical and glorious changes in their lives only begin. And with each snatch from Satan, local "Care Givers" are in place and doing their jobs. Here are stories of some of the latest:
Cadre member Anthony Melakian (cadre, CT) said he had been “plowing in the wrong field.” In the neighborhood he was in he could find no one at home, so he found Steve Suby (cadre, IL), who said he couldn’t get down the street because he found so many people to talk to. Anthony and his team of Jim Jarvis and Nell Yoder were relocated to Steve’s neighborhood. There they found Gary (Bubba) Batchings, who is basically homebound because he is caring for his mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. He has to be with her 24-7. Anthony presented the Gospel to him and he recognized his need to obey it. The team left and brought back Nell Yoder (local) and Kathy Hendricks (cadre, AR) to stay with her while Anthony brought Bubba to obey the Gospel. The caring church here is already working on getting people to help Anthony with his mother’s care and also has provided a system for their homebound members to participate in the worship via telephone hookup. They also have a team who goes each Sunday to provide the Lord’s Supper those who are not physically able to attend services. If no one had knocked on Bubba’s door, he would not be a part of the Lord’s body now. This just underscores the need for God’s people to use every means available to teach the Gospel.
Sheree Price had been taught the Gospel a few days earlier by Judith Mackey (cadre, TX), Sarah Hayes (FL) and Dave Telgren (cadre, NE). She wanted her entire family to be present when she obeyed the Gospel, so she waited until Wednesday night to come to the services. Her two teenage sons, Darrell and Traviunta, came with her, but her husband was still not able to come. However, she felt the need to obey so strongly that she came on without him. As they were listening to the evening service, her boys were following the sermon very closely and were looking up the scriptures in their Bibles. When Sheree was about to obey the Gospel, her two boys said they were ready also. Bill Sampson (local elder) took them aside and reemphasized the fact that they understood what the Gospel was and they reaffirmed that they did. All three family members put on Jesus that night. Very soon her husband will be listening to the Gospel presentation and all are praying that he will also accept God’s Word.
One of the sweet teenagers at this congregation, Christa Lee, has been going out this week with different teams. As she heard them present the Gospel to others and after having Steve Prine present it to her, she was convinced in her heart that her previous baptism was not for the right reason. Wednesday night her family assembled together, including her Dad, who was in Ethiopia and was connected by computer. Thanks to modern technology he was able to see and hear this special event in her life.
On one of the first days of campaigning the team of Marco Senoret (cadre, staff, TX), Tommy Hayes (local elder) and Kathy Amos (local) knocked on the door of Hallie Leamon. Hallie is 12 years old. The team invited her family to come eat supper at the building. Hallie and her aunt, Tammy, came and enjoyed it so much they came back several evenings. Wednesday night, after the service, Hallie indicated her desire to obey the Gospel. Sarah Hayes (local) studied with her and she then put on Christ in her obedience to that Gospel.
Wednesday night was very eventful. Gilbert Padilla was visiting due to the repeated invitations of Laura Crawley, a member here who often ate at Ryan’s Steakhouse, where Gilbert is a server. She kept encouraging him to come visit the church services, so he picked this Wednesday. He listened to Larry West preach on the Gospel, then witnessed five baptisms, then studied with Anthony Melakian (cadre, CT). He wanted to come the next morning to help knock doors. As we were building teams and listening to reports from the night before, he decided he needed to obey the Gospel, which he had never done. He had had an immersion experience, but he had the humility to realize that it was not for the right reason. He said he had worked with street people often, but simply told them to believe and take Jesus into their hearts, not knowing he was not telling them the entire Gospel. Now he wants to tell it the right way! Just before he went into the water, he wanted everyone to know what he was leaving behind in the water. He catalogued a list of sins, saying that the Apostle Paul claimed to be the chief of sinners, but that he himself would challenge Paul for that title. He was extremely happy to become a new creature in Jesus. His words after obeying the Gospel were, “I got it right this time!”
Seventh Day:
Nineteen souls claimed in the blood in Chattanooga Campaign
As of Wednesday night, the number rescued in Christ is 19. Three obeyed in the middle of our sermon tonight and two more at the end. Whenever someone gets ready to reach out to Jesus, we stop everything. Time is of the essence!
Crista Lee obeyed the Gospel tonight while her daddy, in the military, watched via the internet from Ethiopia! What a joy this electronic age!
Sixth Day:
Some are "seekers." Others are "keepers." And they work in harmony to rescue the perishing. We Care Ministries working with local churches are doing a much better job in putting into place the "AfterCare" program. When a soul is snatched, "Care Givers" are stepping up to adopt the new babe and processing them into the body life. By the time of the middle Sunday, six had obeyed the Gospel, and all six new converts were in the assembly of God's people! And the Campaign marches on. As of the sixth day, Tuesday, 13 have obeyed the Gospel in this Campaign so far.
Judith Mackey (cadre, TX), Sarah Hayes (FL) and Dave Telgren (cadre, NE) knocked on Sheree Price’s door. She was on the phone with her sister, Betty Henderson. They explained that they were looking for someone to help and Sheree told Betty that she had angels at her front door. They presented the Gospel to Sheree, but she wanted to wait and talk to her husband before she obeyed. However, she sent the “angels” over to Betty’s house to give her some food. When they got there they left a box of food, and then presented the Gospel to Betty. Betty told them she was baptized simply to get in the church choir because she wanted to sing in the choir. After learning about the Gospel she knew her baptism was for the wrong reason and she came to the building to obey the Gospel!
Last Saturday morning Don Brock (cadre, KS), Tedra Ramey (local) and Don White (local) went back to call on Vicki Lynn, Joe’s friend, who heard the Gospel from the team of Don Brock (cadre, KS), Kathy Paige (TN), and Della Sampson (local). She told them she did not want to obey the Gospel simply because Joe had done it. She was not able to attend services Sunday morning because she was in a lot of pain due to kidney stones. However, she was able to come after services Sunday night and wanted to obey the Gospel. Vicki was a very happy person.
Joanne Sawyer came forward after the sermon on Monday evening, stating that she had been thinking for a long time about her baptism when she was young, and had come to the conclusion that she was not baptized then for the right reason. She now wanted to know she was obeying the Gospel for the right reason. She felt the need to erase all doubt in her mind, for this is a matter of life and death and eternity is too long to miss spending it in heaven. She then obeyed the Gospel right then.
Jonette Thornhill (above) came to this campaign from Texas as Cadre, even though she could not go out into the streets due to foot surgery she had the day before coming to the campaign. However, she wanted to be a part of it so she came on and has been serving on the Prayer Team all week. After hearing the training and sermons on the Gospel, she came to the realization that her baptism 60 years ago when she was 12 years old was not due to obedience to the Gospel. She said there was no urgency when she was baptized then; it was just something that was done when one got to a certain age. Since she had come to a realization of the Gospel and how she could have assurance of her salvation, she felt the urgency of being forgiven of her sins. Having difficulty climbing the stairs to the baptistery, those assisting her said, “Take your time; there’s no hurry.” She replied, “Oh, yes, there is!” After obeying the Gospel she said, “Now I am certain of my salvation.”
Larry Howard (cadre, NC), Sherry Allen (cadre, NE), and Dave Telgren (cadre, NE) knocked on the door of Greg and Angel Quarles. When asked if they knew of anyone who needed help, Angel replied, “We do.” Greg is in the military and is being transferred to Tacoma, Washington, and Angel was having difficult time adjusting to leaving her family here and moving that far away. Larry presented the Gospel to them and they were in the process of making a decision. Larry explained to them that putting on Christ would help them in their move. They would have God with them and there is no better way to have a strong marriage than to build it on Jesus and His forgiveness. Having accepted Jesus’ forgiveness would allow them to forgive each other when difficulties arose. They then came to the building and Greg obeyed the Gospel, after which he had the privilege of baptizing Angel so she could obey the Gospel. (And then they kissed!) Praise God that they now can take God with them on their move to a new home.
After 30 years, we have returned!
Exactly 30 years ago this month the Lord blessed me to preach this same precious Gospel of JESUS at this congregation, the East Brainerd Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I was just a "young buck" then, but the message hasn't changed and neither has our passion for it! Although we now have a new and faithful Cadre of dedicated workers, we have returned and are seeing people still saved by it! For HIS continued use of us, for YOU who faithfully send us out all over this wonderful USA, we are deeply thankful and we praise His Name!
Fourth Day:
Nine obey in first four days of Tennessee
We Care Campaign Seventy-one Cadre, including a few first-timers, from 20 states are presently in Chattanooga, Tennessee, working with the East Brainerd church to reach out and rescue the perisning around their building. So far, eight souls have been rescue, and this is just the fifth day of the 10-day campaign. And what beautiful stories some of them already have brought to us!
We have 24 teams on the street. Pray we get many more souls today!
Many members at East Brainerd were rejoicing along with angels in heaven this afternoon as Keenin Little (above) obeyed the Gospel. Keenin is the son of Lillian Little, who obeyed the Gospel about two years ago and is a faithful member here now. He was at the church playground watching his young son play with some other children. Ruby and Bill Oden (OK) went over to him and started a conversation, directing it toward his relationship with Jesus, which is the WCM approach, resulting in a Gospel presentation. Keenin saw the need to obey and he did so as his mother looked on rejoicing. Monday morning it was electrifying!
Another instance of someone praying for help and having God answer his prayer is Joe Boone (above). Joe knew his life was on the wrong track and knew he could not keep living the life he was living. He had tried many different religious experiences, but was not satisfied with any of them. He had been praying for four weeks for someone to help him get out of the direction his life had taken. The team of Don and Sharon Brock (KS) and Danny Warren (local) had gone to Joe’s area, not really assigned to that area of the neighborhood. Something just kept calling Don to that area. As they passed Joe’s house, he was out at the mailbox. Don decided to stop and talk to him about Jesus. Joe went through the Gospel story, then wanted his friend, Vicki, to hear what was being said. The team, this time made up of Don Brock (KS), Kathy Paige (TN), and Della Sampson (local), came back a little later and presented the Gospel Illustrated to Joe and Vicki together. Joe knew he needed to obey the Gospel, but had an appointment that he could not get out of, so the team left, came back to the building, and entered the prayer room. The entire prayer team then began praying for Joe to come obey the Gospel, and again, prayers were answered. Joe showed up about 6 p.m. and put on his Savior in baptism. His comment after that was, “This is the first time I’ve felt I have done the right thing.”
Juana Martinez (above) obeyed the Gospel after a series of studies with Marco Senoret (TX). Joe Redding (WV), Tedra Ramey (local) and Kimberly Highfield (local) knocked on her door on Thursday. They brought Juana and her mother and sister to the building to eat lunch. Because of limited English ability, Marco taught them that afternoon. They did not get finished with the Gospel presentation so they stopped for the evening and took the Bible home with them. When they came the next evening, they had already gone through the rest of the verses at home. Juana Martinez’s husband was with them so Marco and Reggie Gardner (ID) went through the entire presentation again with all of them. They again went home and then Juana showed up Saturday afternoon. After more study, Juana was ready to obey the Gospel. Juana and her mother and sister were all at the services for Sunday morning. In fact, all six new Christians were present for worship this first Sunday of the Gospel meeting. What a great way to start out their walk with Jesus!
Training Christians in the We Care Approach
As in every campaign now, we begin by training local Christians in the We Care approach. Here is only one of many small groups meeting and doing "lab." In pairs, Christians practice confronting and presenting the Gospel on one another. It is training in a safe environment, conducted several nights. Then, they hit the streets with our Cadre leading the teams, and students of the approach see it in action, learning how to rescue.
Praying for a beloved soldier by phone
Above is a rare shot:
Over the past 33 years of conducting We Care Campaigns our workers whom we call "Cadre" have become extremely close in our love for one another in Christ. We have seen many now graduate from this life and who go Home with the Lord. We have even performed wedding ceremonies for those widowed. In this picture we were able to descretely capture loving brothers were involved in intimate moments late at night talking to a Cadre sister in a hospital room hundreds of miles from us. Six of us gathered around a phone and spent time praying with and for her as she faces her last days on earth. Soft words, tears, expressions of love - all that we tried to give. Finally, all we could say to the Lord was, "Just please listen to our hearts!" Though I do not want to mention her name, we ask please pray for this noble soldier and her need for comfort and peace.
Candid shots of the ongoing campaign:
Marco has been studying with a beautiful Spanish family for two days. They keep coming to the building. They want to know. Witnessing someone obey the Gospel, one said, "This is the first time I've seen an adult baptized." Pray they all obey soon.
Elders circle up within larger circle, welcoming Joseph Boone (left) into God's family. Joe has been seeking for years. Though he has been a member of many kinds of religion, when he obeyed the Gospel he said, "I know this time I did what was right!"
Mattie and Larry Howard (NC) and Sheila Mason (local) knocked on the door of Tammie Walker. Not knowing what kind of people were knocking on her door, she closed the door and locked it! Then she went to the window and found out that they were caring people who wanted to help her. Her daughter, Nikki, told her to let them in. The team went inside and presented the Gospel to both of them. They were ready to obey it, but Nikki had to go to work, so they came to the building the next morning. They were so thrilled at doing what Jesus wanted that they stood at the top of the baptistery and hugged each other for a long, long time. Then in the welcome circle Tammie told the team that she apologized for shutting the door in their face and thanked the church for accepting them into their fellowship.
Bebie and Tommy Key (Cadre) and Tommy Hayes (local) shared the Gospel with Tricia Taylor. Bebie and Tommy Hayes presented the Gospel to Tricia on the front steps while Tommy Key played with her two young boys. Tricia wanted to obey the Gospel, but wanted to come on her own, even though she did not have a car. They left, not knowing when she would come, and came to the building to watch Andrew obey the Gospel. Immediately after he had obeyed, Tricia showed up at the building! She and the two boys had walked about a mile in order to respond to God’s saving grace by obeying the Gospel. As she was in the baptistery, one of the ministers was explaining to her second grade son that she was obeying the Gospel so she could go to heaven one day. His response was, “Wow!”
We began the We Care Campaign the first morning with the East Brainard Church in Chattanooga. Chuck Thompson, staff, assigns maps here as 19 teams hit the streets. Pray for a great harvest!
