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Evangelistic Report From Charleston, South Carolina
Evangelistic Report From Charleston, South Carolina
by Ricky Shanks
(Note: Charlie has shared the following report which he received from Ricky Shanks. It is a reminder that there are many souls to be saved and that there are yet those who will respond! Let us read it and be encouraged and motivated to keep sowing the seed! Pray about our efforts as well as for the efforts of brethren elsewhere! “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth” … 1Cor.3:6)
April 2013…
We continue to rejoice in the Lord of the Harvest and the Shepherd of our souls. If you read these reports often you know there are a lot of Bible studies with individuals each week. There are 7 men in the flock who are very active toward sharing the gospel with every opportunity that comes their way. I would say on average between 25-30 Bible studies take place on a weekly basis. Four of these men are fairly new in Christ themselves which is very encouraging. There comes a time in teaching someone that is very critical on which way someone will go. The evil one knows just when to work his deceptions. On Wednesday evening we ask particular prayer request concerning some of these studies when a student comes to know the truth. They can respond in obedience or reject what they had learned. This is really the front line in the battle with the evil one. We prayed for the Lord to keep him from distracting these souls and prevent him from confusing them. Carol Wells is the latest to obey the gospel on April 10th. We continue to study with her weekly as she learns what is needed to completely serve the Lord and how to stay faithful to God. She is already teaching others even before she herself is fully functioning and worshiping God in spirit and truth. She works with a crisis pregnancy center and is giving out our material that teaches the whole truth of salvation. We also ask for your prayers for her and all these new brethren in God’s kingdom. Just because they may obey the gospel does not mean they will continue to stay devoted to Him. The world is a big influence on all of us.
Much work is underway to try and study with all these new contacts we got last month. Some have already rejected the gospel truth and many still remain to reach out to in person. There is only so much we can do in a week. So it takes time. This dilemma give us clear understanding of what the Lord meant …Luke 10:2, John 4:35 pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth laborers into the vineyard, for the fields are white ready to harvest. Amen
The radio program and the Dial A Bible Study continue to bring in more contacts weekly. For April – 35 local contacts from these two avenues plus we had 101 new contacts from the Flower Town Festival. (Biggest results ever) We now have 4 men behind the mic at the radio station. All the men in the flock are stepping up to do more as they grow. The women too are now jumping in and started teaching the young ones in classes. These are big steps in that they themselves have never done this before. With some tutoring they have stepped forward and got to work.
Attendance is remaining up. We know the day is coming when everyone will be there and we will not be able to seat everyone. At present we have to regularly ask folks to move closer to the wall to make room for all to sit down. A move has been on our agenda for a while but the timing of such a move depends on local contributions being able to handle the large extra expense. We just labor and let those things come in His time. Thank you so much for your generous laboring with us in this vineyard of the Lord here in the Charleston area. I pray much fruit is coming to your account from our labor together. To walk with Him is such a honor and glory. And to walk together with your encouragement is so comforting. I praise God for you.
