GCC Evangelism Stories

This is the story of Kristina, Kyle, and Crosswalk Chattanooga. Many weeks at Crosswalk, there is a baptism. On Easter weekend, April 19, Kristina will be baptized, and Kyle will be welcomed through the profession of faith. Dozens of their friends and family from multiple states and six different denominational backgrounds will pour into town to experience the Easter service and witness their commitment. Several of those family members no longer attend the church of their past but cling to their relationship with Jesus through Crosswalk’s sermon podcast. Kristina and Kyle independently moved to the Chattanooga area, found each other, and got married in 2015. Kristina grew up in the Pentecostal Holiness Church in Cincinnati, while Kyle was raised in the Church of Christ in Nashville. By the time they met, neither had attended church for some time because of spiritual wounds, feelings of irrelevance, and the struggle to reconcile their religions with the Jesus depicted in scripture. Thro...

Sometimes, life's journeys take unexpected turns. Twenty years ago, I started Bible studies with a remarkable lady. We delved into the depths of our faith, but at that time, she hesitated to take the final step of baptism. Life whisked me away, and I lost touch with her. Yet, God had a plan that would bring our paths back together. Fast forward to a year ago, I found myself moving back to the same area where we first studied. Little did I know, the hand of God was at work. As I settled back into this familiar community, I crossed paths with my old friend. It was a divine reunion that reignited our spiritual connection. I felt compelled to ask her if she would be interested in studying again, and to my joy, she agreed. Armed with the support of a fellow church member, we embarked on a renewed journey of faith together. We explored Scripture, shared stories, and prayed. It was a beautiful experience filled with laughter, questions, and spiritual growth. Throughout our studies, I was ...

                    For Safira Grant, life has been anything but easy. A devoted mother of five, with four children living with her, she has faced challenges that tested her strength in every way. When her husband walked away, she found herself in an overwhelming situation, unsure of how she and her children would make it from one day to the next. “There were days I didn’t know where our next meal would come from,” she shared. “Before he left, things seemed okay, but after he was gone, everything became a struggle.” Adding to her difficulties, her second oldest child was facing serious challenges, leading to the involvement of the Department of Family and Children's Services (DFCS). Amid these hardships, Safira found herself longing for something more—something stable, something greater than her circumstances. An Invitation That Changed Everything One day, a friend came across a Facebook post about an upcoming event at Park Avenue Sevent...

I recently visited with Jamey Houghton, the Senior Pastor of the McDonald Road Church. We talked about the evangelism needs and plans for their community. In the course of our conversation, Pastor Jamey shared with me the following story about his fascinating ministry:  "Over the last three years, I have been uploading a weekly bible study on my bible study channel on YouTube in addition to YouTube shorts. In those three years, I’ve connected with over a half million people online studying bible truth. With the advancement of Artificial Intelligence, I have started creating Bible study content in various languages. We will have studies coming up in Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Italian, and German. To start, I decided to do a Three Angels Messages mini-series in Italian. I boosted the videos and had 80,000 people in Italy join me for a study in Italian of the Three Angels Messages! Thanks to AI, languages no longer hinder sharing the gospel. Before I started this channel, I had jus...

Mark recently responded to a request for Bible studies from Ryma.  He went to the address and found the house surrounded by a fence with a sign on the gate saying Do Not Enter.  Dogs were barking inside the house, including a pit bull who did not seem happy to see him.  He decided to leave but returned the next week to find a woman in the yard.  He asked her if she knew Ryma, and she said yes, that Ryma was in the house, and she went to get her.   When Mark offered to study with her, she noted that it was not a good place to study due to the presence of dogs indoors and mosquitoes outdoors.  He suggested that they could meet at the nearby library park.  He texted her on InterestTracker, setting up a meeting for the following Sabbath.  She, being from the Philippines, knows about Adventists.  Coincidentally, Mark’s pastor’s wife is from the Philippines, and so is the choir director at the church.  Please pray for Ryma and Mark as he studi...

During the Week of Prayer at the Southern Adventist university , students were invited to make a personal public commitment to their faith, and by the grace of God, 56 students made the following decisions:      Baptism requests:  4  Bible study requests:  22  Recommitment to Jesus:  29  Volunteer for Mission:  19  I have questions:  7  Prayer Requests:  37    Our office partnered with one of the Collegiate Pastors to follow up with the students who made these commitments. I’m delighted to share that two of the students were baptized during the Merge Worship Service in December at the Collegedale Church. I’ve attached pictures from the service. ------------- Joseph Khabbaz, M.Div. VP for Spiritual Life and Chaplain

It was getting dark as my wife and I were getting closer to the Seventh Day Adventist church in Valdosta, GA, which is almost on the border with Florida. Devastation after two recent hurricanes was evident even in the dusk. Lots of broken trees on each side of the road and damaged roofs covered with a blue tarp. When we pulled up to the church parking lot, we noticed many people standing at the church's front door. This was the final night of the Bible seminar with Dr. Roger Hernandez, Southern Union Ministerial and Evangelism director, preaching.  Pastor Day Fernandez was taking care of the final details before the doors were opened so that the visitors could come in for dinner prepared by the members of the Valdosta church. The church ladies at the registration desk were super friendly. It was easy to identify volunteers as they were all wearing the same T-shirts. Everyone knew their role: welcoming visitors, scanning their tickets, guiding them to the kitchen, serving food, etc....