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The following account was related to Bobby Welch by a FAITH team following a FAITH Institute clinic at their church.
It was time to make a follow-up visit and you always wonder just how the visitation team will be received on a second visit — especially when our follow-up card indicated the first visit had only been a few days before and it was a "cold call" opinion poll survey contact!
Our prospective visit was only one of the many discovered the week before during a FAITH Institute Clinic at our church. (The Institute is a Clinic that has two or more tracks of instruction.) Always there is a Basic FAITH track and a Veteran's track, for those already in FAITH. Often additional tracks are added such as Student FAITH, Spanish, or even Portuguese. Our Institute had over 400 clinicians and their hour and half visitation resulted in 543 completed visits with the gospel being presented 233 times, over eighty praying to receive Christ, finding over 294 prospects for our church, and enrolling fifty-three in Sunday School.
Now, according to our notebook, we had arrived at the correct street but because of darkness the exact house was hard to find. Finally, there was the home and as we drove up we saw people in the living room looking out the window! Our information reminded us that the family had voiced a desire to get their children into the church's ministry. As we approached the door my FAITH team members, Dawn and Sylvia were worried and asked, "Scott, do you think they are saying, 'Oh great, it's those people from the church again!'"
Raymond, the father, quickly opened the door and we could hardly believe what we were hearing! He was almost exactly expressing the words we had dreaded we might hear. He declared with great enthusiasm, "Oh great — it's the people from the church." Then added, "I'm so glad you are back." Raymond was saying those words but in a totally positive and happy way. Wow, what a blessing to have such a reception. He went on to tell us that just that very afternoon while driving his car he thought, "I wonder why the church people have not made a contact with us by now about getting our children to church?"
He went on to tell us about his children. Excitedly, he also told us that his street was full of kids and he would help contact them all to possibly ride the church bus!
That was the perfect opportunity to ask him, "Raymond, in your personal opinion, what do you think it takes for a person to go to heaven?" He gave a confident faith answer and explained his trust in Christ as his Savior. Then he lowered his voice and said he had some friends visiting and he was not sure about their relationship to the Lord asking, "Could you come back and talk with them another time?" He would make sure they were all there. We happily agreed.
[2]As our team left we praised the Lord for such a wonderful and productive visit where an entire family had been touched for Christ. We felt certain we'd see them in church and Sunday School and we would return on another visit. "Oh great, it's those people from the church again!" we laughingly repeated on our way back to the car. It is truly great and it's an honor to be "those people from the church" sharing the love of Jesus to those just waiting for it.
Could anyone in our neighborhoods be hopefully wondering when "those people from the church" might take the time to stop by?