Building up the church is exciting

January 26, 1999

Dear Beloved Family of God:

Our Father in heaven knows our needs, and He continues to provide us with greater opportunities each day of the week in our efforts at winning lost souls to Jesus Christ our Savior. It is indeed exciting to be working in a community that is filled with people who are searching for the truth about our God and Father. The people of Crystal City, Texas are studying the Holy Scriptures more and more in their churches, and many of these believers are finding that their Denomination does not measure up to the churches of Christ mentioned in the New Testament. They seek change, but not changes that will take them into greater depths of denominationalism. Many of these believers are moving toward changes that will bring them closer to the example of New Testament church.

As you know I recently preached at the Mount Olive Baptist Church here in Crystal City, and my sermon was based on "The Call to New Testament Christianity." This past Friday I was again invited to participate in their Friday night Bible Study class. I was late getting to the class because the family Salinas family that recently put on Christ in baptism needed me to take them to the grocery store to buy the groceries. Well this was not all bad, but rather the best thing. You know when I arrived about twenty minutes this group of believers had already begun, and they were talking out the sermon that I had delivered the previous Sunday. They were glad to see me, and I encouraged them to continue with the class. The "only saved always saved" theology was brought up by one of the Baptist members, and another one said that Grace is all we need, but that we must show the fruit of our works to God and that we must all walk in them in order to please Almighty God. Another believer stated that Christians can indeed walk in the flesh instead of the Spirit. It was quite apparent that this group of believers are beginning to see the flaws in this erroneous doctrine. I was invited to preach again, and that they would all love to attend our first gospel meeting that will be held in late February 1999. I will present you all with more details of this event in the coming days. They are also excited about our daily one hour Radio Program that will begin in February.

This past Lord's day was a record setting Sunday for the church of Christ in Crystal City, Texas. We had a total of twenty-six people attending our Sunday Morning Worship Service and our contribution was $130.08. This may not sound like alot to get excited about, but if you consider the fact that we have just completed our first month here after re-establishing the church along with four baptisms you will then share in our joy excitement. We had two new families attend our worship service. This now brings the total number of people who have visited our church at one time or another to fifty-three. At this rapid rate of growth we should be able to reach our attendance goal of one hundred by the end of 1999 if not sooner. The church has set an attendance goal of thirty people for this Sunday's morning worship service. Already there are several adults calling me saying that they have invited some of their friends to attend. The children are also doing the same. This evening I visited one our members and a child in the first grade said that he has invited his best friend to attend this Wednesday night Bible class and our Sunday morning worship service. We are all excited to see this congregation grow.

We are now in an urgent need of repairing our Annex that was once used for Bible Study classrooms for the children. This 80 ft. by 16 ft. needs a new wooden roof since the current flat roof has been leaking for five to maybe twenty years. The interior of this structure will need to have the ceiling replaced since most of it has fallen to the floor. God is great. A construction contractor who serves as a "co-Pastor" for one of the local Pentecostal churches has given us an estimate for making these repairs for just under $5,000.00. I am currently installing seven new metal exterior doors for the Annex. In the beginning I was estimating the total costs for this repair to be in the area of $20,000.00, but the Lord has sent us someone to do it for less money. Now more than ever I am needing to raise the money needed to make this repair. I will be trying to raise $5,000 for the repair of our Bible Study classrooms. Will you please ask your congregation to help us. Our other needs are in the area of Spanish Song Books, Spanish Bibles, Baptismal clothing for women, men, and teenagers, and an outfit for our baptizer (baptist). The souls that we have baptized in Crystal City including myself have had to use the clothes that they were wearing at the time of their good confession.

We are currently planning to hold a Youth Rally and Vacation Bible School this summer. There will be a total of four Gospel Meetings held in Crystal City this year with the first being held during the later part of February 1999. The other Gospel Meeting are tentatively planned for the months of May, August, November, 1999. We are inviting Christians from all over the world to come to Crystal City, Texas to assist us in these Evangelistic events for the glory of Almighty God our Father, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit. If you and your youth group or members of your congregation would like to travel Crystal City in an effort help us win many lost souls to Christ please call me a.s.a.p. If you cannot come, but would like to help us you may desire to financially support our evangelistic efforts. Please remember the Lord's church in Crystal City and me in your prayers.

May the grace of God, the love of Jesus, and the peace of the Holy Spirit be with you and your family forever.

Your brother in Christ Jesus,

E-mail questions or comments to: garcia@church-of-christ.org

The church of Christ at Crystal City

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Last updated on 1/30/1999