It is a busy time of year for me as I finish this year’s work and gear up for 2019. As always, I solicit your prayers.
During the week of October 7–12, I was in a gospel meeting with the folks at the East Columbus congregation in Columbus, Mississippi. I had preached a couple of lessons at this congregation way back in the 1970s, but since then I had not been back except for a brief visit last year. As you know, I have a special love for the Lord’s work in Mississippi and want to help in every way that I can. We had a good week together in Columbus, and the members of the congregation treated me very hospitably. I appreciate the fact that in addition to their evening services, this congregation also has a Tuesday and Thursday morning session during their meetings. We had visitors from surrounding congregations at several services. It was especially good to see Jim Allen and J. F. Dancer, who both preach at congregations in northern Mississippi.
Lord willing, I will be in Meridian, Mississippi again on the last Sunday of December, to fulfill my “fifth Sunday” appointment there. It will be a delight to close out 2018 by preaching in Meridian on the last weekend of the year. I always look forward to my times with this little group, and I hope to stay in Meridian for a couple of extra days on this trip, just to enjoy some quiet time reflecting on the past year in a location that is very much my “happy place.”
I am glad to announce that just a few weeks ago I passed the 1/3 mark in the number of pages written for the new book Obeying the Gospel. As of today, I have finished 131 (36%) of the 366 total pages in the book. I am hopeful that I might be able to be 1/2 finished by the end of this year, and if I can do that, I may be able to complete the rest of book next year. I want to get the work in print sometime in 2020, so it feels good to be approaching the half-way point in the actual writing. Of course, after the writing is finished there will be a considerable amount of production work to be done before publication, but the writing is the hard part, so I am thrilled to be this far along.
In connection with the publication of Obeying the Gospel in 2020, I will also be rolling out a completely new website called AreYouaChristian.com. This will be exclusively devoted to evangelism, trying to reach non-Christians with the gospel. This website will contain not only material from the new book, but a variety of other materials oriented toward the non-Christian. There will be a special blog, a podcast, several email courses people can subscribe to, and many other resources. Putting all of this together, and writing the materials, is proving to be a massive project, but I am excited about it. I plan to use it as my own evangelistic tool, and I hope others can use it in the same way. I believe we have not yet touched the hem of the garment in using the Internet to spread evangelistic content, and this will be my best effort in that regard. When the book and the website are ready, I hope to send out a packet of introductory materials to as many congregations and individuals as I can afford to send, letting people know of the availability of this new resource for reaching the lost. I hope you will pray for this effort throughout the next year and a half.
The fall has always been one of my favorite times of the year. This year, the fall season is a special time of meditation and prayer for me personally. I am certainly glad for the work you’ve helped me do in 2018, but I’m even more excited about the possibilities in 2019. Thanks for being my partner in this work.
Gary Henry — WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
