Campaign Report from Hohenwald, Tennessee

Work with the Springer Church of Christ

Written by Zach Dayton, HCU Student

From March 19 to 23, 2011, I had the great privilege of leading four students – Charles Jones, Wil Martin, Chase Walters and myself – in a campaign with the Springer Church of Christ in Hohenwald, Tennessee. We went to Hohenwald to help the congregation reach out in its community and to encourage the local brethren. Yet, the congregation greatly encouraged us.

We arrived at the building about 4:30 Saturday afternoon, and the church had a huge fish fry ready for us. We met several new people that night, including the local preacher, Mark McDonald. We stayed with Mark and his family. Usually staying at the home of a complete stranger brings a lot of stress, but when we left, we were close friends.

Brad McKinnon, the Christian Service Director at Heritage Christian University, drove back and forth between Florence and Hohenwald to preach in the Gospel Meeting. His amazing lessons were designed to motivate the church to be active in the Lord’s work.

Personally, the most encouraging part of the campaign was the devotional we held every morning. A different student conducted the devotional each morning. The devotionals gave us a message from God’s Word to help wake us up and to put us in a proper frame of mind to do the Lord’s work.

We students went out in the community to knock doors. As we went, we were mindful of the trust the church had given us to set the proper example in the community. We knocked over 200 doors and had over 130 contacts. We were able to put many flyers into people’s hands.

At Heritage Christian University, we – from students to administration – have a serious focus on real-world ministry, so we do things many other schools do not do. We take a whole week each semester to send students different places to bless churches by putting our training into practice.