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I have heard the lyric “all my life I've been…
Church members and visitors assemble in the Parkersburg, W.Va., high school field house for a Gospel meeting. (Photo by Bobby Ross Jr.)
Blogging from Parkersburg, W.Va.
Last week, I traveled to this industrial, working-class city on the Ohio River to cover the “Christ Is The Answer” campaign.
The joint effort of area Churches of Christ involved knocking more than 24,000 doors. About 200 local and out-of-town church members participated in the outreach effort, which resulted in a number of Bible studies and more than a dozen baptisms.
Roughly 1,000 people attended each night, most of them fanning themselves to try to stay cool in the un-air-conditioned Parkersburg High School field house.
We Care Ministries, Sojourners and the “In Search of the Lord’s Way” television ministry joined forces in the campaign, as did 13 congregations that supported the effort:
Camille Jones and Rebecca Haguewood, both 11, knocked doors during the “Christ Is The Answer” campaign in Parkersburg, W.Va. Both attend the North End Church of Christ in Parkersburg. (Photo by Bobby Ross Jr.)
• Camden Avenue Church of Christ in Parkersburg.
Mark Shockey and Richard Egnor worked long hours to build the special baptistery for the event. (Photo by Bobby Ross Jr.)
“Search” speaker Phil Sanders preached for four nights at the field house. Chris Walker, a Lipscomb University student, grandson of Ray Walker and member of the Southern Hills Church of Christ in Franklin, Tenn., led singing. Joe Wells, editor of Kaio, a publication of Focus Press for young people, focused on youth issues each night. The campaign drew the attention of WTAP-TV, where “Search” airs each Sunday.
The nightly singing and preaching in the Parkersburg field house came 43 years after a similar event featuring Jimmy Allen. Many area church members still remember the 1967 event, and my future story in The Christian Chronicle will explore what’s changed — and what hasn’t — in Parkersburg and evangelistic outreach since then.
My thanks to Keith Stotts, president of Ohio Valley University, who invited me to a special lunch with campaign organizers, and Alan Stephens, a Concord Road church member who played a leading role in organizing the event and invited me to cover it for the Chronicle.
In June, my Chronicle colleague Erik Tryggestad did a blog post and wrote a news story about a separate door-knocking effort in Oklahoma City.
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