Sometimes when waiting to board a plane to return home after an event, I’m sad for the group of Christians I’m leaving behind. Sometimes the group is very small and individuals struggle to find the teachers and encouragement that they need. That’s not the case as I leave the Lakeside church in Orange Park (Jacksonville) Florida. I watched elders who were onsite all day long for four incredible days. Not only were they onsite, but their radar was obviously up for any problems. They were moving about the kitchen, the auditorium, greeting the people and, in general. working to be sure things ran smoothly. It was obvious they had spent time in planning and prayer prior to the event. There were good numbers of people present and ladies in my classes were extremely encouraging. The singing was incredibly moving and the lessons were packed with the Word and practical applications. I’m richly blessed and so grateful to have been a part of this strengthening Spark, produced by this church and Polishing the Pulpit. The hospitality and kindnesses to Glenn and me were so very generous.
The reason I’m writing, though, is that there may be readers who are still unaware of the great resource that the combined efforts of House to House/Heart to Heart, Polishing the Pulpit, and Glad Tidings provides to those who find themselves trying to serve our Lord from areas of the world that are struggling though spiritual famine. Here’s a short and non-exhaustive list of what you may be needing.
***Affordable books and an awesome variety of tracts that are encouraging and are great tools for evangelism (from Glad Tidings).
***Thousands of lessons on hundreds of topics available with your subscription to PTP365 (from Polishing the Pulpit).
***Two yearly conferences that are the best and biggest for Christians held each summer in Branson, MO and Sevierville, TN. Hundreds of lessons and speakers for all ages and spots in the body of Christ. This is a great place to start! If you go once, you’re hooked (from Polishing the Pulpit)! …There’s a recap video of this year’s PTP on this page: https://www.facebook.com/PolishingThePulpit
***An annual nationwide door-knocking opportunity with provided materials to expedite evangelism in your community. (from House to House).
***Several and varied annual locations for PTP Spark conferences. These four or five day mini-PTP conferences are great opportunities to get the feel for what the large summer conferences in Tennessee and Missouri offer. PTP puts together your topics and speakers and lots of the advertising for your congregation. It’s a great opportunity to boost the Lord’s work in your area. (This is the event we just finished in Jacksonville, Florida. It’s from Polishing the Pulpit.)
***House to House/Heart to Heart is a monthly publication distributed to the community that surrounds your congregation’s meeting place. Full of information about the church and lighter spiritual reading for those in your community who may know little about the church, House to House also makes sure the local congregational events you’d like your community to know about are displayed in each issue.
***The Spiritual Sword is also a monthly publication mailed to thousands of locations around the world,. Each month there’s a particular doctrinal theme. The little book is full of articles by good and faithful writers who have studied the Word. Difficult questions are often addressed. This is meat! (House to House/Heart to Heart…If it’s not there yet, ;look for it soon!)
***Congregational Evangelism Seminars by Rob Whitacre. I cannot wait for this to happen at my home congregation next spring. I’ve heard so many good things about this work (House to House/Heart to Heart)!
Today, I’m just saying you can grow spiritually, by leaps and bounds, if you take advantage of even one of the resources listed. The entire list may seem overwhelming. Wade slowly in, though, and you will be swimming in deeper (and more fulfilling) spiritual waters! The best part is, every single one of the resources listed here have produced multiple opportunities for people to come to know Christ. Through each of these, people have been saved by the blood of Christ. Some of them have been the door for hundreds!
Here are the three sites you need:
You’ll be blessed!
Today, we are headed to Valdosta, Georgia to be with sweet family in Him and be part of a PTP Spark conference with the good church at Forrest Park. I’m indebted to the family there on many counts, but especially for paving the way for so many Christians to get to go do mission work in Latin America. One of those people who have gone to countries in Latin America and found the evidence of much education and hard work produced from Forrest Park …is me! I’m thankful.
Our PTP Spark week was therapy in lots of ways for many people, but I could not exactly say it was a therapeutic week of peace at Serenity. We had a house full of people and three of them were six and down. ‘LIza, who is fifteen months got into the office supplies drawer in my kitchen and scattered thumbtacks all over the floor. I did not get them all up before Colleyanna who is four stepped on one in her bare feet just as it was time to leave for the kick-off at the building on Sunday morning. ‘Liza also got into my purse and scattered my Spark receipts and my credit cards all over the entire place as I was trying to get out the door. Then I applied shaving cream all over the back of my hair as I complained “Why is this can of dry shampoo not spraying?” A fever virus ran through all the kids and one adult. Eliza Jane picked this week to explore just about every gymnastic skill you can imagine. 
A pipe leak produced rain on a stack of boxes of new Digging Deep books in our basement. Through this I spoke 7 times, Glenn spoke eight times and we each attended about 25 or so sessions…WITH KIDS! =). Our spiritual cups are full and our physical cups are a bit depleted. God is sovereign and good.
One quick episode as I think back make weeks like this all the more worthwhile. Ezra and Eliza and I made a quick run to the dollar store in the middle of the frenzy. I don’t know what made this elderly woman in the store delusional, but she said this “Ma’am, I just have to comment on the behavior of this little boy. Is he always this good? He is just quietly helping that baby girl to see the things she is looking at and he is nicely waiting his turn to show you what he is finding. I just love watching him.”
In other SPARK news, lots of men are asking about a DVD that was mentioned in one of the sessions. During SPARK week, it was out of stock. Glenn wanted me to tell your husbands it’s restocked now. It’s a how-to DVD about grooming your future elders in the church. It’s a tool that’s helped lots of churches prepare men to be godly elders and I really can’t think of a more important work on the planet right now. We have a desperate need. So many churches have failed in recent decades to replace the godly leaders that have passed to the eternal reward of faithful shepherds. There is a void of guidance and the sheep are wandering in so many places. You can find this helpful program here: 
I’m so excited that, because Lindsay and Jack VanHook have been working tirelessly, the free download for The Hour Has Come is here:
SPARK was a big success! Thanks to all who contributed money or food, helped teach all ages, and worked so hard in lots of capacities. 
T-shirts are being ordered one more time, but if you want a shirt or hoodie, your order must be placed at www.thecolleyhouse.org/store by September 10th.
Those who were present, of course, have already received theirs and the others are going out tomorrow.
Fear refocuses itself in our world at an alarming frequency. This week, world fear is focused in Kabul, Afghanistan where Taliban terrorists have violently taken over the country. I’m praying for those in imminent danger there. I can watch the news and I can watch my own life and realize that the very most painful carnage always comes as a result of sin. I’m so thankful, in times like these, that my God is a God of the events that have huge worldwide implications (like the Taliban takeover), but He is also the God that knows and works through the individual hurts of His people. While he knows about every piercing of flesh in Kabul, he also knows about every pierced heart in your family and mine. And He cares. I love passages about the least of these. I love that He said that He is aware of the little and “unimportant” ones who believe in Him. In fact he said to the one who would harm those little ones that it would be better for a millstone to be hung around his neck and he be cast into the sea. I love that he said in Matthew 18 that if just one of a hundred sheep had gone astray, He would go and search for that little lamb and rejoice over Him more than over the ninety-nine sheep still grazing under the care of shepherds on the mountain. I’m so thankful He is the God of the little ones and of the one percent, because I am the little one in need. I am the .01!
Also, the other two DD lessons from Spark will be live-streamed from the same spot. So the three of them are next Monday at 9 and 2 and next Tuesday at 9. I hope you are there and invite others. None of these lessons are great for us because they are coming from me, because they are not. The Holy Spirit just speaks with power and comfort. (That’s why He is called the Comforter in the KJV and ASV and others [Jn 15]. It’s an apt rendering of parakletos.)
We are excited to be able to host PTP Spark next week. We want to welcome you to Huntsville, Alabama and to West Huntsville church of Christ. We are expecting that the number of people attending will push our building to its capacity and we ask your patience as we try to accommodate everyone.