| They went out two by two | | Print | |
| February 15, 2008 | |
 "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others
and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he
was about to go." Luke 10:1 The sounty county and campus groups of the Orange County Church of Christ recently hosted a (very literal) bring-your-neighbor event. Before the special Sunday service, the disciples went out two by two, visiting the 5,000 homes closest to their church building and inviting the residents to attend. Each married couple or pair of singles reached out to about 50 homes. The church also sent an invitation letter to 22,000 nearby homes. My wife, my children and I had a blast knocking on doors to share our faith. We met several interesting people and had long conversations with some of them. I have a special appreciation in my heart for campaign evangelism because that is how I was first reached out to nearly 14 years ago.  Many
neighbors came out to the special worship service, despite the rain
that morning. The total attendance was about 750 people - with nearly
half of that being guests.Minister Bob Harpole preached a humorous and challenging sermon on true repentance from the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19. Our live worship band skillfully led us in praising God, and sister Shannon Buckner testified to how the Lord saved her. A potluck lunch followed the service. The bring-your-neighbor event also served as an official grand opening celebration for the church's new regional building at 10 Goodyear in Irvine. Construction of the building took about two years to complete. The south county congregation previously met at a high school. |
