I'm Back

Sorry for the delay in communications about Already Loved. Sonya and I took a few days off to go to Atlanta. We had a powerful worship service at First Baptist Atlanta. Got some ideas for Bro. Wayne and the choir: hydraulic risers. While it was actually the orchestra pit that was on hydraulics, I think we could get the same response with the choir. Can't you just see them beautifully rising up out of the floor? Then we went to a Braves game -- and the Braves won. Thanks for the time off, church. Thanks for taking care of everything while I was gone. To catch you up on Already Loved, I will give you the daily totals in chart form:

Day Completed Calls Churched Unchurched Yes Interested Prayer Requests
Thur 139 89 50 4 10 65
Sun 90 63 27 7 7 40
Mon 119 94 25 2 4 51

Total 1,186 792 394 52 115 549

As of Monday night, 150 people have indicated that they will attend our Already Loved Sunday on May 17. That is OUTSTANDING!

Wednesday's Wonderful

I never knew how OCD I was until I realized that using two different colored markers to keep track of the totals bothered me. Thanks, Mary. And by the way, the remark about how quiet it was on Tuesday -- right on track because with the presence of those who were missing, the noise levels went right back up. Thanks, Mrs. June. It was great. And another very successful night, too.

• 126 completed calls (838 total)
• 96 households attend church (546 total)
• 30 households do not attend church (292 total)
• 2 households said "Yes" to our invitation (39 total representing 117 people)
• 8 households said "Interested, send me more information" (94 total)
• 49 prayer requests were taken and immediately prayed for (393 total)

Any time that God is using something to reach people, the devil is going to rear his ugly head. People are going to say things about our outreach that aren't true. It's a sure sign that God has something good in store for us. Keep praying for us because the spiritual warfare is increasing, but God is the One who gives the victory.

Tuesday's Totals

It was a quiet evening at Southside Baptist Church. I'm not sure why other than the absences of certain people from the conference room who shall remain nameless. But it was a well-deserved night off, and the rest of us were able to get the job done. Some of our callers had the experience of calling some of our members, but I don't think any feelings were hurt. In fact, some had extended conversations with old friends, and that is never a bad thing. Here are the totals for Tuesday:

• 137 completed calls (712 total)
• 98 households attend church (450 total)
• 39 households do not attend church (262 total)
• 6 households said "Yes" to our invitation (37 total representing 113 people)
• 11 households said "Interested, send me more information (86 total)
• 45 prayer requests (344 total)

It has been an amazing experience to watch how God is using this to bless those involved in the process as well as those we are contacting.

Monday Number 2

Well, it was a Monday alright. No, our folks were all alert and working hard -- especially that Ali Johnson. She walked around and around and around all night long picking up paperwork. Everyone else did their part as well -- especially the boss Helen Hill. She keeps a tight ship all night long. We had a little trouble keeping some of the prayer team out of the brownies, but we won't mention any names. It was a good night though with the most completed calls since we started.

• 115 completed calls (575 total)
• 74 households attend church (352 total)
• 41 households do not attend church (223 total)
• 2 households said "Yes" to our invitation (31 total representing 99 people)
• 14 households said "Interested, send me more information (75 total)
• 53 prayer requests were taken and prayed for immediately

Please understand that we take these prayer requests seriously. In fact, we all see this as the most important part of this program. We prayed for them last night and they will be prayed for daily for the next three weeks. We are even making multiple contacts with some of the more serious needs. This is the body of Christ reaching out with compassion to a hurting world. Thank you, Southside.

Sunday's Team Shook the House

What a dramatic evening. Just as I was about to start my sermon, Sonya bursts into the room to tell us there was a tornado watch. Then just as I was reading my Scripture, Sonya and Amy came in to tell me what I had just heard -- the tornado sirens were going off. So we quickly closed the service and headed to the basement. Our Already Loved callers and intercessors joined us until the all clear was sounded at 7 p.m. I think it is ironic that just when the service was supposed to end, the weather cleared. Hmmmmmm. Well, even with our calling time shortened by 2.5 person-hours, we had a great night by any standard.

• 79 completed calls (460 total)
• 59 households attend church (278 total)
• 20 households do not attend church (182 total)
• 11 households said "Yes" to our invitation (29 total representing 97 people)
• 10 households said "Interested, send me more information" (61 total)
• 30 prayer requests were taken and prayed for immediately (246 total)

What a week. And on top of it all, 3 people were in our service Sunday morning that we had called this week. God is blessing.

Week One Is In the Books

Drum roll, please! I guess not. Well, Thursday night was great. Rachel had kind of an odd prayer request that she interpreted as God telling her to clean out her closet. Mike said that would be a miracle in itself. Another great group of Christian men and women worked hard to do what God has called us to do -- reach Decatur with the message of hope by offering them a listening ear, a group of mighty prayer warriors to pray for their needs, and an invitation to church. So here are the totals:

• 112 completed calls (381 total)
• 62 households attend church (219 total)
• 50 households do not attend church (162 total)
• 5 households said "Yes" we will come (18 total)
• 17 households said "Interested, send me more information" (51 total)
• 55 prayer requests were immediately prayed for (216 total)

Once again, many of the prayer requests were tremendous needs ranging from drug addicted parents to a soldier in Iraq who was depressed to lost jobs. The amazing thing is that even though we are inviting people to church on May 17, we have already had 2 families who say they will be in church this Sunday. One woman called back to thank the man that had prayed for her and sent her a post card. God is doing some amazing things through this, and not just to the people of the community. Our workers are being touched by the power of God. I am excited.

If it's okay, I'll ramble on a little longer than usual. We need to be ready as the body of Christ to welcome these people into our church with love and acceptance. Many of these will not look like us or act like us or dress like us. They may not know the proper language or how to follow our "rituals." We need to simply love them like we love each other and watch God transform their lives. Southside Baptist Church, we can do this!

Wednesday Went Well

It was another great night for Already Loved! Once again, everyone was nervous at the beginning, but after that first phone call, things got exciting. The great news is that by the end of the night, callers were enjoying the experience and had lots of stories to tell -- some fun and some sad. We even received a call back from a lady that was contacted Monday night. When she received her post card from the prayer team, she called to request more information. Wow!
Here's the numbers update:

• 77 completed calls (269 total)
• 38 households attended church (157 total)
• 39 households did not attend church (112 total)
• 5 households said "Yes" to our invitation (13 total)
• 15 households said "Interested, send me more information (34 total)
• 46 prayer requests were taken and prayed for immediately (161 total)

Now from the 13 "Yes" households, they have indicated that 46 people will attend our Already Loved Sunday. Please continue to pray for God's blessings and guidance on this program. Also pray for the very serious needs: a daughter hiding from an abusive husband, many people searching for jobs, granddaughter in hospital needing emergency surgery. We are becoming more and more aware of the major needs of our community. May God give us the strength and the ability to meet their needs.

Tuesday Team Rocks

I cannot believe it. I just thought Monday night was going to be hard to duplicate. "O, ME of little faith." Here are the numbers hot off the report:

• 104 completed calls. (192 total)




• 57 households attended church. (119 total)




• 47 households did not attend church. (73 total)




• 7 households said "Yes" to our invitation. (8 total)




• 12 households said "Interested, send me more information." (19 total)




• 60 prayer requests were taken and prayed for immediately, four requiring follow-up. (115 total)

This is amazing, because in two nights, we have had households representing 32 people who say they WILL come and a whole lot more saying they might come. Now we know they all want make it, but Praise the Lord! Keep praying. God is blessing.

Already Loved

What a night! I've never seen such activity at church. All the phone lines lit up. People walking in circles to pick up prayer request after prayer request. Listening to bits and pieces of conversations: "Are you regularly attending church anywhere?" ""Our church is having a special event for those who are unchurched?" "Is there anything we can pray about for you?" There were a few other conversations about who was authorized to put numbers on the tally board. I was NOT one of them. I think they must have thought I would ministerially exaggerate the numbers, but I don't think I have to. Here's the breakdown of what we did last night:

• 88 completed calls
• 62 households attended church.
• 26 households did not attend church.
• 1 household said "Yes" to our invitation.
• 7 households said "Interested, send me more information."
• 55 prayer requests were taken and prayed for immediately. Sadly, one of the requests was for a grandmother who needed to tell her grandson that his half brother had died. Another was for a family whose son was killed while playing with a gun. A third was to pray for a father in ICU with brain damage.

And that was just one night. Pray for these families with us. Pray for our workers who are feeling anything but overwhelmed because God gave supernatural grace to deal with everything that happened. God is good!

What a Day!

Wow! I can't believe it's been a month since I have posted. Life has been a little crazy around the Hayes' household and Southside. But it's all been good. God is blessing in so many ways I couldn't begin to list them all. Well, okay, just a few: my wife, my children (and their husbands), my church family. I could go on and on, but I won't bore you too much more. However, there is one more blessing I have to mention. Yesterday! Easter Sunday! What a tremendous worship service. It started out with a great drama and song by our student ministry which was the conclusion to their great Good Friday service. Then the choir under the leadership of Peggy Baggett. That's right -- Peggy. If you missed it, you had better get the CD. I don' t know that I have ever heard them do three songs any better than yesterday. I'm sorry, Bro. Wayne, but I have to call it like I see it, but we still miss you and can't wait for you to get back. By the way, it was great to see Bro. Wayne sneak in after the service started -- that means he's getting better. Anyway, back to the blessings of yesterday. What a crowd! The people just kept coming in. Lots of families. Lots of guests. What a blessing.

This week begins another very important outreach program at our church. Already Loved begins tonight. For the next four weeks, we will be calling homes throughout Decatur offering to pray for their needs and inviting them to a special service on Sunday May 17. From this vantage point, it appears to be almost overwhelming, but I know once we get started, God is going to give us the strength and wisdom we need to get the job done. I'm grateful for the leadership we have in this campaign. They are keeping us headed in the right direction. I'm looking forward to the many opportunities of ministry this program is going to afford us in the days ahead. So if you read this, please pray for God's blessings. For more information on Already Loved, go to our webpage at http://www.southsidebaptist.net and check under the Ministries heading.

Just so that you know: God is good all the time.