90-year-old Heflin man saved during door-to-door visit

Wilma Wheeler didn’t need a hand to hold when she went out witnessing, but when she found one anyway, it was unmistakeably a gift from God.
   
After a half-day’s worth of witness training, Wheeler found herself hand-in-hand with 90-year-old Earnest Blanton on the tailgate of his pickup truck, watching in wonder as years of prayer were answered — Blanton prayed to receive Christ.
   
“I’ve known him all of the 30 years I’ve been living here, and I’d been praying for him for a long time,” said Wheeler, a member of New Harmony Baptist Church, Heflin. “My husband and I had a garage for years, and he used to come sit around and whittle on sticks. He’s been on my heart all these years.”
   
As punctuation for those prayers, Wheeler’s group of four had left the church that afternoon with a destination and a purpose — and with a 90-year-old neighbor on their minds.
   
Wheeler’s group was one of several unleashed on Heflin April 9 after several hours of training to learn how to make evangelism a lifestyle in their church and daily activities.
   
Mike Jackson, an associate in the office of evangelism for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM), led New Harmony in a One-Day Witnessing Workshop that day before turning them loose with the assignment to share their faith with their community.
   
“They were prayed up and ready for it,” Jackson said. “There were a good mixture of church members there to participate and be involved. From the teenagers to the ones in their late 80s, they were ready to make evangelism a lifestyle.”
   
And they made a big step toward making concepts concrete that day. Four — including Blanton — were led to the Lord in that hour and a half.
   
Though New Harmony is a small church, the fact that 23 people were present — more than half of their average Sunday School attendance — was a big step toward making a major impact on their community, said Pastor Johnny McDaniel.
   
“We wanted to do a better job at our church with evangelism, and the workshop opened our eyes that there are people in the community who want people to talk with them,” McDaniel said. “We tend to think everyone has heard — but they haven’t.”
   
Wheeler said she believes the way the church was “just ecstatic” after seeing several saved in one afternoon will spur her and others to make the effort to share more often. “We find ourselves with so many things to do, but nothing is like being in on seeing someone come to know Jesus.”
   
or information about evangelism training, contact the SBOM evangelism office at 1-800-264-1225, Ext. 258