In our efforts at Estes to share the Gospel with the whole world, we are frequently reminded of mission points overseas or even miles away here in the United States where missionaries are doing wonderful things in service to the Lord. How blessed we are to be a part of a congregation that makes sharing the Gospel with the whole world a priority! While we might not think about opportunities that are closer to home quite as much, I want to tell you about an opportunity we have to encourage and evangelize some dear friends who are in our own backyard.

For the last forty years (since 1983), Heritage Towers had stood on the edge of the campus of Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson. This five-story independent living facility offers seventy-five apartment units for those of the age of 62 or over, as based on annual income. Every Sunday of the year the Estes congregation hosts a worship service at 2:00pm in the first-floor meeting room. Even though our assemblies at Heritage Towers were suspended for two years due to restrictions there related to the pandemic, it has been wonderful to meet with several of the residents there since these services resumed in August of 2022.

What are the opportunities we have to serve there? Most Sundays there are at least two sisters-in-Christ, Bobbie Bradley (originally from the Florence, AL area) and Gene Starkey (Alice Holtin’s mother), who attend the service with other residents visiting on occasion as well. In addition to this 25-30 minute worship service, we are frequently blessed to spend time visiting with these two ladies along with a number of other residents who will be sitting in the lobby or in the outdoor seating area. As an example of this, on Christmas Day we worshipped together on the fourth-floor landing due to a Christmas gathering in our usual meeting place and even that service and time of fellowship proved to be special. There are many residents at Heritage Towers who are not Christians and even though door-to-door visiting is not allowed, and access to the building can only be gained by use of a key fob, we still have many opportunities to encourage the residents there on a weekly basis.

How can you help? I don’t know of anything that encourages the residents of Heritage Towers and especially our brothers and sisters more than simply spending time with them. Even though Sundays can quickly fill up with other opportunities, I hope you will make plans to join us for the service as often you can. Secondly, we need men to sign-up to help with song-leading or presenting a devotional. This is a great way to grow in one’s ability to lead or to simply seek another opportunity to grow in our knowledge of the Word. If you can help in leading these services in any way, please look for an email this week to sign up or see Doug Burleson.