Seek and Save's First Full Year Yields Surprising Blessings, 10 Cities Slated for 2024

With the name, "Seek and Save," neighborhood canvassing, prayer, and opportunities to lead people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is what many people might expect of such an outreach.

However, after 11 Seek and Save events (two in 2022 and nine in 2023), a biblical truth appears to be confirming itself again and again. That truth is found in Acts 20:35 — it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Bert Pizarro, coordinator for Seek and Save, confirms that so far Seek and Save has recorded some strong statistics through outreach, such as over 2,500 salvations, nearly 5,000 engagements with individuals while canvassing (with more than 3,200 agreeing to prayer), 150 people baptized in water, and has seen more than 3,600 volunteers from nearly 500 different churches and organizations come together to present the gospel message in person and through community block parties. Also, more than 55,000 bags of Convoy of Hope groceries were distributed.

Although there is no blessing — or miracle — that compares in significance when outreach efforts result in people choosing to follow Christ, what congregations are discovering is God is returning that blessing.

One might expect that with thousands making decisions to follow Christ there would also be new faces attending participating churches in Seek and Save communities, which has taken place. However, what may be a surprise to many, is what’s happening within the already established body of believers.

Pizarro says that he regularly receives accounts of how volunteers participating in Seek and Save outreaches are coming back to their churches changed.

“Volunteers are being blessed through the outreaches in such a powerful way, filled with testimonies of how the Holy Spirit worked, they’re wanting to continue reaching out to their communities and sharing their faith,” Pizzaro says.

REACHING AND REAPING IN COLUMBUS

Stephen Steward, founder and lead pastor of Revive Church Hilltop in Columbus, Ohio, agrees with Pizarro. He says that Seek and Save was a real shot in the arm for evangelism. Steward and the Revive Church Hilltop congregation worked with pastor T.J. Wolf and Multiply church, dual host sites in Columbus spreading the gospel throughout the community.

“Revive Ohio came out and trained our folks in witnessing and leading people to Christ — it was really good,” Steward says. “Then, with sending people out and with the whole missions focus, it really lit a fire under our people to do more evangelism — everyone was talking about it!”

Steward also noted how the event helped bring partner churches together and build relationships with other pastors, which he believes will lead to many Kingdom benefits as churches partner for God’s glory.

“Other churches are reaping what we’ve sown into the community, and we’re reaping what others have sown,” Steward explains.

OKLAHOMA CITY CONNECTIONS

Jamel Crawford, the Compassion Ministries director for the Oklahoma AG district, was the local Seek and Save coordinator for the Oklahoma City outreach.

“We had 52 different churches and organizations and over 455 volunteers participate,” Crawford says. “That included intentional partnership with U.S. Missions’ Adult & Teen Challenge, Chaplaincy, Youth Alive, Chi Alpha, and Church Mobilization along with COGIC (Church of God in Christ) and IPHC (International Pentecostal Holiness Church) – this was all definitely about Kingdom.”

Crawford says that in addition to churches connecting and having a passion to share the gospel outside of the church walls and into their personal communities, Seek and Save also resulted in helping the district and Oklahoma City churches connect with the OKC school district in a meaningful way.

“Oklahoma City schools have a uniform students must wear,” Crawford explains. “Churches came together to purchase and deliver over 600 uniforms to schools to distribute to kids in need. Through this gesture, relationships were developed and already a school assembly has taken place due to that now great relationship. And now, churches are getting to partner with schools that have been served the least, and we feel great about that!”

UNITY IN LA

William Rodriguez, superintendent of the Southern Pacific district and pastor of Iglesia Pentecostal Esmirna in Los Angeles, notes that, from his perspective, one of the key benefits that Seek and Save helped bring about in Los Angeles could be summed up in a single word: unification.

“Sixty churches from the LA area were involved, and Seek and Save brought them together, for months prior, in training and preparation for the event,” Rodrigues explains. “And now, even after Seek and Save, we have churches mobilizing together to continue to do evangelism . . . the model is several churches coming together to reach a neighborhood of one church for the benefit of that church.”

Rodriguez also was highly pleased with how the national office partnered with the district in a highly supportive and collective effort. He also noted that the presence of Choco De Jesús, founder and lead of Seek and Save, made an impact on pastors and congregants.

“It sent a message that we were doing this in unity for the benefit of the local church as all the fruits of the effort stay with the local churches and district,” Rodriguez pointed out.

Rodriguez says the training for door-to-door and special-event evangelism was and is important, but one form of evangelism is continuing to make an impact in the district on a daily basis.

“Relational evangelism — sharing the gospel with people you encounter in your everyday life, is something people now have the confidence and courage to do,” Rodriguez says. “There’s just a lot of excitement for evangelism and now we have the training materials and support for the local church to do evangelism . . . Seek and Save served as our jump start to get us going and now, we’re going to keep on going!”

SEEK AND SAVE 2024

For 2024, planning is already well underway for 10 Seek and Save events to be held in Tampa, Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina; New Orleans; Little Rock, Arkansas; Queens, New York; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Philadelphia; Birmingham, Alabama; Las Vegas; and San Juan, Puerto Rico; with three events already slated for 2025.

“The plane is out of the hanger and has taken off,” says Pizarro concerning the success and growing awareness of Seek and Save. “My goal for next year is for Seek and Save to get even stronger, continuing to partner with AG World Prayer Center and then with every window of AG U.S. Missions. I also want to involve the 24 ethnic fellowships in Seek and Save as we continue to pursue our founding fathers’ resolution to achieve ‘the greatest evangelism that the world has ever seen.’"

Dan Van Veen

Dan Van Veen is news editor of AG News. Prior to transitioning to AG News in 2001, Van Veen served as managing editor of AG U.S. Missions American Horizon magazine for five years. He attends Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri, where he and his wife, Lori, teach preschool Sunday School and 4- and 5-year-old Rainbows boys and girls on Wednesdays.