The Hearne Congregation has gone through the first three stages of learning how to be " A Witnessing Community ". This has proven to be a very fruitful endeavor for the Hearne Congregation. Average attendance is up by more than 75%, with eight children now in a prebaptismal class. A Children's Carnival was held on the Church grounds in May. There were booths set up for games, a cake walk. bingo, corny dogs, drinks and snack food were sold during the carnival. Kibbey the Clown was a big attraction for the children as well. Local children, parents and others from the community as well as the Hearne members and children attended.

Hearne will soon be doing a Congregational analysis to see if there are other steps needed to improve their Outreach.

The second book of testimonies; "A Witnessing Community: We Can Do It! (book 2)" has just been released from the World Church Missionary Office. It includes testimonies of congregations that have been/are implementing "A Witnessing Community" in their Congregations. The Hearne Congregation from the Coastal Bend Mission Center is included in this book of testimonies.