In 1999 the Hammond Church of Christ merged with the Laurel congregation. Hammond had supported mission work in Cameroon for some time. This work, coordinated by the Buckingham Road church of Christ in Garland, Texas, is focused on evangelism throughout the nation of Cameroon in West Africa. Specifically the Laurel congregation now supports Brother Jean-Claude Ethe the preacher at the Bessengue church of Christ in Duoala, Cameroon. In addition to his preaching duties in Duoala Brother Jean-Claude is involved in evangelism throughout all of Cameroon.
Jean-Claude travels throughout Cameroon using his multi-lingual skills of French, Pidgen, and English to convert souls and help establish churches. He also serves as the coordinator of World Bible School correspondence courses in Cameroon.
In 2002 and again in 2004, members of the Laurel congregation participated in campaigns in the South-West province of Cameroon. In these campaigns, coordinated by Brother Jim Corner from Buckingham Road, individual Christians work with small congregations to study the Bible with student prospects in a one-on-one basis and to teach and preach among the brethren. In the 2002 campaign there were Bible studies with about 250 students in the 2-week campaign, and about 90 baptisms. In the 2004 campaign there were 192 Bible studies and 73 baptisms. It is expected that Laurel will continue to participate in these campaigns in the future.
