History of Won by One
 Won by One was begun in Hong Kong in 1975 while Mel and Julie Lacock were serving as missionaries under the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. When the Lacocks joined ABWE in 1971, it was their desire to reach the Chinese in Hong Kong with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, they were confronted with the challenge of an effective means of reaching a people whose culture made it very difficult to penetrate with the Gospel. Mel felt led of the Lord to use a method of teaching individuals one at a time. However, there was no material available which could be used weekly, lesson by lesson, in teaching the Bible to a person.
At that time, Mel and Julie were working with a kindergarten which met on the rooftop of one of the resettlement areas of Hong Kong called Wong Tai Sin. This was a group of very poor people many of whom had escaped from the tyranny of Communist China. The mission board under which they served, the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, had for many years conducted a kindergarten on the rooftop. This had also provided a place for church services. As the church continued to grow, the facilities of the kindergarten became too small. It became necessary for the church, Evangel Baptist Church, to move off the rooftop.
The kindergarten which was very small at that time continued operating. Mel and Julie had finished their initial three years of Cantonese language study, and were put in charge of operating the kindergarten and starting another church. Thus began Won by One. Visiting hundreds of homes in the resettlement buildings, individuals were contacted. Bible studies were held with many of these individuals. Mel began writing lessons for individual Bible studies. The name “Won by One” seemed very appropriate for this type of ministry: Won to the Lord by one person- one person winning one person to the Lord- ultimately, one person won to the Lord by One, the Holy Spirit!
Since the ministry in Hong Kong was that of teaching Cantonese speaking Chinese people (mainly young people), Won by One was printed first in Chinese. In 1977 when the Lacocks returned to the States for a two year furlough, Won by One was printed in English. Mel took about 100 copies of the English version with him to the states to use during furlough as they traveled around from church to church. He felt that 100 copies was probably all he would need.
The first services on furlough which were conducted were held at Hampton Park Baptist church in Greenville, South Carolina. During the services there, Won by One was introduced to an American church for the first time. By the time the meetings were over at Hampton Park Baptist Church, all of the copies which had been brought to the states were gone!
A few months later, the Lacocks conducted meetings in Wisconsin. During that time, they met a man whose name was Tom Murray. He was very interested in Won by One and the potential which it represented in reaching people for the Lord. In 1978 he began printing and distributing copies of the Won by One Bible Study Course. Through his work in Won by One, people began to use the materials in churches across America and eventually around the world.
Missionaries in many countries around the globe began using Won by One to teach people about the Lord Jesus Christ. The material was translated into several languages.
Mel began to realize that there were changes that needed to be made in the Bible study. He began the process of revising the Bible Study Course. After several years the revision was completed and printed by Dye & Son Printing, Inc. in Greenville, S.C. in the fall of 2004. The Won by One Bible Study Course is now available through this organization.
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