Howard Payne students assist community center in Austin

Posted: 3/28/08

Howard Payne students assist
community center in Austin

By Kalie Lowrie

Howard Payne University

AUSTIN—Baptist Student Ministries Director Katy Blackshear led 10 Howard Payne University students over spring break to work with the Baptist Community Center Mission in Austin.

Sophomore Jennifer Brock found that there were “many opportunities to serve Christ, you just have to be ready to do anything.”

Howard Payne sophomore Chris Beaty sings songs with children at the Baptist Community Center Mission. (Photo by Jennifer Brock)

Students worked in yards, painted a parsonage, served a noon meal at a local soup kitchen and even organized a car wash to raise money for the mission.

They spent their afternoons playing games, singing songs and sharing the gospel with the children who visit the mission after school. Sophomore L J McCulloch said he felt privileged to “be a part of these children’s lives, if only for a few days.”

On Sunday morning, the group was invited to lead the worship service at Baptist Temple in Austin. Chris Beaty led the worship, Tyler Malone gave his Christian testimony and L.J. McCulloch preached.

Howard Payne University student Rebekah Reed helps hand out bread through the Baptist Community Center Mission. (Photo by Jennifer Brock)

The group also canvassed the surrounding community, praying with families they encountered and telling them about the services available through the mission—including a mother with six children who had just moved to the area and did not know about the mission.

Their final night in Austin, the Howard Payne group organized a family fun night, inviting parents to visit the community center and enjoy a night of dinner and activities with their children.