Posted: 3/31/06

Posted: 3/31/06

Cuba travel rules protested

By Adelle Banks

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Seventeen U.S. senators have joined more than 100 members of the House of Representatives to protest Treasury Department rules that have blocked some religious organizations from traveling to Cuba.

Religious leaders attended a Capitol Hill meeting called by the members of Congress who had sent word of their concerns about the policy changes to Treasury Secretary John Snow.

“We are dismayed, and even outraged, at the loss of these licenses and what we view as unjustified interference in and hindrance to the mission of the church,” said John McCullough, executive director and CEO of Church World Service.

Some of the affected groups have traveled to the communist island nation for more than a decade, meeting with partner churches and attending conferences. Those affected include the National Council of Churches, the American Baptist Churches USA and the Alliance of Baptists, which no longer have licenses, and organizations such as the Presbyterian Church (USA) which now has a more restrictive license.

Representatives of the Treasury and State departments attended the meeting, and religious leaders delivered letters to Snow and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed by a dozen officials of religious groups. The letters state the groups believe Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is un-fairly granting less restrictive licenses to local churches in the U.S. than the ones national organizations have.

“Any premise that the U.S. government is favoring a particular religious group over another is categorically wrong,” Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said when asked about the concerns.

The office issuing the licenses is continuing to grant them but is trying to be certain that “legitimate religious travel” occurs, she explained.

“This policy also helps to ensure that those simply looking for R&R on the island are no longer able to line Castro’s pockets under the pretext of religious travel,” Millerwise said.

The religious leaders strongly denied that their groups had misused licenses and asked Snow to address those that might have.

Posted: 3/31/06

DOWN HOME:
He wishes she wouldn’t speculate

The other day, Joanna started a conversation: “Babe, if you out-live me … .”

I just hate it when my wife talks like that.

When this happens, she’s either telling me something I don’t like to think about (like insurance or taxes), something she thinks I’ll forget (like where she keeps the key to the safe-deposit box), or something she wants me to do (like remember to give such-and-such to so-and-so).

I don’t really mind being told, reminded and/or directed. Jo’s pretty good at telling, reminding and/or directing me at times when she’s not discussing her own mortality. In fact, if she didn’t remind, tell and/or direct me fairly often, I’d be a mess.

Of course, I do mind thinking about the possibility of walking through a portion of my life without the gal who tells, reminds and/or directs me about something practically everyday. I could get over not knowing something, forgetting something and/or wandering around for lack of direction. But I’d hate like the dickens not having her by my side, whether or not I need to be told, reminded and/or directed.

Sometimes, I think I’m selfish to hope that someday, when the time comes, she out-lives me. It’s sort of like when dear friends move to another city. The folks who move may be sad to go, but they’re on a new adventure. The ones who stay behind have to pick up the pieces as they inhabit the same old landscape, only this time without the companionship of loved ones who mean so much to them and who infuse those places with meaning and vitality.

When our girls were little, I absolutely knew who they would need the most if they were left with only one parent—their mama. While I did my best to be an engaged, involved, loving and supportive daddy, Jo was gravity in our home. The girls got their bearings each day from her.

Now, the calculus of who goes first is more complicated. Lindsay’s married; Molly’s in college. Their day-to-day need for either of us has changed. And, boy, is that a change in parenting. Especially if you’re a parent who enjoys—no, loves—daily interaction with your kids. But that’s a story for another column.

Although we’re both relatively young (Our friends say, “Fifty is the new 35,” and we’re not there yet), we’ve reached the stage of life and marriage we’ve contemplated in friends and family: Which one of the two could best handle living alone?

That’s a highly speculative question. The “answer” is based on observations about who’s most self-sufficient—which actually has more to do with toughness and socialization skills than cooking and doing chores. But when the subject comes up, I usually think about personal faith. Who will be able to rely on God and depend upon divine resources to survive the loss of the love of a lifetime?

You’re probably saying, “Awww, this is morbid.” You’re probably right.

And I don’t intend to think about it again. At least until Jo comes in and says, “Babe, if you out-live me … .”

–Marv Knox

Posted: 3/31/06

EDITORIAL:
Rahman case offers lesson in liberty

Thank God, our Christian brother Abdul Rahman will not be executed for his faith. His close call with death illustrates a vital—and, unfortunately, often-misunderstood—distinction between democracy and religious liberty.

Rahman became a Christian 16 years ago. This winter, Afghanistan government officials arrested him. Prosecutors wanted to put him to death for forsaking Islam in favor of Christianity. They could bring such charges because the Afghan Constitution is based on Islamic Sharia law. Many Muslims believe the law demands death for apostates who leave the Islamic faith.

Rahman’s case attracted worldwide attention. The Vatican, the United States and numerous nations put pressure on Afghan leaders, urging them to free Rahman.

Pope Benedict XVI called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to release Rahman out of “respect for every person’s freedom of conscience and religion,” Religion News Service reported. “I am certain, Mr. President, that dropping the case against Mr. Rahman would bestow great honor upon the Afghan people and would raise a chorus of admiration in the international community.”

The Afghan government acquiesced. The lead prosecutor dropped the charges against Rahman, claiming he was “mentally unfit to stand trial.” While religious leaders resented the implication that embracing Christianity is a sign of mental instability, they rejoiced that he was freed.

But Rahman still wasn’t safe. Citing Sharia law’s death-sanction for apostates from Islam, many Afghan religious leaders called for his assassination. The United Nations pleaded with Western countries to grant him asylum, and Italy stepped up to the cause. “We are very glad to be able to welcome someone who has been so courageous,” Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said.

So, Rahman—theoretically, at least—has found security in Italy. He is banished from his homeland, but his faith reportedly remains intact. And he is free to worship God as his relationship with Christ, the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the record of Scripture lead him.

American Christians’ response to these events has been almost as riveting as the life-or-death drama played out on Rahman’s behalf in Afghan courtrooms. Many U.S. Christians, particularly evangelical Christians, were shocked and appalled—shocked and appalled—that a person could face the death penalty in democratic Afghanistan simply for the “crime” of becoming a Christian.

They correctly noted the United States played the key role in liberating Afghanistan from the Taliban, the Islamic extremists who put the country in a choke-hold for years. They also correctly pointed out the United States and other Western countries helped establish a democratic government in Afghanistan—a government that would hold open elections and place the nation’s political and governmental power in the hands of the people.

But they incorrectly assumed democracy equals religious liberty. Democracy equals majority rule. It means that, when people vote, the candidates and parties who gain the most votes get to run the country. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the rights of Christians or other religious minorities will be protected in an overwhelmingly Islamic nation. A country, like Afghanistan, could be completely democratic and still impose the majority’s religious will upon the minority.

You can understand the confusion. The people who were shocked and appalled by Afghanistan equate democracy with how government functions in the United States, where we have both a democratic government and guaranteed religious liberty. The U.S. Constitution brilliantly bestows our democratic privileges—citizens get to vote, and majority rules. But it is the First Amendment to the Constitution that guarantees religious liberty for all people, even—no, especially—minorities.

Ironically, the First Amendment is denigrated and, some would say, even imperiled today. Many conservative Christians who are comfortable in their majority status don’t understand why the religious liberty of minorities—such as Muslims, Jews and Hindus—should be protected. They seem to overlook the fact right is right and religious liberty should be a protected right. And they ignore the changes brought by demographic tides, and the possibility that, one day, their children or grandchildren might be religious minorities who seek, like Abdul Rahman, the freedom to practice their faith.

What a pity if U.S. Christians behave no more morally, compassionately and graciously than Afghan Muslims.

Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard

Posted: 3/31/06

From pulpit & pumper, pastor battles blazes

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

KRESS—When Dan Reynolds isn’t saving souls, he’s out saving lives.

Reynolds serves both as pastor of First Baptist Church in Kress and as captain of the community’s volunteer fire department.

Involvement with the fire department helps him contribute to the town and meet people, he believes.

The position already has helped him connect with the other men in the department, many of whom now attend First Baptist Church. People get to know him as another firefighter, not a minister in a suit and tie, he noted.

“I’ve been able to witness to many of the guys,” Reynolds said. “Now we’ve got half the department coming to our Sunday school.”

Dan Reynolds

His fire department service also has allowed him to minister to families who have been affected by fires. After putting out a fire, he can introduce himself as the pastor of First Baptist Church and ask if a family needs any help.

Reynolds’ work in the fire department has created more than ministry opportunities. Recently, it created quite a ruckus when the department was called to help with the large wildfires that spread across West Texas.

During Sunday school, pagers went off in several classrooms as volunteer firefighters received the call.

Their captain—who also is their pastor—gave the men their assignments, and then Reynolds went on to preach in the morning worship service. The next morning, he joined his men in the field, fighting fires alongside them.

Even there, his mind was not too far from a biblical image.

“For the first time in my life, I had a visual picture of what hell will look like,” Reynolds said. “As I was standing there, everywhere you looked as far as the eye could see was fire.”

Reynolds added he is pleased to invest in his community however he can. He cooks hamburgers at high school sporting events.

He meets people at the feed store each morning. He seeks to minister to everyone in Kress.

“I’m there for First Baptist Church as pastor,” he said. “But as a member of the fire department, I’m there for the whole community.” <

Posted: 3/31/06

Foster named BGCT communications director

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

DALLAS—The Baptist General Convention of Texas has named Ferrell Foster to lead its communications efforts.

Foster became director of the BGCT Communications team April 1 after serving as the group’s interim director nearly a year.

Ron Gunter, BGCT associate executive director and chief operating officer, praised Foster’s work as interim director and looks forward to him leading the convention’s communications effort in a changing media landscape.

“Ferrell has demonstrated true leadership and organization skills in this interim,” Gunter said. “He has proven he can handle the job of director of communications. I have the utmost respect for Ferrell’s capability and look forward to a long tenure of serving Texas Baptists together.”

Foster has served in three other roles with BGCT communications— director of news and information, director of creative services and news writer.

He also served with Illinois Baptist communications staff 12 years, including three years as the editor of the Illinois Baptist. Before that, he was on the public relations staff at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

An ordained deacon and minister, Foster currently is on the Baptist World Alliance advancement and communications committees.

He holds a master’s degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from East Texas State University, now Texas A&M University at Commerce.

He and his wife, Trese, have six children and four grandchildren. They are members of First Baptist Church in Athens.

Posted: 3/31/06

Former Baptist Building
may house homeless in Dallas

By Hannah Elliott

Associated Baptist Press

DALLAS (ABP)—As the heads of two Christian organizations, Jake Walters and Larry James both want to do good. But the ways they’ve decided to follow Jesus’ command to love others are mutually exclusive—at least for now.

Walters, headmaster of Dallas’ First Baptist Academy, believes the safety of children in his care must pre-empt goodwill toward the homeless. And so he opposes a new housing project 200 feet from his school that will house many poor—and some formerly homeless—people.

James, executive director of Central Dallas Ministries, which is proposing the housing project, sees providing housing for homeless and low-income people as one of the most effective ways Christians can show God’s love.

At the center of the dispute is a downtown Dallas building at 511 N. Akard Street that housed the offices of the Southern Baptist Annuity Board and the Baptist General Convention of Texas in the 1980s.

Central Dallas Ministries wants to build a 209-unit housing project in the 15-story building. Fifty of the apartments would go to formerly homeless people, while most of the rest would be used for low-income tenants.

Of the six people who addressed the issue to a Dallas City Council special session March 28, Walters was the only opponent to speak. The council approved the project 13-1, even after Walters wrote parents of First Baptist Academy’s students urging them to contact city council members to sway their opinion.

The council vote doesn’t automatically mean the project will begin, but it allows Central Dallas Ministries to seek special tax credits.

The plan requested $1.75 million for the renovation, which also will create ground-floor retail space and two floors of offices for Central Dallas Ministries. It also requested more than $11 million in low-income tax credits from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

Walters and other leaders from First Baptist Academy have voiced concern over perceived lack of planning and the potential safety hazard for the small children who attend the K-12 school.

“I am very upset about this. It’s driving my parents absolutely crazy,” Walters said in an interview. “Had they done any planning, they would never have put (the school and the apartments) together. … This is just a bad idea.”

Workers at Central Dallas Ministries have a different opinion.

“We will have 24-hour security with a crime watch on every floor,” James said.

“Residents will be subject to extensive criminal background checks, and no child predators or other violent offenders will be allowed.”

The editorial board of the Dallas Morning News agreed the project is a good idea, writing in an editorial: “Undoubtedly, many other problems contribute to their plight, chiefly mental illness and addictions. But No. 1, as far as solving our problem with the homeless, is creating places where they can live until and while those other issues are addressed. That’s why Central Dallas Ministries’ plan to turn a 10-years-vacant office tower into affordable units for homeless and low-income people is potentially very good for downtown Dallas.”

But for parents of First Baptist Academy students, “perception of safety is everything,” and Walters doesn’t see how anything short of “making it like a prison and getting the police to guard it” would ease that concern.

Walters also said the school would take drastic measures to make parents feel safe, even if it came to moving. “We will do whatever we can to protect the rights and safety of our children,” he said. “We have to respond to responsibly meet the safety and security requirements of our clientele.”

Managing Editor Ken Camp contributed to this article.

Posted: 3/31/06

May men want to see ‘house
that faith built’ completed

By George Henson

Staff Writer

MAY—To the men of First Baptist Church in May, a certain house in Cross Plains always will be the house that faith built.

The men are supplying the sweat, labor and materials, God is supplying the money, they insist.

While most building projects begin with a budget, the men’s mission team at First Baptist began only with an overriding sense of purpose they believe God had given them to rebuild one of the many houses destroyed by the wildfires that raced through Cross Plains.

The men’s ministry had about $5,000 in its account, and Heart of Texas Baptist Area matched that with $5,000 more from funds it had received from the Baptist General Convention of Texas, but that left them short of the amount needed to build the home for the single mother and two sons who live with her.

That did not slow the men, however. They started building, and after two days had laid the foundation, had it framed, and put some of the roof trusses up.

And they had a debt of about $4,000.

Still, they didn’t worry.

“The Lord said do it, so we’re going to do it,” said Jim Jackson, a lay leader in the group. “We don’t know where the money is coming from, but it will come.”

The building project has been helped already through the generosity of others, said Bennie Williams, another group leader. A lumberyard gave the men a discount, and men from Rocky Creek Baptist Church in Brownwood did all the electrical work.

In recent days, First Baptist in May held a fund-raising dinner that brought in about $2,200, and Victory Baptist Church in Brownwood sent a check for $5,000.

Pastor David Pate said the men still are $10,000 to $15,000 short of what may be needed, but it has been good to see God work. Churches or individuals who wish to help may call the church at (254) 259-2182.

Posted: 3/31/06

Former WMU leader McCullough dies

By Julie Walters

Woman’s Missionary Union

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP)—Marjorie Jones McCullough, president of national Woman’s Missionary Union from 1986 to 1991, died March 18 in Corpus Christi following a long illness. She was 81.

“Marjorie was an outstanding, strong leader who was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the future of WMU,” said Executive Director-Treasurer Wanda Lee.

“As a former missionary, state WMU president and national WMU’s GA director, she brought a great depth of experience and knowledge to the office of national WMU president.”

McCullough graduated from Louisiana College in Pineville and earned a master’s degree in religious education at the former WMU Training School in Louisville, Ky. She worked in both the Kentucky and Louisiana WMU offices.

She was a Southern Baptist missionary in Ghana, where she served seven years as the country’s first WMU director.

In 1964, she joined the WMU national staff in Birmingham, Ala., as the general director of Girls’ Auxiliary. In that role, she helped to create and name Acteens and Girls in Action organizations and wrote the manual and handbook for Acteens.

In 1969, she returned to the mission field and served in Brazil five years.

In 1974, she married Glendon McCullough, executive secretary of the Southern Baptist Brotherhood Commission. He was killed in an automobile accident in 1978.

In 1980, she was elected president of Tennessee WMU.

McCullough once said: “The challenge of missions is always exciting. When you see souls won and know you had a part in it, whether it was through your offerings, your prayer time, your interest in the person, or whether you actually led the person to Christ, this is very exciting.”

In addition to her husband, McCullough was preceded in death by her son, Ken McCullough. She is survived by three daughters, Beth Gaddie of Corpus Christi, Kathy Kent of Millington, Tenn., and Debbie Miller of Houston; and nine grandchildren.

Posted: 3/31/06

On the move

• Todd Barham to Shining Star Fellowship in Abilene as minister of youth.

• Ginger Baumguardner to Pioneer Drive Church in Abilene as minister of children.

• Donnie Bedore to Greenbrier Church in Alvarado as minister of youth.

• Carl Bilderback to First Church in Pottsboro as interim pastor.

• Patrick Brown to Northlake Church in Dallas as pastor from First Church in Bertram.

• Ken Carter to Southcrest Church in Lubbock as business administrator/minister of education from Judson Church in Nashville, where he was minister of education.

• John Cox to McMahan Church in Dale as pastor.

• Jason Dyke to Robinwood Church in Seagoville as pastor.

• Bob Foster to Arcadia Park Church in Dallas as pastor.

• Jim Gerlt to Bacon Heights Church in Lubbock as pastor.

• Larry Givens has resigned as pastor of First Church in Shiloh.

• David Gruhn to First Church in Palacios as pastor.

• John Hale to First Church in Cresson as minister of music.

• Jim Herrington to Calvary Church in Weimar as interim pastor.

• Reid Hughes to First Church in Corinth as pastor.

• Karri Leavenworth to Pioneer Drive Church in Abilene as preschool associate minister of children.

• Larry Linam to Spring Hill Church in DeKalb as pastor.

• George Martin has resigned as pastor of Central Church in Luling.

• Joanna Medlin has resigned as preschool/children’s minister at Shady Shores Church in Denton.

• Todd Mozingo has resigned as outreach and praise worship leader at Southmont Church in Denton.

• Harold O’Chester to First Church in Wimberley as interim pastor.

• Steve Olsen to First Church in Bellville as pastor.

• Holly Paige to Pioneer Drive Church in Abilene as pre-teen associate minister of children.

• James Tisdel to Andice Church in Florence as pastor, where he had been transitional pastor.

• Moises Vaca to Primera Iglesia in Cameron as pastor.

• Jim Walsh has resigned as pastor of Mulberry Springs Church in Hallsville and will now serve the church as staff evangelist.

• Danny Warbington to Mulberry Springs Church in Hallsville as pastor.

• Harold Watson has resigned as pastor of Bones Chapel in Whitesboro.

• Richard Watts to Leona Church in Leona as minister of music.

• John West to Center Grove Church in Linden as pastor.

• Mark Wood to Field Street Church in Cleburne as minister of community missions/evangelism from First Southern Church in North Edwards, Calif.

• Michael Wright to Plains Assembly as executive director.

Posted: 3/31/06

Peace activists freed from captivity in Iraq

By Robert Marus

Associated Baptist Press

BAGHDAD (ABP)—Three Christian peace activists held hostage in Iraq since November were freed from captivity.

Christian Peacemaker Teams learned early March 23 that British Baptist Norman Kember, 74; and Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, were free.

A previously unknown radical Islamic group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness abducted them nearly four months earlier in Baghdad.

Their release came about two weeks after Iraqi officials found the body of their 54-year-old American colleague, Tom Fox, who was abducted with them. He had been shot to death and—according to some reports—tortured.

The hostages’ liberation reportedly was the work of troops from the multinational coalition in Iraq, working on a tip from an Iraqi detained earlier. The Chicago Tribune reported troops found the hostages left bound, without any captors guarding them.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw appeared on television news broadcasts the morning of March 23, saying the operation was the result of months of careful planning. He told reporters that the men were all in “reasonable” condition, although the two Canadians had to be hospitalized.

Officials from Christian Peacemaker Teams, which has headquarters in both Chicago and Toronto, released a statement of joy tempered by continued sorrow over Fox. “Together we have endured uncertainty, hope, fear, grief and now joy during the four months since they were abducted in Baghdad,” the statement said. “We had longed for the day when all four men would be released together. Our gladness today is made bittersweet by the fact that Tom is not alive to join in the celebration; however, we are confident that his spirit is very much present in each reunion.”

The activists’ kidnappers had demanded the release of all Iraqis detained by United States and British forces and Iraqi police in exchange for the lives of the four hostages. They allowed two deadlines to pass, however, without any word of the quartet’s fate.

Fox and the other activists opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq, as well as the detainment of Iraqi prisoners who have not been formally charged with crimes. Members of Christian Peacemaker Teams refuse to travel with bodyguards—virtually unheard of for Westerners moving about in unsecured portions of Iraq.

The Swords of Righteousness had accused the hostages of being spies for the U.S. and British governments, which led the multinational coalition that overthrew Iraq’s former government under dictator Saddam Hussein. In the weeks following the kidnapping, Christian Peacemaker Teams waged an aggressive publicity campaign to try to convince the quartet’s captors to release them.

Christian Peacemaker Teams’ statement called again for an end to the war, the release of Iraqi prisoners and forgiveness for the captors.

“Harmeet, Jim and Norman and Tom were in Iraq to learn of the struggles facing the people in that country. They went, motivated by a passion for justice and peace to live out a nonviolent alternative in a nation wracked by armed conflict,” the statement said. “They knew that their only protection was in the power of the love of God and of their Iraqi and international co-workers. We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by multinational forces is the root cause of the insecurity, which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq. The occupation must end.

“Today, in the face of this joyful news, our faith compels us to love our enemies even when they have committed acts which caused great hardship to our friends and sorrow to their families. In the spirit of the prophetic nonviolence that motivated Jim, Norman, Harmeet and Tom to go to Iraq, we refuse to yield to a spirit of vengeance.”

The director of a Baptist peacemakers group with which Kember is affiliated welcomed the news, and also thanked the many moderate Muslims around the world who condemned the kidnappings.

“We are mindful also of the courageous witness of our Muslim sisters and brothers around the globe—in Iraq, Palestine, Canada and the U.S., Europe, and many other places; these are ones who joined us in prayer and called for their safe release, and testified to the power of our friends’ Christian mission for peace in Iraq,” said Gary Percesepe of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America.

“We trust that these seeds of cooperation and good will continue to take root in our respective cultures.”

Posted: 3/31/06

Church sees school as
avenue to community ministry

By George Henson

Staff Writer

AMARILLO—Pleasant Valley Baptist Church is making a difference at a neighboring elementary school—inside and out.

Outside, the school’s marquee notes the sign was made possible by gifts from the church. Inside, numerous children’s hearts have been marked even more boldly.

The church’s ministry to Pleasant Valley Elementary School began more than four years ago, when the church held a car show to raise money to build a family life center, Pastor Dana Moore said.

“After the car show, we kept saying, ‘We pushed this as a community event, so why are we keeping the money for ourselves?’” he recalled.

The solution: Don’t keep the money. Give it to the school.

The church has continued to hold the car show each year and give the school all the proceeds. The money not only has helped the school buy its marquee but also has paid for murals to be painted in the library, and it funded other projects.

The car show marked the beginning of extensive involvement of the church in the lives of the children and their families, such as the church’s program to buy school supplies for needy children throughout the school year.

“We don’t do the big push at the beginning of the school year. There are enough agencies who already do that in this area. We try to fill in after that initial time,” Moore said.

Each month, the church throws a party for children whose birthdays fall during that month.

“For a lot of these children, their birthday is just another day in their homes, so we try to do something to make it a little special,” Moore explained. Each child gets out of class for a short party, where they receive a cupcake and a balloon and play a game.

When mothers of children in the school have a baby, the church’s Baby Bulldog ministry kicks in.

“The mom comes to class and brings the baby so everybody can see, and we give them a blanket and other supplies,” Missions Minister and Church Administrator Julia Buckstead said.

The church also sponsors a “Little Bulldogs” program for students’ younger brothers and sisters. Every Wednesday, for the last 45 minutes of the school day, mothers can bring their 2- to 4-year-olds to school. Children work on color and shape recognition and motor and coordination skills, and they enjoy a story time—all led by church members.

“We can’t bring books in,” Moore explained, “but the money we give every year buys books, and so we read those books to them.”

The church also presents gifts to teachers and staff at Pleasant Valley Elementary—including maintenance workers—on an appreciation day each year.

None of the ministries developed overnight, Moore noted. Initially, school personnel seemed reluctant to move quickly in building the relationship, he said.

“It was almost as if they were waiting to see if we were really in it for the long haul,” he said.

The congregation proved its commitment, as evidenced by Amarillo Independent School District bestowing two of it most prestigious awards on the church—the America’s Promise Leadership Award for Businesses and Civic Organizations for Exemplary Leadership and the Warren Kincaid Award for championing mentoring and tutoring.

After school, students can walk across the street to the church’s Front Porch facility, which houses activities in what once was a strip shopping center. About 30 children are registered for help with homework, with about a dozen children attending faithfully.

More churches should have this type of ministry, Moore insisted, instead of complaining about the lack of prescribed prayer in public schools.

“If we cross the street over to the school, we don’t push Jesus. But when they come to the Front Porch for help with their homework, we pray with them,” he said. “We have a far greater impact on these kids than if they were across the street reciting a prayer.”

The afternoon program includes a time for the children to talk about their day with the volunteers, a snack and playtime, as well as help with homework.

Most of the children appreciate the help, but their behavior isn’t always perfect, “because there really are no perfect children,” Buckstead said. Sometimes, students have to be told that they can’t come back for a few days.

“When we tell them they can’t come back for the rest of the week, it really affects them because this is a place where they can get loved on,” she said.

For that reason, they are reluctant to tell children they can’t come for a time.

“So many of these children have been given up on, and we’re not going to do that. They have found out we’re tough, but no matter what, we still love them,” Buckstead said. “That’s what this program is for—those kids on the edge.”

And according to school administrators, several have been pulled back from the edge, and children who were once making failing grades are passing now.

Volunteers make the ministry possible, Buckstead said.

“There are a lot of people who volunteer to help with these children. Their heart is in the Front Porch ministry, and I could not do it without them,” she said.

Various volunteers devote their evenings to the Front Porch ministry. On Monday and Thursday evenings, the church sponsors a 12-step program for “people who have substance-abuse problems and the people who love them,” Buckstead said.

Front Porch offers English-as-a-Second-Language classes on Tuesday evenings, and a Saturday worship service welcomes “people who wouldn’t feel comfortable attending church in the larger building,” she said.

This month begins “Spaghetti 6 at 6,” aimed at the parents of children who attend the after-school program. Participants will eat and then listen to a short lesson in which six questions about the Bible will be answered, Buckstead said.

And while so far only one family has joined Pleasant Valley Baptist Church through the Front Porch ministry, it still has been fruitful, she said.

“Our goal is not to increase the kingdom of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, but to increase the kingdom of God. Many times, we’re not going to see the fruit of our labors, but we know that if we are faithful, God will be faithful, even if we are not there to see it,” Buckstead said.

“The way God has grown this is incredible. I’ve been invited to go along on the fifth- grade field trip. How many churches get opportunities like this?”

What about the family life center?

“We still don’t have one, and it’s not even a priority anymore,” Moore said. “We have other ministry opportunities now.”