Posted: 8/8/03

Stock market gives IMB some financial relief

RICHMOND, Va.–Gains in the stock market are providing some relief for the International Mission Board's financial strains, the board's treasurer told trustees during their July meeting in Richmond.

Investment income probably will reach the $23 million level budgeted for 2003, reported David Steverson. However, he did not rule out the possibility of further spending reductions in addition to the $10 million cut from the IMB budget in June.

Those cuts eliminated 61 staff positions and put limits on the number of new missionary appointments allowed for the remainder of the year. While gifts to the IMB have increased 1.5 percent in the last two years, the board's missionary count has increased 8.7 percent.

Funding for the increasing missionary force was augmented by healthy investment income prior to the market woes of 2001 and by drawing on reserve funds since then.

IMB trustees also celebrated Jerry Rankin's 10th anniversary as president, heard a report on missionary attrition and appointed 70 missionaries.

“No one is more amazed than I at how God has worked in these 10 years through the IMB,” Rankin said. “It is not about us, but about God's glory. He will not share his glory, and as long as we humbly walk in submission to his lordship, resist taking credit and acclaim and are driven only by a desire for Christ to be exalted among all peoples, I believe God's blessings will be assured.”

The attrition study found that prior overseas experience significantly reduces the dropout rate among long-term missionaries.

Missionaries with no overseas experience prior to appointment suffered a 6 percent loss rate in 2002, compared to a 3.3 percent loss rate for missionaries with previous IMB service.

The overall attrition rate for long-term personnel was 5.2 percent in 2002, compared to 5.1 percent in 2001.

The study also found that long-term personnel in the 41-50 age range had a higher attrition rate–6.6 percent–than any other age group.

Long-term personnel comprise 72.8 percent of the IMB's total missionary force. Long-term personnel are those appointed to assignments of two years or longer.

The top three reasons for missionary resignations in 2002 were related to work (15.2 percent), calling (14.1 percent) and IMB organization (14.1 percent), the report said. Another 12.5 percent of resigning missionaries cited accepting a stateside job as a factor in the decision to resign. Missionaries often cite multiple reasons for resignation.

Trustees also approved a change in the board's mission statement, which was shortened to state, “Making Jesus Christ known among all peoples.”

The previous mission statement said the board's task was “to lead Southern Baptists in international missions efforts to evangelize the lost, disciple believers, develop churches and minister to people in need. Leading Southern Baptists is done by mobilizing prayer support, appointing missionaries, enlisting volunteers, channeling financial support and communicating how God is working overseas.”

The next meeting of IMB trustees will be held Sept. 8-10 in Austin. A missionary appointment service is set for Sept. 9 at Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 8/8/03

Texas Baptist Forum:
Common ground

I may have stumbled on a “common-ground” statement that would reunite those Christians of good will whose historic cooperation has been torn asunder by the “inerrancy” debates.

Perhaps we could all agree: God has miraculously supplied us with the Bible in exactly the form and using exactly the words that he wants us to have at this moment in time.

E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

To then judge the veracity of those chosen words would be, in essence, judging God himself, which I hope no one would ever dare.

Is this a place where the factions of Baptist life can choose to set down our instruments of war and enjoy Christ's gift of being “free indeed”?

Jerry Barker

Falfurrias

Absolute corner

During the past year, a friend and I were discussing the works of Christian author Beth Moore. My friend's husband is a Southern Baptist pastor. As we talked, she laughingly commented that her husband has also viewed videotapes of Moore and he found her to be a “better pastor than many men pastors.”

In Southern Baptist Convention circles, we are told women cannot be pastors of Southern Baptist churches nor teachers in schools of theology, as they are “prohibited from teaching men.” How then do we address the theological problem of Southern Baptist men pastors being taught through viewing and use of teaching videos prepared by women?

Could part of our difficulties arise from the fact that in the New Testament the Apostle Paul writes, “I do not allow …” rather than “God does not allow…,” versus the prophets of the Old Testament prefacing their speaking on God's behalf with “thus saith the Lord”?

Could another part of our difficulties arise from the fact no one really has an absolute corner on God's thoughts or teachings?

Melissa Crawford

Temple

Compassionate people

What is it about faith-based organizations that the government does not have and presumably could not obtain yet often seems to produce results superior to those of government programs?

I'm afraid the major difference may be good people, the kind of people capable of feeling compassion for those they serve. Not that they must be saints. What we may often see in such organizations are only ordinary people working in an atmosphere that tends to bring out the best in them.

The president apparently is proposing to meet the need for compassionate care in government programs by just contracting it out. Contracting out has become quite popular with administrators in recent years. It relieves them of the task of recruiting qualified employees, reduces their own supervisory duties and allows the government to limit its expenditures to a set amount.

Rather than pushing some of the government's responsibilities off onto religious organizations, I would prefer to see the administration make a greater effort to hire and retain compassionate employees in its own service sector and to create an atmosphere in which compassion thrives.

Campaigns that just consist of slogans for a “Kinder, Gentler IRS” or asking, “May I help you?” won't cut it. Nor do examples set by government administrators whose compassion appears to be based on the squeaking-wheel-gets-the-grease principle.

James O. Morse

McGregor

Welcome visitors

Hendrick Health System and Mesa Springs Retirement Village in Abilene were pleased to host Bob Campbell and Debbie Ferrier, the president and second vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. They were visiting Hendrick as a part of their visitation program for BGCT agencies.

I want to express my gratitude for their visit to Hendrick and Mesa Springs. It was wonderful to share our programs with the leadership of the convention and to have them visit our institution.

The Baptist identity continues to be a very important part of the Hendrick faith-based mission to Abilene and the Texas Midwest, and we value the relationship we have with the BGCT and our sister institutions.

Thanks to Campbell and Ferrier for their interest in visiting not only our institution but all the institutions of the BGCT.

Michael C. Waters, president

Hendrick Medical Center

Abilene

Bright & Robertson

An interesting study in contrast emerged recently with the death of Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Bright never sought big headlines nor took on the establishment in a confrontational, high-profile manner. He had one mission in life–sharing Jesus Christ. Millions of people accepted Christ who read his “Four Spiritual Laws” booklet or saw the “Jesus” film. His philosophy was simple: Society is changed one heart at a time.

Pat Robertson recently called for a 21-day prayer vigil hoping to influence three U.S. Supreme Court justices to give up their seats. This holy war against the justices demonstrates a different tactic in shaping morality in America.

Bright sought to change society by leading people to accept a relationship with Jesus Christ; Robertson has sought to do it through manipulating the legal system. Morality, certainly a function of laws, can never be sustained solely by legislation, but only when it springs from a heart made pure by God. Bright understood this principle well, and that is why his organization will continue to thrive now that his faith has become sight.

Even the unbelieving world looks with admiration on Bright's methods. When he shared the good news, it was without pressure or threat, just a heartfelt invitation for people to know God.

Robertson, however, has become the brunt of jokes and spoofs in almost every media source. The world views Robertson's methods with disdain because they come across as overly pious manipulation.

The contrast couldn't be more striking.

Bill Hill

Kansas City

Missing the point

I'm appalled at the arrogance that emanates from some of the readers of the Standard. They read a few comments pulled from Tony Campolo's one-hour sermon (July 14) and think they know everything about him. Not only that, they totally misuse his comments to suit their arguments.

First, it is sheer arrogance to believe Southern Baptists have a monopoly on truth and believe such things as: “We can't allow that dirty American Baptist in our doors. He'll liberalize us.” I'm proud to be a Baptist (no “Southern” here), but not of the brand that's been molded in the last three decades.

Second, these readers judge a man for saying his wife believes it is OK for homosexuals to marry, even though he clearly states he is against it. People must stop hearing half a sentence.

As for his views on social justice, the assumption that he disregards the heart is way out of line. In a book he co-authored, “Adventures in Missing the Point,” Campolo clearly states that social justice and conversion of individuals are both vital cogs in working toward God's kingdom.

Finally, concerning his views on dispensationalism, how dare he have a different view of the end times from many Southern Baptists. You mean a non-creedal denomination has dogma concerning how the book of Revelation should be interpreted and that it is based on a view that has only existed for 150 years? What a heretic!

J.D. Allen

McGregor

Absentee support

At a recent meeting of our Women on Mission group at First Baptist Church in Brownfield, we were discussing the International Mission Board's firing of the missionaries who could not in good conscience sign the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message. One of the members made a suggestion that I write a letter to the Standard.

We are saddened by this unkind and unfair treatment of our missionaries who had been working faithfully to spread the gospel for many years–one of them as long as 35 years, some about 20 years and many others shorter periods. After these many years of service, they are suddenly considered unaccountable to Southern Baptists, who employed them, because they did not sign a man-made creed.

However, also regrettable is the lack of support these missionaries have received from the national Woman's Missionary Union.

Although their names have been on the missionary birthday prayer calendar and information about them and their work has been included in WMU literature for years, there is now total silence about their forced departure. It is as if they are personae non grata.

There has been, as far as I have been able to determine, no public word of support or appreciation for these dedicated people from the organization that we thought was most supportive of our missionaries and their work, WMU.

We lament this sad situation and want to offer our own words of gratitude for these missionaries and our sorrow at the way they have been treated.

Ann Hope

Brownfield

Ethics 101

Bad kudos to the editorial staff contributing to the Standard article on the Baptist General Convention of Texas staff reduction (July 28).

The first section of the article was direct, informative and sensitive. I believe Charles Wade was sincere in his statement regarding the reduction of staff.

Then I turned to the continuing saga and was surprised to see you were naming names. This is something you might see in the slick tabloids when checking out at the grocery counter.

Isn't it enough they must endure the pain of being fired? Why continue the personal embarrassment by announcing it to the Baptist community.

Maybe the “contributors” to the article should take a refresher course in Journalism Ethics 101.

Bob Juliuson

Dallas

Authority vs. heresy

All pastors, students, employees and faculty at our Texas Baptist colleges and universities and Southwestern Seminary should be required to read “The Gnostic Gospels” by Elaine Pagels. Don't be put off by the word “gnostic.”

Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon, was the forerunner of Paige Patterson's plan for Texas. Irenaeus, in his attempt to protect the church, insisted that all Christians submit to the doctrine, ritual and supreme authority of the church. Failure to submit was to be labeled a heretic.

“Today we read (the gnostic gospels) with different eyes. … Only now are we beginning to consider the questions with which they confront us.”

Don Phillips

Fort Worth

Misrepresented Dobson

A photo caption mentioned National Prayer Chairman Shirley Dobson and her husband, "religious broadcaster and political activist James Dobson" (July 28).

Religious broadcaster he is, but political activist? Dobson does not endorse candidates, nor does he raise funds for any political party, nor does he actively support any PACS. Focus on the Family, Dobson’s ministry, is not a political organization in any way whatsoever.

Though I do not speak for Dobson, I can tell you he does speak out on public issues affecting the family, such as abortion, child abuse, education, the Boy Scouts, etc., in keeping with his role as chairman of Focus on the Family. You can check this out for yourself on his website, family.org.

If this labeling was an honest mistake, a correction placed as prominently as the error would be appreciated. If it was intended to label Dobson as a political activist, may I remind you to please confine your opinions to the editorial page.

Mike Sheeran

Houston

When will it stop?

Only God knows and eternity will attest to the number of lives that could have been impacted by the amount of funds and energy that has gone into the "ruining of the Southern Baptist Convention."

I have a notice that this publication must cut back on printing because of a shortage of funds; headlines ‘Tight budget taps out church funds,’ and our own little church had to cut down the size of our new building because the pledges were not sufficient. Missionaries have been displaced because of a silly rule about signing a creed and now women desiring to enter the ministry will be disenfranchised by our seminary. It is no wonder that women are leaving this denomination to find a place of service. The new president of Southwestern has proclaimed no women faculty members will be allowed.

There was a time when you had to go to the secular world for politics, but no more.

When will this madness stop?

Betty Westbrook

Plano

Correction

A statement in the letter from Marcus Norris (July 28) was printed incorrectly. As published, the letter said: “Did not God answer Jesus' prayer for our unity? I think the answer must be an emphatic 'no.'” It should read: “Did God not answer Jesus' prayer for our unity? I think the answer must be an emphatic 'no.'”

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 8/8/03

Half of Americans approve
of unmarried women giving birth

WASHINGTON (RNS)–Half of Americans now believe it is morally acceptable to have a baby outside of marriage, a Gallup Poll shows.

Pollsters found 51 percent of U.S. adults polled in May said out-of-wedlock births were morally acceptable, compared to 46 percent who said they were morally wrong. One year ago, slightly fewer (45 percent) thought such births were acceptable, while 50 percent thought they were wrong.

Views on the subject varied greatly depending on respondents' church-attending habits.

While 26 percent of respondents who attend church weekly said out-of-wedlock births were morally acceptable, 71 percent who seldom or never attend church agreed with that statement.

Married Americans are less likely than unmarried Americans to say such births are acceptable, 45 percent to 58 percent respectively.

While 64 percent of respondents ages 18 to 29 think out-of-wedlock births are morally acceptable, lower percentages of older age groups voice approval. For example, 53 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds, 51 percent of those ages 50 to 64 and 33 percent of those 65 and older said having a baby outside of marriage is acceptable.

The findings are based on telephone interviews with 1,005 adults nationwide and have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 8/8/03

Garland book contains stories of family faith

Barbara Massey

EthicsDaily.com

WACO–In today’s world, where families face many uncertainties, what resource is better for understanding and dealing with challenges than the stories of other families who have had similar experiences?

Families with a strong faith connection and spiritual dimension seem to weather the storms of life in a particularly positive way, experts say.

And what about the experiences at the opposite end of the spectrum–times of joy and happiness? Just as families of faith weather storms more positively, they also reportedly meet times of joy and happiness with deeper rejoicing together.

In "Sacred Stories of Ordinary Families," author Diana Garland interviewed 110 "ordinary" families and used their stories to illustrate how faith shapes the way families live.

The stories are representative of all kinds of families–traditional nuclear, single-parent, remarried, blended, single adults and older adults who are both married and widowed. Their stories illustrate how the Bible and the overarching Christian story become the backdrop for living out faith in ordinary, daily lives, observed Garland, director of Baylor University’s School of Social Work.

She encourages families within congregations to connect their own experiences with what is holy and to share these stories within the community of faith, thereby offering strength for the journey to other families.

"My hope is that this book will encourage congregations to become communities for the telling of family stories–stories of family struggles and resilience and redemption, stories of family faith," she says.

The book offers practical suggestions about how congregations can nurture the faith life of families. It is designed to give families the tools for living their faith in daily life and developing their own "sacred" stories, strengthening not only their own lives, but also the lives of others to whom they tell their story.

Rather than adding new church programs, this type of nurture means looking at what the congregation is already doing from the perspective of the impact it has on individuals and families.

Garland suggests that churches:

Look for family relationships beyond the "of-course" family.

Seek the strength of all families.

Encourage families to develop their own faith practices.

Provide ways for families to serve and learn together at church.

Offer opportunities for families to minister together.

Use church conflicts as opportunities.

Show how families can eat together or simply be together.

Be a place that evokes and listens to family stories of faith.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 8/8/03

Churches struggle to keep
newlyweds in church after wedding

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

With the changing of the seasons, spring love turns to deep relationships as couples flock to churches to be married.

But statistics indicate large numbers of those couples will find blight rather than bliss, as their marriages crumble in divorce.

Churches with beautiful sanctuaries are struggling to bring couples who were married there into the congregation, Christian leaders said.

“All over America, we are performing weddings for people we will never see again,” said Tommy Culwell, pastor of Colonial Hill Baptist Church in Snyder. “Something is wrong with that.”

Some Christian leaders are bucking that trend by strengthening relationships and building bonds between couples and congregations with a combination of one-on-one counseling and group communication classes before the wedding and throughout the first year of marriage.

“This is a time that many young people seek out the church. The church in the United States is reaching out to the younger generations,” said Carla Aday, minister of community development at Country Club Christian Church in Kansas City, Mo.

She helped organize Great Start, a premarital course endorsed by the Baptist General Convention of Texas' Christian Life Commission.

Counseling allows ministers to get to know couples they may not know well and helps the engaged pair trust the minister who will perform their wedding, the church leaders said. The sessions also give ministers and couples time to explore relationship dynamics and personal issues.

Aday's church, affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), encourages couples to meet congregation members early in the outreach by completing the character assessment in a class format.

The larger-scale method helps the church counsel more than 100 couples who get married in the sanctuary, she added. If leaders feel a couple needs more serious counseling, they refer the pair to a counselor.

Communication classes vary slightly in each church that uses the Great Start curriculum, but leaders teach basic interpersonal skills to help couples work through problems in a healthy manner, Aday said.

The Missouri church holds a communication class once a week and asks couples to complete nine hours of coursework. Engaged couples pay for the classes and are encouraged to complete the counseling program.

Culwell, who sees about 10 marriages in his West Texas church annually, found the minister training through Prepare, the first portion of Great Start, extremely helpful. He often jokes that he took just enough counseling to make him dangerous in seminary and wanted to strengthen his premarital ministry.

The training and material give him a way to assess and analyze relationships so he can help couples work through issues, Culwell said. “It gives me a great deal of insight I would not come up with on my own.”

While couples can go through the premarital program at Country Club Christian Church in three months, most take more than a year, Aday said.

Counseling requirements deter many people who do not want to put work into their marriage, Culwell explained. They do not want to examine their relationship.

“That's why we don't have more weddings,” he said. “Frankly, some couples don't want to think about it that much.”

However, the outreaches are bringing more people in than they are turning away, Culwell and Aday said. Couples who are getting married elsewhere come to the two churches for counseling.

The outreach has altered the image of the Snyder church, Culwell observed.

“The church is seen as a resource for marriage preparation, not just a place to get married,” Culwell said.

More importantly, the premarital efforts have positively impacted marriages and congregations, the ministers said. Couples who go through counseling have joined the churches and learned techniques to work through marital issues.

“If you do this stuff before you get married or in the first year or two of the marriage, it sets the course for the rest of the relationship,” Aday said.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 8/8/03

BEFORE 'I DO':
Does premarital counseling make a diference?

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

Marriage education and premarital counseling are the latest trends to emerge from the marriage movement–a push for stronger traditional families.

Churches nationwide are requiring couples to undergo counseling and follow-up sessions in order to use sanctuaries.

State governments have followed suit and developed marriage education curriculums for high school students. Several officials are pushing strongly to mandate those courses.

But do the efforts work?

That depends on what a successful premarital counseling program means, according to experts. Long-term studies on divorce rates of couples who were counseled do not exist, and the shorter-term studies do not give a clear indication of effectiveness.

Marriage Savers, a Christian organization that brings community church leaders together to create a standard requirement for all couples who wish to use a sanctuary in the community for their weddings, reported mixed results following an extensive short-term study.

The divorce rate dropped in 91 of 131 areas where church leaders adopted city marriage policies. The study, facilitated by the Institute of Research and Evaluation, cited a drop of more than 35 percent in divorces in Tyler, Austin and Waxahachie and a 79.5 percent decline in El Paso.

However, 39 of the 131 areas either experienced no decline or reported an increase in the divorce rate. According to Marriage Savers' annual report, “most of the increases were below 10 percent.” However, 13 regions experienced even higher rates of divorce, including increases of 24 percent, 38.6 percent and 59.2 percent in Sacramento, Cleveland and Chadron, Neb., respectively.

Mike McManus, president of Marriage Savers, cited the number of trained mentor couples, paid staff members and amount of press coverage as factors that significantly altered divorce rates.

While many people would simply look at the divorce rate of couples after counseling, Preston Dyer, professor at Baylor University and a clinical social worker, said those numbers do not tell the full story.

Effective premarital counseling should help couples evaluate whether they should get married, identify strengths and swoons in the relationship and help them develop skills that will strengthen their upcoming marriage, Dyer said.

Personality inventories such as Prepare help couples understand the dynamics of their relationship, agreed Dyer and Amy Branch-Lambert, pastoral care counselor for the Baptist General Convention of Texas' Counseling and Psychological Services.

Research on the Life Innovations website, which offers information on Prepare, indicates the inventory predicts with an 80 percent accuracy which couples will get divorced or have severe problems.

Even if the inventory shows two people may not be compatible, Dyer and Branch-Lambert caution ministers not to refuse to marry a couple. The counselor should help both parties learn to work through issues and develop a healthy relationship.

“Here's the reality for the minister: If the minister says no, they're going to go down to the justice of the peace,” Branch-Lambert said. “Why would we force people to go to the justice of the peace when they can find a place where they are loved and honored?”

Branch-Lambert and Dyer agreed counseling should include at least six hour-long sessions stretched over several months prior to the ceremony. The counselor should cover a series of relationship issues including finances, expectations and spiritual beliefs.

But that commitment is difficult for many pastors, they acknowledged.

“Ministers have a hard time finding six to nine hours to give to a couple,” Dyer stated. “You think of so many of our Texas Baptist churches, and they're a one-man staff.”

An important issue to discuss is the family background of each person, Branch-Lambert said. Parents provide a model for marriage that their children often imitate.

“That's where we all learned to do relationships,” she said. “Going into marriage, you can't think they won't act like their parents, because they will carry some traits into the new marriage.”

While Branch-Lambert prefers individual counseling between a professional and the couple, Dyer said some research indicates couple classes have proven slightly more effective, since couples can support each other.

Counseling is effective, but Branch-Lambert noted couples ultimately are responsible for nurturing the marriage.

“Nothing's going to totally prepare you for marriage,” she said. “That's the reality of it. But the more tools in the tool box, the more you have to work on it.”

Marriage Resources

www.lifeinnovations.com–parent company that offers the Prepare inventory and Enrich marriage enhancement materials.

Hope for Home–the BGCT Christian Life Commission's initiative to strengthen families. Consultants can help churches establish marital counseling programs. Contact Carol Bowman at (888) 332-5870 for more information.

Celebrating Marriage in Ministry–the BGCT's marriage enrichment event for ministers. This year it is Sept. 11-13 in San Antonio. Contact Bob Cavin at (888) 447-5143 for more information.

www.marriagesavers.com–an organization that helps churches and cities create community marriage policies to encourage marriage counseling and enrichment.

www.greatstart.org–web site of the Great Start marital preparation material.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 8/8/03

Meteor proposed as Constantine's vision

LONDON (RNS)–Could the impact of a meteorite hitting the Italian Apennines have been the sign in the sky–believed to be in the shape of a cross–that encouraged the Emperor Constantine to invoke the Christian God in his decisive battle in 312 when he defeated his fellow Emperor Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge?

The victory paved the way for the recognition of Christianity by the Roman Empire and the union of church and state that lasted nearly 1,500 years.

The possibility is raised by a report in the current issue of New Scientist of the discovery of a meteorite impact crater dating from the fourth or fifth century A.D. in the Apennines.

The crater is a seasonal lake, roughly circular with a diameter of between 115 and 140 meters, which has a pronounced raised rim and no inlet or outlet and is fed solely by rainfall. There are a dozen much smaller craters nearby, such as would be created when a meteorite with a diameter of 10 meters shattered during entry into the atmosphere.

A team led by the Swedish geologist Jens Ormo believes the crater was caused by a meteorite landing with a one-kiloton impact–equivalent to a small nuclear blast–and producing shock waves, earthquakes and a mushroom cloud.

Samples from the crater's rim have been dated to the year 312 plus or minus 40 years, but small amounts of contamination with recent material could account for a date significantly later than 312.

However, from the written historical record it is uncertain whether Constantine's vision of the cross was a dream just before the decisive battle or, as Eusebius stated in his life of the emperor, a sign he saw in the heavens.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 8/8/03

Mexican Baptists and Texas Baptists
launch three-year partnership plan

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

The National Baptist Convention of Mexico unanimously approved a three-year partnership with the Baptist General Convention of Texas at its July 23 annual meeting in Mexico City.

Formal cooperation is slated to run through 2006, but leaders on both sides expect to see the partnership continue substantially longer, said Joe Bruce, projects director for the BGCT Texas Partnerships Resource Center and chairman of the BGCT team involved in the cooperation discussion.

The annual meeting of the National Baptist Convention of Mexico drew a record crowd of 3,000 participants and 700 registered messengers, double the previous year's numbers. At the summer assembly, convention officials joined with Charles Wade, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, to sign an agreement to work together in mission efforts on both sides of the border.

Leaders envision the partnership, called the Mexico-Texas Baptist Network, as Texas and Mexico Baptists flowing back and forth across their shared border to help each other in prayer, evangelism efforts, church starting, missions, social ministries and leadership training.

“This is not just them asking and us sending or vice versa,” Bruce said. “It will be a free-flowing exchange of people and resources as we attempt to work together to minister in Christ's name in both Texas and Mexico.”

The BGCT Executive Board must approve the network before it becomes an official partnership.

Mexico and Texas are linked in several ways, including culturally, historically, economically and religiously, according to Bruce. Baptists from each side of the border commonly cooperate in ministry.

The partnership recognizes what is already happening and attempts more strategically to focus on the agreed ministry objectives, Bruce observed.

Network leaders seek to build on the long Texas-Mexico relationship and help Baptists identify needs in both places, Bruce said. Convention leaders will work together to help churches, associations, compañerismos and institutions find places to minister.

“This is not doing away with border ministry,” Bruce said. “This is to amplify opportunities for Texas Baptists to work throughout Mexico, and for Mexico Baptists to minister here.”

Dexton Shores, director of River Ministry and a BGCT representative in the partnership discussions, said the network will expand Texas Baptist ministry beyond the border areas. Texas Baptist churches will be able to partner with central Mexico Baptist churches or travel directly to meet needs in the heart of the country, he explained.

“There are regions in the interior of Mexico that have never received mission groups,” Shores explained.

Cooperative efforts also can help the Mexican convention meet its goal of starting 8,500 churches in the next 10 years, Shores said. About 1,500 churches currently comprise the 100-year-old convention. Mexican Baptist churches are serving less than half the 62 native language groups in the nation, according to Shores.

Leaders expect Mexico Baptists to help start new churches in Texas as well, particularly in primarily Spanish-speaking areas.

In addition to working cooperatively in the two regions, Bruce said he hopes Baptists will “know each other as true friends as well as being involved in ministry for the building of the kingdom of God in Mexico and Texas.”

He imagines the Mexico and Texas conventions working together to do evangelistic work in a third locale.

“Not only are we neighbors,” Bruce said, “we are also partners in sharing the good news in Mexico and Texas.”

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 8/8/03

In San Carlos, teen volunteer Britney Smith holds a new glass pane in place while 5-year-old Azusena Cruz, a resident of the house, gazes outside. Through gifts to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions, Baptist workers have helped the Cruz family secure their home and their eternal destiny.

Mary Hill Davis gifts warm hearts & homes

By Craig Bird

Texas Baptist Communications

MISSION–When the first hard freeze bullies its way into the Lower Rio Grande Valley this winter, folks at Kenefick Southern Baptist Church will be thinking about more than potential increases in citrus prices.

Nothing against grapefruit and oranges, but the Dayton congregation will be celebrating the fact Marcos and Alma Cruz, along with 6-year-old Marcos Jr., 5-year-old Azusena and 1-year-old Yvonne, are warm and dry.

This year–thanks to Kennefick's involvement in the Texas Baptist River Ministry–when the cold winds start biting, the Cruz family will shelter inside a newly insulated, caulked and sealed home.

And consider the impact on Kennefick Church. Its heart for missions beats much stronger after its first–but assuredly not its last–partnership with ministries funded through the Mary Hill Davis Missions Offering for Texas missions.

The church, which averages 100 in Sunday School, “had never done anything” like the summer project in San Carlos, just north of Weslaco, reported Pastor Jeff Day. Sixteen Kenefick members, including two teenagers, made the trip, while others maintained constant prayer support.

“We even had two commissioning services,” Day said. “One for those that were going and signed a formal covenant and one for those who publicly committed to praying who also signed a formal covenant. Both groups were part of what happened.”

“What happened” reached far beyond the enrichment of the spiritual and physical lives of the Cruz family.

In addition, Baptist volunteers intent on helping others got the much bigger blessing themselves. People who went to South Texas to give their faith away came back to East Texas with more than they had when they left.

Chuck Burch, a 70-something member of the construction team, got nods of agreement when he noted the experience “made me much more thankful for what we have.”

“More importantly, the trip got me to thinking that we need to open our eyes back home, too,” he said. “There are lots of needy people around us, and we need to be willing to be aware of our neighbors we can help just like we helped the Cruzes and for the exact same reason–because of all that God has done for us.”

Day and his wife, Cathy, “had been praying about a mission trip for years but couldn't justify the $2,000 a person it would cost to go overseas,” he said.

On the fourth day of the volunteers' trip, Marcos Cruz approached Jorge Zapata (in blue shirt), Buckner's liason with the River Ministry, to ask about becoming a Christian. His wife has been a believer for about a year.

Then one Wednesday night, the conviction was so strong–even though the vision was no clearer–“that Cathy got up and announced she was going on a mission trip, and the rest of us could come or not,” Day explained. “When she finished, she was crying, and the only other sound was a lot of heavy breathing.”

Shortly thereafter, the church received a notice about a Texas River Ministry presentation at Tyler. One of the workshops was led by George Zapata, border ministry coordinator for Buckner Benevolences, a program funded through the Mary Hill Davis Offering as well as Buckner. His work includes the San Carlos Community Center. He had a picture of a three-room house, pieced together by a bricklayer named Marcos Cruz.

“Marcos is not a Christian, but his wife has been a believer for a few months,” Zapata explained at the session. “Last winter, they came to the community center because the baby was sick and they had no money for a doctor. When I visited them, they had no food in the house and no warm clothes. It was about as cold in the house as it was outside.”

The Kennefick team planned for the women to teach classes in sewing, nutrition and literacy. Actually, they did the sewing part but wound up putting together a Vacation Bible School instead of the other projects.

Meanwhile, the men overhauled the house. Zapata urged them not to witness verbally to Cruz the first two days, but to “let your actions point to God.”

It can take years for Christians living in the community to lead a handful of families to faith in Jesus Christ, “but there is something about volunteers that speeds things up,” Zapata said. “By the third day, the lost man or woman we are praying for almost always begins to ask questions.

“Marcos did. The first two days, he basically hid, embarrassed at having others help him and his family. But by the third day, he wanted to know what made these people do this. On the fourth day, he told me he wanted to become a 'God person' like these people.”

Day arrived at the Cruzes' house just as Zapata was answering the man's final questions. Immediately, he told the others in the car, “Marcos is getting ready” to make a profession of faith in Christ.

“As a preacher, I could just tell as soon as I saw them talking,” Day added. “It was a marvelous experience to watch.”

So, too, is the experience of watching Kennefick Southern Baptist Church enlarge upon the mission foundation of the trip last June.

“The Cruzes asked how they could ever repay us, but I think we owe them–and George and the River Ministry,” Cathy Day said. “To know that I have Christian friends in San Carlos is worth more than I can express. I'll never be the same.”

On the fourth day of the volunteers' trip, Marcos Cruz approached Jorge Zapata (in blue shirt), Buckner's liason with the River Ministry, to ask about becoming a Christian. His wife has been a believer for about a year.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 8/8/03

Leo Samaniego (left), River Ministry coordinator for El Paso Baptist Association, discusses church starting with Juan Perez, pastor of Montaña Vista Community Church.

Montaña Vista stands
as mountain of witness in El Paso

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

EL PASO–Texas can't claim many scenic mountains, but this Montaña Vista on the edge of town is a beautiful sight to Baptist association leaders.

Juan Perez, pastor of Montaña Vista Community Church, has been working the outskirts of east El Paso for three years, visiting people and starting Bible studies that would come together to form a church.

He builds friendships within a several-mile radius of his home and encourages families to start home Bible studies. He continually nurtures the network of groups and is available to help if needed.

This Bible study method is a new strategy leaders of El Paso Baptist Association are employing as part of Focus El Paso, an effort to dramatically increase the number of Baptist churches in the border town.

Leo Samaniego, River Ministry coordinator for the association, said the technique is a wise use of a tight budget. The Bible studies require few funds to launch because they demand no building, and if they fail, the association has not lost much financially.

“Right now, we need to build the people,” Samaniego said. “We can meet anywhere.”

The Bible studies also have proved to be effective evangelism tools, because people in the region are more comfortable inviting others to their homes than to a church building, said Samaniego, whose position is partially funded by the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions.

“We can multiply faster and reach the lost for the Lord,” Perez explained.

With the help of missionaries from Hispanic Baptist Theological School in San Antonio, Perez reached unchurched people around his home. He continued nurturing the studies until he had enough people to bring them together to form a self-supporting church.

In a little less than three years, Perez was ready, and Texas Baptist churches joined hands to construct facilities for the emerging congregation. Although the facilities lack some finishing touches, the congregation worships there faithfully.

However, the church does not end with worship, Perez noted. The vision of the congregation is to start churches. To date, members have begun seven places of worship.

“It's work for God,” Perez said. “First we saw the potential of the people and then shared the potential. Afterward, they prayed and decided to be church starters.”

Perez said he was sad to see members leave to start churches because he is close to them, but he takes joy from knowing they are reaching others.

New members are filing into the church, and Perez said he is excited to see how God works through them. The congregation wants to start 14 churches in the near future, he said. “We're praying to see where the Lord leads these new members.”

Samaniego called Montaña Vista Community Church a “model church” that association leaders would like to see replicated across the El Paso/Juarez borderplex. Such churches hold the key to reaching the area through multiplication, he said.

“These churches are 90 percent new Christians. This is not a traditional church. We don't want it to be a traditional church.”

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

Posted: 8/8/03

Alfonzo López, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Peregrino, talks with Juan Rodriguez about his past alcholism and later conversion to the faith.

Church's mission wrapped
up in its name: Perigrino

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

EL PASO–Most church names are symbolic reminders of the faith or historical markers. For Iglesia Bautista Peregrino, the name points to a ministry.

“Passers-By Baptist Church,” as translated by its pastor, Alfonzo López, reaches out to a constantly changing community of poverty-stricken Texans, recent immigrants and illegal aliens near downtown El Paso.

Residents continuously move in and out of dilapidated federal housing, run-down apartments and rudimentary homes. The overwhelming majority of people are single parents or illegal aliens.

Alfonzo López visits visits with Maria Alvarez and her son Frank about participating in an upcoming Vacation Bible School.

In this setting, López sets out to make a difference in the name of Christ.

“We have need on both sides” of the Texas-Mexico border, López said. “If we look in the United States, we can see a need here.”

Through Urban Allies, a ministry loosely connected to his church and funded by the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions, López provides a food pantry, clothes closet, literacy classes, furniture, household items and occasional financial help to needy families.

He also helps illegal immigrants become United States citizens and then helps them bring their families to Texas.

The humanitarian outreaches are vehicles to share the gospel, López said.

“As they come for us to help them, that's where we share the gospel,” he explained. “We don't promote it as 'we help illegal people,' but the community is such that 50 percent is illegal people. Our goal is to reach people for Christ.”

López believes evangelism is done through relationships, and that attitude can be seen everywhere he goes. He knows most people's names and family and financial circumstances. He remembers each person's needs.

Those he does not know, he stops to meet. He waves at everyone who passes by, and his sincerity seems to be welcomed by all. Even in unplanned visits, people drop what they are doing and invite him in with large grins.

He spends time talking with each person and asks how he can help. He inquires about family members and spiritual conditions. Every conversation ends with a prayer.

Meeting needs is not enough for López's 40-member church. The congregation holds several Vacation Bible Schools a year that include games, movies and Bible studies.

Maria Alvarez's children Frankie, 6, and Fernie, 4, said they enjoy the Vacation Bible Schools. Volunteering for the outreaches fulfills their mother.

“I want something spiritual for the children to learn,” Alvarez said. “I like to share the change Christ has made in my life. They learn a lot about Christ. Nowadays, not many people can teach about Christ openly.”

Additionally, López hand-selects children to go to Opportunity Camp, a New Mexico Christian summer camp for unchurched youth. He chooses kids he believes to be strong prospects for becoming Christian believers.

Children can return to the camp only if they bring at least one non-Christian friend. This year, López can give 12 scholarships to the camp. Other children will not be able to afford the $150 fee.

The events are a step toward a deeper spiritual relationship, he said.

“We can grow people to Christ,” López insisted. “Discipleship is a process. We know in one week we are not going to get everyone to come to church, but maybe we can target four or five families.”

López developed a network of contacts throughout the community that helps him assess needs and organize outreach. Friends and church members identify needy families.

His small congregation has partnered with other churches to improve the neighborhood. Mission teams from around the state have painted and remodeled houses and the church in the community.

The Christians' efforts transformed lives in the surrounding neighborhood. Alvarez was involved in gangs before she crossed into Texas. Another resident, Juan Rodriguez, has overcome alcoholism and is dedicated to his family.

“It is like the Lord Jesus said: You draw the net. Sometimes you catch good people,” López concluded.

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.