The humanitarian crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo grows worse, but Texas Baptists are responding to needs there.

In a message to Mark Heavener, director of Texas Baptists’ Intercultural Ministries, Pastor Manassee Ngendahayo of Rest for the Nations Baptist Church in Abilene requested funds to “help the hopeless” in the DRC’s North Kivu Province and South Kivu Province.

Ngendahayo, who was born and raised in the DRC, is president of Rest for the Nations Ministries. The international ministry provides spiritual and physical support to refugees, internally displaced people and the impoverished in Central Africa.

Ngendahayo noted ongoing violence in areas of eastern Congo controlled by the M23 rebel paramilitary group, which “has led to mass displacement, loss of life [and] widespread suffering.”

“Their lives are even more difficult each day,” he wrote. “The most challenging part is the scarcity of food and lack of water.”

Specifically, Ngendahayo requested funds to provide rice, flour, sugar and beans for families and individuals in the eastern DRC.

Texas Baptists’ Intercultural Ministries authorized program support for humanitarian assistance for the eastern Congo, using funds made available through Texas Baptists’ worldwide missions.

Heavener noted members of Texas Baptist Congolese churches have family directly affected by the violence, unrest and hunger in the eastern Congo—and that means members of the larger Texas Baptist family are impacted.

“If you are a Texas Baptist, this conflict is touching you, too,” he said.

Abductions, violence increasing

The situation in eastern Congo continues to grow increasingly dangerous, Léon Lepamabila, secretary general of the Communauté Baptiste des Fidèles en Afrique and a pastor in Kinshasa, wrote in an email to the Baptist Standard.

“Every day, new missing persons reports pour into the city of Goma,” he wrote. “They are accompanied by frightening stories from desperate families looking for their loved ones. The latter are said to have been arrested by the occupying forces or kidnapped by unknown persons.”

Pastor César Tabu Munumbo was abducted from his home at gunpoint by men in civilian clothes on March 2, and his whereabouts still were unknown four days later, Lepamabila reported.

In addition to abductions, he noted several hospitals in recent days were targeted by armed gunmen, “marking a new escalation of violence against medical facilities and health personnel,” he wrote.

Attacks on health care workers “directly compromise the humanitarian aid on which millions of people depend,” he noted.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The seventh paragraph of this article was edited shortly after it initially was posted to clarify the source of the funds allocated to eastern Congo.

MARSHALL—In an ongoing effort to reach local immigrant families, Randy Babin has made it his mission to help community members who cannot afford an attorney navigate immigration law.

“By law, a person cannot practice immigration law without being an attorney or an accredited representative with the Department of Justice,” said Babin, director of immigration services at Soda Lake Baptist Association in East Texas.

The U.S. Department of Justice created a program where individuals involved with nonprofit organizations can get training in immigration law, allowing them to help those who cannot afford traditional immigration services.

“Immigration attorneys must make a living. They have to charge fees. Many people seeking these services cannot afford the fees associated with them,” Babin said.

After becoming an accredited representative for Soda Lake Baptist Association when he was the association’s director of missions, Babin sought to help immigrant families locally by making previously inaccessible services more available.

“I focus on family immigration law—helping parents, children, siblings, etc., pursue an immigration benefit,” Babin said.

Gaining Legal Permanent Resident status

He focuses on Lawful Permanent Resident status, individuals lawfully authorized to live permanently in the United States and those applying for citizenship.

Those with Lawful Permanent Resident status or citizens can petition for eligible relatives to come to the United States and apply for immigration benefits.

“Family law involves helping people become Legal Permanent Residents. After a certain amount of time when the individual can, family law helps them become United States citizens,” Babin said.

Babin also helps families understand fees and filing information. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Servicesdetermines the cost of filing the required forms with needed evidence, like birth certificates.

“One of the agreements we have with the Department of State and Department of Justice is to not deny services to those falling beneath the poverty line,” Babin said.

“If their income is below the poverty line—and every year the government decides what that is—we can’t charge them anything.”

Though government fees must still be paid, additional services are provided at no cost to those who cannot afford to pay.

‘You see people’s lives changed’

When asked what motivates him to continue his involvement in the program, Babin quickly said “relationships.”

“You see people’s lives changed,” he said. “I have so many interesting stories.”

One young woman working at a business in Marshall was a victim of a crime. “Part of immigration law states that if a noncitizen is a victim of a crime by a U.S. citizen, they’re eligible for an immigration benefit,” Babin said.

Someone told the woman about Soda Lake Baptist Association immigration services ministry.

“She came to see me, and I made an application for her. In the meantime, she met a nice young man who was a U.S. citizen, and they married,” Babin said.

The man petitioned on her behalf, and she became a Lawful Permanent Resident.

“It’s been fun to watch her grow and start a family. She was 17 then and had a questionable future, and now things are more stable for her,” Babin said.

“That’s what makes me keep doing what I’m doing—to see people’s lives change.”

Hopes to find someone to carry on ministry

Despite the program’s success and positive reputation, some hesitate to receive help.

“The main fear is that, ‘if I give the government my information, they’ll come find me,’” Babin said. Information is not shared with other entities except under special circumstances.

“If the person has committed a crime, that must be reported to legal services. But if you are not in trouble with the law, no information is shared without permission,” he said.

Babin hopes to offer safe and accessible immigration services to those in need for as long as possible. He explained how he would like someone to follow in his footsteps.

 “You have to have a representative to be able to do it. I’m hoping someone will step forward to get training and be certified to continue the program,” Babin said.

“It’s just one of those things you need to have a heart for. You need an interest and a burden placed on your heart for this kind of work.

“As long as the Lord gives me strength, health and the ability to continue, I will. I enjoy doing it. It’s fun to watch people’s lives change, where they have hope and their kids have hope for them. You get some benefit from doing it.”

Faith Pratt, a student at East Texas Baptist University, is serving as an intern with the Baptist Standard this semester.  

AUSTIN—Christians can change the world by practicing “radical obedience to Jesus,” Pastor Steve Bezner of Houston Northwest Baptist Church told participants at Christian Life Commission Advocacy Day in Austin.

“Jesus taught his disciples to pray, ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,’” said Bezner, author of Your Jesus is Too American. “‘On earth as it is in heaven’ is the shorthand definition for the kingship of Jesus—the kingdom of God.”

Positive change moves on two parallel rails—the gospel of the kingdom and the government, he said.

The church should consist of believers “living in a Jesus-centered community with an open heart for our world,” Bezner asserted.

“We should create a church community that is so compelling, people are drawn to be part of it,” he said.

The gospel message of salvation made possible in Christ should cause Christians to view the world differently and live a new reality, he insisted.

“Whenever we put on our gospel glasses, we finally see the world as God would have us see it,” Bezner said.

Living in radical obedience to Jesus according to the new reality of God’s kingdom means elevating service over power, diversity over division and intimacy over sex, he said.

Because not everyone will accept and acknowledge the kingship of Jesus, government is a useful means to promote the common good and bring about positive change, he added.

Christians should speak truth to power prophetically rather than yielding to the temptation to “cozy up” to power, he insisted.

“The church’s first role is to stand up and speak up for those who don’t often have a voice and to do so in a way that may be unpopular with those who sit in cushy offices,” Bezner said.

In an American culture that values winning, Christians instead should focus on faithful service, he insisted.

‘Pilgrims as Citizens’

Julio Guarneri, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, discussed “Pilgrims as Citizens.” Guarneri worked from Hebrews 11 and 12 to demonstrate Christians are called to be nomads who rely on the supremacy of Jesus.

In circumstances that “may not look like what we thought God said he was going to do,” Guarneri said, “faith waits for God’s timing,” believing the future belongs to God.

“The early church faced suffering and persecution,” Guarneri noted. And it was to primarily Jewish-background congregations under Roman occupation the author of Hebrews writes.

In difficult circumstances, the author of Hebrews encourages the early church to remain faithful because “Jesus is better” than all things, including their plight.

The faithful witnesses of the past, listed in Hebrews 11, are to serve as exemplars, Guarneri noted.

In Hebrews 11:8-10, Abraham is described as a nomad, who lived in tents in a foreign land, called by God to go on a journey of faith to the land that eventually would be the promised land.

“The Bible tells us the children of Abraham are nomads. They admit that they are strangers and foreigners on Earth, looking for a better country.”

But, Guarneri noted, the destination, the city that endures, is not any earthly city. The final destination is the City of God.

The legacy for Abraham and Issac and Jacob, that of sojourner, is the same for anyone who has trusted Jesus, Guarneri said. “We hold loosely to our citizenship here on Earth, because our citizenship in heaven is better. … We’re pilgrims marching on to Zion.”

However, citizenship in heaven doesn’t mean Christians “live irresponsibly” here, Guarneri said. “On the contrary, because we know our destiny, then we can make a great difference here.”

Citizens of a heavenly kingdom should be the best citizens here, Guarneri said.

“Because we are pilgrims” and sojourners, “we identify” with the Hebrew people in the Old Testament, the struggling Jewish church in the first century, Baptist forefathers and mothers—who were forced to be on the move from persecution—and migrant people of today, Guarneri asserted.

“Our entire biblical and Baptist legacy is tied to a migrating people. That should mean something to us,” Guarneri said, noting that doesn’t mean not securing borders or caring for the rule of law.

But, it should mean caring for sojourners and identifying with those who are on pilgrimage.

“When a marginalized group grows in power and influence, it should never become the bully. Jesus is better,” he continued.

In Hebrews 12:2, “our attention turns to the main character of the sermon … fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith, for the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorned its shame, and sat down at the right hand of Jesus.”

As dual-citizens, the supreme exemplar Jesus shows that while the kingdom of God’s end outcome is success, suffering is the path to that victory, he said.

“When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we see a king on a throne, but we also see a cross.”

If Jesus didn’t avoid pain and suffering, “neither will we.” And, God will use suffering, “to shape us into Christ-likeness” and “make us holy.”

Today’s Christians want to be respected and “wield our power to show the world that we are better than them. That’s not the way of Jesus,” he observed.

Pilgrim-citizens should live in a way that draws people to Christ and makes them want to know why Jesus’ followers are so different.

Jesus not only finished the race victoriously, he also made it possible for Christ-followers to reach the reward. We can begin to build now something we know God will make reality, he concluded.

Jesus’ stump speech

Tim Alberta, author of American Carnage and The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, gave the final keynote address.

Alberta began by explaining he’s gotten to know Texas well in the past few years, since about 1 in 3 of the talks he’s been asked to give since his books were published have been here.

Alberta said in the time he’s spent in Texas over the past decade writing his books and working as a political journalist, he’s observed a particular emphasis on toughness and bravado is required for political campaigning in the state.

While politics throughout the country have seen culture, theology and politics become enmeshed, Texas politics are extra “gritty,” he noted. So, he suggested, the “stump speech” of Jesus, found in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount, seems particularly difficult to reconcile in Texas.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and the other beatitudes and imperatives that follow, would have a political rally audience squirming, Alberta said.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lists examples of how his instructions for his followers differ from what they believed was required of them, he pointed out.

“You’ve been told to ‘love your neighbor and hate your enemies,’ and I tell you to love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.”

But, Alberta suggested, it’s important to consider how the entire story of humanity’s relationship to God in Scripture, from the Garden of Eden all the way to the Ascension, to present day is one of our continually misinterpreting and misunderstanding what it is we are called to be.

In “lowest common denominator politics” that leave no room for mercy or grace, Christians must ask “who we’re called to be,” he said.

Alberta noted Micah 6:8 makes God’s requirements so clear, he believes “we will be judged” for failing to follow them.

“We waited for a conqueror, and we got a child,” he said. “Are we still, today, misreading who God is calling us to be?”

Believers always have struggled with living out being a citizen of another world while still living in this one.

But, he urged, the Matthew 5 “stump speech can be yours” and the transformative power of the gospel will help Christians get that proportionality right.

With additional reporting by Managing Editor Ken Camp

NEW YORK (BP)—Former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary interim provost Matt Queen received a judgment of time served with one year of supervised release, six months of home confinement and a $2,000 fine related to a federal investigation of the Southern Baptist Convention regarding sexual abuse.

Queen, 50, must also immediately pay a $100 special assessment. The term of supervised release must include Queen’s participation in outpatient mental health treatment and continued usage of prescribed medications. New lines of credit may not be opened without the approval of a probation officer.

During home confinement, he must wear an electronic monitor and can only leave to obtain medical care for himself or his wife, and that only with written permission from a probation officer.

Queen’s attorney, Sam Schmidt, told BP his client faced a maximum of five years in prison.

The charges stemmed from a Department of Justice investigation into allegations of mishandled claims of sexual abuse in the SBC and falsified notes that Queen made in early 2023 over a reported case of sexual abuse at Southwestern.

Queen “is thankful that he will not serve time in prison and will seek to use his time under home confinement to help others,” Schmidt said.

Last month, Schmidt filed a document on Queen’s behalf containing letters from family and friends extolling the former pastor’s character and detailing the impact the investigation had taken on his physical, mental and emotional health.

Queen’s former employer released a statement upon news of the judge’s decision.

“Since November 2022, Southwestern Seminary has fully cooperated with the Department of Justice’s investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention’s response to sexual abuse,” it read.

“With the criminal justice process now complete regarding the charges against Matt Queen, we are hopeful that the investigation will soon reach its conclusion, allowing all parties to move forward. Our prayers for Matt Queen and his family as well as all others involved in this process continue.

“Southwestern Seminary remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of all members of our community, taking every possible measure to prevent sexual abuse and harassment.”

DALLAS (BP)—Austin pastor Juan Sanchez is urging Southern Baptists to re-visit an amendment at their annual meeting this June that addresses the definition of pastor/elder/overseer in the Southern Baptist Convention constitution.

Virginia pastor Mike Law originally presented an amendment to Article III of the constitution—which came to be known as the Law Amendment—at the 2022 annual meeting in Anaheim.

It asked for the addition of a sixth item that noted a cooperating church would “not affirm, appoint or employ a woman as a pastor of any kind.”

The next year in New Orleans, Sanchez, pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, offered what Law accepted as a friendly amendment for churches that affirm, appoint or employ “only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.”

The amendment received the first of two required successive 2/3 vote of approval by messengers, but failed to reach that mark last year in Indianapolis.

Support for the Law Amendment received momentum recently over the shared exchange of correspondence from the credentials committee regarding the submission of NewSpring Church in Anderson, S.C., and its employment of a woman as teaching pastor.

The committee informed the submitter no action would be taken, and NewSpring remained in friendly cooperation with the SBC.

The decision “makes it clear that the committee needs stronger and clearer guidance in making decisions about which churches closely identify with the SBC and our confession of faith, particularly regarding churches with women serving with the title and office of ‘pastor,’” Sanchez wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

An “Open Letter to Our Southern Baptist Family” asks messengers in Dallas to give the majority vote needed to suspend the convention’s sixth standing rule.

The rule states all motions to amend the SBC’s governing documents or the Baptist Faith & Message not presented to messengers by the Executive Committee automatically will be referred to the Executive Committee for review and reporting to the next annual meeting.

The letter’s supporters say that time gap won’t do.

“Because we have already debated this language at the last two conventions, we do not believe that we need to spend another year waiting for the Executive Committee to decide whether to put the amendment before the convention for a vote,” said the letter.

In addition to Sanchez, those undersigning are:

• Nate Akin, executive director, Pillar Network
• HB Charles, pastor-teacher of Shiloh Metropolitan Church in Jacksonville, Fla.
• Jed Coppenger, lead pastor of First Baptist Church in Cumming, Ga.
• Aaron Harvie, senior pastor of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky.
• Brian Payne, pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn, Ala.
• Clay Smith, senior pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga.

(RNS)—The Southern Baptist Convention’s credentials committee had a problem.

It had been asked to determine whether to expel one of the denomination’s largest churches for violating the SBC’s ban on women serving as pastors.

But the committee could not agree on what the word “pastor” meant in a rule that said only men can be pastors. Did it refer to the church’s senior pastor? Or did it mean any role with the title of pastor—such as a music pastor, youth pastor or children’s pastor?

The committee asked the messengers to the denomination’s 2022 annual meeting for help. What the committee got was an earful instead.

“If we eventually have to form a study committee over every word in our confession of faith, then we’re doomed, and we’re no longer a confessional people,” Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told the meeting, adding Southern Baptists know exactly what a pastor is.

Nearly three years—and a failed constitutional amendment—later, confusion remains about how the ban on women pastors should be applied.

Continued confusion

In mid-February, the SBC’s Executive Committee voted to expel a church in Alaska after its pastor signed a letter saying Jesus did not put limits on the roles women could play in ministry.

But the credentials committee, which makes recommendations to the Executive Committee on such issues, deemed a South Carolina megachurch, which has a woman teaching pastor who preaches regularly, remained in “friendly cooperation” with the SBC.

That did not please Clint Pressley, the SBC’s current president.

“My understanding is that our credentials committee deemed a church in friendly cooperation that has a female teaching pastor,” Pressley, a North Carolina pastor, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“The committee needs to take another look at this one. Our statement of faith is clear about qualifications for a pastor.”

Things changed after church leaders signed a letter

Mark Goodman, pastor of Rabbit Creek Church in Anchorage, Alaska, said he was saddened to no longer be part of the SBC, after spending his whole life in the denomination.

“I jokingly say I’ve been a Baptist longer than I’ve been a Christian, because my parents took me to a Baptist church while I was still in the womb,” Goodman said in a recent interview.

Goodman said the church had first heard from the credentials committee last year, after someone complained about Lori Pepiton, the congregation’s longtime pastor to children and families.

After exchanging emails, the committee closed its inquiry, having found no conflicts with the SBC’s beliefs.

“Again, thank you for your cooperation and for the information you provided,” the committee wrote in an email dated Oct. 24.

“We value the partnership of Rabbit Creek Church with the Southern Baptist Convention and pray for your continued ministry.”

Things changed when Goodman and other leaders at the church signed a letter in March which argued for no limits on the roles women can hold.

Signing that letter went too far, the credentials committee decided, as it gave public support to beliefs that contradicted SBC teaching.

Goodman said that in signing that letter, he was speaking for himself, not the congregation. Not everyone in the church holds the same beliefs, and the church has not taken an official stand on the issue.

The SBC holds complementarian beliefs—the idea that women and men have different roles to play in marriages and in churches. Churches that allow women pastors are often referred to as egalitarian.

Among the members at Rabbit Creek is Randy Covington, the leader of Alaska Baptist Resource Network, the state convention for SBC churches in Alaska.

He told Baptist Press there was no conflict between Rabbit Creek’s beliefs and the SBC.

‘Feels like kind of a witch hunt’

“They do not have egalitarian views,” Covington said. “Their positive impact on the community of Anchorage cannot be overlooked.”

Meredith Stone, executive director of Waco-based Baptist Women in Ministry, said the removal of Rabbit Creek Church was disappointing. She found it odd the church essentially was being punished because its pastor signed a letter.

“It feels like kind of a witch hunt,” she said.

Stone also wonders whether SBC pastors—and not just churches—are being put on notice any disagreement with the SBC statement of faith on the issue of women in ministry will not be tolerated.

That’s not how the SBC handles other issues, such as baptism or who can take Communion. The SBC statement of faith says only those who have been baptized by immersion can take part in Communion.

“But they’re not kicking churches out because someone who was sprinkled for their baptism took Communion,” she said.

Inconsistent application alleged

NewSpring Church, a megachurch in South Carolina where Meredith Knox serves as a teaching pastor and preaches regularly, remains in friendly cooperation with the SBC. That decision has led to public criticism of the credentials committee.

Suzanne Swift, the risk and legal services director for NewSpring, said in an email only men can be lead pastor or elders at the church, but women are allowed to be leaders and to preach.

“We recognize a biblical distinction between the office of elder/overseer—reserved for qualified men—and the shepherding and leadership responsibilities that both men and women may carry,” Swift said.

“The term ‘pastor’ at NewSpring refers to shepherding care rather than the formal office of elder. While women are not ordained as elders, they play an essential role in pastoral care, leadership, and teaching, all under the biblical framework of male eldership.”

A media representative for the SBC’s Executive Committee referred RNS to the credentials committee for comment, which did not immediately respond to that request.

At the SBC annual meeting in 2024, messengers failed to confirm a proposed change, known as the Law Amendment, that only would have allowed churches that have “only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture” to be part of the SBC.

The amendment to the SBC constitution passed by a two-thirds majority in 2023 but fell short of that mark in 2024 during a required second vote—meaning it failed.

‘Inconsistency is pretty glaring to me’

The credentials committee decision on NewSpring baffled Jared Cornutt, pastor of North Shelby Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.

In an interview, Cornutt said a past credentials committee had recommended the Executive Committee expel Saddleback Church for having a woman teaching pastor. So why not NewSpring?

“This is exactly like Saddleback,” he said. “The inconsistency is pretty glaring to me.”

Cornutt, who backed a successful 2023 change to the SBC’s statement of faith meant to clarify the definition of pastor, said some churches are using the word in a way that’s not “biblically permissible.”

“There is no difference between a senior pastor, associate pastor or children’s pastor,” he said. “If you have the title pastor, then you have the office of pastor.”

The easiest solution, said Cornutt, is for churches to change the titles they use. Rather than calling someone a children’s pastor, call them a children’s ministry director, he said. The title of pastor should be limited to men who preach or have authority in the church.

He said one reason the Law Amendment failed is a system already was in place to deal with churches that have women pastors. Now that system has failed.

He predicts the Law Amendment—named for Virginia pastor Mike Law, who proposed it—or something like it will be reintroduced this year.

“I can’t see how it won’t pass,” he said.

The belief that only men can be pastors was added to the SBC’s statement of faith in 2000.

Impact of social media

But no churches were removed on a national level for violating that until 2023, when the Executive Committee voted out Saddleback.

That’s for a number of reasons, said Griffin Gulledge, pastor of Fayetteville First Baptist Church, about 45 minutes south of Atlanta.

Until the advent of social media, he said, most Southern Baptists had no idea who was serving on the staff of other churches. So even if a church like Saddleback ordained a woman as pastor, few people would know.

“How many Southern Baptists 10 years ago could name a single staff member at Saddleback apart from Rick Warren?” said Gulledge, referring to Saddleback’s legendary pastor, who retired from the church in 2022.

By contrast, Saddleback announced the ordination of three women staffers as pastors on the church Facebook page in 2021—setting off a denomination-wide debate.

The debate intensified after the church named Stacie Wood, wife of Andy Wood, who succeeded Warren, as a teaching pastor.

He also said that for pragmatic reasons, churches have for years used the term “pastor” incorrectly applying it to a wide variety of roles.

He said Southern Baptists agree on what a pastor is. But they have not always been consistent in how they use the word.

Changing that will be complicated, Gulledge said. Some would prefer churches just change titles for staffers, while others want a more top-down approach along the lines of a Law Amendment.

He does not see much widescale support for women pastors.

“There is zero chance that what the future holds for the Southern Baptist Convention is a consensus that allows for women pastors,” he said.

Goodman worries that the more the SBC draws hard lines, the more it will shrink.

“They keep narrowing the understanding of what it means to be a Southern Baptist church,” the Alaska pastor said.

Students at Houston Christian University participated in the university’s spring Ignite Spiritual Emphasis Week with the theme “The Marks of a True Disciple.” Afshin Ziafat, lead pastor of Providence Church in Frisco, preached four messages from 1 Thessalonians to invite students to explore all the dimensions of walking in true discipleship to Jesus. HCU alumna Sarah John and the worship team for The Gathering at Tallowood Baptist Church led worship for the services. In Ziafat’s first message, “Grounded in the Gospel,” he shared his own story of how God brought him to faith in Christ out of his Muslim background.  He challenged students to see that the gospel is fuel for all of discipleship and missions. True faith will evidence itself by following Jesus, he said. During the week, Ziafat also spoke about practicing spiritual disciplines in light of the gospel, how to fight against sin and endure suffering through community in the church and how God has a place for every believer in his global purposes. At the conclusion of each service, several students put their trust in Christ for the first time and dozens indicated a desire to surrender their lives more fully to God.

Howard Payne University recently formed Gold and Blue Partnership programs with Carroll Independent School District in Southlake and Santa Fe Christian School in Santa Fe, N.M. The partnerships will provide automatic acceptance for students from each school who graduate within the top 50 percent of their respective classes and have a 3.5 GPA. The Gold and Blue Partnership Scholarship, valued at $60,000 over eight semesters, also will be provided to graduates in the top 50 percent of their classes from each school. All Carroll ISD and Santa Fe Christian School students will be offered free application to HPU. Additionally, students whose academics meet other merit scholarship levels will be afforded those opportunities. HPU will provide ongoing support to students through financial aid, admissions, degree counseling, work-study mentorships and peer mentoring. Cory Hines, HPU president, and Jeremy Glenn, CISD superintendent, signed the memorandum of understanding to formalize the CISD partnership. Hines and Principal Tiffany Torres signed the agreement for Santa Fe Christian School.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor announced an anonymous $1 million gift has been added to the Loye White Bray Endowed Scholarship. Since its establishment in 2014, the scholarship has provided full tuition for two UMHB nursing students each year. This gift will provide another full tuition scholarship annually. Graduates of UMHB’s Scott & White School of Nursing program score consistently higher pass rates on the licensing exam than the state and national averages. The mission of the Scott & White School of Nursing is to prepare excellent professional nurses who contribute to the health and welfare of individuals, families and communities in diverse health care environments.

The East Texas Baptist University Hilltop Singers were invited to perform a showcase concert at the Texas Music Educators Association annual conference, Feb. 12-15, in San Antonio. The 11-voice ensemble, which serves as the outreach arm of ETBU’s choral music program, was selected through a competitive application process reviewed by TMEA leadership. In addition to their performance, the students engaged in workshops, attended concerts and interacted with more than 25,000 music educators and All-State student performers from Texas and beyond. The TMEA annual conference is one of the largest music education events in the world, drawing educators, performers and students to celebrate musical achievement and collaboration.

Charles Baylis, professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of Baylor University’s Spectrum Management with Adaptive and Reconfigurable Technology Hub, testified recently before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, in a full committee hearing titled America Offline? How Spectrum Auction Delays Give China the Edge and Cost U.S. Jobs. Baylis, an expert in wireless communication, leads SMART Hub’s research and technology development efforts. SMART Hub, launched in 2024 through a $5 million congressional appropriation, is a Department of Defense Spectrum Innovation Center to conduct multifaceted spectrum research to meet national defense needs. Housed at Baylor University, SMART Hub is comprised of 25 multidisciplinary researchers across 15 institutions. “It was truly an honor to have a seat at the table before leaders and policymakers, and to share the work we have been blessed by God to do at Baylor University,” said Baylis, who directs SMART Hub from his laboratory in the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative.

Wayland Baptist University students Alice Conely and Dylan Dodd earned first-place awards at the annual Texas Academy of Science meeting. Conely won first place for her oral presentation in STEM Education, while Dodd secured first place in the Cell and Molecular Biology section. The two were among four Wayland students who presented research across five sections at the meeting held Feb. 27 through March 1 at McLennan Community College and Baylor University in Waco. Eleven Wayland students and five faculty members attended the meeting.  The Texas Academy of Science annual meeting showcases undergraduate and graduate STEM research, with presentations judged by faculty and industry experts. Wayland students Haley Fossett and Jaitlynn Sherman also presented research.

The Kyle Lake Center for Effective Preaching announced registration is now open for this year’s African American Preaching Conference, scheduled Sept. 23-25 in Waco. Early bird special registration at a discounted rate of $69 runs until March 31. Register here.

Pastors, rabbis and others who met at First Baptist Church in Austin before visiting lawmakers at the Texas Capitol agreed one thing led them there—love for children and the public schools that educate them.

More than four dozen public education advocates from around the state assembled as part of the Pastors for Texas Children Advocacy Summit on March 4.

John Ogletree, founding pastor of First Metropolitan Church in Houston, talked about how his love for the children of his community led him to serve 18 years on the board of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, including time as school board president.

Ogletree and two incumbent members of the board lost a bruising election in 2021 in which he said they were called “Marxists” and accused of promoting the teaching of Critical Race Theory.

Even so, he continues to advocate for public school students as president of Pastors for Texas Children, telling the group gathered in Austin, “I may not be in the seat, but I’m still in the fight.”

Ogletree urged the assembled ministers and others to be guided by Philippians 2:4 in their advocacy efforts: “Each one of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

‘Advocate with love’

Leslie Milder, co-founder of Friends of Texas Public Schools, asserted there is “an organized effort to undermine public education in Texas.”

“It is powerful, it’s well-funded, and it has a death grip on some members of the state legislature,” she added.

Even so, she encouraged public school advocates not to be embittered by opposition but to show love to those who have a different understanding.

“Love those who think differently than you do,” she urged. “Lead with love. Advocate with love.”

Jim Chadwell recently retired after 31 years in public education, including 14 as superintendent of the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District. He touched on the same theme, saying: “Go to people in love. Go to people in truth.”

Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, similarly encouraged the public education advocates: “Bring the voice of reason that is lost in many of our conversations. Bring a voice of love.”

VanDeaver successfully weathered a challenge in the Republican primary after he stood in support of public schools and in opposition to private school vouchers.

He said his constituents recognize: “This is a community issue. The school is the community.”

He agreed with Midler there is “an orchestrated effort to chip away at trust in public schools.”

However, rather than being a source of division, support for the education of all Texas children should be a unifying principle, he asserted.

“We should love each other, love our kids and do what’s best for them,” he insisted.

ESA bill ‘not a done deal’

Charles Foster Johnson, founding executive director of Pastors for Texas Children, made clear his belief that “what’s best” is to support the public schools that educate all children, rather than a voucher-style program that transfers public funds to private entities.

Gov. Greg Abbott has made “school choice” in the form of education savings accounts his top legislative priority. He and other proponents of education savings accounts assert they will empower parents to “choose a school that’s best for their child.”

Abbott supported the primary opponents of rural Republicans who defeated a voucher-style proposal in the 2023 legislative session, changing the composition of the Texas House of Representatives.

Recently, Abbott announced 75 members of the Texas House have signed on in support of HB 3, which would create an education savings account program.

“For the first time in our great state’s history, the Texas House has the votes to pass a universal school choice program,” Abbott said.

Not necessarily, Johnson countered, saying, “It’s not a done deal.”

If the votes were secure, the House already would have passed the bill, he insisted.

Several of the legislators who have indicated their support for HB 3 still could be persuaded, if enough of their constituents express opposition, Johnson said.

Unselfish love for children is demonstrated best when advocates use their influence to seek the common good rather than pursuing personal advantage, he asserted.

“We have a great possibility to block this,” Johnson said.

“It’s important to be a prophetic voice and to think about how we want to engage in the public square, but it also matters how we do it,” Katie Frugé, director of Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission, told those gathered Feb. 28 for the Maston Friends Reunion in Richardson.

“Christians are naturally drawn to the public square,” Frugé asserted. “What is our approach, what is our posture as we do that?” she asked.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas president appointed a committee in 1949 to consider establishing an agency to address moral and ethical issues. Christian ethicist and seminary professor T.B. Maston chaired that committee, which recommended in 1950 the formation of the Christian Life Commission.

The CLC director is a named member of the T.B. Maston Foundation board.

“We should be marked in behavior and approach by something different, that we look different from the world,” Frugé said.

“It’s not just the ‘what’ of what we’re engaging, but it’s how we do and why we engage it,” she added.

“The bottom line … expectation of the children of God” is captured in Scripture such as Proverbs 14:31, Isaiah 1:17and Mathew 25:31-46, Frugé explained.

How Christians engage

Quoting former CLC Director Phil Strickland, Frugé said: “For Christians to withdraw themselves from the world of politics is poor strategy. It leaves salt in the saltshaker.”

Matthew 5:13-16 suggests three principles for how Christians can approach public and political engagement, she said.

1. Engage with purpose.

Noting “salt enhances and preserves,” Frugé said Christians’ engagement “shouldn’t be reckless, reactionary or for personal gain,” but should bring “truth and hope”

Often, “people who claim the name of Christ are too salty or not salty enough,” Frugé said, saying Christians need to keep 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 in mind: “If I [have every spiritual gift], but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

“I think there’s a lot of clanging cymbals going around right now,” Frugé said. “If we look at the world of engagement … so much of it, I think, just turns into unmeaningful noise.”

As Christians engage issues, they need to do it “in a way that brings enhancement, preserving what is good, bringing hope, bringing grace, bringing justice, into the cultural conversation,” Frugé contended. They also should avoid “the clanging cymbals,” she added.

2. Engage with passion.

Christians should shine as light shines, Frugé said.

To meet a growing sense of weariness and apathy among those in younger generations who question why they even should try, Frugé challenged Christians to show them “there is something worth caring for, something bigger than us.”

At the same time, this “passion for truth” must “be paired with respect and civility, she said, as Peter instructs in 1 Peter 3:15-17: “… do this with gentleness and respect.”

Being passionate about the truth doesn’t mean compromising our witness, Frugé counseled. Since so many in the world are engaging the issues without gentleness or respect, Christians following biblical principles will be noticed for acting differently.

3. Engage with priorities.

“Not every debate is worth engaging. Some are just distractions,” especially in the digital arena, Frugé said.

Just as the ancients argued about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, there are modern-day equivalents, she noted. Likewise, some argue “about things that aren’t even real,” such as fake photos or videos created by artificial intelligence.

Christians should follow James’ instruction to “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19), Frugé said.

Additionally, Micah 6:8 is “the guard rail, … the north star” for Christian engagement, she said.

Micah is an analog to the current day, Frugé contended.

“We definitely have government and institutional leaders who are perfectly fine exploiting the poor, taking advantage of the vulnerable,” she said.

“We see spiritual leaders who are willing to take compromises and take the advantages of political power and influence and be able to sell it for pennies on the dollar,” she added.

Through Micah, God told his people: “You know what to do. You know what I’ve asked you to do. … I want my people to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly. And that’s really the redemptive arc of the story … come back to this. This is what your focus is supposed to be. [And] that is our call as well,” Frugé said.

Why Christians engage

Matthew 22:35-40 explains why Christians should engage in the public square—to love God and love people, Frugé said.

The Christian’s “ultimate purpose is Christ,” Frugé asserted. Therefore, Christians’ “engagement is not about building influence or winning debate. It’s not to advance our position. It’s a commitment to the kingdom of God above all else,” she added.

The gospel and the kingdom of heaven must remain central, Frugé said. While “the gospel is inherently political, … it’s never partisan,” nor is it “a tool for our political or personal gain,” she said.

“When the gospel, the kingdom of heaven is weaponized for political or partisan gain, it’s irreversibly compromised. It’s no longer the life-giving, truth-speaking message of the King and the kingdom of heaven,” Frugé contended.

Christian engagement is “only so that others could come to know Christ and him crucified,” Frugé said, tying this to the Christian’s commitment to the kingdom of heaven over any institution.

“Know where your loyalties lie, and don’t doubt that,” she said, quoting Ferrell Foster, former director of ethics and justice for the Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission.

Furthermore, “our engagement is ultimately a spiritual battle,” Frugé said, citing Ephesians 6:12.

“We need to stop dehumanizing everyone and ‘the other,’” she said. “There’s a lot of dehumanization going on out there. … When we normalize dehumanizing behavior, it starts to create permission structures both mentally and [socially] to treat people as less-than. There is rampant dehumanization going on right now that should be very concerning to all of us.”

In contrast, Christians must treat people as image-bearers of God rather than personal enemies.

“Right now, there is a push to try to separate the Christian faith from Christian practice, and our role is to say, ‘Absolutely not,’” Frugé asserted.

“[These] are two sides of the same coin. You cannot separate these. No matter what governmental agencies or anything like that might want to say, faith and practice are two sides of the Christian witness. We’re going to hold to that, even if there are consequences or what may come.

“Our role ultimately is citizens of heaven, and so, we’re going to continue doing what the church has been committed to doing for 2,000 years.”

Addressing racism biblically

During the Maston Friends Reunion, several acknowledged T.B. Maston perhaps is best known for his views on racism and segregation. Maston’s first book on race, Of One: A study of Christian principles and race relations, was published in 1946, Kristopher Norris noted.

Norris described three dimensions of white supremacy: privilege, perspective and practices. Privilege refers to the material advantages white people have. Perspective refers to the universal normativity granted whiteness. Practices refers to culturally guided behaviors.

Drawing from Black theologian James Cone’s use of Mark 8:34, Norris contended racism must be confronted on three levels: remembrance, repentance and reparation.

Remembrance involves denying oneself by acknowledging the wrongs done. Repentance entails taking up one’s cross through public acts of contrition. Reparation means following Jesus, who demonstrated solidarity with the vulnerable and harmed.

Zacchaeus, who publicly pledged to “give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount,” offers a biblical example (Luke 19:1-10), Norris suggested.

Norris recently completed his service on the T.B. Maston Foundation board, is flourishing director for The Shalom Project in Winston-Salem, N.C., and is author of Witnessing Whiteness: Confronting White Supremacy in the American Church.

Leaders of the Baptist World Alliance and the All Africa Baptist Fellowship sent messages last week to Baptists in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, expressing “deep sorrow and continued solidarity with you during this time of crisis and suffering.”

BWA General Secretary Elijah Brown and Elias Amétepah A. Apetogbo sent a letter specifically to Christians affiliated with the five Baptist groups in the eastern Congo, along with a general letter to the “Baptist Community” in the DRC.

“To all who are seeking to lead the churches of our Lord in the midst of chaos, conflict and confusion, thank you for serving as the living shepherds of Jesus Christ,” the letter to Baptists in the eastern Congo stated.

“May the protection of the Holy Spirit be with you and flow through you to the entire community.”

The letter was addressed to the Baptist Community in Central Africa, the Baptist Evangelical Convention of Congo, the Community of Baptist Churches of Eastern Congo, the Convention of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Congo, the Union of Baptist Churches of Congo and “all Baptists in the Eastern DRC.”

Violence leads to displacement and hunger

Goma in the DRC’s North Kivu Province and Bakuva South Kivu Province are controlled by the Rwanda-supported M23 rebel paramilitary group, and the Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamist rebel group, has targeted Christians in the region.

The violence has resulted in 7.8 million internally displaced people within the DRC, and 25.5 million people face the danger of hunger.

“This morning our BWA senior directors gathered and prayed for you and for just peace,” the letter to the Baptists in the eastern Congo stated.

BWA and All-Africa Baptist Fellowship leaders noted they specifically are “praying Deuteronomy 31:6 over you.”

The Scripture verse states: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Offering prayer and advocacy

The open letter to all Baptists in the DRC stated: “We are profoundly grieved by the ongoing violence, displacement and hardship that so many in your communities are enduring.”

The letter offered assurance to Congolese Baptists that the BWA and the All Africa Baptist Fellowship “stands with you in prayer and advocacy, lifting up your churches, leaders, and all those affected by instability and insecurity.”

“We recognize the immense challenges you face and assure you that you are not alone,” the letter continued.

“Our global Baptist family joins in fervent prayer and advocacy for peace, justice and restoration in your land. May the God of all comfort strengthen you, and may his justice prevail in the face of suffering.”

The letter noted Wissam al-Saliby, president of the 21Wilberforce human rights organization, has worked with BWA leaders to contact officials in the United States and embassy officials.

“We are requesting diplomatic efforts be prioritized to facilitate humanitarian aid and engage regional actors in negotiations to bring an immediate end to hostilities and secure a peaceful resolution,” the letter stated.

Providing emergency aid

BWAid, the humanitarian assistance agency of BWA, provided an initial emergency grant “with a commitment to additional funding” to BWA groups working in the eastern DRC, the letter noted.

The aid agency also has sought additional donations through the BWA Forum for Aid and Development to provide additional support.

“Over the upcoming weeks we will continue to seek further avenues for advocacy and aid,” BWA and the All Africa Baptist Fellowship pledged in the letter.

“As you provide refuge, comfort and spiritual guidance to those in distress, we continue to encourage all of the Baptist conventions to work together in the established consortium and to continue to keep both their AABF and BWA families engaged.

“In this time of chaos and uncertainty, we pray that the Lord will strengthen you and work through you on behalf of peace and care for those who are suffering.”

Greg Blank, Kingdom Baits founder and student at Stark Seminary and College, didn’t grow up in church. He grew up fishing.

The son of a bass fisherman and deepwater oil rig worker, he’s been “throwing lures” for a long time, he said, though his interests moved from bass to saltwater fishing once he tried it.

“I prefer not having to throw 10,000 times to catch five fish,” he mused, but saltwater or fresh, he still loves fishing.

Fishing was his whole life, Blank explained, saying, “I worshipped fishing.”

He fished professionally offshore. And he “went to school for aquaculture, the study of raising fish, everything fishing,” until he met his wife.

Blank has been producing Kingdom Baits for about 15 months with the help of his family including his teenage son, Fisher, and his other children, but the business is still just getting started.

Between supply-preaching, working on his certificate of ministry at Stark and shift work at Seadrift Coke—a plant that produces petroleum needle coke—and his main job of husband and father, Blank said he’s short on free time to devote to his Kingdom-focused startup.

But the calling he feels and his heart for young anglers propels him forward in the business that he sees as more ministry than money-maker.

He’s able to make enough baits to stock about four shops in high-traffic areas along the coast near where he lives.

While he had visited churches here and there in his childhood, Blank said he’d never gone with any regularity until he met his wife Tara. She told him, after they met at a wedding, if they were going to date, she expected him to be in church with her on Sunday.

At the time, he was working on an oil rig offshore, but for three weeks at a time when he was onshore, he was in church with Tara. They didn’t date for long before they decided to marry.

During pre-marital counseling, the pastor of the church, John Fisher, asked Blank if he knew the Lord.

He had begun to understand what he was hearing in church, but it wasn’t until the pastor placed his hand on the back of his head and asked, “Son, do you know Jesus?” that Blank’s desire to know God moved beyond intellectual.

He cried and he prayed to accept Jesus. Then he found out later, if he hadn’t come to know Christ, the pastor did not plan on conducting the wedding.

Growing faith

Blank said the first year of marriage wasn’t easy. He was still working on a rig offshore. That environment is rough, he explained, and it is not an easy place for a new Christian’s faith to grow.

Compounding the strain of an ungodly environment and lengthy stays away from his young family, in 2010, a sister drilling rig exploded.

The danger of his job began to weigh on the Blanks, and during one phone call from a community phone on the rig, Tara told him she couldn’t live that way anymore. She said he needed to choose—the rig or his family.

Leaving the rig was not an easy decision, Blank explained. His dad, grandfather and brother all worked in the oilfield.

He was making good money. He was proud of his family’s legacy and his ability to provide. He didn’t know if he wanted to give it up.

But he had a decision to make, he noted. “It was either my pride and my family’s legacy … or it was my faith and my family.”

In the mudroom of the rig “behind shale shaker No. 5,” he dropped down to his knees and prayed for God’s help.

God gave him his life verse, Blank said: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

“And I knew right then and there what that meant.” It meant his whole life was going to change, he said.

“And I don’t know what it looks like, but I knew that I was leaving that rig,” he recalled.

Blank communicated to his coworkers his plans to make a change. He applied for a different job, but never heard back on it.

Then, he said he began to sense God convicting him to stop “conforming to the rig culture” and be bolder in sharing his faith.

At the close of a safety meeting for the crew, the meeting’s leader asked if anyone had anything to add. Blank spoke up. He said he knew they knew of his plans to leave the rig, but they probably didn’t know that he was a Christian.

He apologized to the room full of more than 80 “rowdy roughnecks and oilfield hands” that they didn’t know he was a Christian “because I haven’t been acting that way.”

Then he assured them the rest of the time he was there, anyone who wanted to know about Jesus could talk to him about it.

Instead of the laughter he expected, the room was “dead silent.” And he got a nod of approval from the shift leader, for his apology and his faith statement.

He finally heard back about the job shortly thereafter. Seadrift Coke wanted him to come in for an interview. Blank saw the call as evidence that when “you’re obedient to God, he’ll make a way for you.”

When Blank tried to explain to Seadrift he was on a rig in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and that getting there for an interview on Wednesday or Thursday wouldn’t be easy, the caller was unmoved. He told Blank if he wanted an interview that’s when he needed to be there.

So, he asked the top guy on the rig if he could go ashore, the response was, “Greg, I can’t send you to shore for just a couple of days.”

He urged Blank to make good on his decision and urged, “If you’re leaving, leave.”

Acting on faith

Blank said he was raised not to quit a job unless you already had another one lined up, but he did it. And he had peace about the decision. It took a couple of months to secure the position, but it was a milestone in his faith.

He knew if he was obedient and trusted God with his whole heart, “even if it looks radical, or ridiculous, that he is faithful—all the time.”

Blank explained he sees Kingdom Baits as the same type of situation, where he is walking by faith every day, learning and trusting where God is leading.

He will pray for all the anglers at an upcoming saltwater fishing tournament, one of the biggest on the Texas coast. He hopes being at fishing events to share about Jesus is something he’s able to do on a more regular basis.

Blank also is considering pursuing a chaplaincy degree at Stark when he finishes his certificate. He envisions Kingdom Baits allowing him the opportunity to develop a chaplaincy ministry to anglers, to help young men and women know how to live a life of meaning in Jesus.

The packaging of Kingdom Baits contains a barcode link where Blank hopes to host a series of short, daily devotionals for fishermen and women to discuss while they’re out fishing.

Blank noted he has to be intentional about keeping fishing in its proper place. For him, it can easily become an addiction, he said.

But Blank trusts God will point him in a different direction if Kingdom Baits ever stops being the ministry God has for him. Until then, he will continue to make baits for God’s glory.

To follow Kingdom Baits’ growth visit https://linktr.ee/kingdombaits.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—President Donald Trump’s administration is making moves to shutter a decades-old partnership between the government and a group of mostly religious organizations to resettle refugees, with the State Department abruptly canceling grant agreements with all the agencies despite ongoing legal battles.

On Feb. 26, refugee resettlement organizations, such as Church World Service, HIAS and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, say they received “termination notification” letters from the State Department.

“This award is being terminated for the convenience of the U.S. Government pursuant to a directive from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for alignment with Agency priorities and national interest,” read one of the letters, addressed to Church World Service, according to a legal filing from Thursday.

“The decision to terminate this individual award is a policy determination vested in the Secretary of State.”

Refugee agency leaders condemn termination

Leaders of the faith-based refugee resettlement organizations, which constitute seven of the 10 groups that partner with the government to perform the task, condemned the decision.

“Our status as a resettlement agency based on this termination notice is over,” said Danilo Zak, director of policy for Church World Service.

CWS is “still trying to figure out the legality” of the action and whether the administration intended to bring the partnership to such an abrupt end, he added, but said, “I think we have to assume it did.”

He also noted the termination did not include a thorough review, which is the typical protocol for canceling a grant.

“We understand this is the result of an exceedingly cursory review of these programs,” Zak said.

Ending long partnership ‘with the stroke of a pen’

He was echoed by Myal Greene, the president of World Relief, an evangelical Christian group.

“With the cancellation of World Relief and other Resettlement Agency agreements, this is effectively ending a 45 year, bipartisan, refugee resettlement program with the stroke of a pen,” Greene said.

“As followers of Jesus, we are called to serve ‘the least of these,’ and cutting off life-saving assistance to vulnerable communities is an abdication of that responsibility,” Greene continued.

“The church has long played a role in alleviating suffering, but we cannot do it alone. Our government must uphold its commitment to protecting human dignity and aiding those in greatest need.”

Timothy Young, spokesperson for Global Refuge, a Lutheran organization that assists with refugee resettlement, told RNS all 10 resettlement orgs received the notices.

“Prior to this, we had received a stop work order from State and were hopeful it might be lifted after the administration’s 90-day review—but before that review could even be completed, our grants were terminated,” Young said in an email.

USCCB spokesperson Chieko Noguchi confirmed to RNS that they also “received notice from the State Department that they are terminating two of the cooperative agreements that fund much of the work we do in our Migration and Refugee Services department.”

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Two lawsuits filed

The letters come as the government is involved in two separate lawsuits over the president’s decision to freeze the refugee program via an executive order signed his first day in office.

On Feb. 26, Church World Service, HIAS and Lutheran Community Services Northwest won a victory over the Trump administration in their lawsuit, Pacito v. Trump, with a federal judge blocking the president’s order and calling Trump’s actions a “nullification of congressional will.”

According to The Associated Press, the judge argued from the bench that the president does not have “limitless” authority over refugee admissions, noting the law establishing the program was passed by Congress.

Even so, the Trump administration appears to be using the termination notices to their legal advantage.

On Feb. 27, the federal government filed a motion in a separate case brought by the USCCB that cited the termination notices, saying the cancellation of grant agreements “leaves open only a question of unpaid money under the cooperative agreements, and, to the extent Plaintiff disputes any reimbursement, the dispute needs to be brought in the Court of Federal Claims.”

Still seeking preliminary injunction relief

Refugee agencies are not backing down, however. In a Thursday filing, lawyers for the religious groups in Pacito v. Trump referred to the termination notices as “the latest iteration of the Defendants’ unlawful attempt to dismantle the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.”

The USCCB took a similar tack in its own case.

“The government’s termination only confirms the need for preliminary injunctive relief,” read a Thursday filing from USCCB’s lawyers.

In a statement to RNS, USCCB spokesperson Chieko Noguchi said during a hearing, the judge in the case requested additional briefing in response to the State Department letters.

“We are preparing the requested briefing, which will be filed with the court next week,” Noguchi said.

Since Trump froze the refugee program shortly after taking office, faith-based refugee organizations have reported widespread layoffs and furloughs of staff, hoping to use what funds they have left to serve recently arrived refugees who are still under their care.

Refugee groups attribute the swift nature of the layoffs to the sudden freezing of funds for their work—including, according to some agencies, a refusal by the Trump administration to reimburse the groups for work done before the president took office.

Some staging protests

In addition to filing lawsuits, some of the refugee groups have staged protests, including one convened outside the White House earlier in February featuring clergy and lawmakers such as Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland.

Meanwhile, refugees have been unable to enter the country, and while the Trump administration has expressed support for accepting Afrikaner South Africans as refugees—a characterization rejected by many in South Africa itself, including by white South African Christian leaders—agencies say they are not sure how members of the group could come to the United States.

Episcopal Migration Ministries, another faith-based refugee resettlement agency, has already cut 22 positions since January and will likely cut more. A spokesperson for the Episcopal Church said 97 percent of the ministry’s funding comes from U.S. government grants.

“We understand that work to be discontinued because there’s no new arrivals and no funding,” said Amanda Skofstad, the spokesperson.

Still, the agency’s work will continue for now.

“Our commitment to ministering with and to migrants and refugees is not changed by this,” Skofstad said. “Exactly how we carry that out is a little uncertain for the immediate future. We’re going to have to figure it out.”