NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Even though sharp drops in the stock market have many Southern Baptist pastors worried about their retirement funds, making an emotional decision to get out of the market is unwise, the president of Guidestone Financial Resources told members of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee Sept. 23.

"When I was a pastor in Fort Lauderdale, we had just started a big capital campaign in the late '80s when Black Monday hit and the stock market fell over 22 percent in one day," O.S. Hawkins said. "That would be like the stock market dropping 2,500 points in one day today. But we got through that. We got through the '80s and '90s and the tech bubble and the dot.com issues and 9/11 the volatility in the oil and gold markets that we still see."

Investors who bail out of the stock market after a sharp downturn wind up missing out on the rebound that will help them recover their losses, Hawkins said.

"What happened last Wednesday, when the markets went down 500 points in one day, was people were panicking and a few got all out of the equity markets that afternoon," Hawkins said. "Well, Thursday and Friday the market went back up, and then to get back in, it's like having a double whammy."

A successful retirement savings strategy requires an investor to stay the course even when the stock market becomes volatile, Hawkins said.

Hawkins referred to a recent analysis that showed an investor who had parked his money in an index fund 20 years ago and left it there would have seen an annual increase of more than 12 percent. On the other hand, an investor who got jittery and moved his money every time the market sank, would have seen only a 3.7 percent annual average return because he missed the 50 best days of market performance.

Markets are cyclical, with both down times and up times, but over the long haul, they make money, Hawkins said. A long-term commitment to a diversified investment portfolio, like the ones Guidestone offers Southern Baptist church and denominational employees, limits the impact of a market downturn and allows investors to maximize the benefits of the stock market's money-making ability.

"Guidestone's strength and stability across these 90 years has helped us weather a lot of market storms," Hawkins told the group.

Hawkins encouraged the group to think of retirement planning like running a marathon. A runner needs to get a good start, set a pace and run it, be ready to kick up the pace near the end and then sprint the last few yards to the finish line.

"That's the way it is with retirement planning," Hawkins said. "You've got to get a good start. Then you determine your time horizon and set your pace. Then when your kids get grown and you don't have any more college bills, you got some expendable income, then you put the kick in there and maximize all your 403(b) and use other vehicles to do that. Then when you get near [retirement] you put as much as you can in there for tax purposes and save that way."

A look at the history of the stock market reveals there has never been a 10-year period in which investors who stayed the course failed to make money, Hawkins said. A wise investor plots a strategy that anticipates market turbulence and then lets his strategy work for him.

Many people, however, don't feel they have the investment knowledge to devise a strategy and then manage their investments, he added.

"This is one reason we launched the My Destination date-targeted funds last year," Hawkins said. "They balance your portfolio for you and when you get closer to retirement, when you don't have that time horizon, it makes things a lot more conservative and you're not in the equity markets as much. You just pick the date of your retirement, then let us do the driving for you."

ATLANTA (ABP)—The Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board will reorganize over the next year to focus more on local churches’ involvement in missions and provide flexibility to reach people groups across geographical lines.

At their September meeting in Atlanta, IMB trustees approved a reorganization of the missionary-sending agency and revised its vision, mission and core-values statements. The process will take about a year to fine tune and complete, according to an IMB news release.

Although details of the reorganization have not yet been publicized, basic changes include grouping current missionary teams into “clusters” and replacing the IMB’s 11 geographically based regions with eight “affinity groups.”

IMB President Jerry Rankin told trustees that sending missionaries, reaching the lost and planting churches would remain the agency’s primary tasks. Reorganization would provide the support to focus on reaching people groups even when they move across national boundaries.

But changes in the agency’s mission statement and core values also emphasize the local church’s role in reaching the world with the message of Christ.

“The revised mission statement … reflects that the Great Commission is the responsibility of the local church and refocuses the efforts of the agency on assisting churches to fulfill that responsibility,” according to the IMB release.

The values statement, the release continued, shifts “the role of the agency from a primary focus on sending missionaries to one that serves the churches in their involvement in the Great Commission and the sending of missionaries.”

The changes simply reflect what some churches already are doing through the current IMB structure and will facilitate involving more congregations, said Ken Winter, IMB’s vice president of church and partner services.

“Churches for years … have been strategically involved in reaching the lost,” he said. “We’ve seen dramatically increasing involvement … and churches desiring to engage people groups.”

For the past few years, congregations have been able to participate in strategic planning and action to reach specific people groups as “engaging churches,” often partnered with an IMB region. The mission board assists with training and resources and provides a coach/mentor for the congregation. Currently, 150 churches partner in some way in IMB’s West Africa region alone.

“We see an awakening taking place,” Winter said. The changes are designed “to unleash the resources God is making available,” and development of affinity groups is “an attempt to do more, effectively.”

Asked if the changes might adversely affect the Cooperative Program, the SBC’s unified budget, Winter said, “I don’t believe so, based on what we’ve seen. In fact, we’ve seen just the opposite. … For the past four to five years, as churches have been more strategically involved …, we see their giving increasing. … I think it’s people connecting with God’s heart for missions.”

In other action, IMB trustees approved a new child-protection policy requiring all personnel to undergo thorough background checks and to disqualify anyone with a history of sexual abuse, a criminal conviction of a sexual nature or with behavior that indicates they pose a risk to children.
The board also approved appointment of 83 new missionaries.

PRESIDIO—When a surge in the Rio Grande forced the evacuation of several hundred homes in Presidio and flooded 350 homes across the border in Ojinaga, Texas Baptists responded.

Rains upriver rapidly increased the river’s water level in the area, cracking one of the levees in Ojinaga. While the waters have receded a bit, additional rain was forecasted upriver, creating the possibility of more flooding.

The uncertainty has pushed 60 Presidio residents into shelters, and many others moved in with relatives in the area.

“We’re better off than we were. We’re not out of the woods yet,” said Ed Jennings, Big Bend Baptist Association director of missions who is part of the relief efforts as a chaplain to the first responders such as military personnel, firefighters and police officers.

Recently he was able to minister to first responders by helping lead a memorial service for four people who died in a plane crash while scouting the damage along the border. He continues helping them work through their grief.

During the Rio de Esperanza kick off to Texas Hope 2010—an initiative to share the gospel with every Texan by Easter 2010 and to meet human need—Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board staff leaders pitched in by filling sandbags for the levees and donating more than 200 pocket radios.

The radios will provide critical help for people in needing warning in case a levee breaks stateside, said Carlos Nieto, chairman of the Persidio School Board. The only source of information in Spanish for Presidio residents is a Mexico radio station.

The BGCT also is providing $2,500 for relief work in Ojinaga.

“Something as simple as a cheap AM/FM radio could save a life here,” Nieto said.

BGCT Executive Director Randel Everett applauded the hard work of the people of Persidio who have come together in a time of crisis.

“Texas Baptists are praying for you, as are other churches across the state,” he said.

Nieto thanked Everett for the prayers and the radios, noting churches will play a key role in the recovery effort.

“When the state and federal agencies leave, I think faith-based organizations are going to have to step it up,” he said.

A video report concerning the flooding can be seen here .

As evacuees return to Southeast Texas, early reports indicate a significant number of Texas Baptist churches in the area sustained damage when Hurricane Ike blew through the state.

Most of Southpark Baptist Church in Alvin is unusable after the storm, Pastor Bruce Peterson reported. The hurricane damaged the church’s roof, allowing rain to pour into the sanctuary and children’s building. The fellowship hall sustained limited water damage but is still usable.

First Baptist Church in Galveston was filled with water during the storm. The carpet and pews have been removed from the building.

Several Beaumont churches report significant damage. Amelia Baptist Church, Central City Baptist Church, New Beginnings Church and Westgate Memorial Baptist Church suffered water damage. West End Baptist Church and Dawndale Baptist Church sustained steeple damage.

First Baptist Church in Bridge City suffered major damage from up to five feet of water that filled its facilities. First Baptist Church in Nome sustained some damage to its steeple. Calvary Baptist Church in Nederland had some water and wind damage. First Baptist Church and McDonald Memorial Baptist Church in Orange each were damaged by the hurricane.

Ike blew the roof off Exodus Bible Church in Port Arthur, creating serious damage. Windows were blown out of First Baptist Church in Port Neches and its playground was destroyed. Central Baptist Church in Vidor had some water damage and its playground was destroyed.

At least 20 Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated churches in Union Baptist Association reported damage from Hurricane Ike. Among the worst reports is Centro Cristiano Vida y Restauracion in Houston, which saw its facilities destroyed. The roof was pulled off of Club Creek New Life Community Baptist Church in Houston. House of Celebracion in Houston sustained roof damage and is without a place to worship.

BGCT staff members are in the area surveying the damages. BGCT architectural staff will be assist congregations as they look at rebuilding their facilities.

“BGCT church architecture provides church building recovery assistance to our churches in two ways—assessment, helping determine the situation and conditions of their church buildings and two, resources, understanding funding and professional services options,” said Keith Crouch, leader of the BGCT Resources Services team. For more information on BGCT architectural resources, call Crouch at (888) 244-9400.

Texas Baptist groups serving in the wake of Hurricane Ike primarily are in need of two things—volunteers and funds.

The response to Hurricane Dolly, Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike has stretched volunteers across the state. Anecdotal reports indicate volunteers are in increasingly harder to find, especially in specialty areas. Those who are serving are being pushed by long hours with little time to decompress.

Texas Baptist Men has more than 1,400 volunteers working through East Texas in the wake of the storm and attempts to relieve volunteers within two weeks, creating a need for a vast number of trained volunteers.

Baptist Child & Family Services has many medical personnel serving in its San Antonio shelters and is looking for additional volunteers with medical experience.

People who want to volunteer through Texas Baptist groups or institutions can call the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which is serving as a clearinghouse for volunteers and volunteer opportunities, at (888) 244-9400.

“Texas Baptist Men, Baptist Child & Family Services, Texas Baptists across the state who are sheltering hurricane evacuees, and those in Southeast Texas who are spontaneously responding to the needs to those affected by Hurricane Ike are doing a tremendous job,” said Wayne Shuffield, director of the BGCT Missions, Evangelism and Ministry Team. “But with an effort like this, they need help. This is a task God is calling all Texas Baptists to.”

The scale of the devastation left by Hurricane Ike also is stretching accounts. The BGCT’s disaster response fund, which provides family support for people affected by disasters, supports some Texas Baptist Men ministry and aids the BGCT Executive Board staff in connecting needs and resources, is dangerously low, according to Shuffield.

All BGCT disaster relief efforts are funded by designated offerings.

About $150,000 remains in the account, which could seriously hamper Texas Baptist relief efforts in the area. Mobilizing a single feeding unit and its team can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and TBM has activated all of its mobile kitchens.

“Along with direct gifts to Texas Baptist Men disaster relief, the Baptist General Convention of Texas is one of the primary partners of TBM’s ministry in the wake of disasters,” said Leo Smith, TBM executive director. “The destruction left behind by Hurricane Ike is going to require substantial resources. We pray Texas Baptists will be generous in their support of disaster relief ministries as they always have so we can continue sharing the hope of Christ in trying situations.”

In the coming weeks and months, the BGCT will begin to work through local churches to provide financial assistance to Baptists who were affected by Ike.

“The BGCT Disaster Response Fund will directly help ease the troubles and pain of people affected by Hurricane Ike,” Shuffield said. “Texas Baptists are seeking to provide hope and help for people in their time of need.”

All of the money designated through the BGCT for disaster response supports disaster response ministries. To give to the BGCT Disaster Response Fund, visit www.bgct.org/disaster. Checks designated “disaster relief” also can be sent to BGCT, P.O. Box 159007, Dallas 75315-9007.
 

BELTON – Shanelle Fuse, a 23-year-old Hurricane Ike evacuee from Freeport, sat in the parlor of the First Baptist Church Belton and watched University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students play with her three children.

After eight days at the shelter, smiled as she talked about the students who visited the shelter throughout her stay there.

“They run my children ragged, and at night, they sleep all night,” she said.

Katie Leibert, a junior studying elementary education, cuddled Fuse’s two-month-old girl Nevaeh, which is ‘heaven’ backwards, in her arms.

“Nevaeh’s grandma just asked if I wanted to hold her,” Leibert said softly. “She doesn’t cry at all.”

On a nearby bench freshman Curtis Landrum, a theology and philosophy major from north Houston, worked hard to understand the words of Fuse’s oldest child, two-year-old Elijah. He smiled politely and tried to correct Elijah when he pointed to a magazine ad for a hand tool and said: “car.”

Even as Landrum volunteered his time, his own parents still were without electricity in their Houston-area home. They spent one night visiting him in the Belton area.

“If I was in this position one day, it’s what I would hope people would do for me,” Landrum said about his service at the shelter. “This could very easily have been my family.”

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor junior Katie Leibert holds 2-month-old Nevaeh providing a few moments of rest for her mother, one of nearly 80 Hurricane Ike evacuees taking shelter at First Baptist Church in Belton.

Fuse considers her family lucky. A tree fell in her yard but missed her house. She is just waiting for word from Freeport that all essential services have been restored, and she will go back home with her children and her mother.

“They come after classes or when they are not studying,” Fuse said about the students. “One of them stayed overnight last night.”

Shannon Bates, a sophomore elementary education major, is from Huffman, a 50-minute drive from Galveston. Her parents lost 14 trees in the storm and were told they could be without electricity for up to two weeks.

“During Rita we didn’t have electricity for a week and a half,” she said as she played checkers with a 6-year-old girl. “We just kind of toughed it out.”

Whether it is giving respite to a mother with three small children, talking with a person who is troubled about the state of their home or bringing wheelchair bound evacuees on tours of the campus, UMHB students brightened the spirits of people whose lives were temporarily altered by a storm.
Bethany Franz, a freshman social work major from New Waverly, said she had been blessed for trying to help others in need.

“I am learning from these people,” she said. “I think it would be hard to just leave everything and not know what is going on back home.”

MARSHALL—The remnants of Hurricane Ike—still packing tropical storm-force winds—hit East Texas Baptist University, leaving the entire campus without electricity for 28 hours after the storm knocked down trees and power lines.

ETBU personnel removed fallen trees from roadways and some cars on campus, and electrical service was restored in time for classes to resume as scheduled on Monday morning after the storm moved through on Saturday.

ETBU’s student services office kept students informed of the situation through their residential directors, as well as the ETBU Emergency Alert System. The alert system sends messages via email to all students, as well as staff and faculty, and places information on the front page of the ETBU website. The alert system also sends out text messages to cell phone users who have registered for the emergency notification service.

“Resident directors and resident assistants were walking the halls and visiting with students during the blackout, and informal dorm meetings were held periodically to pass on information as received regarding the storm and meals,” said Tricia Hart, administrative assistant in student services. “Some of the students passed the time by visiting and playing board games in the lobbies.”

Resident directors and assistants took shifts in each dorm during the night hours to provide security and to monitor needs. A generator enabled the cafeteria in the student center to provide limited food service during the second day of the power outage.

In addition to securing the campus and clearing debris, the ETBU physical facilities department prepared Keys Gymnasium as a special needs shelter by the Texas Department of Social and Health Services.

Allan Thompson, director of the ETBU Great Commission Center, noted ETBU students volunteered at eight evacuee shelters in Marshall.

BELTON—Trustees at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor unanimously elected Randy O’Rear the university’s 19th president and chief executive officer, effective June 1, 2009. 

Randy O'Rear

O’Rear—the school’s executive vice president and chief operating officer—will succeed Jerry Bawcom, who will step down as president at the end of the academic school year to become chancellor. 

“Our deliberations led us to one clear conclusion. We had the right candidate already here at UMHB, one who has a proven track record in higher education leadership,” Trustee Chairman Andy Davis said.

O’Rear’s track record in providing oversight of daily campus operations impressed the board, Davis noted.

“We are extremely confident that as president, Dr. O’Rear will assure the continuity of our mission, our Christian principles and our proficiency in higher education.  Because of his long service and intricate knowledge of UMHB, he will hold constant those things we value while assuring the university remains responsive to each new generation and continues to evolve in our ongoing quest for higher excellence.”

O’Rear, 43, will be the first UMHB alumnus to serve as the school’s president.

He graduated from UMHB with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1988 and a master of business administration degree in 1997.  O’Rear earned a doctoral degree in higher education administration from Baylor University in 2004.

“I am humbled by the confidence the board of trustees has placed in me, and I am grateful to be succeeding Dr. Bawcom, a fine leader who has guided UMHB to such a high degree of excellence,” O’Rear said.

O’Rear has served 20 years at UMHB, including the past three and one half years as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Other positions he has held include assistant baseball coach, associate director of advancement, director of development, associate vice president for enrollment management and vice president for external relations.

“UMHB’s greatest strength is its people,” O’Rear said. “Our faculty and staff have a deep commitment to our mission, and I will be honored to serve them in the role of president.  I will draw on their intelligence and wisdom as we move forward. Providing students with exceptional academic programs will always be our primary focus.”

President Bawcom praised the board’s decision.

“Dr. Randy O’Rear is an excellent choice by the board of trustees to become the next president of UMHB,” Bawcom said. “He is a man of integrity with tremendous experience; he is energetic and will lead with a team-centered, inclusive approach.”

Originally from Waco, O’Rear is a graduate of Robinson High School. He and his wife, Julie, have three children, Ryan, Taylor and Reed. They currently live in Salado and are members of First Baptist Church, Belton, where O’Rear serves as deacon.

Baptist Child & Family Services is seeking Christian families in San Antonio to adopt and foster children in need.

In 2007 in Bexar County, there were more than 5,000 children in foster care, emergency shelters and group homes. Of those, there were about 800 children available for adoption. 

Baptist Child & Family Services wants to involve the more than 1,000 churches in San Antonio in providing Christian homes for children in need.

“Christians should be the first to reach out to hurting and abandoned children in our community. As Christians, we are often known for what we are against, but the world does not know what we are for,” said Deborah Wilson, BCFS recruitment & support specialist of adoption and foster care.

In 2007, the Bexar County Department of Family and Protective Services confirmed 6,700 children were victims of abuse, and more than 1,000 were removed from their homes in one year. Nearly 4,000 ended up in foster care, almost 2,000 entered substitute care and 900 became available for adoption.

Nationally, on any given day, there are more than 500,000 children in the United State foster-care system, and 129,000 are available for adoption. In 2006, 79,000 children had parental rights terminated by the courts, and only 51,000 were adopted. 

A child in foster care often waits up to five years to be adopted, and the average age of the child is eight years old. Each year, 20 percent of children—26,517 in 2006—exit foster care at age 18 without an adoptive family. 

According to the National Adoption Attitudes Survey, nearly 40 percent of American adults, or 81.5 million people, have considered adopting a child. 

If just one in 500 of these adults adopted, every waiting child in foster care would have a permanent family, BCFS officials noted.

For more information about adoption or foster care, call Deborah Wilson at (210) 208-5631.

WACO—Red-letter Christians committed to taking Christ’s teachings seriously have the potential to transform society in a way that moves beyond partisan politics, author and educator Tony Campolo told an ethics conference at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary.

“We’re looking for a new way of doing politics that transcends partisanship and polarization,” Campolo said.

Rather than adopting a liberal or conservative political philosophy, it means conversion to a radical lifestyle of obedience to Christ, he stressed.

“To be a biblical, red-letter Christian is to be counter-cultural,” Campolo said, noting “conservatives worship at the graves of dead radicals.”
Conversion means a whole-hearted commitment “to what God is doing in the world at the present time,” he explained. “The kingdom of God is a transformed people at work transforming the world.”

Campolo, professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University and associate pastor of an American Baptist church in West Philadelphia, spoke at a Sept. 16-17 event sponsored by the Christian Ethics Today Foundation.

Move beyond ill-fitting labels

Old labels that once described Christians who take the Bible seriously no longer apply. Fundamentalism—which began as the response of Christian orthodoxy to German skepticism—has become equated with anti-intellectualism, legalism and judgmentalism, Campolo observed.

And the once-popular term “evangelical”—once equated with Billy Graham—has been co-opted by political extremists, he added. “Sadly, the word ‘evangelical’ has become synonymous with the Religious Right.”

A secular Jewish country-western radio personality in Nashville, Tenn., first applied the “red-letter Christian” label to social-justice evangelicals during an interview with Jim Wallis, founder of the Sojourners community Washington, D.C. And Campolo, Wallis and others in the movement readily embraced it.

Read all the Bible in light of Jesus

God inspired all Scripture, Campolo stressed. But red-letter Christians believe the rest of the Bible should be read from the perspective of God’s perfect revelation in Jesus Christ.

And people who interpret the Bible in light of the teachings of Jesus will have special concern for the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized, he emphasized.

“To be a Christian is to manifest a commitment to the poor,” Campolo asserted.

Red-letter Christians have the potential to offer solutions to “hot-button” issues—such as abortion, same-sex marriage and immigration reform—that defy traditional designations of liberal or conservative, he insisted.

“We can find common ground for the common good,” Campolo said.

Every thread matters

A comprehensive “seamless garment” sanctity-of-life ethic that not only deals with issues of abortion and euthanasia, but also encompasses torture, war, poverty, prison reform and capital punishment provides a distinctively Christian framework for dealing with tough issues, said David Gushee, Christian ethics professor at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology.

“In the fabric of humanity that God has made, every thread matters,” Gushee said.’

Sanctity of life means all human beings—at every stage of life and without distinction—are people who possess “equal and immeasurable worth” and “inviolable dignity,” he said.

“Therefore, they must be treated with the reverence and respect commensurate with this elevate moral status—beginning with a commitment to the preservation, protection and flourishing of their lives,” he said.

Belief in the sacred worth of all human life flows from biblical faith, Gushee insisted.

“In particular, life is sacred because—according to Scripture—God created humans in his image, declared them precious, ascribed to them a unique status in creation, blessed them with unique God-like capacities, made them for eternal life, governs them under his sovereign lordship, commands in his moral law that they be treated with reverence and respect, and forever elevates their dignity by his decision to take human form in Jesus Christ and to give up that human life at the cross,” he said.

“No social order treats people as immeasurably valuable—but Jesus did.”

Baptists bring soul freedom & hope to political discourse

Baptists and other “baptistified” Christians have distinctive insights they bring to political discussion that spring from two bedrock theological principles—soul freedom and Christian hope, said James Dunn of Wake Forest Divinity School.

Soul freedom means “everyone and anyone can come to God directly, personally, without formula or filter,” said Dunn, former executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee in Washington, D.C. Baptists “cannot conceive of coerced Christianity, forced faith or required religion,” he insisted.

“When we transplant that theological thought to the turf of politics, it helps us to understand why it is hard for us as a nation to force democracy on an unoccupied people—unwilling and unready to accept an ideology, indeed a theology, not their own,” Dunn said.

“Forcing religion on a people only makes hypocrites. Roger Williams got us started off right in that modality. A demanded democracy may not be authentic, serve well or last long.”

One critique leveled at Baptists as varied as John Leland, Walter Rauschenbusch, E.Y. Mullins, J.M. Dawson, T.B. Maston, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jimmy Carter has been they were naively optimistic, Dunn said.

“I tend to think that they have brought a deep, abiding hope to politics,” he said. Rather than being “hopelessly optimistic,” they were “hope-mongers” whose view of the future was shaped by their biblical belief in redemption.

“The message of hope—abstract, biblical, theological, heaven-sent—is clearly not the same a political optimism treated so snidely by the hopeless wretches who know everything but do little,” Dunn said.

HUNTSVILLE—In a city where Hurricane Ike left neighborhoods without electricity, two groups of Texas Baptist volunteers have energy to spare—and share.

Texas Baptist Men chainsaw teams from First Baptist Church in San Antonio and First Baptist Church in Athens are cutting up and removing large trees that have fallen on people’s homes or are blocking their driveways.

Hurricane Ike hit Huntsville, an East Texas town north of Houston, hard. Neighborhoods are marred by trees on rooftops, in yards, on fences and across driveways, confining people to their property.

The way these volunteers attack projects, the trees may be cleared quicker than anyone anticipates. In an hour or less, a team has cut up and removed a large tree.

Jimmy Leatherwood of First Baptist Church in Athens said the work is a natural outgrowth of his congregation’s character. It follows the biblical mandate to love people.

“It’s what the Bible tells us to do,” Leatherwood said. “We love to do it. The people need it. There’s a need. It makes us feel good, but we like to help people. That’s part of our church.”

Texas Baptists also are helping to feed many who are without electrical power.

The volunteer teams offer a powerful combination of tangible help and spiritual hope as they move through the area. Juan and Rosa Mejorado, who were physically unable to remove the large tree in their driveway, were driving around their home and around another in order to get off their property. When Texas Baptist Men offered to help, they jumped at the opportunity. After volunteers finished the project, the couple fought back tears of joy.

“God bless you,” Rosa Mejorado said. “God bless you all.”

Judy Vasil of First Baptist Church in San Antonio said people’s reactions to the chainsaw ministry keep her going.

“They’re just grateful,” she said. “This lady yesterday was almost in tears after clearing the trees. They’re just glad someone is there to help.”

The teams take time before, during and after a project to become acquainted with the people they’re helping. They finish each project praying with and for the family they assisted. The prayer is a way to further connect their faith with their actions.

“It’s our way of sharing what we’re doing for them, and we’re doing it in God’s name,” Leatherwood said. “One of the families we talked to earlier today didn’t go to church. It’s an opening to share with them. We invited them to come to this church here in Huntsville.”

PLAINVIEW—Wayland Baptist University senior Ryan Bleyenberg knew he was in for a long trip overseas for summer missions. What he didn’t know at the end of the spring semester was that his location would change at nearly the last minute.

While that would have unnerved some student missionaries, the social studies major from Lovington, N.M., took it all in stride, seeing the new plan unfold easily.

“For me, there wasn’t a struggle to make the switch,” Bleyenberg said. “We were doing much of the same thing we’d be doing in the other country, with very similar cultures.

“Before we left, I remember praying, ‘Let me go where I’m supposed to go.’ I had mentally been praying and preparing for those people, but I know for all those things to happen to work out for us to go where we went, I knew that was where I was supposed to be. Things just don’t randomly work out that way.”

Three weeks before Bleyenberg was to head to a Pacific Rim country that cannot be named for security reasons, he was told the trip was canceled. The mission trip organizers at Go Now Missions, part of the student ministries arm of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, found another trip immediately that lasted the same time period. Remarkably, the new location allowed the students to use the airline tickets they already had, stopping in Bangkok, Thailand, instead of going on for another leg.

Ryan and a fellow Texas student, Alicia Campbell of Angelo State University, spent seven weeks in Thailand, ministering primarily to their peers at Sri Patum University in Bangkok.

In a city of 13 million people and 60 universities, Bleyenberg was voted team leader for a five-person team of summer missionaries sent to Sri Patum. Their typical day consisted of morning prayer time as a team, then heading to the university where they gathered in a free classroom and offered Thai engineering students the opportunity to practice their English with American students. They didn’t have to ask twice.

“Thai people are very eager to learn English, and that’s why it was a great opportunity for us,” said Bleyenberg. “English is becoming a global language, and the students know that if they want to succeed, or get jobs outside Thailand, they need to know English. They also just love foreigners. For someone to be friends with an American is very cool there.”

The conversations provided a fertile soil for the students to build relationships with their Thai counterparts and give them a chance to plant the seeds of the gospel.

Summer missionary Ryan Bleyenberg (second from right) gathers for a photo with fellow student missionaries Alicia Campbell from Angelo State University (to his left) and Shawn Martin from Massachusetts (top left) and Thai university students to whom the team ministered during seven weeks of the summer.

Then in the evenings, the missionaries would hang out with the Thai students on a more social basis, going bowling or to the movies or to the ever-popular karaoke lounges. Once weekly, the group hosted cell-group meetings on the roof of the hotel, where they would sing Christian songs, share their testimonies and read the Bible.

Over the seven weeks, the group also visited a number of schools and villages to teach English and work with younger children on their language skills. All provided a chance to show God’s love and compassion and connect the locals to Thai Christians, Bleyenberg said.

The challenge, however, was finding those Christians. In a country that is primarily Buddhist, with a growing Muslim presence, Christianity is not prohibited, but it demands quite a sacrifice.

“There are very few Christians there. It takes a very long time for people to hear about the gospel and actually accept it, because to be Thai is to be Buddhist. That’s just their culture. It’s a very conservative culture, very respectful of their elders.”

The Thai people “are very loyal to their king and their parents, their religion then themselves. To become a Christian means to completely forsake your parents, your king and your country. So when they do accept Christ, they are fully committed. They are fully aware of the magnitude of the decision they’ve made.”

Bleyenberg added that typical Christian churches are very small and secluded, hard to find for the average tourist walking the streets. Unlike American cities where churches of every denomination dot nearly every corner, Christian churches in Thailand are not normally advertised.

The key to evangelism there was becoming personal with the students, then introducing them to other Thai Christians that could get them involved in a local church, he said.

One student, Jack, accepted Christ during the summer, after hearing the gospel for only a month.

“We know God had been working on him for a while,” he added. “When he started sharing with other students, we were a little surprised, but then we knew he really got it. I think we knew he had become a Christian but was sort of afraid to say it publicly.”

As Bleyenberg’s first longtime missions experience and first overseas venture, the trip confirmed for him a call to missions full-time. Since the summer involved lots of flexibility—he preached, did youth ministry, discipleship, evangelism and even led worship once—he enjoyed just being able to do what needed to be done to meet the needs of those he was serving.

“I gained so much more than I ever could have given this summer. For one, the experience of traveling internationally and experiencing the culture was great,” he said. “To go into such a dark place with temples, shrines and idols everywhere, it’s easy to lose hope. When you are challenged like that, you draw near to God, and my prayer to him now is so much more intimate. And because of that, my faith has been strengthened. God showed us the answer to prayer so many times, sometimes right after we prayed.”