• Darrell Halk to Southmont Church in Denton as minister to students.

• Jeph Holloway to Central Church in Marshall as interim pastor.

• R.C. Jeanes has resigned as pastor of Cadiz Church in Beeville due to health concerns.

• Stephen LeFleur to Weidner Road Church in San Antonio as interim pastor.

• Larry Linam has resigned as pastor of Springhill Church in DeKalb.

• Gus Martinez to Iglesia La Hermosa in Skidmore as pastor.

• Jim Moore to Cornerstone Church in Cumby as pastor.

• David Parish has resigned as pastor of Faith Community Church in Maud.

• Chip Parmer to Community Church in Weatherford as pastor from San Gabriel Church in San Gabriel.

• Al Pineault has resigned as pastor of Weidner Road Church in San Antonio.

• Michael Reed to Calvary Church in Abilene as pastor, effective Feb. 1. He currently is the Protestant chaplain at Coalinga State Hospital in California.

• Matt Sharrock to Bible Believers Church in Kennard as pastor.

• Joe Sherwin to New Hebron Church in Waskom as pastor.

• Cameron Strange to Lane Prairie Church in Joshua as associate pastor/minister of music.

• Jon Stricklan to First Church in Watauga as minister of music from Connell Church in Fort Worth.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—While working on songs for a new album, most songwriters don’t read the book of Revelation over and over again for inspiration.

But that’s exactly what singer/songwriter Phil Wickham did to prepare for the release of his third album, Heaven and Earth.  

Over the last year, Wickham felt led to create a project that would take listeners on a musical journey through the Bible—starting with the first track, “Eden,” to the last track, “Heaven Song.”

“After listening to these songs, I hope that people will want to know more about the message they have just heard,” Wickham said.

“The first song on the album tells about sin coming into this world, and then the album progresses to telling about how Christ’s great love and sacrifice has made things right for those who ask him to be their Savior. My desire is that these songs are effective in leading people to Christ.”

During its first week of sales, the album claimed the No. 2 spot on the Christian/Gospel album chart on iTunes, and Wickham’s song, “Safe,” which features a duet with Bart Millard of MercyMe, topped the Christian/Gospel singles chart at No. 1.

But the accolades and achievements aren’t what motivate Wickham.

By sharing the gospel through music, he has been given many opportunities to share the plan of salvation at his concerts.

“My priority at concerts is to share the reality of the gospel, the importance of the cross and about the excitement and hope that we have in heaven. By the end of a concert, I hope that people are thinking about God’s grace, love and mercy, and I hope that they are also thinking about the sacrifice that has been given to us through Christ,” he said.

“My prayer is that people will want to follow Christ and to live a life that will honor him.

As a teenager, Wickham learned how to play the guitar from his father. After a few months of lessons, he started leading worship for his youth group at church.

“From there, doors started opening for me to play at different events and eventually led me to where I am today,” he said. “For a while, I was really hesitant to pursue music on a full-time basis because I knew it was a huge responsibility to lead people in worship and to write songs that would convey the right message. I didn’t want to mess it up, and I didn’t want to take things in my own hands.

“So, I spent a long time praying that my desires and musical abilities would always remain focused on the Lord and that these gifts would be used for his glory. That continues to be my prayer today, as I’ve found that one of the best ways of connecting with people is to share the truth of God’s word by putting it in a song.”

AUSTIN—Todd Agnew’s musical journey has taken many twists and turns. But Agnew sees that journey as the fulfillment of his dual calling—to lead Christians into meaningful worship and to engage nonbelievers in asking the right questions.

“First and foremost, we make sure that our goal is to lead people to the throne of God,” he said. “God is larger than any words we can use, and music is something beyond words. Music is a gift that God has given us, and it allows us to express beyond what we can actually say.

“As I’m writing songs, I’m always thinking about the tough questions that will challenge people to take the next step and move forward in their walk with the Lord.”

Todd Agnew wants to challenge both Christians and nonbelievers to take steps toward a closer walk with Christ through his music.

When preparing for an event, Agnew carefully selects songs he feels best suit the target audience, with the goal of leading others to Christ.

While leading worship at events, his set list includes traditional hymns and contemporary songs. He enjoys sharing the history of the hymns with teenagers and helping them understand their rich meaning.

“I’m not someone who just gets up on stage and starts playing songs. When I’m leading worship, I really try to teach about what worship is and also teach the songs—not just musically, but conceptually. I’ll break down the phrases in hymns so teenagers can understand the meaning, and I’ll share about how the song was written. I think it makes the songs so much richer when people know the story behind the song.”

Agnew, who was adopted as a baby, grew up at Plymouth Park Baptist Church in Irving and was involved in a variety of ministries. Agnew credits his adoptive parents for his strong foundation in faith and knowledge, for his musical upbringing and for his understanding of “adoption by grace.”

“I’ve come to understand that the concept of adoption on earth is a parallel to the concept of being adopted into the family of Christ, which is an incredibly powerful story of love and grace,” he said.

While studying music composition at the University of North Texas, he began leading worship for local youth ministries and summer camps. He also performed at a variety of venues including senior adult breakfasts, coffee houses and secular clubs, which gave him many opportunities to plant seeds in the lives of non-Christians and share the gospel.

After 13 years of being an independent artist, Agnew signed a recording contract with Ardent Records/INO in 2003. As a result, many doors began opening for performances at larger venues around the country.

“I was at a point where I had many different avenues I could have gone down in my ministry,” he said.

“I feel like God took his time molding me, because I could not have handled this platform earlier in my life. God basically took my heart, refined it and sculpted it. Then he said: ‘This is who I want you to be. I want you to be somebody who wants to be serious about reaching as many people as possible for my glory.’ Once I really had a grip on that, those doors started to open.”

For Agnew, the musical journey has come full circle—leading worship on a regular basis at Austin Stone Community Church and recording albums that not only are relevant to believers, but also spark conversations and pose questions with non-Christians.

Agnew has garnered numerous hit radio singles, including two No. 1 hits, “Grace Like Rain” and “This Fragile Breath.” He maintains a busy schedule, performing more than 150 dates each year and has sold more than 500,000 recordings. In recent months, he released a new album, Need.

“Seeing people come into a relationship with the Lord is so special, it’s beyond words,” Agnew said. “We all have a need to be loved, to be rescued, to be redeemed, to be restored, all these things. Those are the universal needs, and they are all met in Jesus. I love sharing truth with people and helping them connect with God. Our goal each night is to step back while God works in people’s hearts and begins to change their lives.”

WACO—Faculty and staff at Baylor University’s School of Social Work lived out O. Henry’s story, “The Gift of the Magi,” when they surprised each other this Christmas with their choice of gifts.

The gifts included neither cut hair nor tortoiseshell combs, but Dean Diana Garland could hardly have been any more surprised than were Jim and Della in the classic Christmas story.

Staff members at the school traditionally make a monetary or material contribution to a nonprofit agency or other worthy cause they have selected as a way to honor the faculty.

Likewise, the faculty has traditionally contributed to a fund to provide a small gift for each staff member.

Participants say the practice always has been a pleasant surprise to each group to discover the final contribution. One year, the staff made dozens of infant sleepers for children in orphanages in the cities of Kramatorsk and Kherson in the Ukraine. Another year, they collected gift items for residents of an elder care facility.  

“We decided several years ago that the best way we could honor and gift our faculty was to contribute to people our faculty teach our students to honor and serve,” said Jeanie Fitzpatrick, assistant to the dean and organizer of the yearly staff gift.

In the spirit of the season, as the faculty group and the staff group busily made their secret plans for gift-giving, an unexpected synchronicity was occurring—one that became apparent just days before the university went on break for the holiday.

“I received two separate e-mails, one from each group, announcing what their gift was, and I didn’t know whether to laugh out loud or fall on my knees in gratitude,” Garland said.

Each group had collected donations to contribute to the recently announced campaign to endow the school, given in the other’s honor.
Kristen Box, the school’s director of development, was astonished.

“That both of these groups feel so strongly about the future of the school and the good work that is accomplished there—and is willing to back it with money—is pretty amazing,” Box said. “It’s something development people dream about!”

It’s a sweet reality for Dean Garland, as well. “I’ve never doubted our staff and faculty’s commitment to our programs, or their calling to the work they do. But these contributions to our endowment campaign brought tears to my eyes. I am so grateful to these wonderful people who allow me to lead them in our joint journey to provide a quality education, and financial aid, for our students.”

EAST ORANGE, N.J. (RNS)—Pastor Dwight Gill figures if there is one thing that will bring more men to church, it’s football.

So, at New Hope Baptist Church, NFL doesn’t stand for National Football League, but rather for New Found Life—as in the church’s annual NFL service and celebration.

The most recent NFL service drew nearly 2,000 people, including a bevy of newcomers in for a worship service that was anything but ordinary.

“There’s more to it than just a church service,” said Michael Carrington, 48, of Newark.

Carrington said he is not a regular churchgoer but was so impressed with what he saw and the spirit of the congregation, now he wants to become a member.

He stood in awe, looking at scores of men wearing their favorite football jerseys over their slacks and suits.

In the church lobby and sanctuary, football banners and posters were plastered on the walls and hung from the rafters.

Between songs of praise, the worshippers broke out in a stadium wave, briefly standing and throwing their arms in the air.

A tailgate party, including sandwiches, hot dogs and chips, followed the music-filled service.

The New Hope cheerleaders rally at the New Hope Baptist Church in East Orange, N.J., during the church’s 4th annual NFL Sunday Football Service, designed to attract more men.

“A lot of people can get bored during a service, but this brings a sense of excitement, and at the same time, a sense of hope,” said Carrington, who wore a No. 88 Lynn Swann Pittsburgh Steelers jersey.

Gill’s football service could be called the Hail Mary pass of religion: Get men into the church, then give them God’s message.

Gill started the event four years ago and used the sports analogy because, quite simply, “Men like football.”

Women outnumber men at the church by a 3-to-1 ratio, and women’s involvement in church tends to override men’s participation nationwide—a problem particularly acute in many African-American congregations.

The pastor believes he has found a fun remedy to what he calls a “longtime challenge with no easy solution.” He wants to dispel any perception among men that church is just for women.

To help accomplish that, Gill also invited former Giants player Lee Rouson—now an associate pastor of a church in Harlem—to preach about “God’s promise for salvation” during the two-hour service.

Rouson praised the football worship concept.

“Men gravitate to sports. It’s physical, emotional and mental, and those analogies are all part of the spirit life as well,” Rouson said.

“Men compete, they understand competition. But the competition here is to be a real man.”

Church member Samantha Roberts, 32, said many people have a misperception of church life, as women tend to be more involved.

“Women are the ones who hold the family together,” Roberts said.

“They know with God in their lives, they make a positive place for men and women.”

Gill has been keeping score. He has been able to draw about 10 new men to the church each year following the event, he noted.

“If we can attract one man to come to church,” he said, “heaven will be happy.”

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC—Missions and business commingle in the Dominican Republic, where Buckner International will work alongside Wilshire Baptist Church and Esperanza International, a 14-year-old Christian microfinance organization, to make an impact on families through small-business start-up loans and community programs.

Women who have received microloans from Esperanza International attend a business meeting to discuss their growing businesses and plans for loan repayment.

“Our first priority will be starting a Community Transformation Center in the Los Alcarrizos province in the capitol city,” said Tricia Dominguez, director of Buckner Dominican Republic. “We will also begin making connections with government officials in hopes of starting a foster care program.”

Dominguez, an attorney, worked for Esperanza two years as education coordinator, helping to establish an after-school program in Los Alcarrizos. Education is just one of piece of the transformation puzzle, she said.

“Esperanza is best known for their microloans, but we want to focus on transforming the whole community. This is where Buckner will be a great fit,” she said.

Esperanza International has helped 37,000 individuals start businesses in the Dominican Republic and has a current loan portfolio exceeding $2.2 million, with a 98 percent repayment rate. The average loan is about $196.69.

A child enjoys the Esperanza after-school program.

The small start-up business loan helps women who would otherwise be unable to get a loan, and it helps them support their family, Dominguez said.

The micro-finance expertise of Esperanza will be part of Buckner’s strategy for support through its Community Transformation Center, where clients will be assigned a caseworker to support them with immediate needs and long-term goals.

Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas has committed to support Buckner’s start-up work in the Dominican Republic in 2010 with a one-year agreement and $50,000.

The church recently completed a three-year commitment to Busia, Kenya, where volunteers built a child development center, medical clinic and water well. They also traveled there about three times a year to work with orphans.

Wilshire was attracted to the Dominican Republic because of its close proximity and opportunities for a variety of service, said Mindy Logsdon, minister of missions. The church also was interested in the business model Esperanza supports.

Children attend school at a community center in the Eduardo Brito community in Santo Domingo, operated by a local pastor Lucas Celesten Louis.

“A lot of people in our church are in the business world—law, education—and they want to use their gifts and talents to help others,” she said.

“We have two men who are economics professors, and they are thrilled to go and help small-business owners make a better business plan and learn how to make more money to support their families.”

Wilshire already has planned four mission trips to the Dominican Republic in 2010, including a trip in June that will bring 90 members of the youth choir.

It will be first time the church has sent its youth on an international mission trip.

“We’re all called to serve, every one of us,” Logsdon said. “Whether it’s in our state, nationally or internationally—whatever it is you like to do, we want you to do it.”

To learn more about church involvement through Buckner, contact Jim Huey at (214) 758-8050.

JACKSON, Tenn. (RNS)—Classes are completed for the day. Meetings and work are winding down, and Facebook can provide a study break for only so long. So, what’s a restless Christian college student to do?

For undergrads at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., a walk down to the campus theater provides one solution—dancing to the tunes of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway.

Inside, young men offer their hand to available girls and take them to the middle of the hopping dance floor.

Beginners practice basic steps, while more advanced dancers take on the more complicated moves, flipping their partners over their heads and through their legs.

At Union, like a growing number of Christian campuses, it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.

Dance fever hit the Southern Baptist campus when two freshmen, Grant Kelly and Brandon Walker, started recruiting students to dance for fun last fall.

The group has grown from just a few friends meeting in a small classroom to about 50 dancers who now take over the theater.

Fans say the swing thing has now taken root in at least 10 Christian colleges in the United States, and foot-function fever is spreading.

But like a scene out of the 1984 movie Footloose, some campuses have had to overcome qualms about dancing.

Union’s student handbook, for example, says the university “prohibits dancing at any Union University-sponsored event held on campus.” Students simply host the dance-offs as unofficial events either on or off campus.

“It’s fun and innocent,” said Dean of Students Kimberly Thornbury, who said students gave her a heads-up about the events. “The university is not going to hunt people down. That’s not the spirit of the policy.”

While swing is downright innocent compared to the bump-and-grind moves found on many secular campuses, some Christian school leaders believe dancing could lead to temptation and therefore comes with guidelines attached.

To be sure, many conservative schools like Bob Jones University continue to prohibit all forms of dancing, but some Christian schools have lifted the dancing ban in recent years.

• Baylor University students were able to boogie in 1996.

• Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., whirled in its new dancing policy in 2003.

• In 2006, John Brown Univer-sity in Siloam Springs, Ark., expanded its dancing policy to allow students to jive at more campus-sponsored dances with gentler genres such as ballroom and swing.

Randall Balmer, an expert on American evangelicals, said he was a little shocked to learn students on Christian campuses were picking up swing dancing, but sees it as an indicator of shifts within the evangelical subculture.

“What clearly has happened … is that after 1980, evangelicalism was still a subculture—but it was no longer a counter-culture,” Balmer said.

“With that decreased attention to ‘worldliness,’ some of the taboos have fallen.”

Balmer, who teaches American religious history at New York’s Barnard College and is the author of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America, says the suspicion of the “outside world” beyond evangelicalism has faded.

“There has been a general loosening of the (fundamentalist) structure of the 1920s and 1930s,” he said. “The dancing is just another evidence of that loosening.”

Still, some schools have reservations.

In Kirkland, Wash., Northwest University’s dancing policy states the school “recognizes the temptations inherent in the sensuous and erotic nature of some social dancing,” and then sets guidelines to keep dancing off campus.

Those rules haven’t dissuaded Michael Weber, a Northwest student, from dancing for four years. He and his friends go off campus to community centers and dance halls in order stay within the guidelines and still swing.

Weber organizes dance events a couple times a month to encourage students to learn basic moves.

He likes swing because, in his opinion, it’s easier to master than ballroom dancing.

“Swing dancing is easy to learn,” he said. “It’s not as proper.”

ABILENE—Christian coaches are in a position to teach far more than Xs and Os, a Hardin-Simmons University professor believes.

Bob Moore, professor of fitness and sports science, considers sports fallow ground for teaching Christian principles.

“Within sport, you have many opportunities in which to help people develop a Christian understanding of who they are, and I think that’s what we all have to strive to do—try to realize why we are on the face of the earth,” he said. “I think through sport, you can teach somebody great lessons about that.

“There are so many teachable moments within sport that, as coaches, you can try to instill within players characteristics such as self-sacrifice, sportsmanship, work ethic, honor and respect.”

While Moore at one time was a high school basketball coach, now his coaching focuses on three of his five children and their teammates. Two more still are a little young for team sports.

“I think it’s a little easier to form their philosophies during those formative years, but, of course, I think we can help them develop their understanding of who they are as Christians at every level,” Moore said.

A key to making a difference as a Christian coach, however, is for the coach to have his own life in proper perspective, he cautioned.

“First of all, the coach has to make sure they have a proper understanding of their own Christian philosophy, because I believe you can’t give what you don’t have.

“That’s the first step—to be reflective as a coach and determine what your purpose in life is. If you understand that your purpose in life is to help build up the kingdom—which is what Christ called us to do, to help him in doing that—then I think the coach understands he’s simply an instrument for God,” Moore explained.

“At that point, you have a foundation in which to be successful. Once that foundation is in place, you can pass it on to your players either by what you say or how you act,” he said.

Any coach who wants to make an impact on players must closely monitor his own reaction to officials and the other team, and examine how he defines success. Coaches who profess Christianity and then allow themselves to depart from that lifestyle on the court or field confuse the people for whom they are supposed to be setting an example, Moore continued.

“I think you can help your players achieve not only a good sense of who they are as Christians, but also that ultimately you are going to be successful as you teach your players to sacrifice for the good of the team and to understand that each player has a role on the team,” Moore said.

“I want my kids to become better athletes, I want them to become more physically fit, to learn to compete—all the wonderful things I think sports provide you. But I think ultimately, it’s much more important to me that my kids become good people and good Christians.”

Church employees invited to participate in compensation survey. Texas Baptist church employees are invited to participate in the 2010 Southern Baptist Convention Church Compensation Survey, provided through the joint efforts of Baptist state conventions, LifeWay Christian Resources and GuideStone Financial Resources. The survey, which can be accessed at www.LifeWay.com/compensationsurvey, studies the pay and benefits of ministers and employees of Southern Baptist churches. Through the survey, church administrators, personnel and finance committees and minister-search teams have access to an accurate baseline by which they can compare their own church’s salary and benefits with similar churches across the country. Answers to the online survey are kept confidential and are not reported individually. The survey takes, on average, less than 10 minutes to complete. In addition to salary and benefit information, participants in the survey will need to have their church’s average weekly worship or Bible study attendance, resident membership and annual budget. The survey is available through April 30, and results will be released in June.

FamilyNet sold again. FamilyNet, a television and radio network formerly owned by the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, has been sold once again. Charles Stanley’s In Touch Ministries, which purchased FamilyNet from NAMB in October 2007, has sold the network to ComStar Media Fund, a private firm affiliated with Robert A. Schuller, son of TV preacher Robert Schuller. No purchase price for FamilyNet was disclosed. NAMB received a half-hour of TV and radio programming each week under the sale of Family Net to In Touch Ministries. NAMB will lose that airtime under the new sale.

SBC president undergoes cancer surgery. Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt underwent successful cancer surgery Jan. 7 at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. An update on the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Ga., website said Hunt rested well after the operation and was due to be released from the hospital the next day. He was scheduled to visit the doctor for a check-up Jan. 15. Hunt, 57, announced in November he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was elected SBC president in 2008 and re-elected to a customary second term last year.

Truett-McConnell requires faculty to sign SBC statement. Truett-McConnell College’s trustees adopted the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message as the confessional statement for the Georgia Baptist institution and asked President Emir Caner to develop a plan for faculty and administrators to embrace the doctrinal statement. Trustee Bailey Smith, an evangelist and former Southern Baptist Convention president, made the recommendation. “We will be the first Southern Baptist college to require a signature to affirm the Baptist Faith & Message in a public forum,” Caner said. Faculty will have 18 months to sign the document, he announced.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—More than 3 million Haitians were left standing in rubble after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the capital city of Haiti Jan. 12. As thousands were left without clean water and proper food, Texas Baptists launched efforts to bring aid to the Haitians.   

Texas Baptists are helping relief efforts by supporting the work of Texas Baptist Men disaster response, as well as the relief work that will take place in the future by other institutions affiliated with Texas Baptists to bring spiritual and physical restoration to Port-au-Prince.

TBM provided 5,000 water purification systems that were to be loaded on a C-130 military transport plane and flown from Carswell Air Base to Haiti Jan. 14, according to Mickey Lenamon, TBM associate executive director.

Destruction lines the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, after an    earthquake rocked the island nation. (Photo: AFP / Getty Images / Daniel Morel)

To support TBM disaster relief efforts financially, visit texasbaptistmen.org or mail a check directly to Texas Baptist Men, 5352 Catron, Dallas 75227.

Texas Baptist Men received a $10,000 Texas Hope 2010 care grant for disaster relief. The money comes from gifts to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.

“We’re trying to respond along with the rest of the world to the earthquake in Haiti,” said Joe Haag, who helps coordinate the offering for the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission. “Texas Baptist Men in their usual way have a role to play in terms of quick response. We’re trying to be a part of helping them fund their response.”

World hunger care grants help support more immediate action for acute needs around the globe. For more information about the hunger offering, visit www.bgct.org/worldhunger. To give to the offering, visit www.bgct.org/give . 

The Baptist General Convention of Texas also is collecting funds it will distribute through its partners, including Texas Baptist Men and institutions affiliated with Texas Baptists. The gifts will provide long-term disaster relief. To give, visit www.texasbaptists.org/haitiearthquake and click on “give now” or send a check marked for disaster relief to the Texas Baptist Mission Foundation at 333 N. Washington, Dallas 75246-1798.

“At this time, we are gathering donations to be used by Texas Baptist disaster relief to meet the needs of the people who are suffering in Haiti,” said Bill Arnold, president of the Texas Baptists Missions Foundation and BGCT disaster response coordinator.

“These funds will be used to buy food, provide water filters and eventually assist volunteer teams to go to Haiti at the proper time.”

Although Texas Baptists do not anticipate sending relief teams to Haiti in the immediate future due to travel conditions, volunteers may be needed as Baptist missionaries in the country make requests for aid.

Individuals and churches interested in assisting needs can list their skills, resources and desired method of service through Church2Church partnerships by visiting www.texasbaptists.org/ haitirearthquake and clicking on “register now” under the partner label.

A man calls for help after being trapped at the Port-au-Prince University after a major earthquake struck on January 13th. (Photo Reuters/Reuters TV courtesy www.alertnet.org)

“This is an opportunity for Texas Baptists to minister in the name of Jesus to people who are suffering and who do not have the hope of Christ in their lives,” Arnold said.

“We hope that in addition to meeting human needs that everything done will bring glory to God. In the end, we hope to see that more Haitians have come to know the love of Christ.”

Other groups with Texas ties also are involved in relief work or efforts to raise money for it.

The State of Texas has placed Baptist Child & Family Services on stand-by to support federal response efforts in Haiti. The San Antonio-based agency's resources, which include 300 emergency management and medical personnel in addition to an extensive cache of medical equipment, are prepared to be deployed within 48 hours should BCFS be activated. 

The BCFS role in response efforts would include establishing two 500-bed hospital alternate care facilities in Haiti. These facilities will be completely self-contained and self-sufficient, operating off generator power and manned by a team of medical professionals that include physicians, nurses, pharmacists and paramedics.

An Oklahoma congregation affiliated with the BGCT, NorthHaven Church in Norman, launched efforts to raise relief funds to be distributed through Baptist World Aid.  The group primarily is doing this through a Facebook group and the church website, www.northaven-church. net.

Baptist World Aid has pledged $20,000 in emergency funds for Haiti. BWAid director Paul Montacute said grants of $10,000 each were committed to the Baptist Convention of Haiti, a group of 110 churches and 82,000 members established in 1964, and the Haiti Baptist Mission, a network of 330 churches and schools founded in 1943.

Montacute reported Baptist relief agencies from North America and around the world are considering how best to help. Two representatives of BWAid’s Rescue 24 team of first responders were en route to Haiti from Hungary, where they planned to link up with North Carolina Baptist Men, he said.

Buckner and its international adoption affiliate, Dillon Inter-national, are collecting funds to bring medical relief.

Deniese Dillon, executive director of Dillon International, said donations were being sent to Dillon and Buckner to be forwarded to Gladys Thomas’ Hope Hospital, which has received many casualties from the quakes.

“We’ve worked with Gladys for 25 years,” Dillon said. “Our background has been placing orphan children from her Hope Hospital and Haiti Home for Children with adoptive families.”

Gladys Thomas also serves as director for Dillon’s Haitian adoption programs.

The funds will be used to offset the needs Hope Hospital will meet over the next several weeks.

“Gladys will be bringing people to her hospital, and she’ll be overflowing with victims,” Dillon said. “We’re collecting funds to purchase gasoline for the generators, food and additional medical supplies.”

Officials estimate tens of thousands were killed in the Jan. 12 earthquake.

Dillon noted she had spoken to Thomas Jan. 13 and “learned that the Children’s Village and Hope Hospital are OK. There has been some flooding, and one of the walls on a building collapsed, and many people are gathering in this location, but otherwise all is well. The Village (orphanage) has food, but the children are scared. There will be many people throughout the Haitian community that will continue to come to Hope Hospital looking for care. … It is already very full with earthquake victims.”

To give to Buckner, visit www.buckner.org.

Lance Wallace, director of communications for the Atlanta-based Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, said that group’s response to the earthquake would be long-term recovery and not search and rescue.

Volunteers looking to serve through CBF will receive assignments after the initial emergency phase has passed. Wallace said the quickest way to help is to give money designated Haiti relief.

A Southern Baptist assessment team was working out logistics for a trip into Haiti early the week of Jan. 18, to connect with Haitian Baptist leaders and craft plans for disaster relief efforts.

Serious security concerns could emerge as people become more desperate for food and water in areas where police and military control have not been established, said Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response.

The capital’s main prison also collapsed in the earthquake, raising the prospect of criminals escaping into the city. As a result, near-term attempts to travel to the country would be ill-advised, he said.

The five-member assessment team will evaluate ministry needs like rescue operations, medical services and shelter, as well as logistical concerns like transportation and security, Brown said.

A Florida Baptist disaster relief team is planning its own assessment trip for the weekend, and the two teams will collaborate in their reporting to the national Southern Baptist disaster relief network.

The teams also will report back on long-term strategies to help Haitians rebuild their lives.

“There are two Baptist conventions in Haiti, and the Florida Baptist Convention has historically partnered with one convention, while the International Mission Board has partnered with the other,” Brown said. “We will combine our findings to draft the overall strategy.”

The Southern Baptist assessment team will be composed of representatives from Baptist Global Response, North American Mission Board and disaster relief specialists from Kentucky, Mississippi and South Carolina, Brown said.

Initial funding for the relief effort is coming from the International Mission Board’s disaster relief fund. New contributions toward the relief effort can be made at the Baptist Global Response website, gobgr.org.

Money donated to the relief effort will be used 100 percent for ministry in Haiti, Brown said.

Apart from donating to the disaster relief fund, concerned individuals can help greatly by joining in focused prayer for Haiti’s 9 million people, more than 80 percent of whom live below the poverty line, said David Brown, who with his wife, Jo, directs Baptist Global Response work in the Americas.

Compiled from reports by Texas Baptist Communications, Texas Baptist Men, Associated Baptist Press and Baptist Global Response

CLEVELAND (RNS)—For Deborah Taylor, keeping her body fit and eating well is a way of honoring God.

So, when Taylor, a financial assistant for University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center, heard about the hospital’s Body & Soul program for black churches to help their congregations get healthier, she took action.

Soon, Taylor’s congregation, Faith Temple Church of God, launched a healthy-eating initiative and began hosting weekly workout sessions.

“You have so many people in the church who are walking around with diabetes and high blood pressure. Many are obese,” Taylor said.

Across the city, more than 60 black churches have started the program in an effort to combat African-Americans’ higher risk of developing cancer.

The program, supported with $200 grants to individual churches from the American Cancer Society, is based on research findings that healthy eating and other wellness initiatives drive down the risk of cancer, according to Allison Payten, cancer program coordinator for Ireland Cancer Center’s community outreach department.

Research funded by the National Cancer Institute, which followed 15 churches nationwide, found more than a decade ago that church members significantly in-creased their fruit and vegetable consumption through congregation and pastoral support. A cornerstone of the national program is to encourage people to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

High fruit and vegetable consumption decreases the risk for cancer and a host of other ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke—all of which the African-American population is at higher risk of experiencing, according to the study.

In Cleveland, the program is changing lives. LaVita Hatten lost 70 pounds when her church, Freedom Christian Assembly, began a “Biggest Loser” contest. She still makes frequent stops at McDonald’s, but orders the grilled chicken sandwich and a salad instead of a hamburger and fries.

Pastor Milton Bradford at Good Hope Baptist Church lost 20 pounds—even though he admits he occasionally sneaks fried chicken for lunch.

And Sylvia Benford rarely misses her weekly aerobics class organized by Faith Temple Church of God. Now, she doesn’t get winded walking up a flight of stairs.

Their stories are just a sampling of changes happening across the city, Payten said. “Each church is unique.”

The program “empowers members to take charge of their health,” she said.

Good Hope Baptist Church began the Body & Soul program last July. Church members hosted a kickoff where they learned about exercise and how to prepare healthy foods.

Previously, church gatherings meant everyone bringing their specialties, such as fried chicken, potato salad, greens, ham hocks, and macaroni and cheese.

“We always had salad, but most of our meals would be heavy,” said church member Bertha Fuqua.

Fuqua, who had attended one of the hospital’s Body & Soul training sessions and organized the church Body & Soul kickoff, enlisted folks to bring lower-fat alternatives to social gatherings. A personal favorite, she said, is beans flavored with onions and peppers instead of fatback.

Considering “the number of people at our church with diabetes and the number of people who are cancer survivors and the number of children at our church who are overweight—I came out (of the training session) totally convinced and wanted to move forward,” Fuqua said.

Bradford, the Good Hope pastor, began including advice and encouragement in his weekly sermons, giving the congregation witty one-liners to live by, like “We’re not digging our graves with our teeth.”

“We’ve got to avoid that,” Bradford said. “It doesn’t matter how much you are in your faith if you can’t breathe.”

The church’s weekly bulletin includes a health tip or a low-fat recipe. Last summer, members brought in extra vegetables from their gardens to share, and now the church is planning its own “Biggest Loser” contest.

At Freedom Christian Assembly, registered nurse and church health ambassador Simone Ray recalls frequently talking to people about their health before starting the Body & Soul program.

“They would want prayer, but prayer would not work,” she said. “You have to do something physical to get something.”

The program, started at Freedom Christian in 2007, includes getting together for weekly walks and promoting healthy eating. When the church held its “Biggest Loser” contest, more than 20 people signed up, and the winner, Hatten, won $500.

To win, Hatten not only changed what she ordered at McDonald’s, but also began going to the gym twice a day and talking to fitness trainers. She cut back on carbonated drinks and reduced portion sizes, too.

Soon, the 318-pound Hatten was pinning up her clothes to keep them on. She could see her ankles for the first time in years. Now, at 247 pounds, Hatten rarely misses a workout and says she’s still losing weight.

Working with the church, Hatten said, has made a difference.

“It sparked a fire in me,” she said.

—Sarah Jane Tribble writes for The Plain Dealer

• The ninth annual Baylor University Sacred Harp Sing is slated for Feb. 6 in the Great Hall of Truett Theological Seminary. The singing will start at 9:30 a.m. After a lunch break, singing will begin again and conclude at 3 p.m. For more information, call (254) 710-2360.

• Dallas Baptist University will hold a preview of the campus Feb. 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. DBU will waive the application fee for students who apply during the preview. A similar event will be held Feb. 15. For more information, call (214) 333-5360.

• Kevin Kirk has been named assistant vice president for enrollment management at Howard Payne University.

• Gary Lamm has been named associate vice president for enrollment management at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. He previously worked in the UMHB financial aid office 12 years.

• Dallas Baptist University awarded degrees to 328 undergraduate, 205 master’s and three doctoral students during winter commencement ceremonies. Marsha Pool, DBU master teacher and professor of mathematics, received an honorary doctor of humanities degree in recognition of more than 40 years of service. She began teaching at the school in 1966.

• Jesse Fletcher’s biography Bill Wallace of China has been re-released. Originally released in 1963, the chronicle of the missionary’s life and death has sold more than 100,000 copies. Fletcher is president emeritus of Hardin-Simmons University.

• Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities has selected 14 East Texas Baptist University students for inclusion. They are Leslie Argil-Garcia, Kara Beall, Nicole Assam, Kushal Hada, Elizabeth Briner, Jennifer Shafer, Hannah Rigg, Laura Baskin, Evan Beaton, Alice Gates, Traci Hudson, Jake Keeling, Amber Peery and Phoebe Theimer.

Deaths

• Paul Pierce, 56, Nov. 25 in Abilene. At the time of his death, he was pastor of Caps Church in Abilene. He previously served as pastor of Hunt Church in Hunt. He is survived by his wife of 24 years, Beverly; sons, Ethan, Aaron, Dylan and Haydn; brothers, Richard and Steven; and sisters, Dawn Thomas, Mary Kirschbaum, Karen Green and Wanda Burke.

• Mike Mahurin, 58, Dec. 14 in Wichita Falls from cancer. He was pastor of Charlie Church in Charlie 15 years until complications from a car accident forced his retirement. Later, the Internet allowed him to continue pastoral counseling. He also taught at Midwestern University. He grew up in Benbrook and was a longtime member of Birchman Church in Fort Worth. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; sons, Daniel and Aaron; daughter, Sarah Hamman; mother, Sandra Mahur-in; brother, Gene; and sister, Dianna Way.

• Rebekah Sue Emanuel, 85, Jan. 3 in Lawton, Okla. Her husband, Bill, was pastor of Shady Grove Church in Greenville and Mayfield Church near Hillsboro while he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in the 1940s. In 1950, the couple served as Foreign Mission Board missionaries to Japan. They resigned for two years in the early 1960s to devote themselves to evangelism in the United States and then were re-appointed to the foreign mission field, this time serving in the Philippines before returning to Japan. They retired to Oklahoma in 1985. She was preceded in death by her husband in 2006. She is survived by her daughters, Elizabeth Litster, Marjorie Hatcher and ReBekah Markham; sons, Paul and Jim; 12 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Events

• Iglesia Getsemani in Fort Worth will hold a note-burning ceremony Jan. 24 during its 11:10 a.m. service. The church took out a 15-year note to build a 22,000-square-foot worship and education building in 2003, but a gift from charter members Leo and Sulema Jimenez allowed the loan to be repaid early. Julio Guarneri is pastor.

• First Church in Devers will hold its 13th annual chili cook-off and gospel sing Jan. 30. Featured singing groups include Crossing Jordan, Hearts of Grace and The Mitsche Family. The chili supper will begin at 5 p.m. and the concert at 6:15 p.m. Admission is free, but an offering will be taken. For more information, call (936) 549-7653. Harry McDaniel is pastor.

Ordained

• Marvin Gonzalez to the ministry at Calvary Church in Bryan.

• Nathan Hale to the ministry at North Park Church in Abilene.

• Bill Adams, Adam Ivy, Ricky Ray and John Weisner as deacons at Calvary Church in Lufkin.