ALPHARETTA, Ga. (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention could deploy its nationwide disaster-relief network if the international outbreak of swine flu becomes a pandemic in the United States, said a spokesman for the North American Mission Board.

"Now is the time for Southern Baptists and churches to prepare," Mickey Caison, team leader for NAMB's adult-volunteer mobilization team in Alpharetta, Ga., said in a news release.

Caison said because of its location near the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, NAMB and the CDC have a good working relationship. He said the SBC's 90,000 trained disaster-relief volunteers could be asked to help distribute vaccines and medications and help in inoculation centers. "It would take a lot of manpower to do this in the first three or four days," he said.

Caison said it is unlikely Southern Baptist teams would launch the mass-feeding operations common in other natural and man-made disasters, because in a pandemic nothing should be done to draw a crowd together. Instead, he said, relief workers might adapt to a "meals on wheels" model where food is delivered door to door.

NAMB published information about pandemic flu preparedness on its website after the bird flu outbreak in Asia in 1997.

While most people are familiar with seasonal influenza, it is not usually life-threatening for healthy people, according to the site, but pandemic influenza is another matter. It occurs when a new strain of flu emerges for which there is no vaccine or natural immunity. The virus spreads rapidly through populations, potentially affecting millions of people worldwide.

NAMB says a flu pandemic could also affect local churches by making it more difficult for them to meet for worship or to minister. The largest flu pandemic ever to hit the United States, the 1918-1919 Spanish influenza outbreak that killed an estimated 675,000 Americans and more than 50 million worldwide, prompted many churches to switch from the common cup to individual cups for communion.

The World Health Organization said April 29 the swine flu outbreak is moving closer to a pandemic, but the agency was not quite ready to raise its alert from level 4 to 5 on a scale of 6 for a full pandemic outbreak.

The CDC said April 29 that 91 cases of the disease had been diagnosed in 10 states and reported the nation's first fatality. Officials said they expect more illnesses and deaths in the coming days and weeks.

–Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

DENTON—Students from the Baptist Student Ministries at Texas Woman’s University spent their recent spring break serving a church in Brooklyn, N.Y., participating in ministries ranging from organizing a clothing closet to feeding the homeless to ministering at a women’s shelter. 

“Even in a place as large as New York City, people are still looking for personal connections without any strings attached,” said Devin Perkins, a senior psychology major. 

“No matter where you are the desire for unconditional love is the same, but without Christ it is hard to accept it.”

Students saw the needs of the homeless and responded by making and delivering lunches where several homeless people gathered to cash-in recyclable items for food money.

“The people there aren’t looking for handouts. They just want to talk to a loving person,” said Andrea Eberly, a political science major. “That’s how they saw Christ in us, just through our willingness to listen.”

In addition to the homeless ministry and work at the church, the students were involved in a special night at a women’s shelter for women dealing with substance abuse issues. As they shared testimonies through music and words, students noted the women at the shelter were encouraged by the message of hope and of Christ’s mercy. After the program, the students were able to visit with the women while giving manicures and serving refreshments.

“They just need someone to listen to their story and not judge them. That was the best part of working with the women’s shelter. I was glad to just sit and listen to their stories that they were open to telling,” said Hope Melson, an occupational therapy major.

A group of under-40 evangelicals attending a leadership meeting in Austin announced a new initiative to mobilize American Christians to eliminate nuclear weapons.

"We have all heard about this broadening of the evangelical agenda," said Katie Paris of Faith in Public Life, a progressive group for advancing faith in the public square. "Today something new is happening. Younger Christians are setting the agenda — elevating and acting on an issue that has been off the popular radar for decades. They are engaging politics in a way that is very different from the generation that came before them, defying easy political categorization and breaking through theological division."

Tyler Wigg Stevenson

Tyler Wigg Stevenson, 31, an ordained Baptist minister and member of First Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., is the founding director of the Two Futures Project, a movement of American Christians for the global abolition of nuclear weapons.

"The truth that has been recognized in foreign-policy circles over the past several years must now make its way into the public consciousness," he said in a conference call with reporters to announce the initiative. "In a post 9/11 era the weapons that we relied upon as our ultimate ace in the hole have in fact become the greatest threat to us all."

Wigg Stevenson said the doctrine of mutually assured destruction that produced a stalemate between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War "is now obsolete."

"A two-tiered world of nuclear haves and have-nots will eventually lead to uncontrollable proliferation and an un-deterrable terrorist bomb," he said, "which would not only cause mass casualties but catastrophic economic effects that would leave no corner of the planet untouched."

Wigg Stevenson said nuclear weapons touch on a number of moral concerns, including protection of innocent life, care for creation and concern for the poor. He labeled reliance on weapons of mass destruction "enacted blasphemy."

"Who do we think we are to claim authority over life itself and the welfare of future generations?" he asked. "That power belongs to God alone."

Jonathan Merritt, national spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative, spoke in support of the initiative.

"Nuclear weapons are not only unacceptable, they are un-Christian," Merritt said. "As followers of Jesus we serve a God that abhors the shedding of innocent blood."

"We understand that those that will be affected by the detonation of a nuclear bomb are not numbers," Merritt said. "They are objects of God's love, wonderful creations made in his image."

Merritt said he is aware that some people think the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons worldwide is impossible.

"Calling something impossible is often a tool of distraction employed by those who simply lack moral courage," he said. "As Christians, our decisions must be made on morality, not plausibility. We serve a God through which all things are possible. So when Christians hide behind the skirt of probability, it is the ultimate act of distrust."

Merritt said he supports the Two Futures Project as a Southern Baptist, citing the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message article calling it the duty of Christians to seek peace and do all in their power to end war.

Jonathan Merritt

"Southern Baptists have always placed immense value on human life, which is an important part of the pursuit of peace," Merritt said. "Therefore I find this effort wholly consistent with both my theological convictions and a long-held Baptist belief."

Merritt said he also supports the initiative as a "member of a rising generation of Christ-followers who engage public policy differently than the generation that came before us."

"As we attempt to mirror the ministry of Jesus Christ by promoting compassion and justice and peace, we seek to transcend partisanship, and we welcome the opportunity to partner with people of mutual good will," he said.

Merritt, 26, the son of former Southern Baptist Convention president James Merritt, drew criticism from denominational leaders in March 2008 for spearheading the environmental declaration criticizing convention resolutions as too timid on the issue of climate change.

Recently Merritt wrote an opinion article in USA Today saying Christians should show more compassion to gays. The SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission responded with an e-mail to Baptist journalists citing criticism by the convention's "gender-issues specialist," Bob Stith. Stith said Merritt's article did a "disservice" to evangelicals who are "actively engaged in loving outreach to homosexuals," including the SBC's own Task Force on Ministry to Homosexuals, formed in 2001.

Merritt told Associated Baptist Press he does not expect similar criticism for supporting the Two Futures initiative, because it is endorsed by prominent conservative voices including Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson.

The Southern Baptist Convention adopted resolutions supporting multilateral nuclear disarmament in 1978, 1979, 1982 and 1983. 

The most recent Southern Baptist resolution mentioning nuclear weapons came in 2002. It urged national leaders to prevent terrorist-supporting nations from attaining weapons of mass destruction.

Merritt said he "would love to see" a new SBC resolution affirming those previous stands.

Wigg Stevenson, author of Brand Jesus: Christianity in a Consumerist Age and articles in magazines including Christianity Today, Relevant and Sojourners, unveiled the Two Futures Project at the Q conference, a gathering in Austin, Texas, of about 500 Christian leaders interested in engaging culture for common good.

Wigg Stevenson said he received "an astonishing amount of support" from across the theological and political spectrum. He said in the last few days he received invitations to speak in churches with combined memberships of more than 20,000 people.

–Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

BROWNWOOD—When Christians help hungry people, they earn the right to share the gospel—not only with people in need, but also with a skeptical society, Jim Denison told a conference on ethics and evangelism.

Jim Denison

“The church must respond to hunger if it wishes to reach the culture,” said Denison, Baptist General Convention of Texas theologian-in-residence and founding president of the Center for Informed Faith.

He joined Bill Tillman, the T.B. Maston professor of Christian ethics at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology, in delivering the Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures April 27 at Howard Payne University.

The imperatives of Scripture, the need to offer a holistic response to people in need and the skeptical nature of post-modern society all underscore the necessity of Christians’ response to hunger, Denison insisted.

“The church must respond to hunger if it wishes to obey the Scriptures,” he said. “Hunger is addressed in every category of biblical revelation.”
Denison cited examples from the law, the prophets and wisdom literature in the Old Testament, as well as the Gospels, the epistles and the testimony of the early church in the book of Acts to stress the overwhelming emphasis the Bible gives to the subject of care for the poor and hungry.

Failure to meet the needs of hungry people demonstrates disobedience to Scripture and calls into question the validity of Christians’ claims in the eyes of needy people, he continued.

“I have no right to preach the gospel to a hungry person,” Denison said, quoting BGCT Executive Director Randel Everett, who—through the Texas Hope 2010 challenge—has linked alleviating hunger with sharing the gospel throughout the state.

Bill Tillman

“When we feed the hungry, we demonstrate the relevance of our message,” Denison continued. “We show them God’s love is real when our love is real.”
Response to the problem of hunger demonstrates the gospel’s veracity not only to poor people who benefit from Christians’ acts of caring ministry, but also to the larger culture, he emphasized.

“The church must respond to hunger if it would earn the right to speak to our culture,” Denison said. “Why must we earn that right? Because you and I are living in a time of unprecedented skepticism in the Western world with regard to historic Christianity.”

According to the American Religious Identification Survey, the number of Americans who describe themselves as Christian dropped from 86 percent to 76 percent, he noted. Furthermore, the number who say they have “no religion” doubled to nearly 15 percent, and the number of self-identified atheists and agnostics in the United States is nearly twice the number of Episcopalians.

Spiritual trends in Europe are even more discouraging to Christians, he added, but Christianity is flourishing in Asia, Africa and Latin America where “more people are becoming Christians every day than at any time in Christian history,” he said.

“Why are we not seeing such an advance in Western Europe and North America? Because we live in a post-modern culture which considers truth to be personal, subjective and individual. In our culture, religion is a hobby, a matter of personal preference with no transcendent meaning or truth,” Denison said.

Consequently, he concluded, non-Christians in American and European culture no longer view the church as relevant to their lives and needs.
However, Denison asserted the 21st century will look more like the first century than any time in-between, and just as the early church “turned the world upside-down” by showing a skeptical culture the love of God by acts of love, the church today can do the same thing.

“The first century church demonstrated the rightness of its faith by the relevance of its ministry,” he said. “Culture today believes if it’s relevant, it might be right. If we feed hungry bodies, it earns us the right to feed souls.”

Tillman, likewise, stressed the biblical imperative of meeting the needs of hungry people, as wella as the way living out that imperative can be transforming—both to the recipients of ministry and to Christians who are involved in it.

The “weight of evidence”—hundreds of references in the Bible to matters related to hunger and poverty—demonstrates the importance of the subject to God, he asserted.

“So much attention is given to the matters of hunger that one surely can begin to put together where some of the will of God lives, where kingdom emphases are and where creative thinking on the part of Christians needs to be applied,” he said.

Tillman presented a five-part approach examining biblical principles and applying them to social issues—“thou shalt not,” “thou shalt,” “I must,” “I will” and “I am.” Matters related to hunger and poverty fit each of these categories, from the negative and positive commands to personal internalizing of the principles.

“I suggest that Scripture can inspire us with regard to hunger in this world, illuminate our hearts and minds with regard to these matters interrelated. As well, I will add … integration and implementation. For, bringing to bear Scripture on life we can find integration for our own selves,” Tillman said.

“In short, extending literal food to another in the name of Jesus demonstrates we have an extraordinary understanding of God’s message to humanity of how to be related to one another and to God. Nothing can be so authenticating to ourselves and others as to what it means to live the Christian life.”

Gary and Molli Elliston of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas established the Currie-Strickland lectures in honor of David Currie, executive director of Texas Baptists Committed, and in memory of Phil Strickland, longtime director of the BGCT Christian Life Commission.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — With an African-American population estimated as high as 50 million, the "blight of racism" is "still an epidemic assailing" the United States, writer Maya Angelou said April 24 at the Southeast regional gathering of the New Baptist Covenant April 24 and 25 at Wake Forest University.

Angelou, Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest, gave the opening address of the two-day meeting in Wait Chapel on the university campus.

"I am a Baptist myself," said Angelou, who attends Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. She said being a Baptist, like being a Christian, is a process of "learning and growing and daring to love somebody who does not look like you."

"I refuse to allow any man-made reason separate me from other children of God," Angelou said. "I am a human being. Nothing human can be alien to me."

"At some point I think we have to stop and recognize that human beings are more alike than we are different," she said.

Richard Pierard, professor emeritus of history at Indiana State University, said in a workshop session Baptists have played a significant role in shaping black identity in the United States.

"The Baptist faith gave meaning to people who were oppressed and marginalized" by racism, Pierard said. "The Baptist faith sustained these folks who were caught in the oppressive system of slavery."

While millions of black and white Americans share a Baptist heritage, the vast majority of them worship in churches that are segregated.

"We must work on inclusiveness," said Geneva Brown, a member of First Baptist Church Highland Avenue in Winston-Salem. "You go to any church on Sunday and it is usually segregated — black and white."

Sir Walter Mack, pastor of Union Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., said one of the greatest challenges for Baptist identity in the future is achieving racial unity.

"Our churches indeed segregate congregations and keep ourselves separated from other believers just because they are different from us," Mack said.

Richard Pierard talks about Baptist identity in a workshop

Mack said he couldn't help but notice how the election of America's first black president brought people together at his predominantly African-American church. "Even people who did not vote for President Obama were happy that we have overcome some racial challenges," Mack said.

Pierard said he thinks Christ "would like a church that has different cultures in it."

The meeting in Winston-Salem was the third of four regional New Baptist Covenant gatherings scheduled this year. The New Baptist Covenant Midwest gathering, scheduled Aug. 6-7 in Norman, Okla., will feature testimonies by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts,

Messages will be given by Wade Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist in Enid, Okla., and past president of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, Major Jemison, pastor of St. John's Missionary Baptist in Oklahoma City and past president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, and Ellis Orozco, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of McAllen, Texas,

The gatherings continue commitments made at a national New Baptist Covenant Celebration in Atlanta last year that brought more than 15,000 Baptists from various Baptist groups in North America.

Bill Leonard, dean of Wake Forest Divinity School, said it was the largest interracial gathering of Baptists ever held in the United States.

This year's gatherings also commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the worldwide Baptist movement.

PLAINVIEW—When Katie Trimble signed on to serve as a Baptist Student Ministries intern at Wayland Baptist University, she anticipated a special year. What she didn’t expect is that she would get to “see the world” without ever leaving Plainview.

Trimble, who graduated from Wayland last year, stayed on at her alma mater as a volunteer with Go Now Missions through the Baptist General Convention of Texas. And during the one-year term, she’s confirmed her call to minister to college students—with a bit of a twist.

“While we were planning this year, we decided that one big part of my job would be to work with international students, which we really hadn’t done much of before,” Trimble said. “We got lots of ideas from other campuses about what they do and just sort of started from scratch.

“We wanted to focus on this because it wasn’t a big focus anyone else was doing. We just wanted them to know that we were here for them if they needed anything.”

BSM leadership students and Trimble made themselves available to international students for rides to the grocery store, help with doctor visits and other day-to-day needs.

“We forget sometimes that many of them don’t have cars or don’t know the lingo here as much as we do,” she said. “They just sometimes need a hand.”

Trimble began the year making contact with all the international students on campus—many of them connected to Wayland’s athletic programs—and beginning a series of monthly dinner nights where students shared dishes from their home countries.

Anika Voigt of Germany, a Wayland Baptist University student, tries out the roller coaster seat before boarding a ride at Sea World San Antonio.

That effort proved a success from the standpoint of just getting to know the students and letting them share a piece of their own heritage, instead of just acclimating them to American traditions, Trimble said. About two-dozen students regularly participated.

“I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much,” she said. “The students are good cooks and really enjoy sharing their culture.”

In October, the BSM took 12 students to the Wayland cabin in Glorieta, N.M., for a long weekend retreat to relax and enjoy the mountains. Similar BSM programs from Texas Tech and West Texas A&M joined them at the retreat; so, the internationals got to visit with peers from nearby schools.

The year-long outreach effort culminated recently in a trip to Austin and San Antonio, where about a dozen students enjoyed sightseeing at the state capitol and Sixth Street and had fun at Sea World and a San Antonio Spurs basketball game.

“We wanted to give them a chance to see more of Texas and experience our culture as well,” said Trimble, who noted a marked difference in the relationships between internationals from the start of the school year.

The students said the experience was enjoyable, and they got a glimpse of a new world in a different part of Texas.

“I loved it. It was cool to get of town and see the sights,” said Anika Voigt, a sophomore from Potsdam, Germany, who plays on the Wayland Pioneers volleyball team. “My favorite part was Sea World and the Riverwalk. It was very pretty there, and I was surprised at how pretty San Antonio is. It reminds me more of home with more trees and water.”

Voigt and Marcos Chenthitta, a senior from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, said they enjoyed the educational aspects of the trip as well, even though it was during a break from school.

“The capitol in Austin was very pretty, and we learned a lot about the state and the city of Austin. We got to learn on this trip too,” said Chenthitta, who is studying business.     Latanya Nation, a sophomore from Jamaica, enjoyed the chance to see another side of Austin besides the place where she’s competed as part of the track and field team.

“I enjoyed every moment of the trip,” Nation said, including the van ride there. “I enjoyed the capitol building, and we got to see the old stuff and the historical things, and learned a lot that we didn’t know. I really enjoyed the rides at Sea World, too, and the shows and animal exhibits.”

Her first time on a rollercoaster admittedly was scary at first, but Nation said the trip was a great getaway for her and other international students.

“We got to know Katie better, so that was good too,” Voigt said. “We are pretty far away from home, but we’re just like the other kids.”

That sentiment sums up the reason the BSM set its goal to reach out to internationals, Trimble said. And while the students may have benefited from new friends, new experiences and helping hands, Trimble said she’s grown herself from the yearlong ministry.

“It’s been awesome for me. I was nervous about what to do or how it would work out,” she said. “But it’s been so good just to get to know them and see them come to trust us as friends. I see things with a whole new view of the world.”

While conversations about faith are a natural part of the process at a Baptist university, Trimble said just reaching out to students with unique needs has been the first priority.

“They are open to talk about religion and what they believe,” she said. “We really want to just love them and show them Christ’s love.”

Trimble will accompany students on a mission trip to England this summer to close out her time with Wayland. Students will be working with two churches, leading Bible schools for children specifically.

Trimble emphasized her internship experience has helped her discover her passion for ministry, and she believes college students are a group she’s called to serve. International students are also special to her as a ministry field—one she might not have discovered if not for this year’s experience.

ROUND ROCK—Gina Bradshaw didn’t realize a five-hour drive to visit her daughter at the University of Texas in Austin would lead to a community-wide effort to help Texas Baptist Children’s Home, but she’s glad it did.

Sixteen high school students and two teachers from Garrison made the 250-mile trek from their East Texas hometown to deliver much-needed food items and provide some hard labor.

“Honestly, I was surprised they wanted to come this far,” said Brenda Gilbert, volunteer coordinator at Texas Baptist Children’s Home , part of Children at Heart Ministries. “They are the only school that has made such a long drive just to help us out.”

The idea came about after Bradshaw, a member of Holly Springs Baptist Church in Garrison , passed the children’s home campus on her way to visit her daughter at college. Seeing the home reignited a long-held desire to help, in some small measure, the children who live there.

“I’ve always said I wanted to do some service at a children’s home,” she said. “And because we are such a small community, we don’t have the opportunity to do this type of outreach very often.”

Bradshaw approached the principal at Garrison High School, where she is the business teacher, and found him supportive—so supportive he encouraged the whole school to become involved.

Bradshaw also is the adviser to the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which took the lead in raising money and collecting 1,000 boxes of cereal for the children’s home.

“We feed 150 residents on this campus every day,” Gilbert noted. “So, cereal and other breakfast foods are a huge help to house parents.”

Bradshaw worked with another faculty member, Leslie Nichols, to help sponsor the trip, but she gives most of the credit to the students who were involved.

“The kids really turned up the heat on this one,” she said. “Everyone got excited about this project. Kids held signs out by the bus stop and held fund-raisers. Even our churches began holding cereal box drives to help out. It really became a community effort.”

After arriving in Round Rock on a Sunday afternoon, the group had barely put their bags down before joining the children on campus for chapel and then heading out to buy supplies to refurbish the recreation room inside the children’s home activity center.

The student volunteers also repainted a relief apartment adjacent to a family care cottage.

“This was probably one of the best groups I’ve ever worked with,” Gilbert said. “The kids are just so polite, and everyone was willing to do whatever needed to be done. They were just wonderful.”

Besides experiencing their first school-sponsored road trip, the students from Garrison High took away something else back home with them to East Texas.

“It’s pretty eye opening,” said Lauren Lackey, a Garrison High School student. “Being here makes us appreciate our parents and just how good we have it.”

And the Garrison students were happy to help the children.

“These kids have gotten so much out of this experience just by doing something for someone other than themselves,” Bradshaw said. “I hope, more than anything, that they have learned the joy of serving others. That alone more than makes up for the miles.”

Morehouse College President Robert Franklin recently inducted Joel Gregory, professor at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, into the Martin Luther King Jr. International College of Preachers.

The College of Preachers recognizes pulpiteers who embody the principles of peace, justice and reconciliation proclaimed by Martin Luther King Jr. Gregory recently was the keynote speaker at the 142nd Founders Day Celebration at Morehouse School of Religion.

“American history does not know a preacher who moves with such ease and grace across what many have considered the unbridgeable chasm of race as does Joel Gregory,” Presidential Medal of Freedom Winner Gardner C. Taylor said. “Possessed of a rare integrity in the proclamation of the Savior’s gospel with stellar gifts as a preacher and a heart strangely warmed, Joel Gregory is messenger of Christ to all of America.”

This induction followed other recognitions of Gregory’s cross-cultural preaching. At the National Mighty Men of Valor conference at Valley Forge, Pa., Gregory was recognized with the “Man Behind the Men” award for his influence on both preachers and laity in cross-cultural ministry. Conference director Cliff Ashe presented the award.

Recently, Gregory was the first Anglo preacher to address the Prairie View A&M Pastor’s Conference in the 59-year history of the conference at the historic African-American university.

Commenting on Gregory’s cross-cultural preaching, Robert Smith Jr. of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School said, “As one of the most effective preachers of the gospel in the English-speaking world, Joel Gregory builds a bridge between the black and white culture without compromising the uniqueness of human personality.”

This summer, for the fifth year, Gregory will lead a group of predominantly African-American preachers in an intensive study of preaching at Regents Park College, Oxford University under the sponsorship of Georgetown College in Kentucky.

DALLAS— Every Sunday morning 8-year-old Omar Quintero wakes up, combs his hair and jumps on a church bus just in time to make it to Bible study at the Amigos de Dios mission of Park Cities Baptist Church.

Omar is one of about 125 people who attend the Spanish congregation. Many are Mexican immigrants or children of immigrants—like Omar—living in the Vickery Meadows Community in Dallas.

Amigos de Dios started in the summer of 2007, when seven people began meeting in a crowded office at the Park Cities missions building, said Sam Silva, a Buckner International staff member and pastor of Amigos de Dios.

“We got so big that by the summer of 2007, we moved to a conference room in the missions office and by 2008 we were meeting in the church gym.”

The money for that outreach came from the Wise Trust, a $500,000 donation given by Leola Lyons Wise after her death. The money was to be used for missions.

“Our stated purpose was to seek to meet the needs of the community and to do everything possible to encourage those living in Vickery to join Park Cities Baptist Church,” said Bob Hefner, chair of the committee in charge of allocating the Wise donation.

“Therefore we feel we have honored Ms. Wise’s hope and that the gift, which continues to support our efforts at Vickery, has been of substantial kingdom-building benefit, for which we give God all the glory.”

Victorino and Angelica Trujillo were two of the original seven people to join Amigos de Dios. They said they remember the first time they walked in to Park Cities. They loved it, but they didn't understand what the preacher was saying. (PHOTOS/Analiz Gonzalez Schremmer/Buckner)

When Spanish-speaking families from Vickery, where Buckner operated a community center, started going to the church, they encountered a language barrier. So, the church launched its Spanish-language Bible study, which has grown into a thriving congregation.

The love demonstrated by church members and the power of the Scriptures to touch her heart kept Mayra Falcon, 20, attending Amigos de Dios.

“I went to church as a kid, but it was here that the message of the Bible penetrated. So I stayed,” she said in Spanish. “I love the fellowship and how they treat each other here— how they love each other.

“I don’t mind that we are the minority. Even though our services are separated, there are times in which we all come together and we know that we are seen as equals. The important thing is that we all stay together and keep learning from each other so that we can be better Christians and learn about the word.”

Buckner International has partnered with Park Cities Baptist to serve the children and families in the Vickery Meadows community more than 10 years.

“The collaboration that Buckner has with Park Cities is one that we would like to duplicate with other churches,” said Felipe Garza, vice president of national operations at Buckner. “We want to integrate the church into the community and the community into the church life, as well.

“Here is a large, predominantly Anglo church, which has a largely Hispanic community as a next-door neighbor. Well, the church saw it as a mission field across the street and they put funding into the collaboration with Buckner, established Kids Hope USA (a mentoring program) and Cool Kids to serve children in the area, and then started a Bible study that became a Spanish congregation.”

Two of the many members who have benefited from the collaboration are Victorino and Angélica Trujillo. They were some of the first to join the group and clearly remember the days when they used to meet in the crowded office.

“The first time we walked in, we went to the English service,” she said. “We were under-dressed and couldn’t understand most of what was said, but we liked it. We started meeting with Sam in an office with five other people.

“When we were baptized, we emerged from the water with peace, and we’ve grown in our relationship with God. God has blessed us so much that people wouldn’t believe us if we told them.”

Her husband said at first, it felt odd to be the minority in the church.

“But God doesn’t care about the color of your skin. He just loves you and we know that. In some places you will experience racism. But it isn’t like that here. It’s different that way.”

OTUTULU, Nigeria—A volunteer team of Houston, San Antonio and Brownville-area health care professionals treated about 1,200 orphaned children and needy families in Nigeria during a one-week trip sponsored by Children’s Emergency Relief International.

The doctors, nurses, dentist and other health care providers treated resident of the Ministry of Mercy orphanage and villagers in Otutulu, Nigeria.

“The need for medical care in rural villages throughout Nigeria is tremendous. Each time CERI leads a mission trip to Africa or other impoverished countries, we are reminded how important it is that volunteers, like the team members on this trip, share their healing gifts with struggling children and families throughout the world,” said Dearing Garner, executive director of CERI, the overseas arm of Baptist Child & Family Services.

“We can’t heal the whole world on a single trip, but our organization and our devoted supporters will continue to reach as far as we can to touch the lives of those who are hurting.”

Family Physician Saul Camacho, a member of First Baptist Church in Brownsville, provided medical care to residents of Ministry of Mercy orphanage in Nigeria. (PHOTOS/CERI)

The Texas team—joined by volunteers from Georgia and Colorado—distributed more than 500 pounds of medication and provided treatment ranging from neonatal care to geriatrics, dealing with issues such as typhoid, malaria, abscesses, chronic pain and wound care.

“It was a life changing experience to see the satisfaction and smile on each person’s face after receiving the care they needed,” said David Marks, a physician from San Antonio. “It was all worth it for them to know that someone cared about them. It really is a testament that people can make a difference in this world.”

The Ministry of Mercy orphanage provides care for more than 230 children and teenagers, including many with special medical needs.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— The WMU Foundation board of trustees recently awarded $163,445 to boost missions work in North America and around the world.

Of the total amount, $75,000 was awarded from the Vision Fund to support the ministries of national Woman’s Missionary Union, and $50,000 was awarded from the Joy Fund to support the operational needs of the national missions organization.

“We are so appreciative of our partnership with the WMU Foundation and the support they provide to WMU,” said WMU Executive Director-Treasurer Wanda Lee.

“We continue to be faithful to the mission to which God has called us, and the advancement of WMU continues thanks to faithful members and donors who recognize the immense value of missions education and involvement for all ages in the church.”

Sylvia DeLoach of Richardson, chair of the WMU Foundation, said that despite a challenging economy, God continues to provide through the sacrificial giving of missional people across the country.

“We are grateful that God continues to bless us as we seek to follow him and fulfill his purpose in our lives,” she said. “It’s such an encouragement to national WMU staff members and leadership, as well as the WMU Foundation, to know that so many churches and individuals are standing with them and praying for them. The more we all continue to give, the more we are able to make a world of difference.”

An additional $38,445 was awarded in grants, scholarships to MKs, and other awards, including two grants from the Lillian Isaacs Endowment to support literacy missions. This year marks the 50th anniversary of literacy missions begun by former home missionary Lillian Isaacs, who served as a pioneer in that field for many years. Recipients of funds from this endowment to support their literacy missions efforts are First Baptist Church, Machesney Park, Ill., and a Christian Women’s Job Corps site in north Houston.

WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Interfaith Alliance and Jews on First called on President Obama to proclaim an "inclusive" national day of prayer May 7 instead of endorsing a National Day of Prayer Task Force headed by Shirley Dobson.

Signed by Interfaith Alliance president Welton Gaddy and Jews on First co-directors Jane Hunter and Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, the letter dated April 21 said the National Day of Prayer, established by President Truman, several years ago was taken over by "exclusivists" in a group that "systematically excludes Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Catholics and even mainline Christians from National Prayer Day events it conducts around the United States."

For the last eight years, the wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, organized National Day of Prayer ceremonies in the East Room at the White House. That drew criticism from religious liberty groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State claiming the event had been hijacked by the Religious Right and used for a political agenda.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force says on its website the National Day of Prayer is for people of all faiths, but the task force represents a "Judeo-Christian" expression of the observance. Part of its mission statement is "mobilizing the Christian community" to pray for America, and 40,000 volunteer coordinators implementing local events are expected to adhere to "biblical principles through Jesus Christ."

According to Religion News Service, a spokesman said in the past a White House liaison contacted the National Day of Prayer Task Force asking about participation in White House events but this year the organization hasn't "heard a peep" from the Obama administration.

Joshua DuBois, executive director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, told RNS it is too early to be talking about planning for the event.

In the meantime, the task force plans to broadcast its Capitol Hill service from 9 a.m. till noon on Thursday, May 7, live via webcast and through GOD TV on Direct TV and Sky Angel.

Honorary co-chair for this year's event is Beth Moore, an author and Bible teacher who attends First Baptist Church in Houston. Also taking part are NFL coach Tony Dungy, entertainer Ricky Skaggs and NASCAR legend and current Fox Sports analyst Darrell Waltrip.

The Interfaith Alliance/Jews on First letter discouraged President Obama from issuing a separate proclamation to the National Day of Prayer Task Force, claiming the group has a record of using such statements to raise the status of its events.

The letters said making the group's events appear to be official and endorsed by the government crosses First Amendment lines separating government from religion.

Instead the leaders urged Obama to issue "a single proclamation for the day that calls for an Inclusive National Day of Prayer and Reflection that restores and reflects our nation's best values by explicitly inviting clergy from diverse faith traditions to participate equally and fully — especially in events held on government property."

–Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.