DEL RIO—Christians who minister along the Texas/Mexico border acknowledge life can seem harsh and hopeless at times, as they deal with drugs and human trafficking, poverty, violence, gangs, high student dropout and teen pregnancy rates and the challenges that accompany ever-changing populations.
But in the midst of this, a bilingual e-mail prayer network brings hope and support to the pastors and churches striving to share the hope of Christ.
“These pastors, churches and believers are living under a lot of pressure,” said David Tamez, Texas Baptists’ director of Mexico Missions. “The least I can do is to let them know that they are not alone, that we are praying for each other and give encouragement in the midst of this situation.”
Isolated prayer networks in several communities have existed for several years, but this represents the first attempt by Texas Baptists to form a network that connects evangelical pastors and churches on both sides of the border from El Paso and Juarez to Brownsville and Matamoros so that they can pray for each other’s needs.
Anyone connected to the e-mail prayer network can send prayer requests about ministry or life to Tamez, who then compiles the list and sends it out once a week.
The idea for the network solidified in September when Tomi Grover, Texas Baptists’ director of community care and restorative justice, heard a prayer request from Jeff Johnson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Del Rio, concerning a young pastor who had been beaten by a gang in Acuña, Mexico, for standing up for his faith. Grover asked if she could share the request with Tamez, and he agreed.
Grover passed on the information, and Tamez realized a stronger prayer connection for those involved in border work was needed. He began to organize a weekly prayer e-mail network to connect all the pastors and leaders in churches on both sides of the border to pray for this man as well as other needs and issues faced by border Christian leaders.
Johnson also has been able to connect the network to the goals of Laurraine Huffman, director of Border Prayer Network and Target 7 Ministries in El Paso. Huffman formed her prayer network in 1998 for pastors and churches in El Paso, Juarez, Mexico, and Las Cruces, N.M.
The Target 7 Ministries network focuses on teaching people to pray for the “gates of the city,” which are areas of influence including the government, schools, businesses, the media and entertainment industry, the church and families, so God can bring transformation and demonstrate his glory.
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Texas Baptists interested in joining the prayer network to pray for needs and issues on the border can contact Tamez at david.tamez@texasbaptists.org for more information.
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