DALLAS—Several hundred junior high and high school students participated in the Texas Bill Drive state finals May 1, drilling against each other in the areas of finding Scripture and reciting Scripture.

During the state speakers’ tournament, high school students presented a four- to six-minute speech meant to encourage someone in their faith.

Dickie Dunn, discipleship specialist with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, praised the work of all the students who competed. Each spent many hours on their own, with the help of their parents and with the help of people within their respective churches pouring over Scripture.

That time spent with the Bible, Dunn said, helps biblical teaching become an integral part of students’ lives. It affects the way they view decisions, other people and the world, and make an impact on their actions accordingly. Through Scripture memorization, these students are laying the foundation for becoming the next generation of church leaders.

“Everyone goes home a winner because of what we have done to protect Scripture in our hearts,” Dunn said. “We then can recall it and share it.”

After thousands of students across Texas participated in the Bible Drill and speakers competitions, these students placed in their respective categories. First-place winners will go on to compete in national tournaments, which will be held in Dallas June 25.

Joshua Cameron (left) from First Baptist Church in Cleveland, earned first-place and Casey Fountain from First Baptist Church in Center took second place in the Texas Baptist Speakers Tournament.

Christa Juneau (left) from Cornerstone Baptist Church in Cleveland took first place and Jessie Price from First Baptist Church in Atlanta placed second in High School Bible Drill. (PHOTOS/Texas Baptist Communications)

In the youth Bible Drill, Jacob Walters of First Baptist Church in Albany took first-place honors, and Silas Henderson from First Baptist Church in Atlanta placed second.

In the high school Bible Drill competition, Christa Juneau from Cornerstone Baptist Church in Cleveland placed first, and Jessie Price from First Baptist Church in Atlanta placed second.

Joshua Cameron from First Baptist Church in Cleveland placed first in the speakers’ tournament, and Casey Fountain from First Baptist Church in Center placed second.

AUSTIN—Congregations looking for assistance in helping hungry children this summer can get it from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In communities where more than 50 percent of children or youth are eligible for free or reduced lunch programs at school, the USDA and Texas Department of Agriculture are offering to provide free food for congregations willing to serve as distribution or feeding points. To qualify, churches must commit by June 15 to being part of the program.

The USDA is providing funds for the food, and the Texas Department of Agricul-ture is administrating the program on the state level.

Last year, Texas schools served an average of 2.1 million lunches for free or reduced prices to students from lower-income families each day. However, during the summer, fewer than 322,000 lunches were served at no cost each day. Texas has the highest rate of child food insecurity in the nation.

Increasing summer meal service for children is one goal of the Texas Hunger Initiative, a partnership be-tween Texas Baptists and the Baylor University School of Social Work aiming to end hunger in Texas by 2015.

If the USDA provides the food, a church cannot perform evangelistic efforts during the meal, but the food distribution period time can be worked into a larger program, such as Vacation Bible School, that has spiritual components, officials with the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission explained.

For example, churches can pray and share the gospel during an optional time just prior to distributing food. They can also share the gospel in an optional time after the food distribution.

For more information about participating in the Summer Food Service Program, call (888) 244-9400.

HARLINGEN—A new treatment for cancer patients that kills cancer cells with electricity while not harming surrounding healthy tissue was performed for the first time in Texas at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen.

Daniel Fuentes, an interventional radiologist, performed the state’s first NanoKnife procedure, which uses electricity instead of heat or freezing temperatures to destroy cancer cells. Valley Baptist is only the seventh hospital in the nation to offer the new procedure.

The first patient, Joseph Wanja, a 68-year-old Brownsville resident, was recovering and doing well following the minimally invasive procedure at Valley Baptist. He was the fourth lung cancer patient in the United States to benefit from the new technology, and Valley Baptist is the second hospital in the country to perform a lung procedure with the NanoKnife.

“In some cases, this technology is an alternative to surgery,” Fuentes said. “The procedure is done with anesthesia, so the patient doesn’t feel any pain. With many patients, we’re talking about a faster recovery, with less discomfort, and fewer side effects.”

Some patients treated with the NanoKnife require a brief stay in the hospital, while others are able to go home within 24 hours.

“This was a minimally invasive procedure. Dr. Fuentes poked six electrodes into my lung, and I’m ready to go home the next day,” said Wanja, a retired meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Brownsville.

As an interventional radiologist, Fuentes uses ultrasound or computed tomography imaging as a guide while inserting the NanoKnife’s small needle electrodes into areas where cancerous tumors exist. A series of high-voltage electrical pulses are sent through the tumor, with each pulse lasting less than a second.

Fuentes, a graduate of the John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., said the precisely targeted electric pulses may be thought of as “molecular surgery” at the level of the cell.

“All that the electricity does is to create tiny holes in cell membranes, causing the cells to die,” he said.

“Nanotechnology” refers to the technology involved in working on a microscopic level—as small as individual molecules and atoms. So, the “NanoKnife” actually is an electrical field—not a knife—that can be targeted precisely to poke tiny holes in tumor cells, while not affecting adjacent organs.

“With the NanoKnife, we can treat tumors that are next to an intestine, kidney, the urinary system or other critical organs,” Fuentes said.

“One of the great strengths of the NanoKnife is it uses electricity to open little holes in the cell membranes, so every cell in the treatment area dies. But what is really amazing about the NanoKnife is that it doesn’t alter or destroy adjacent tissue. So, after the treatment, adjacent, noncancerous cells migrate in and replace the dead cancer cells. There is evidence that the healthy cells will grow back and regenerate, instead of leaving a hole in the organ. This helps the organ to continue to function.”

Todd Shenkenberg, an oncologist in Harlingen who referred the first NanoKnife patient, said in many cases, the new technology will benefit local patients and families by allowing them to stay in the Rio Grande Valley when they need treatment instead of having to travel to distant cities such as Houston.

ABILENE—Our House and Baptist Child & Family Services have announced plans to work together to provide much needed transitional services to struggling young adults in Abilene.

Since Our House has a history of serving homeless youth in Abilene, and BCFS has provided transitional living services to at-risk youth, the two agencies offer mutually beneficial services to young adults in need.

“Making the transition into adulthood is a big step for every young adult; but it can be an even tougher move for those who do not have a parent or guardian to look to for guidance and support,” said Terri Hipps, BCFS executive director of Teen and Youth Services.

“That’s why we are excited to get the wheels turning on plans to establish Abilene’s first transition center for at-risk youth. With the support of community members, I know we’re going to make a big difference in the lives of Abilene youth who are struggling to survive.”

BCFS has received $25,000 from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to plan Abilene’s first Youth Transition Center.

Transition centers offer case management, counseling, shelter and basic life-skills training to young adults. Additionally, centers serve as a resource where at-risk and foster youth can receive information on health care, housing, the job market, education and fi-nances. The goal of transitions centers is to prepare young adults to lead independent, lawful lives once they are out on their own.

Truett offers Pillars event for senior adults. Pillars: A Celebration of Seniors, the first conference and retreat for senior adults sponsored by Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, will feature keynote speaker Grant Teaff, Baylor’s former head football coach, and workshops on missions, grandparenting, estate planning and overcoming anxiety in personal evangelism. “Affirming our Heritage” is the theme of the May 24-26 event in Waco. Featured speakers include Bill O’Brien, former executive vice president with the Foreign Mission Board and past president of the American Society of Missiology; Paul Powell, dean emeritus of Truett Theological Seminary; Alan Lefever, director of the Texas Baptist Historical Collection; and Cindy Wiles, executive director of Global Connection Partnership Network. Cost of the event is $49, which includes snacks, all meals on Tuesday and breakfast on Wednesday. For more information or to register, contact Angela Bailey at (254) 710-6080 or angela_bailey@baylor.edu.

Logsdon professor named to interfaith parliament’s board. Rob Sellers, Connally Professor of Missions and professor of missions ministry in Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology, has been elected to the board of trustees of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Twice a year, Sellers will attend trustee meetings in Chicago, where his duties will include helping to plan the next World Parliament Congress in 2014. “I am deeply committed to the work of interfaith relations, and I believe that relationship is crucial to one’s being an effective, respectful Christian witness in the world,” he said. Sellers serves locally, nationally and internationally on other interfaith organizations, including the Interfaith Relations Commission of the National Council of Churches and the Baptist-Muslim Relations Commission of the Baptist World Alliance.

Logsdon dean named HSU provost. Tommy Brisco has been named provost and chief academic officer at Hardin-Simmons University by HSU President Lanny Hall, effective June 1. Brisco has served as dean of Logsdon School of Theology and Logsdon Seminary on the HSU campus since 2003. He is an author, professor, minister and archeologist. He replaces former provost Bill Ellis who left Hardin-Simmons to become president of Howard Payne University last fall. Brisco is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University, and he earned his master’s degree and doctorate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

DBU receives gift from Hillcrest Foundation. The Dallas-based Hillcrest Foundation has provided a $500,000 gift to Dallas Baptist University for construction of the Patty and Bo Pilgrim Chapel. The 80,000-square-foot structure opened last fall. The Hillcrest Foundation has given $3.3 million to DBU over the last 40 years. Gifts have helped in building the International Center, the Tom and Alicia Landry Welcome Center, the John G. Mahler Student Center and Spence Hall student dormitory.

• Three Tarrant Association churches are teaming up to celebrate their adoption of the Celebrating Grace Hymnal with a hymnody workshop and joint congregational concert. Gambrell Street and Agape churches in Fort Worth and Ash Creek Church in Azle will hold a hymnody workshop at Gambrell Street May 22 from 9:30 a.m to 2:30 p.m. The workshop will feature Terry York of Truett Seminary, David Music of Baylor University, Stan Moore of the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute and Mark Edwards, vice president and worship resource manager for the hymnal. Topics will include “Hymns for a Lifetime of Worship and De-votion,” “History of Baptist Hymnody” and “Trends in Hymnody.” Several rounds of singing from the host churches will be interspersed through-out the day. The weekend will culminate with a joint worship service at Agape at 6 p.m. May 23. Both events are free, but people wishing to participate in the Saturday lunch for $6 need to make reservations at (817) 926-1785.

• Dillon International will hold a free adoption information meeting at 6 p.m. May 27 at the Buckner Children’s Home campus in Dallas. A representative will give an overview of adoption from China, Korea, Haiti, India, Hong Kong and Nepal, plus new opportunities in Ghana. A domestic adoption program for Texas families and adoption programs in Russia, Ethiopia and Honduras, available through an affiliation with Buckner, also will be discussed. For more information or a reservation to attend the meeting, call (214) 319-3426.

• The annual Hispanic Preaching Conference at Baptist University of the Américas has been renamed Congreso Hispano de Predicacion Rudy Sanchez. Rudy Sanchez died in February 2009 after a ministry that included pastorates in Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. He was the first Hispanic elected chair of the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

• The Logsdon School of Theology at Hardin-Simmons University has named René Maciel, president of the Baptist University of the Américas, and David Morgan, pastor of Trinity Church in Harker Heights, as distinguished alumni.

• Kelly Duguay has been selected to serve as program director of Baptist Child & Family Services’ extended-care program for its international children’s services division. The international children’s services division is a program of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. The program provides shelter and care to unaccompanied children from foreign countries while the federal government determines the appropriate next steps toward reconnecting youth with their families.

• Sue Kavli has been named Dallas Baptist University’s faculty member of the year. She has taught in the College of Business and Gary Cook Graduate School of Leadership since 2005, serving as a professor of research and leadership. She and her husband, Steve, are members of First Church in Lewisville.

• Virginia Burroughs, Maridell Fryar and Royston Crane Jr. have been named to Hardin-Simmons University’s Hall of Leaders.

• Rosa Esparza, a member of the San Marcos Baptist Academy laundry staff, was honored for 45 years of service.

• Two Howard Payne University students were honored at the National Christian College Forensics Association’s national championships. Freshman Charity Chambers was the most decorated novice speaker at the tournament. She was national champion in informative speaking and also the first place novice parliamentary debate speaker. For the total of her efforts, she was named individual novice sweepstakes champion. Adam Hardy, a sophomore, was named national champion in open division program oral interpretation.

• Joseph Perez, vice president of the pastoral services department for Valley Baptist Health System in Harlingen, received the outstanding local leadership award from the Association of Professional Chaplains.

• Cherry Sorrels, transportation coordinator at East Texas Baptist University, received the Leading By Example Award at the school’s Women of Distinction luncheon.

• Wayland Baptist University packed a time capsule with blue jeans, flip flops, a sling backpack, an MP3 player, current magazines, a 44-cent postage stamp and numerous other items representing the current culture. The last thing added to the capsule was a list of predictions for the future and current challenges. The capsule was buried outside the Gates Hall porch and is set to be opened in 2058.

Anniversaries

• North Park Church in Abilene, 75th, May 20-23. Revival services will take place May 20-22, with former staff members Randy Evans and Jonathan Jones preaching and leading worship. A celebration service will be held Sunday morning. A hamburger supper will be held at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and a barbecue lunch will follow Sunday’s service. A service of music and memories will begin at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. To make a reservation for the meals, call (325) 672-5300. Louis Johnson is pastor.

• Mike Woodard, 25th, at Southwest Park Church in Abilene, May 23. He began his service at the church as associate pastor and has been pastor the last 22 years. A reception will be held in his honor at 5 p.m., followed by a recognition service at 6 p.m.

• Phil Tilden, 70th, in ministry, May 25. He was the founding pastor of Sunrise Church in Kerrville, and the church will hold a recognition service in his honor May 30 at 6 p.m. A reception will follow. He is pastor of First Christian Church in Fredericksburg.

Retiring

• Nathan Booth, as pastor of Pidcoke Church in Gatesville, March 7. He was in ministry 60 years. A graduate of Howard Payne University, he was pastor of several churches in Central and South Texas. He and his wife, Joyce, served as missionaries in Guadalajara, Mexico, nine years. While serving in Mexico, they founded the Spanish Language School and the Lincoln School, where missionaries and their children study before going to the countries where they will serve. He was pastor of the Gatesville church more than eight years, and they continue to live there.

Deaths

• Travis Crutchfield Jr., 56, April 15 in Austin. A graduate of Southwestern Seminary, he was pastor of several Texas churches. For several years, he was nursing home minister for Abilene Association. He was a member of First Church in Buffalo Gap. He was preceded in death by his father, Travis Crutchfield. He is survived by his wife of 16 years, Linda; brother, Stanley; sister, Karen Blazi; and mother, Doris Crutchfield.

• J.D. Bowman, 86, May 2 in Lancaster. A retiree from the Dallas County clerk’s office, he also was a bivocational music minister at First Church in Richardson, Park Street Church in Greenville and Pleasant Run Church in Lancaster. He helped start DeSoto Church in DeSoto as music minister there. He also served First Church in Hutchins as minister of education. He was a member of First Church in Lancaster. He was preceded in death by his son, Reggie; and brothers, T.C. and Allen. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Virginia; sons Rodney, Ernie and Terry; brother, Oral; 13 grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren.

Event

• J. Gordon Henry will conduct a prayer seminar at Windsor Park Church in DeSoto May 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Topics will include how to establish prayer as a daily priority; how to organize prayer in a biblical pattern; how to worship, praise, confess and give thanks; and how to pray for one’s self and others. Chris Seidlitz is pastor.

Ordained

• Terry Shirley, Harvey Manning, Keith Rhone and Roy May as deacons at Central Church in Crockett.

Revivals

• West End Church, Freeport; May 9-11; evangelist, Homer Martinez; pastor, Barry Foster.

• First Church, Bronte; May 9-12; evangelist, Robert Barge; music, Jeff Gore; pastor, Corey Cornutt.

• Velasco Church, Freeport; May 21-23; evangelist, Barry Creamer; pastor, Nathan Otto.

• Joel Bartlett to First Church in Sanger as co-youth minister.

• Doug Beck to First Church in Dorchester as pastor.

• Mack Caffey has resigned as interim pastor at First Church in Mathis.

• Ryan Dunn to First Church in Sanger as co-youth minister.

• Bonnie Helton to Cross Timber Church in Burleson as preschool minister.

• James and Laura Holder to First Church in Petersburg as youth ministers.

• Trip Jackson has resigned as minister of music at First Church in Lake Dallas.

• Simon Keizer has resigned as youth minister at Fairview Church in Sherman.

• Larry Martin to Cadiz Church in Beeville as pastor from West Shore Church in Sandia.

• James Ostic to Cedar Creek Church in Whitney as associate pastor.

• Zack Pannell to First Church in Sanger as interim minister of education.

• Adam Perkins to Bethesda Church in Burleson as minister of music.

• Dale Pogue to First Church in Taft as interim pastor.

• Ryon Price to Second Church in Lubbock as pastor from United Church in Colchester, Vt.

• Russell Shires to Bethel Church in Whitewright as interim pastor.

• Billy Stockton to Cannon Church in Van Alstyne as pastor.

• Ryan White has resigned as minister of music and youth at First Church in Refugio.

WHITEHOUSE—Many people would see an elementary school student stealing food off a teacher’s desk as a behavioral problem. Teachers and administrators in Whitehouse found something much more problematic, and First Baptist Church stepped up to help resolve the issue.

Last fall, a Whitehouse student stole his teacher’s lunch. When the teacher figured out who was doing it and eventually caught the young man, he ran out of the classroom and stuffed the entire lunch in his mouth, hoping he wouldn’t have to surrender it.

It was his first decent meal in days.

In a school staff meeting, Amy Culpepper, a third-grade teacher at Higgins Intermediate School and a member of First Baptist Church, quickly discovered this young man may not be alone. In Whitehouse, roughly 200 students in that one school receive free or reduced lunches. The program provided something for them eat to during the week, but left many of them lacking on the weekend, and they came back hungry on Mondays.

“I think we just take it for granted that everybody has three meals a day and a safe place to sleep,” Culpepper said. “That’s just not so.”

While the presence of hungry children surprised some people at the school, it shocked Ray Davis, pastor of First Baptist Church, when Culpepper brought it to his attention.

“We’re a pretty affluent community,” he said. “We found hidden hunger that we didn’t know existed.”

Amy Culpepper (left) and Jan Powell (right) from First Baptist Church in Whitehouse inspect canned goods before students arrive to pick up their food-filled backpacks for the weekend. (PHOTOS/Jim Jackson)

First Baptist Church members knew they had to do something to help the hungry children in their community. Working with the school, each family in the free-lunch program received a note asking if they would be open to receiving food for the weekend. Many of the families jumped at the opportunity.

“When we started seeing our teachers having an issue with hunger, we knew we had to be involved in that,” Davis said.

The church contacted the East Texas Food Bank and became involved in its backpack program. Each Thursday, church members fill backpacks with food for each child through the weekend. Those backpacks are distributed on Fridays for students to take home. The young people return the empty backpacks on Mondays.

Culpepper said the church rallied to help these children. Quickly, more than 55 people volunteered to help with the cause. The congregation and other individuals pitched in $7,500 to make the program last through the end of the school year. The church recently received a Texas Hope 2010 Care Grant made possible by gifts through the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger that will enable the congregation to continue serving in the fall of 2010 as well.

“I think the whole thing has been a God thing,” Culpepper said.

The assistance has excited the children, Culpepper said. They enthusiastically look forward to backpack day. When they receive it, many of the students hug the people they receive it from.

Don Branam helps distribute food-filled backpacks to students as Arlene McDonald, children’s director at First Baptist Church in Whitehouse, supervises. (PHOTOS/Jim Jackson)

“It’s rewarding when you see those kids, and they hug you when they get their food,” she said.

The church currently is looking for ways to expand its feeding efforts to other schools and throughout the summer. Nearly 1,300 students who are on the free-lunch program in Whitehouse are facing the same situation as these students at Higgins Intermediate. Culpepper hopes other churches will get involved in the effort.

The need moves Culpepper when she thinks about it.

“If it’s true some kid in school is going hungry, it’s hard to go home and eat a meal,” she said. “I just can’t stand the thought of a child going hungry.”

The situation in Whitehouse is a reminder that hunger occurs across the state. More than 40 percent of students in Texas public schools are on the free or reduced lunch program. Texas has the highest rate of child food insecurity in the nation.

“We live in a pretty well off school district,” Culpepper said. “It’s not inner city. We live in a rural community outside Tyler. I think it would be shocking to know how some people live. It was shocking to some people in the church.”

Davis praised Culpepper for bringing the situation before the church and the congregation so readily taking action. It is a prime example of God using a person in the church to reach out to people in need, he said.

“All of our mission work is at the intersection of someone in our church and the activity of God,” he said.

MARSHALL—Despite the loss of her home in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Lynn Wartberg refused to allow a hurricane to stop her from achieving a life-long goal—earning a college degree.

Wartberg received her undergraduate degree in history at East Texas Baptist University's spring commencement . She graduated with distinction in history by writing an honors project paper titled “Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant: International, Social, and Environment Perspectives in East Texas.” The paper won a national award from the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society.

East Texas Baptist University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Paul Sorrels with help from Jerry Summers, dean of the School of Humanities, adjust the honors hood on graduate Lynn Wartberg. Wartberg, a Hurricane Katrina evacuee from New Orleans, received her undergraduate degree in history during spring commencement. (PHOTO/ETBU/Jason John Cowart)

Wartberg enrolled in Tarleton State University after she graduated from Stephenville High School in 1982, but she dropped out her first semester to help take care of her mother who had a chronic disease. 

“I spent the next 20 years helping care for my mother who passed away six years ago,” said Wartberg. “I was preparing to enter the University of New Orleans the spring semester after Katrina hit.”

When the London Avenue Canal levee brook, it sent five feet of water into her home a mile away, even though it was built four feet off the ground.

“Seven weeks after the hurricane, we were allowed to go back and check on our homes,” said Wartberg. “The hardwood floors looked like every other plank had been kicked out from below the house. The mold was growing up the walls, and the kitchen cabinets had fallen off the walls.”

When she and her family fled New Orleans, they first they took refuge in Jackson, Miss., eventually settled in Marshall. Wartberg made her way to ETBU at a friend’s suggestion.

“I became friends of Kristi Hook through our children. Her son was a friend of my daughter, Taylor.” said Wartberg, a member of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Marshall “Kristi was a junior education major at ETBU, and I told her that I was planning to go back to college but was unable to because of the storm. She encouraged me to look into attending ETBU and even brought me to the campus for a personal tour.

“I will always be grateful for the blessings brought into our lives here, and there is no doubt that I have found a second home, at least in my heart.”

Looking back at her family’s experiences since Katrina hit, she said, “I am not sure that my daughter and I would have done as well had we ended up anywhere else. There is no doubt in my mind that God had a purpose in sending us to Marshall and ETBU. He knew exactly where we needed to be.” 

Several professors at ETBU described Wartberg as an engaged student with a deep passion to learn. She is a student who will read beyond the assigned reading topic just out of curiosity, they noted.

“She has thrived in an academic environment,” said Jeanna White, who had Wartberg as a student in three English classes. “If Lynn is anything, she’s resilient. Losing her home in Hurricane Katrina became a catalyst for her to change her life and to pursue her dream to become a college history professor.”

Wartberg and her daughter will leave Marshall in August.

“Taylor and I are returning home to New Orleans,” she said. “I am going to the University of New Orleans for my master’s degree in history, and will continue on for my PhD.” 

Her daughter hopes to return to Marshall after high school to attend ETBU.

“Thanks to everyone for taking my daughter and me in and making us a part of the family here at ETBU.” said Wartberg. “It has been an amazing time in our lives, and this community has impacted us in ways you cannot imagine.”

GARLAND—Steven Arze works two jobs. He hopes the place where he serves as a volunteer significantly decreases traffic at the place where he makes his living. And his employer agrees wholeheartedly.

Charlotte Greenhaw from First Baptist Church in Garland provides spiritual counseling for patient Karen Pruitt at Hope Clinic in downtown Garland. (PHOTOS/Ken Camp)

Arze, a member of Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, serves as medical director of Hope Clinic, a Christian health care provider for the working poor in Garland, and works as director of the emergency department at Baylor Medical Center at Garland.

“I would love to decrease my business in the emergency department,” he said.

Specifically, Arze wants to see Hope Clinic become the primary health care provider for uninsured or underinsured workers in Garland who need help managing chronic illnesses, freeing the hospital’s emergency room to focus on the mission for which its staff is trained.

“There’s a real misperception in this country that emergency departments can do everything. In reality, I know we can’t do it all. Our mission is to care for people with immediate, life-threatening illnesses and injuries,” he said.

Baylor Medical Center at Garland has developed a partnership with Hope Clinic to help the hospital emergency department and the faith-based clinic each perform its mission better. The partnership involves referrals, coordination of services and investment by Baylor in the ongoing ministry of Hope Clinic.

Jenny Williams, a registered nurse and member of Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, serves as executive director of Hope Clinic. Previously, she worked in a similar capacity at another faith-based clinic, Mission East Dallas.

Hope Clinic offers a variety of service, including a women’s clinic, a pediatric clinic, a walk-in evening clinic and a diabetic education program. Hope Clinic serves about 70 patients a weeks—at least three-fourth of them Spanish-speaking, many of them undocumented and all of them fitting into the category of the working poor—living at 200 percent of the federal poverty line or less, Williams explained.

“We want to provide them a medical home where they can learn to manage long-term health conditions,” she explained. “We want to emphasize prevention and management.”

The clinic occupies two small buildings behind First United Methodist Church of Garland, which leases the property to Hope Clinic for $1 a month. The city of Garland provided a $25,000 grant to renovate one of the buildings, with labor donated by volunteers from First Baptist Church, First United Methodist Church and Lake Pointe Church-Firewheel Campus, all in Garland.

Area churches that provide ongoing support for Hope Clinic include South Garland Baptist, Mount Hebron Baptist, First Baptist and Lake Pointe.

A half-dozen physicians volunteer their services at Hope Clinic on a weekly or every-other-week basis, and another 35 serve on a rotating basis, she explained.

Scott Wang, a graduate of the family medicine residency program at Baylor Medical Center at Garland, works on staff at Hope Clinic each Monday and Wednesday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he works at Irving Interfaith Clinic. Both clinics are part of the HealthTexas Provider Network, a subsidiary of the Baylor Health Care System.

Scott Wang, a recent graduate of the Baylor family medicine residency program at Baylor Medical Center at Garland, works on staff at Hope Clinic each Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Wang works at Irving Interfaith Clinic. Like Hope Clinic, the Irving clinic is part of the HealthTexas Provider Network, a subsidiary of the Baylor Health Care System. The Project Access Dallas community service program provides funding for Wang’s position.

Service at the two faith-based clinics enables Wang to fulfill two objectives that initially drew him to family medicine—a desire to build relationships with patients and to provide essential services for people in need in an atmosphere where he can share his Christian faith freely.

“I am able to spend ample time with patients,” he said. “Because the clinics are Christian-based, I don’t have to be cautious about crossing boundaries by talking freely about spirituality. Even some non-Christians are open to my offer of praying for them.”

Physician Jennifer Kampas listens to the lungs of patient Florencia Cruz at Hope Clinic. Kampas volunteers regularly at the faith-based clinic in Garland.

Wang acknowledged his surprise at experiencing the raw emotions of people who live at society’s margins.

“They don’t have as much materially to cover up their pain. They are depleted, and the emptiness is so evident,” he said. “If you say the right thing and ask the right questions, the floodgates open.”

Chaplain Mark Grace, vice president of Baylor Health Care System’s office of mission and ministry, sees Baylor’s commitment to Hope Clinic, Irving Interfaith and other community-centered, faith-based clinics as an outgrowth of its dedication to the Christian ministry of healing.

“It’s a real commitment to the cause of Christ,” he said.

Grace, who serves as co-pastor of Iglesia Bautista Bill Harrod in West Dallas, pointed to the impact Baylor makes through the community-based clinic it helps support at Brother Bill’s Helping Hand ministry.

“I can see the people helped and see the difference that care is making in my community,” Grace said.

SAN ANTONIO—For Job Gonzalez, cycling 415 miles during the Bike Out Hunger tour April 19-24 wasn’t just a test of his own strength and competition. It was a personal journey driven by the hungry children and families he sees daily as he rides through the colonias near his home in McAllen—areas that lack clean running water and adequate sewer systems.

Gonzalez, worship leader at Baptist Temple in McAllen, cycled hard and fast, because he knows what it’s like to be hungry. His family didn’t always have enough to each when he was a child, he recalled.

Eight riders from Howard Payne University rode 20 miles from Santa Anna to Brownwood to raise money and awareness for world hunger. The team included (left to right) students Remington Reed and Laura Driggers, adjunct faculty member Jeff Mitchell, student Angelie Lara, faculty member Derek Smith, tennis coach Dalton Hutchins and student Jeff Chaumet. Participating but not pictured is faculty member Gary Succaw. (PHOTOS/Kalie Lowrie)

Because God provided for his family when they were hungry, he wanted to pass along the blessings, riding to raise awareness about the 1.3 million hungry people in the state and to raise money for the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. The offering supports more than 100 hunger and development ministries in Texas and around the world.

“I’m doing something for a great cause, raising awareness about hunger,” Gonzalez said. “I’m here riding across Texas, about 415 miles, just loving what we do. I feel like I am representing the area where I am from, and I do it with all my heart. There are moments with steep hills, and I just want to give up. But I picture myself and all these people from all over Texas on the side of the road cheering me on to finish.”

Through the ride, the cyclists raised more than $9,400 for the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. The offering will provide food and meal distribution, agriculture and livestock initiatives, clean water and sanitation, micro-enterprise development and job training for people around the world, attempting to bring them out of the cycle of poverty. The offering supports more than 100 feeding ministries in Texas, the nation and abroad.

Each day of the Bike Out, cyclists stopped to hold hunger rallies at Baptist universities and churches along the way, where riders and hunger offering advocates talked about the reality of hunger in the state. One shared the story of a child stealing a teacher’s lunch because he was so hungry from having nothing to eat during the weekend. Others talked about students intentionally failing classes so they could attend summer school and receive free lunches they otherwise would not have.

Gonzalez also shared his heart with those he encountered, emphasizing the church must be willing to meet physical needs as they share the hope of Christ.

Cyclists stopped at Truett Seminary in Waco on day three to participate in a hunger rally. Students who attended took time to pray for the riders and hunger issues in the state. (PHOTO/Texas Baptist Communications)

“It is time that we come together as one body, as one community and start serving our community with whether it is one meal or whatever we can do,” Gonzalez said. “We have to feed their stomach so that they can hear us.”

In Texas, hunger affects more than 1.3 million people, and the state leads the nation with the highest percentage of children who are food insecure. More than 47 percent of Texas children in public schools are on the free or reduced lunch program.

But hunger is not only an issue in Texas. It affects more than 1 billion people worldwide. It leaves more than 16,000 children a day dead from hunger-related causes. Every five seconds, a child dies from hunger.

Because the need is great, Bike Out Hunger brought together more than 50 cyclists, the Texas Hunger Initiative and Baptist universities in the state to help raise awareness of hunger issues. Five cyclists complete the entire 415 miles, riding about 70 miles a day. Seven additional riders completed multi-day rides, and more than 30 others joined to ride for one day.

There is enough food in the world to provide for everyone who is hungry, Jeremy Everett, director of the Texas Hunger Initiative, told a hunger rally at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary. The problem is distribution, he said.

The Texas Hunger Initiative is a Baylor School of Social Work and Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission partnership aiming to make Texas food secure by 2015.

To help with distribution problems, volunteers through the initiative are trying to connect the faith-based community to share resources and provide adequate distribution sites around Texas. 

Everett spoke strongly to those who attended several Bike Out Hunger rallies, stressing the church must take responsibility for the issue of hunger and start acting, striving to change the reality at hand.

“You are your brother’s keeper,” Everett said. “Right now, we live in a world that says it is all left up to personal responsibility. You pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and I’ll pull myself up by mine. But we know that is not the way that Jesus modeled time and time again in Scripture.”

For Steve Dominy, pastor of First Baptist Church in Gatesville, hunger is at his doorstep daily. Church members hand out half a ton of food each year to people in need in the Gatesville area.

“Poverty is an issue here in Gatesville,” Dominy said. “Approximately 50 percent of our kindergarteners and first graders are at or below poverty level. We work with our local care center to help them raise food and funds. We have a ministry here that sells food at reduced cost. And we work with boys and girls clubs to make sure that there are no kids that leave the club Friday and are hungry until Monday.”

The church helps because “he whose stomach is empty stomach has no ears to hear,” Dominy said. Even with the church being involved with hunger ministry, Dominy said there still is much more to do. And churches in Texas must unite with others in order for all hungry people to be helped.

“It ticks me off that Texas is hungrier than any state in the nation,” Dominy said. “Texas is the greatest state in the nation, and there is no way that that should happen. And I am willing to bet that 99 percent of the population doesn’t know about that. So, I hope they raise awareness about hunger issues in the state and mobilize some people to … do something about it.”

To help raise hunger awareness among his students, Jeff Mitchell, an adjunct math professor at Howard Payne University, cancelled his classes to ride for a day in the event and to open the door for his students to do the same. Also, a weekly breakfast group that Mitchell attends decided to skip breakfast that week to support the hunger offering and Mitchell’s efforts.

“You can give money to lots of things,” Mitchell said. “You think about that for a moment, but when you get involved, you think about that for a lifetime. Several students asked why we didn’t have class, and I got to explain about Bike Out Hunger. Actually, one of my students rode here. It was great to ride with one of my students and to see the other students excited about getting involved.”

For Ryan Musser, student minister at First Baptist Church in Hewitt, and Morgan Woodard, pastor of First Baptist Church in Golinda, the ride wasn’t just about raising awareness in others. It was about letting Christ continue to teach them what it is like to be in poverty, to be the ones needing help.

More than 60 days ago at the beginning of Lent, both men decided to give up something for Lent that would help them understand poverty on a new level. For 40 days, the two men set aside their car keys and used bikes for transportation.

The men wanted to understand what it was like to be part of the working poor who lack adequate transportation. During Lent, Musser and Woodard learned about Bike Out Hunger and knew it would be a great way to share with others the lessons they learned about hunger.

For three days, the two men rode, learning additional lessons on the way about the sacrifice Christians need to make in order for the state to be completely food secure.

“I learned something today about mile 42 in the middle of a hill,” an exhausted Musser said after he arrived at the finish in San Antonio.

“I was reminded that the call to take up our cross is not an easy task, and it involves sacrifice. So many times, we talk about world hunger, and we say that task is just too big. The kingdom of God isn’t about doing easy things. It’s about doing right things. And we were given a way to live, and a sacrificial way to live. And if it hurts, we are supposed to continue pressing on because that is what our king has already done.”

DALLAS—Commitment to Christian healing ministry has guided Baylor Health Care System since its founding, but creation of an office of mission and ministry has given renewed emphasis to that defining sense of purpose, hospital officials said.

Chaplain Mark Grace, longtime director of pastoral care at Baylor, was named vice president of the new office of mission and ministry. The office brings together three ministry components—spiritual care to patients, their families and hospital staff; pastoral education programs for ministers, seminary students and laity; and faith in action initiatives.

“It pulls together all facets of the health care system that relate to faith,” Grace said. “It’s more than token banner-waving. It’s identifying at the corporate level in an explicit way that this is how we’re going to do business.”

Baylor President and CEO Joel Allison described the organizational change as “the beginning of a new era in Baylor Health Care System’s commitment to its Christian ministry of healing.”

Allison pointed to a four-fold purpose in creating the office:

• Re-envision ways to strengthen and streamline Baylor’s historical Christian ministry of healing.

• Explore new ways to engage and support Baylor employees as they live out their faith and values in service to others.

• Embed mission and ministry programs across the expanding health care system.

• Partner with other Christian mission and ministry agencies to help meet medical missions needs locally and around the world.

“I think we’re seeing a resurgence of enthusiasm among our trustees, executive officers, medical staff and employees toward our mission as a Christian ministry of healing,” said John McWhorter, president of Baylor University Medical Center.

Grace sees the office of mission and ministry as a place where Baylor can help employees and staff explore “the interchange between practice and faith and to see their work as sacred vocation.”

While individuals on the Baylor Health Care System staff long have been involved in volunteer service and mission trips, the new faith in action initiatives program provides a coordinated approach to offering employees a way to “put feet to faith,” Grace said.

“It’s taking it to another level by embedding this in the daily life of the organization,” he explained.

Don Sewell, who served 12 years with the Baptist General Convention of Texas in the areas of Partnership Missions and as liaison to worldwide agencies and who has worked most recently with the Baptist World Alliance, directs the faith in action initiatives.

Baylor works closely with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Buckner International and other ministry partners, both globally and locally, and the health care system expects to see that emphasis grow, McWhorter noted.

For example, Baylor employees volunteer to serve meals to the homeless at Cornerstone Baptist Church in inner-city Dallas once a month. Baylor also provides staffing for Cornerstone’s medical and dental clinic.

“We have a waiting list of departments wanting to serve,” McWhorter said.