GLORIETA, N.M.—Stay close to God, to the Bible and to friends, speakers challenged participants at the annual Retired Ministers’ Retreat, held recently at Glorieta Conference Center.

Madge Bond (left) and Virginia McNeese (2nd from right), members of the Goldenaires Choir from First Baptist Church in Richardson, visit with (left to right) featured speaker Russell Dilday, Richard Faling with BGCT retiree ministries and Bible study leader James Semple at the Retired Ministers’ Retreat at Glorieta Conference Center.

Larry Allen

“We must share the doctrine of God and the Bible with new generations,” said James Semple, retired director of the Texas Baptist State Missions Commission and conference Bible teacher.

Worship leader Russell Dilday emphasized the Bible as Christian’s guide for living.

“The Bible is to be taught, preached, and lived,” said Dilday, former seminary president. “We do not need to defend, debate, or quarrel about it.

“To say close to the word of God, we should memorize it, meditate upon it, and obey it.”

Friendship is a valuable commodity for individuals and for churches, he said. The Bible, with its examples of friendship, is a resource book for that practice.

“Don’t let your knowledge of Jesus stop with your conversion,” Dilday said in his closing message.

“Like the apostle Paul, you say, ‘Oh, that I may come to know him and be like him in his death.’ You can know the power of his resurrection and to handle suffering as he did.”

The Goldenaires Choir from First Baptist Church in Richardson sing at the Retired Ministers’ Retreat at Glorieta.

Semple introduced his new book, Bible Truths About God, during the morning Bible study. He said: “The universe was not created out of pre-existent material, and the physical material is not God. The universe was created by God out of nothing…Humanity has been given stewardship over creation, which means that the human race is to manage to keep God’s creation for his glory and not to trash it and tear it up.”

Semple urged retreat participants to consider the characteristics and nature of God.

“God is eternal. God is Spirit. God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent,” he said. “God is truth. He is righteous, holy and he manifests his glory.”

James Semple, retired director of the Texas Baptist State Missions Commission, leads Bible study at the Retired Ministers’ Retreat at Glorieta.

Attributes of God’s compassion, Semple stressed, include love, mercy and grace.

“Today, God feels toward his creatures—including the sick, the fallen, and the sinful—exactly as God did when he sent his only begotten Son into the world to die for humankind,” he said. “We must be submissive to the word, and be faithful in little things.”

The Goldenaires, senior adult choir of First Baptist Church in Richardson, provided special music for the retreat. The next Retired Ministers’ Retreat will be Sept. 27-Oct. 1, 2010.

BELTON—With “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” as their theme, 115 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students conducted an outreach carnival in Belton’s Miller Heights neighborhood.

Funded largely by a grant from the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions, the carnival on an elementary school playground was jointly sponsored by the UMHB Baptist Student Ministry, Miller Heights Baptist Church and Hope for the Hungry. The event was in response to the Texas Hope 2010 challenge to share the hope of Christ with every Texan by Easter 2010.

UMHB sophomore Bethany Franz, who interns with Hope for the Hungry’s local children’s outreach program, said the event provided a way for her to reach out, strengthen existing relationships and develop new connections.

“We go every week and start making relationships by just loving on the kids,” Franz said. “Won’t You Be My Neighbor had the same focus and allowed lots of UMHB students the opportunity to show the community Christ’s love.”

Franz described the station setup at the day’s beginning as organized chaos. “A lot of different things were going on all at once,” she said. “We played different games from sack racing to face-painting to water-balloon tossing to just playing on the playground equipment.”

Later, when the entertainment arrived, things settled down as families became focused on entertainers who took the stage—student-rapper Franklin Smith, the Magical Grandpa and Perfect Praise, a children’s group from Cornerstone Baptist Church.

The Perfect Praise team captivated the audience, as the members, peers of children in the audience, recited states and capitals, books of the Bible, presidents and many more facts from memory.

“It was neat to have the kids see others their age who are able to perform like that and give them that motivation,” Franz said.

After the entertainment, Miller Heights Baptist Youth Minister Michael Meadows presented the gospel, followed by free Bible distribution.

“The UMHB students and Miller Heights’ youth presented the gospel in more than just words,” Meadows said. “That was the important part. We can share the gospel without ever breaking out our Bibles and telling about Jesus. We can share the gospel by living our lives in ways that glorify Christ. So, their actions probably had more impact in lives than any words I said.”

The event’s atmosphere gave families the opportunity to encounter Christ in a non-threatening environment, Meadows said. He saw the event as a step forward in the community because a large number of its members are unchurched and unreached.

“Many would never set foot in a church because of the stereotypes of what church is, but Won’t You Be My Neighbor allowed people to see the universal church in a different light,” he said. “People interacting with people who aren’t much different than themselves. Hopefully, it will make them less intimidated to get involved in things in the future. That would be an asset to the community.”

Interaction between the students and the community was a win-win for both, he added.

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor student Michael Beech shares popcorn with a child at a neighborhood outreach carnival in Belton. (PHOTOS/Shawn Shannon)

“It encouraged students to venture out of their campus bubble and realize a real community needs their help in Belton,” he said.

The eagerness and volume of college volunteers allowed the day to progress so smoothly, organizers agreed. Shawn Shannon, UMHB BSM director and organizer of the event, said the turnout of students surprised her and was an answer to prayers.

Going into the event, she said, “I did not know how many students would get involved, but a pleasant surprise was that students did get involved.”

Shannon, who saw the project from its proposal to the follow-up thank you notes, said in the end “many fingers had been in the pie when it got served.” Not only did the students lend hands for the day, but many other people from the community and university pitched in to create the finished product.

So for Shannon, it was a treat to see the day unfold, watch relationships being built between the community and the ongoing ministries, and to encounter selflessness through the hours of preparation and clean-up.

“I personally appreciate the generosity of people who make things like this possible. How many people it took and how much generosity it took from everyone to do this. That matters to me and that makes me want to do my part when others are doing something complex,” Shannon said.

Participants stressed the singular focus of all the volunteers involved.

“It was awesome to see our university work together for one purpose in mind and to give up our time and just focus on the community,” said Franz.

Messengers to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in Houston, Nov. 16-17, will be asked to create a committee to study why their numbers have been diminishing in recent years—and what can be done to reverse the trend.

Paul Kenley, pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Lampasas, will present a motion on behalf of the committee on convention business recommending a committee be created to study “changes to the BGCT annual meeting that would enhance interest and participation from a broader spectrum of participating churches.”

The recommendation—approved unanimously by the committee on convention business—calls for a committee limited to 11 members appointed by convention officers by the end of the 2009 annual meeting. The schedule of the committee’s meeting would be set following determination of funding for its work.

The proposed motion calls for the committee to report its recommendations to the 2010 annual meeting in McAllen.

Everything on the table 

“We’d like to see everything on the table—when the meeting is scheduled, where it is held and what it looks like,” said Kenley, who initiated the motion in the committee on convention business.

Weekday events held in downtown venues—where meals and lodging typically are expensive—may need to be reconsidered in order to involve more laypeople, bivocational ministers and pastors whose churches do not pay their expenses, he noted.

Time of year may also need to be considered, Kenley added. A summer meeting might be better attended than a fall gathering when school is in session, he noted.

Considering many BGCT Executive Board staff are required to attend the annual meeting, a fixed site in the Dallas-Fort Worth area could be a potential cost-saving measure that would eliminate many travel expenses borne by the convention, he added.

“We’ve got to change the fact that many people don’t see the need in coming to the annual meeting,” said Jeane Law of First Baptist Church in Lubbock, chair of the committee on convention business.

On a fast track 

By asking that the convention officers name the study committee by the end of the 2009 annual meeting and calling for a report to the 2010 meeting, the committee on convention business is seeking to put the issue on a “fast track,” Law said.

Even so, she noted, major changes in schedule and format could take several years to implement.

“What we hope to put into place is something that will draw young people and that should serve the convention in the years ahead,” she said.

BGCT President David Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church in Canyon, reported the convention officers have met to discuss the proposed study committee. The officers have developed “a working list” of potential committee members but have not asked anyone to serve.

“We want to have a cross-section of Texas Baptist life represented, and we want people who will help us think creatively about the future,” he said.

The 2008 BGCT annual meeting in Fort Worth drew 1,891 registered messengers from 550 churches—the lowest number since the 1949 meeting in El Paso.

In contrast, the largest meeting in BGCT history—the 1991 annual meeting in Waco, when the convention was dealing with controversy surrounding a charter change for Baylor University—drew 11,159. Excluding that year, the average number of messengers at annual meetings in the 1990s was 5,941.

After the 2000 annual meeting in Corpus Christi, which drew 6,713 messengers, the numbers dropped to 3,317 in 2001 and 3,327 in 2002.  The convention hasn’t reached reached the 3,000-messenger level since then, and the numbers have declined every year since 2004.

HOUSTON—Christians across the Houston area will join together at Discovery Green on Nov. 1 to seek the face of God to bring spiritual and physical healing to Houston during the City Reach Houston Prayer Gathering for Transformation.
 
“The gathering will be providing a way across denominational lines to pray for the city,” said Rickie Bradshaw, church consultant for the Union Baptist Association. “We are praying for forgiveness for the separation we have had among believers.”
 
Organizers of the event include the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Union Baptist Association, Houston Prays, Soulcheck and various churches in the area. The group is inviting more than 4,000 congregations in the area to join together as believers in Christ to ask for the healing of the city, Bradshaw said. More than 5,000 people are expected at the event.
 
The gathering also will promote City Reach, a series of outreach and evangelistic events that will take place in the two-week period prior to the BGCT annual meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on Nov. 16-17. Ministries will include a multicultural festival, prison outreach, block parties and a youth extreme sports event.
 
“When we go into the city with a convention of Christians, we need to leave the city better than we found it,” said Jon Randles, Texas Baptist director of evangelism. “One way we do that is to go in and help reach the community for Christ. We basically are trying to help all our churches and leaders realize that if they will be intentional about evangelism, build trusting relationships with the community, then hold a variety of events and bath it in prayer, they will see results.”
 
Leaders from key churches in the area met with Houston Prays leadership during October to plan the program for the evening. The program will include guided prayers and readings, speakers from several churches in the area and music led by Christian Praise Church and Soulcheck.
 
“We want to make a declaration to the church and community that it is now time to seek the face of God for the healing of our city, both physically and spiritually,” Bradshaw said. “We will focus on praying for healing in our city as it relates to the swine flu, the drug cartel and the economy because many people have lost jobs in the city. We will seek the face of God for the transformation of our city, for the healing of lives and brokenness in our city.”
 
Bradshaw also said prayers will be focused on ways to reach the more than 140 language groups in the Houston area.
 
“We hope to see the compassion of the church expressed throughout the city in meeting the needs of the broken and to see Luke 4:16-18 lived out in the life of the church, which is the preaching to the poor, the setting of the captives free and declaring the jubilee of the Lord,” he said.
 
Organizers are asking participants to bring canned goods and non-perishable food items to the prayer gathering to help stock food pantries at the Mission Center of Houston and other ministries in the area.
 
The event will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Nov. 1 at Discovery Green located at 1500 McKinney, near Minute Made Park in downtown Houston. Admission is free, and participants are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on during the event.
 
For more information, call Rickie Bradshaw at (713) 957-2000, ext. 216, or visit www.cityreachhouston.org .
 
 
 

DALLAS—The Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas board of directors must step forward and be guided by prayer in their search for a director, Nelda Seal, interim executive director-treasurer for the WMU of Texas, told the board’s October meeting.

“I feel that I must address the need for some caution at this particular time,” Seal said as she addressed the board of directors. “It is urgent that you pray daily for the personnel committee to have discernment, wisdom and an overwhelming sense of God’s leadership.”

Politics and pressure must not direct the decision of the board’s search, she stressed.

“The committee must have the freedom to follow God’s leadership and not be unduly pressured by any group or individual who has an agenda or interest in a particular candidate,” she said. “Trying to pressure the committee for a specific candidate can become political. Politics in God’s work is never acceptable.”

Leticia Rodriguez, chair of the personnel committee, reported the committee had reviewed seven applicants but still came short of finding the proper woman for the job. To help refocus the search, she reminded the board of the necessary and non-negotiable characteristics that must be present in applicants. 

“We must find a person who has a strong call to missions education,” Rodriguez said. “She must have a passion for missions and strong people skills to work with personnel, volunteers, churches and multicultural groups. And she needs to have administrative skills and financial acumen.”

In other business, the board, after much discussion, unanimously voted for a revision of the organization’s bylaws, which has been in review during the past year. One amendment brought to the floor and unanimously passed states officers of the board of directors must have served on the board within the last 12 years in order to be eligible for the position. The amendment will provide officers who are connected and knowledgeable about issues and workings of the WMU of Texas in its most current state, board members said.

The revision of the bylaws, which were last modified in 2006, updated wording and procedures to fit the every-changing organization, Seal said.

“This will give us an orderly plan of operation,” Seal said. “The bylaws had not been revised in several years, and because WMU is an evolving organization, changes needed to be made to meet needs in ministry.”

Kate Leong of Houston, Mary Watson of Harlingen, Leticia Rodriguez of McAllen and Bea Mesquias of Harlingen discuss ways Texas WMU board members can connect more effectively with the churches and women in their area. (PHOTOS/Texas Baptist Communications)

The most significant change in the bylaws will not allow for the executive director-treasure to have a vote on board matters, preventing a conflict of interest and allowing for a balance of power. The executive director-treasurer will be allowed to consult the board on voting matters but will not be able to participate in the vote.

The board voted unanimously to elect Earl Ann Bumpus of San Angelo, Edwana Lee of Winnsboro, Diane Marshall of Seagoville and Mary Lou Serratt of Amarillo for board membership.

Board members also approved a proposal to make the 2010 Week of Prayer for Texas Missions theme “Called to Care,” with a focus on 2 Corinthians 5:14.

Seal also encouraged the board members to remain involved in Texas Hope 2010 efforts, mentioning that WMU is spearheading an effort to pray daily for the county leaders leading Scripture distribution in all 254 Texas counties. Volunteers are still needed to pray for the remaining 19 leaders.

Carolyn Porterfield also encouraged the women to use the new 30-day multicultural prayer guide created by the WMU office in conjunction with Patty Lane, director of intercultural ministries for Texas Baptists, as part of their Texas Hope 2010 efforts. The guide helps readers understand the multicultural people groups living in Texas while praying that their live would be impacted by the gospel. 

“We hope that this will be a piece that our churches will use in praying for the nations who live in our state,” Porterfield said. “We know how to pray for the nations because we have been doing it since 1888. But I cannot recall in my time in WMU that we have been given this much specific information about the people in the state.”

WMU is promoting the guide as a tool to be used during January, leading churches towards the day of hope and prayer on Jan. 31 to lead churches and ministries in the last evangelistic stretch towards Easter 2010.

“The ultimate thing that we do is to introduce people to Christ, and I think that this prayer guide does that,” Porterfield said. “On Jan. 31, we hope that in every church there will be an emphasis of prayer for the lost and hungry, and we want to use the prayer guide for that purpose.”

TYLER–Harvest Day high attendance and giving emphasis at First Baptist Church in Tyler put the church back in the black financially—and then some.

When Paul Powell arrived as interim pastor, he learned the church was running a $300,000 deficit between budget and receipts, and the church owed $100,000 in interest on its line of credit at the bank.

Powell proposed a one-day high-attendance emphasis around the theme “no empty chairs,” setting a goal of 1,000 worshippers—600 at its downtown location and 400 at its south Tyler campus.

He also presented a giving challenge to enable the church to get back on solid financial footing. He encouraged each child to give $5 that he or she earned by doing some special chore and asked each youth to give $25—roughly the cost of one inexpensive drive-in meal per week for four weeks.

He also challenged each married couple in the church to give $100 for every year they were married.

“For me, that’s $5,500,” he told the church. But he also helped members put the amount in perspective by noting it amounted to just $1.94 a week or 27 cents a day.

Single adults, senior adults and others were urged to give “something extra” to the offering.

Saturday night before Harvest Day, East Texas was hit with a torrential rain that continued into the next day. Even so, combined attendance at the two campuses totaled 956.

Worshippers who attended did not arrive empty-handed. The church collected $620,000 that day. Counting additional gifts that arrived at the church in the days that followed, the total Harvest Day offering totaled more than $711,000.

“I’m getting down close to the end of the trail in my ministry,” Powell said, noting he will turn 76 in December. “But I told the staff I wanted it to be a teachable moment for them. It shows what a church is capable of accomplishing when you have a definite goal, a clear plan for achieving the goal and the enthusiasm that motivates people to get the job done.”

ROUND ROCK—Children at Heart Ministries shares the hope of Christ with single mothers, troubled teens and children in crisis in Texas through Texas Baptist Children’s Home, Gracewood and Miracle Farm. But the agency also is teaching those who are helped to do the same by giving to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.

When Jerry Bradley, president of Children at Heart Ministries, became aware of the Texas-shaped banks people were filling for the hunger offering, he immediately thought his agency could use them to teach clients the importance of helping others and also involve staff in the effort.

Fighting hunger in Texas is one emphasis of Texas Hope 2010, an effort by Texas Baptists to pray for the lost, care for the vulnerable and share the gospel, giving every Texan an opportunity to respond to the hope of Christ by Easter 2010.

“I was thinking that we feed and help a lot of people here, but this is just one way that a lot of people who are being helped can help others,” Bradley said. “Why not have those in our living units or working on our staff help with this?”

Since much of the ministry is geared toward helping children, Bradley believes this will help children see they can help others no matter what situation they are in.

“It’s just kids giving to kids,” he said.

The agency is in the process of distributing 35 banks to its children’s home cottages and other ministry sites.

For more information about the Texas Hope 2010 initiative, visit www.texashope2010.com.

BUA sponsors BGCT breakfast. Baptist University of the Americas will host a breakfast during the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting to celebrate BGCT’s role in Hispanic education, Nov. 17, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in Grand Ballroom A, Level 3 of the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. Tickets will be available at the BUA booth or by contacting Teo Cisneros at tcisneros@bua.edu.

Downloadable Bible study available. Diana Garland, dean of the Baylor University School of Social Work, and Vicki Marsh Kabat, director of marketing and communications, have written a five-lesson series of Bible studies on “Power and the Christian.” Produced with financial support from the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission, the Bible studies are part of the school’s ongoing project to prevent clergy sexual misconduct. The Bible study series can be downloaded free here.

DBU scholarship honors longtime Sunday school teacher. Dallas Baptist University has created the Martha Howard childhood ministry scholarship to benefit students in the Master of Arts in Christian Education—Childhood Ministry program. Trudy Christopher of Trinity has been selected the initial recipient of the scholarship, named in honor of Howard, who taught kindergarten Sunday school at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas more than 60 years.

Historical Society meet slated. The fall meeting of the Texas Baptist Historical Society will be at 11 a.m., Nov. 16, in Room 340B of the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, prior to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting. The luncheon meeting will include the election of officers, recognition of the history award winners and a presentation by Kelly Pigott of Hardin-Simmons University on George W. Truett and war. Cost of the luncheon is $25, payable at the door. For reservations, call (972) 331-2235 or e-mail autumn.hendon@bgct.org by Nov. 9.

Substance abuse ministry dinner scheduled. Ben DeLeon, an attorney who lead the Faith Partners ministry at First Baptist Church in Austin, and Gale Yandell, single adult minister at Westbury Baptist Church in Houston, will be the featured speakers at a substance abuse ministry dinner scheduled prior to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in Houston. The dinner, sponsored by the BGCT Christian Life Commission, will be at 6 p.m., Nov. 15, in Room 340 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. Cost is $15. To make a reservation, call (214) 828-5190 by Nov. 11.

Howard Payne social work scholarship established. Dann and Melba Harrelson Barger of First Baptist Church in Brownwood have established the Harrelson-Barger Endowed Scholarship at Howard Payne University for students majoring in social work. He worked as a caseworker and administrator with the Texas Youth Commission. She is a retired educator and counselor. Both are Howard Payne graduates.

Grants benefit BCFS youth programs. Baptist Child & Family Services recently received joint grants totaling more than $225,000 from the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to begin a delinquency prevention and rehabilitation program serving at-risk youth in the Kerrville community. Modeled after a juvenile justice program BCFS has offered to youth in San Antonio for 10 years, the new program will provide weekly home-based case management, counseling and around-the-clock crisis services to 100 juveniles and their families aimed at bringing stability to households. Case managers will help families connect with available community resources such as substance abuse programs and anger management courses. Since 1999, youth completing the San Antonio program have demonstrated recidivism rates of less than half that of youth placed on waiting lists. Bexar County Juvenile Probation estimates the BCFS program in San Antonio saves the county more than $409,000 per year that would otherwise be used for residential treatment. 

• Jason Anderson to Trinity Church in Sherman as pastor, where he was youth minister.

• Lloyd Bedsworth to Hillcrest Church in Mount Pleasant as pastor.

• Josh Bolch to First Church in Stockdale as youth minister from Pandora Mission in Pandora, where he had been pastor.

• Gary Chadwick to Austin Street Church in Yoakum as youth/music director.

• Amy Chestnut has resigned as minister to children at First Church in Cleburne.

• Wayne Childs to First Church in Smithville as youth minister.

• Kyle Coston to Faith Church in Oakhurst as pastor.

• Bob Elliott to Hillcrest Church in San Angelo as interim pastor.

• David Emerson has resigned as minister to children at First Church in Cleburne.

• Mitch Geisel to Marcelina Church in Floresville as minister of music.

• Zachary Harrel to First Church in Gustine as pastor from First Church in Port Aransas, where he was youth minister.

• Darren Ingram to East Sherman Church in Sherman as youth minister.

• Gabe Krell has resigned as minister of music/education at Bethesda Church in Burleson.

• Will Martin to Muldoon Church in Muldoon as pastor.

• Luis Martinez to First Hispanic Church in Navasota a youth minister.

• Patrick Mead to First Southern Church in Bryant, Ark., as pastor from Fairview Church in Sherman.

• Jim Moore to Cornerstone Church in Cumby as pastor.

• Josh Morgan to First Church in Wimberley as young adult minister/contemporary worship leader.

• Jim Poole has resigned as pastor of Elmont Church in Van Alstyne to become a chaplain at Medical City Hospital in Dallas.

• Jay Tracy to Live Oak Church in Gatesville as minister to youth.

• Jonathan Waller to First Church in Runge as pastor, where he had been youth minister.

• Wendell Williams to Fairview Church in Sherman as interim pastor.

MANILA, Philippines—When two typhoons inundated the Philippines, 10 Texas Baptist men volunteers packed their rubber boots, leather gloves and bright yellow disaster relief shirts and journeyed to the disaster zone to offer help and hope to those caught in the adversity brought by the storm.

“‘Why do you do this?’ is probably the most asked question I get from people—people back home and people here,” said Harold Patterson, a Texas Baptist Men volunteer from Scoggins. “I like it when they ask, as it just opens the door wide open for evangelism. It’s just hard for non-Christians to understand this kind of love and compassion for other people.”

TBM served in the flooded region at the invitation of Baptist Global Response, working alongside other volunteers from the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention, Kentucky Baptist Men and Oklahoma Baptist Men.

The Metro Manila area received a month’s worth of rain courtesy of Typhoon Ketsana, known as Ondoy within the country, which hit on Sept. 26 after previous days of rain saturated the ground. The Filipino government said that about 6 million people were affected by the flooding, while 287,000 people are still housed in evacuation shelters. More than 246 people died in the disaster. In some areas, stagnant water still stands waist deep, causing stench and an ever-growing threat of disease.

“The reason I’m doing it is that we are all created in God’s image,” said Larry Vawter, a TBM volunteer from Altair. “That’s the way that others will know that we are followers of Jesus. This is how to show his love to other Christians and non-believers also.”

Russell Sheik of Lubbock shares the message of Christ through art in the midst of disaster relief efforts. Sheik and nine others with Texas Baptist Men left Oct. 7 for Manila, Philippines, to spend 10 days with other Baptist groups to help with mud-out and clean-up in the disaster zone.

Vawter, who has previously helped with flood relief during other disasters, said he knew what needed to happen but saw vast needs due to the number of people affected, the density of population and the huge piles of debris remaining in the streets.

“The immenseness of the damage and number of people that it has affected is overwhelming,” he said. “There’s so much work to be done here. Yet, you still see children playing and having fun. We’re able to play with them some and put a smile on their face, hopefully bringing a little bit of respite among all this mess.”

One of the first projects for the team was to mud out the home of Felicisimo and Marieta Cables and a church across the street from there. Cables, bivocational pastor at Hope Baptist Church a few blocks away from his home, knows firsthand the extent of the disaster, as his own family was caught in the middle.

 When he received a text message from his daughter intended to warn his wife of the rising floodwaters, he rushed out of work towards his home, finding that the road near his house was blocked. So, he swam across 800 meters of raging floodwater along with cars, bits of houses and countless possessions from hundreds of thousands of homes. He made it home, only to find their house full of water.

Despite the Cables’ and their neighbors now having fewer possessions, their faith is greater in the wake of the flooding.

Mounds of debris clogged Manila's streets after Typhoon Ketsana.

“I still have my family and my faith, which is what matters and what got me through this time,” Cables said. “One item I’d like to find is my favorite Bible. Missionary Bob Harwell from Texas gave me his in 1992, and it was filled with notes and encouragement. That Bible gave me the inspiration to finish seminary.”

Moved by compassion, Ernie Rice of Stockdale, team leader of the TBM group, handed Mrs. Cables his Bible.

“In talking with Felicisimo, I learned his story and that he lost a Bible that meant a great deal to him,” Rice said. “So I gave him mine that Sunday when I preached in his church.”

While several of the volunteers led and attended area house churches in the area hit by flooding, four went with local missionaries to distribute food in some of the poorest areas. At one of the stops on Oct. 11, the team brought the first disaster relief the area had received since the Sept. 26 typhoon. At this location, seven people made a first time profession of faith. 

Disaster relief efforts are made possible through donations given to Texas Baptist Men and the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation with Texas Baptists. To support the Philippine relief efforts through Texas Baptist Men, visit www.texasbaptistmen.org  and click on the Donations tab or mail a check marked for disaster response to Texas Baptist Men at 5351 Catron, Dallas, TX 75227. To give to the efforts through the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation, visit www.bgct.org/give and click on Disaster Response or send a check marked for disaster relief to the Texas Baptist Mission Foundation at 333 N. Washington, Dallas, TX 75246-1798.

• Hardin-Simmons University presented awards to several alumni during homecoming activities Oct. 15-16. Joe Sharp received the John J. Keeter Jr. Alumni Service Award. He has served on the HSU board of trustees 13 years, is a past member of the board of development and is a lifetime member of the President’s Club. Harvey Catchings and Jack Graham were the recipients of the distinguished alumni awards. Catchings, a 1974 graduate, played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association. After his retirement, he was the spokesman for the NBA’s “Stay In School” program. Graham, a 1972 HSU graduate, is pastor of the 28,000-member Preston-wood Church in Plano. He previously was pastor of churches in Fort Worth, Oklahoma and Florida. He was president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2002 to 2004, and he served as president of the SBC Pastors’ Conference in 1992. Elected to the HSU Athletics Hall of Fame were Micky Brewer, women’s basketball; Doyle Brunson, basketball and track; Collin McCormick, football; and Morris Southall, football.

• The Houston Baptist University School of Business and its Center for Christianity in Business, in conjunction with the Headwaters Leadership Institute, will host Wallace Henley—assistant pastor at Houston’s Second Baptist Church, a management and organizational consultant, and a former White House and congressional aide. He will present “GlobeQuake: How to Build and Sustain Safe, Sane, Stable, Successful Companies in Turbulent Times” Friday, Oct. 23 from 7:30 a.m. to noon in the Morris Cultural Arts Center on the HBU campus. The presentation will explore the nature and extent of contemporary global change and how business and other key societal institutions can be stable and effective through the application of time-tested biblical principles. For more information, see www.hbu.edu/GlobeQuake.

• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will hold homecoming festivities Oct. 23-24. The homecoming chapel at 11 a.m. Friday will feature a number of alumni musicians. A luncheon for the Class of 1959 will follow. Friday evening’s activities will include a dinner, pep rally, fireworks, dessert party, and outdoor music and a movie. Saturday’s events begin with a 5K run, followed by a tailgate party and the football game versus Southern Oregon University. For more information, call (254) 295-4599.

• Baylor University recently dedicated the Jay and Jenny Allison Indoor Football Practice Facility. The building will allow the team to practice year-round without regard for weather. Jay Allison was a three-time Baylor football letter award winner. The couple also has endowed scholarships for football student-athletes, named the Jay and Jenny Reid Allison Skybox Complex at Floyd Casey Stadium and funded the Basketball Hall of Honor in the basketball practice facility. He also has served on the Baylor board of regents nine years. She is a former president of the Baylor University Women’s Council of Dallas, and she currently serves the group as parliamentarian.

• Baptist Child & Family Services has named Teresa Berkley director of adoptions. She will be responsible for matching potential adoptive parents with children eligible for adoption; developing, training and certifying adoptive parents; as well as facilitating continuity of services for children moving from foster care to forever homes.

• Dallas Baptist University has added three faculty members—Bob Brooks, associate professor of worship leadership, director of the master of arts in worship leadership program and associate dean of the Gary Cook Graduate School of Leadership; Elaine Hatcher, assistant professor of English; and Sergiy Saydometov, assistant professor of finance.

• The board of trustees of East Texas Baptist University has elected its officers. Tom Lyles has been elected the board’s chairman; Sam Moseley, vice chairman; and Ray Delk, secretary.

Anniversaries

• Rick Roman, fifth, a youth minister at First Church in Skidmore, Aug. 30.

• Primera Iglesia Mexicana of Brownsville, 100th, Oct. 14-17. The church held a three-day evangelistic event led by Dimas Gomez and Beau Hesterberg to kick off the celebration. The main celebration was held Saturday afternoon and evening. Leocadio Baltazar is pastor.

• Ron Walker, 10th, as pastor of First Church in Mathis.

• Amadeo Rodriguez, 15th, as music minister at Primera Iglesia in Corpus Christi.

• Rey Escalante, 10th, as pastor of Church Without Walls in Corpus Christi.

• Colby Benavidez, fifth, as youth minister at First Church in Mathis.

Deaths

• Bill Clanton, 82, July 15 in Beaumont. A bivocational pastor, he taught school in the Fort Bend school district more than 20 years. He served as pastor of Rock Island Church in Rock Island, First Church in Shriner, First Church in Sargeant, Friendship Church in Caldwell and Batson Prairie Church in Batson. He is survived by his wife, Bethel; son, Wesley; and two grandchildren.

• James Thurmond, 88, Sept. 13 in Fort Worth. He was a member of Broadway Church in Fort Worth 65 years, serving as chair man of deacons, committee member and Sunday school teacher. He also was a longtime trustee of Buckner International, serving part of that time as chairman. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; sons, James and Stephen; daughters, Nancy Broyles and Jane Anne Thurmond; six grandchildren; and six great-granddaughters.

• Charles Wellborn, 86, Oct. 1 in Georgetown, Ky. Described by his contemporaries as one of the best preachers, he was a clear voice of conscience among his generation of Baptists. He accepted Christ at age 23 amid the Southern Baptist youth revival movement of the 1940s and 1950s. In 1948, he began preaching on the “Baptist Hour,” a weekly program produced by the Radio Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, while still a student at Southwestern Seminary. After graduation, he served 10 years as pastor of Seventh & James Church, adjacent to Baylor University in Waco. After the congregation voted to open its membership to people of all “races and colors” in 1958, the young pastor received threatening phone calls and a cross was burned on the lawn of the parsonage. He left the church to begin doctoral studies at Duke University. After graduation, he taught at a number of universities until his retirement in 1990. He was preceded in death by his sister, LaVerne Wentworth. He is survived by his sons, Gary and Jon; sister, Faye Robbins; three grandchilden; and two great-grandsons.

• Todd Trimble, 30, Oct. 3 in Tyler. Trimble, whose father is pastor of Pine Church in Pittsburg, died at the hospital a few hours after a hunting accident. He is survived by his wife, Amie; children, Kason, Kallie and Kaden; parents, Danny and Cheryl Trimble; brothers, Chad and Eric; sister, April Trimble; maternal grandmother, Pat Galyon; and paternal grandparents, Leo and Joan Trimble.

Ordained

• DeWayne Bush, to the ministry, at First Church in Tuscola.

• Noe Rodriguez, to the ministry, at First Church in Cotulla.

• Marcus Foster as a deacon at Naruna Church in Lampasas.

Revivals

• Walker Memorial Church, Bandera; Oct. 24-28; evangelist, Robert Barge; pastor, Bill McGarity.

• Chicota Church, Chicota; Nov. 1-4; evangelist, Johnny Witherspoon; pastor, Rocky Burrow.

CHICLAYO, Peru—Fourteen-year-old Thalia bounces around her school’s campus with a smile as bright as the Peruvian sky. Among her peers, she’s clearly a leader, pulling them in with her optimistic brown eyes and light laughter.

For her, the campus near Chiclayo, Peru, is a steppingstone to what she hopes will be something bigger and better. She dreams of trading in her white school uniform for the similarly colored overcoat of a doctor.

Those dreams are being made possible in part by the generosity and ministry of Texas Baptists.

Gifts through the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger supplied the necessary funds for Villa Milagro—a ministry in Peru led by Larry and Joy Johnson of First Baptist Church in San Angelo—to drill a well for the school and its surrounding community.

The well has transformed the campus, providing clean water for the students to drink and drastically improving the health of children who regularly suffered from dysentery. The water also serves as the life stream for crops grown on the school’s campus, giving young people enough food to eat and a place to learn agricultural skills.

Water pours from a pipe connected to a Villa Milagro-dug well. The water nourishes crops that feed students at a Peruvian school and provides clean drinking water for the young people as well.

Thalia’s school was one picture of success 16 Texas Baptists witnessed during a recent mission trip to a variety of Villa Milagro ministry points. The organization, which seeks to share the gospel while meeting physical needs, has seen multitudes come to faith since 1994 and has dug more than 200 wells, helped start more than 85 churches and built numerous roads.

“For the last few days we’ve seen how the Texas Baptist offering has helped drill wells for schools and communities, and it literally transforms lives,” said Bobby Broyles, pastor of First Baptist Church in Ballinger and second vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

“It saves lives because children who once were dying of dysentery and dehydration are now living healthy lives. Obviously, it has changed their lives physically. Hopefully, we’ll also have the opportunity to change their lives spiritually.”

The act of providing clean water to schools and regions has created avenues through which the gospel has been shared repeatedly, said Carolyn Strickland, member of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas and BGCT first vice president. Lives and communities are being altered in the present and in eternity.

In Matara and the surrounding villages, a series of new wells is providing clean drinking water for several thousand people and has sparked economic growth and development in the area. The success of the efforts led to Villa Milagro sending medical mission teams into the area to meet additional needs. As they continue to serve, additional opportunities arise, as do chances for volunteers to share their faith.

Marilyn Davis from South Garland Baptist Church offers high fives to students at a school near Chiclayo, Peru.

“It’s vital,” Strickland said of ministry that connects people with clean drinking water. “It’s the most important thing you can give a child, you can give a community. It’s water that’s nourishing. It’s living water. It’s what we believe in in our faith. It’s what Christ would do.”

During their trip spent primarily near Chiclayo along the Peruvian coast and near Cajamarca in the Andes Mountains, Texas Baptists saw transformed lives, but they also were confronted by vast needs and large projects trying to meet those needs.

They saw a government-run orphanage where—thanks to Villa Milagro—children have enough to eat. But their homes need significant renovation. Texans saw wells that had been dug to provide clean water, but still needed pumps to push the water throughout communities. They witnessed churches reaching into their neighborhoods, some through constructing a medical clinic and holding a youth Baptist meeting.

Grant Lengefeld from First Baptist Church in Hamilton and Van Christian, pastor of First Baptist Church in Comanche, visit with students at the Monte Scion Christian School in Cajamarca, Peru.

“I saw a lot of needs,” said Grant Lengefeld, member of First Baptist Church in Hamilton. “My eyes were opened. I have to tell you the most difficult thing for me on this trip was to see the Pharisee inside myself. These folks here have a very sacrificial faith. I look at the things they are facing with poverty, with hunger, with family abuse issues. I was amazed at the sincerity of the prayer and the sincerity of their faith.”

Throughout the trip, Texans talked about facing crises of belief. When confronted with a trying situation—an orphan in need, a church searching for the resources to do what God has called it to or a student without clean water to drink—participants were challenged to decide how they would respond to the needs before them.

Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission Director Suzii Paynter said that was precisely the point of the trip. Seeing the faces of hungry children helps people understand the gravity of the situation. It challenges them to put the principles of their faith into action.

Giving through the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger empowers believers to support effective ministries like Villa Milagro around the globe. Christians also can get involved further through direct missions work, some of which will happen as a result of the trip, Paynter said.

“I want people to see the world hunger offering as a stepping stone to missions,” Paynter said. “It’s not simply an offering that we take up and give away. It’s a partnership with ministries who would welcome congregations to come along and serve alongside them.”

A young boy rides on the shoulders of Bobby Broyles, pastor of First Baptist Church in Ballinger, in a Cajamarca, Peru orphanage.

The responses of trip participants will vary, Paynter said. Some people will give more through the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. Others gave during the trip and will give more directly to Villa Milagro for specific efforts. Baptists will take the needs back to the congregations and try to organize a wider response, possibly even recruit volunteers to serve through Villa Milagro. Trip participants will be more mindful of the hungry around them and advocate for assisting those in need.

No matter the response, it begins with an individual’s response to how God is moving in one’s heart, Lengefeld said.

“I think my responsibility is first off to go home to my church and get my church involved in the story,” Lengefeld said. “I think my job is to serve as an advocate. And I’m going to start in my Sunday school class. I think that’s important. Hopefully it will start in our Sunday school class and have it move throughout the church, then to the community and other churches. I think that’s how great things start.”

For more information about the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, visit www.bgct.org/worldhunger . For more information about Villa Milagro, visit www.villamilagro.net .