SAN ANTONIO—Javier Elizondo has been named executive vice president and provost of Baptist University of the Americas.

“As BUA expands both its academic program and its ministry activities, it has become evident that we need Javier to carry a broader range of responsibilities,” BUA President Rene Maciel said. “We need him relating to churches, donors and potential students to an even greater degree than he already is.”

Javier Elizondo

Elizondo will continue his duties as vice president for academic affairs until BUA completes its current application for regional accreditation through the Southern Associations of Colleges and Schools, Maciel said.

“Javier was the key to getting BUA accredited by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and by the Association for Biblical Higher Education,” Maciel added.

“As much as I’d like for him to spend all his time on his new duties, we can’t afford to make that change until we are approved by SACS. But some of the academic administrative duties will be assigned to others.”

Elizondo, 53, has served BUA nine years. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas Tech University, a master of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, and a doctorate in ethics from Baylor University.

He has been a pastor, a church planter, an editor with the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board and a missionary with both International Commission and the North American Mission Board.

He and his wife, Sandee, are members of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio.

In another administrative appointment, Craig Bird has been named vice president for university relations.

Craig Bird

Bird, a full-time faculty member who teaches English, communications and Christian missions, was named acting head of the university relations department last spring. He will continue to teach, in addition to assuming increased administrative responsibilities.

Bird, 58, earned a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Texas and a master’s degree in English from Hardin-Simmons University. He has completed graduate study in communications at the University of Houston and in theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Nairobi International School of Theology in Kenya.

In addition to 10 years as a missionary and Africa correspondent for the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, he has headed the communication programs for Southwestern Seminary, North Carolina Baptist Children’s Homes, Baptist Child & Family Services, Hardin-Simmons University and South Texas Children’s Homes and edited numerous newspapers and magazines.

He and his wife, Melissa, are members of First Baptist Church in San Antonio.

Volunteers from Trinity Baptist Church in Kerrville worked with Children’s Emergency Relief International to provide relief for families displaced by flooding in Moldova.

When about 500 houses were flooded and 4,300 people evacuated from the northern and central districts of Moldova, the Kerrville volunteers were among more than 1,500 relief workers who responded with humanitarian aid. The Central Texas team worked with CERI, the international arm of Baptist Child & Family Services, to distribute food, clothes and shoes. The volunteers also gave the children balloons, which brought joy and smiles in the midst of tragedy.

“We were faced with tough questions like, ‘Was it God who allowed this to happen to us?’ as we prayed with the people whose houses had been badly damaged by the flood waters,” said Connie Belciug, national director of CERI in Moldova.

Many flood victims were elderly, discouraged and depressed by the tragedy, realizing that an entire life’s work was lost, she noted. Houses and gardens were ruined, and most would not have the money to rebuild, leaving expectations for a rough winter ahead.

 “It was a very sad day for both the locals and the Americans, but a rewarding experience nonetheless,” Belciug said. “We were honored to have the team from Kerrville who brought hope to the people of Moldova.” In the flood’s lingering aftermath, CERI continues to bring aid in partnership with the United Nation’s Children’s Fund, delivering school supplies to families affected by the flood. CERI is working to bring immediate relief by helping build 200 homes and purchase vaccines for the children.

Trinity Baptist Church of Kerrville volunteers brought humanitarian aid to the families of Moldova displaced by the flood.

In addition to providing disaster relief in Moldova, CERI is involved in ongoing ministry projects in the Eastern European country. Every winter, volunteers and staff personally put new boots and socks on the feet of every child in government care—about 16,000.

Summer and winter, CERI hosts teams to lead camps for children in the Moldovan orphanages and surrounding villages.

A transition program helps shield girls who age out of orphanages at age 16 from the active recruiters of the worldwide sex trade, as well as provide a mentorship program, teach independent living skills and help pay for housing and school expenses.

The agency also has provided a full-time consultant for two years to help the government move its child and family care program from the mass housing model of the Soviet era to a family-assistance and foster care approach.

Ophelia Humphrey, president of Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas from 1964 until 1968, died Aug. 16 at age 85.

Baptized in Los Lingos Creek by Pastor Lowell Ponder of First Baptist Church in Quitaque, she spent much of her life in volunteer service through various Baptist organizations.

She was a member of First Baptist Church in Amarillo more than 60 years, teaching Sunday school more than 30 years, before moving to Seattle in 2003 to be near her daughter.

She also served the Amarillo church and Amarillo Baptist Association as WMU director and was a member of the executive board of the association.

Baptist General Convention of Texas President Joy Fenner viewed Humphrey as both a friend and mentor. During Humphrey’s term as Texas WMU president, Fenner became Texas Girl’s Auxiliary—now Girls in Action—director. Their friendship grew during Fenner’s time as a Southern Baptist missionary to Japan and throughout her long tenure as Texas WMU executive director-treasurer.

Fenner praised Humphrey as “a consistent encourager and a lifelong learner” who helped shape a generation of women.

“I continue to see her significant influence in the lives of capable women missions leaders in Texas and beyond,” Fenner said. “Furthermore, she was an incredibly strong supporter of the BGCT through active participation.”

Humphrey served on the BGCT Executive Board and was first vice president of the BGCT in 1994-1995.

She was a member of the state convention’s missions-sending study committee from 2000 to 2001 and chaired the subcommittee that studied the North American Mission Board. In 2001, she was vice chair of the missions review and initiatives committee. She also served on the board of consultants of the BGCT Christian Life Commission.

Humphrey was chair of the trustees of Baptist Children’s Home in San Antonio, and also was a trustee of Wayland Baptist University and Hospitality House, a ministry to the families of prison inmates in Huntsville.

Humphrey wrote WMU curriculum materials for the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1970s and 1980s, and was the author of Witnessing Women, the SBC WMU training module for personal witnessing. She also was a noted speaker and conference leader.

She was preceded in death by her husband, C.J. An attorney, he was a deacon at First Baptist Church in Amarillo and a president of Texas Baptist Men.

She is survived by her sons, Clifford and Bryan; daughter, Janice; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

With additional reporting by Managing Editor Ken Camp

DALLAS—In spite of staff cutbacks, the Baptist General Convention of Texas continues to offer counseling and psychological services to ministers and their families through a network of counselors across the state.

While the BGCT has eliminated its psychological services staff, it has asked Dan McGee, who once led the convention’s counseling efforts, to lead the work to help ministers and their families find respected counselors who can help.

McGee is further strengthening the network of counselors across the state he helped establish while working with the BGCT. Each person in the network has been thoroughly researched and comes with strong recommendations.

“Pursuing ministry as a vocation is a spiritually, physically and emotionally difficult pathway to walk,” McGee said. “The burnout and dropout rate is high, and for Baptist ministers there is no ecclesiastical safety net. Isolation is what I notice first among those we have worked with over the years. According to one study, 70 percent of ministers do not have someone they consider a close friend. “

In addition to connecting ministers with counselors, McGee continues to provide assistance to ministers who have questions about counseling issues. He also conducts tests to help staff members better understand each other and work together.

The BGCT provides some financial assistance for ministers who receive counseling through this network.

For more information about counseling and psychological services, write McGee at info@danmcgeeassociates.com or call (800) 388-2005.

BROWNSVILLE—“Big Red,” a massive trailer that houses a state-of-the-art mobile feeding unit, caught Cosme Sanchez’ eyes when he drove down Brownsville’s Old Alice Road.

And when the 83-year-old saw the Red Cross panel trucks loading up forklift loads of food, he figured he had come to exactly the right place to find help for the dozen or so people he was feeding before Hurricane Dolly swept through South Texas.

The fact that the unit—a joint effort of Baptist Child & Family Services and Texas Baptist Men—was churning out lunches and dinners by the thousands didn’t deter him.

So, he tracked down Ed Emmons, who works for BCFS and volunteers with TBM, to put in his order.

“We’re set up to feed in mass,” Emmons explained. “We are feeding the two BCFS shelters, plus 5,000 lunches and 5,000 dinners for the Red Cross.”

All Sanchez wanted was 10 meals.

TBM volunteers already had finished cooking lunch and were cleaning up while the last footlockers of food sped away.

Emmons took Sanchez to where the leftovers from the previous night’s supper was stored and personally prepared 10 meals—including extra grape juice for the children.

“This was an interruption to the operation, no doubt about that,” Emmons admitted. “The temptation was to tell him to go to a shelter and get food there because we don’t do individual meals. But here is a man who feeds poor people out of his own pocket on an ongoing basis.  It was one of those ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ moments.  And the answer was obvious.

“Jesus would have fixed plates of leftover spaghetti.”

SANTA MARIA—Days before Hurricane Dolly made landfall, Primera Iglesia Bautista constructed a building to house a food pantry. Little did the church realize how crucial a move that would be.

In the 72 hours after Hurricane Dolly drenched the area, the congregation distributed more than $1 million in food donated from groups such Texas Baptist Men, the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Red Cross, according to Pastor Billy Schwarz. Up to 5,000 families stood in line for as long as 90 minutes to receive food.

BGCT Director of Bivocational/Smaller Church Ministries Robert Cepeda helped connect Primera Iglesia Bautista with the Red Cross and food in Brownsville and Harlingen.

“If someone’s out there at one o’clock in the morning for food, you know they need it,” Schwarz said.

The church was the only source of food for people in several communities. Cars were flooded in areas, limiting transportation options. Houses didn’t have electricity, allowing food to spoil in nonworking refrigerators. The congregation divided up the food to other pantries so they could provide food in other locations.

“Thank God we were able to get this,” Schwarz said. “Without it, people may have starved.”

In addition to distributing food, the church also prepared about 4,000 meals for people in need.

Schwarz said families in the area are beginning to recover from the storm. Houses have electricity and people can travel easier. But many people in the region work in the farming industry and the rainwater has not dried on all the fields, decreasing the need for labor.

Until the water recedes, people continue looking for temporary sustenance, Schwarz said. The congregation’s food pantry continues to provide food after worship services three times a week.

About 60 people receive food each time the pantry is open. Schwarz believes this increased outreach will be needed for another four weeks.

The food pantry has increased interest in the congregation. Many people have come by the church to express their thanks for the assistance.

“I think it was all worth it. We’ve seen people in church that we’ve never seen before. It’s just a great blessing.”

FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — C.W. Brister Jr., who taught pastoral counseling and theology to generations of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary students, died Aug. 9, reportedly of complications from Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 82. Brister was a professor of pastoral counseling at the Fort Worth, Texas-based seminary for 45 years.

He held the title of distinguished professor emeritus of pastoral ministry, and the Southwestern School of Theology gives an award named for Brister annually to the most outstanding student in pastoral ministry.

“He had such a capacity for caring,” Larry Baker, a former student of Brister’s, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “He took a genuine interest in the people around him. He had a reserved personality, but he took initiative in relating to people.”

Commodore Webster Brister Jr., was born in 1926 in Pineville, La. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana College and went on to earn his master’s degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He received his doctorate from Southwestern, and did additional study at several prominent theological schools, including Princeton Theological Seminary and Oxford University.

Before going to Southwestern, he served as pastor of churches in Louisiana and Texas. He also served as interim pastor at several churches in Texas and Oklahoma.

Brister’s son, Mark, retired last year from the presidency of Oklahoma Baptist University. Besides his son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons he is survived by his wife, Gloria, and his sister, Dolores Bausum of Beloit, Wis.  Baker was scheduled to officiate at Brister’s funeral, set for Aug. 15 at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth. 

The Baptist General Convention of Texas has named Gabriel Cortes Hispanic ministries strategist. Cortes will assist BGCT Director of Hispanic Ministries Rolando Rodriguez in strengthening Hispanic congregations by developing ministries and responding to needs as identified by the Hispanic Baptist Convention, churches, compañerismo’s and other partners. Cortes, who will assume his new role Aug. 25, has served as Baptist University of the Americas’ director of church and alumni relations since January. Prior to that, he was the special/executive assistant to the BUA president. Cortes also was an adjunct professor of biblical and theological studies at the school. He previously served as associate pastor of Southwayside Baptist Church in Fort Worth and pastor of Templo Bautista Emanuel in Fort Worth.

BUA honored for partnership. Communities in Schools-San Antonio, the city’s lead agency dedicated to lowering the school dropout rate, has named Baptist University of the Americas one of its Agency Partners of the Year. BUA students began a formal relationship with Kindred Elementary and South San High School three years ago, spending time as tutors and mentors. This summer, BUA hosted 45 high school students for a five-week Upward Bound program designed to prepare high school students at South San High School for success in post-secondary education. This school year, BUA is hosting the second annual Eagle Run Sept. 20, with all proceeds benefiting Communities in Schools-San Antonio.

Hendrick plans $80 million expansion project. Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene has announced plans for an $80 million expansion program. Project 2010 represents the largest expansion in the hospital’s 84-year history. Core components include a four-story patient tower with surgery facilities, labor and delivery and Hendrick Children’s Hospital; a physician office building; and a canopy-covered entrance and lobby. Additional components include a dialysis unit, a wound-care center, an infusion clinic, a two-story parking structure and an expanded lobby area. Overall, Project 2010 features 200,000 square feet of new construction and 38,000 square feet allocated to upgrades in renovated space. Hendrick plans to break ground on Project 2010 in late fall. The projected completion date for the new construction is summer of 2010, with the remaining phases related to remodeling in the existing facilities will be completed in late fall 2010.

Valley hospitals win ‘triple crown.’ Valley Baptist Medical Center -Brownsville and Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen are among only five hospitals in Texas to receive “triple crown” awards for care of coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke patients from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. Out of 1,314 hospitals nationwide participating in the American Heart Association’s database for stroke care, 714 hospitals participating in the database for coronary artery disease and 502 hospitals participating for heart failure, Valley Baptist-Brownsville and Valley Baptist-Harlingen were among only 29 hospitals that received awards in all three categories.

• The John Newport Foundation banquet, to be held Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. at Broadway Church in Fort Worth, will honor Russell Dilday. Dilday, chancellor of the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute and a former student of Newport, will be recognized for this contributions in theological education. The cost of the banquet is $20. Reservations can be made by sending an e-mail to Larry Williams, chair of the foundation, at atldwill@flash.net.

• Houston Baptist University will hold its fall preview for prospective students Sept. 26-27. The event is designed to give high school students an opportunity to experience college life firsthand. For more information, call (281) 649-3211.

• Dallas Baptist University has announced a gift of more than 800 acres of land located in East Texas from Jeannette Sadler, estimated at about $4 million. A member of Cliff Temple Church in Dallas, she is a longtime supporter of the university, and this past year gave a gift of $1 million for construction of DBU’s new Patty and Bo Pilgrim Chapel.

• Steve Oldham, associate professor of religion and philosophy in the College of Christian Studies, has been named interim provost/vice president at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

• Billy Ray Hearn, the 1954 Baylor University church music graduate hailed by some as the “father of contemporary Christian music,” has been honored with the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Christian Music, given by Baylor’s Center for Christian Music Studies.

• Wayland Baptist University is offering a new degree focusing on training and educating professionals for a career in homeland security. The online master’s degree will be in public administration with a homeland security specialization. The courses will cover topics from the Patriot Act to FEMA’s responsibility concerning natural disasters.

Anniversaries

• John Free, 10th, as minister to adults at First Church in Bryan, July 19.

• Bert Ball, 25th, as minister of music at First Church in Mineola, July 31.

• Johnny Witherspoon, fifth, as pastor of First Church in Cooper, Aug. 1.

• Ed Jump, fifth, as director of missions of Corpus Christi Association, Aug. 11.

• Karen Summers, 10th, as minister of preschool and children at Park Meadows Church in Waxahachie, Aug. 17.

• James Overton, 30th, as associate pastor of South Avenue Church in Pasadena, Aug. 20. A reception will be held Aug. 24 at 7 p.m.

• Randall Scott, 25th, as pastor of Immanuel Church in Paris, Aug. 23.

• Canyon Creek Church in Temple, 30th, Aug. 24. A combined morning service will be followed by a meal and the launch of a capital campaign for a new preschool and children’s building. Trey Turner is pastor.

• Jimmy Arnold, 30th, as pastor of First Church in Woodsboro, Aug. 27. A reception will be held Aug. 30 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

• Shady Grove Church in Greenville, 120th, Aug. 29-31. The Open Range Band will perform at 7 p.m. Friday. Saturday, Psalm 100 will sing, and Royce Litchfield, who was called to ministry at Shady Grove, will preach at 7 p.m. Former pastor Gene Witt will preach Sunday morning; a meal will follow. Benny Chaffin will preach Sunday evening at 6 p.m. James Ralson is pastor.

• Paramount Church in Amarillo, 50th, Sept. 13-14. The church’s first two pastors, Chester O’Brien and Shad Rue, will attend, along with former worship leader Gary Bledsoe. Saturday’s events will include reunions of former staff and participants in mission trips, ministries, mission organizations and Sunday school classes. The congregation’s mission churches—Chaparral Hills Church, Paramount Deaf Church and Iglesia Fuente Viva—also will be recognized and celebrated. Campus tours also will be conducted. The weddings of those married at the church also will recalled in a photographic display. Sunday’s 10 a.m. worship service will be followed by a barbecue lunch. For more information, go to www.paramount.org. Gil Lain is pastor.

• River Road Church in Austin, 50th, Sept. 13-14. An ice cream social will be held Saturday. Sunday’s worship service will include several former staff members. A meal and remembrance service will follow. For more information or to make reservations, call (512) 276-3824. Jay Miller is pastor.

• Eastern Hills Church in Garland, 55th, Sept. 20-21. Saturday’s festivities will begin at 5 p.m. with dinner and a time of fellowship. Charles Thornton will speak. Sunday morning, former pastor Bob Allen will preach. For more information, call (972) 240-2946. David Hall is pastor.

Deaths

• Dot Sherman, 90, Aug. 1 in Richmond, Va. She was the wife of Cecil Sherman, founding coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. A graduate of Southwestern Seminary, she worked as an editor at the Sunday School Board as well as at Southwestern. Her husband is undergoing treatment for acute leukemia in Houston. She is survived by her husband of 54 years; and daughter, Eugenia Brown.

• Win Oakes, 76, Aug. 6 in Burleson, after a prolonged battle with cancer. He worked with ministers of missions and helped facilitate church starts through the Baptist General Convention of Texas from 1984 to 1997. After retiring, he became the liaison for the BGCT in its partnership with the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention. He also was minister of missions for First Church in Burleson. He is survived by his wife, Martha; sons, Dale and Les; daughter, Amy Guzman; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

• C.W. Brister, 82, Aug. 9 in Fort Worth. He was a distinguished professor emeritus of pastoral ministry at Southwestern Seminary. He served on the faculty there 45 years. He taught courses in pastoral ministry, administered the school’s Hultgren chair of pastoral care and coordinated the center for ministry empowerment. Along with numerous articles, he also wrote more than a dozen books. The Gloria and C.W. Brister Chair of Pastoral Ministry at Hardin-Simmons University was named for him and his wife. He is survived by his wife, Gloria; son, Mark; sister, Dolores Bausum; and two grandsons.

Events

• The Telestials will bring a concert at First Church in Devers Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. For more information, call (936) 549-7653. Harry McDaniel is pastor.

• Graceview Church in Tomball will hold a church training event Sept. 13 for those who work with special needs people. More information and a registration form are available at www.graceview.org. Working with children with autism will be one of the topics covered. Also discussed will be finding more volunteers, working with families of class members, reaching new families and finding money to support the ministry. The cost is $35 per person, and space is limited.

Ordained

• Jerry Bell, Ezequiel Casas, Michael Hull and Wayne Wallace as deacons at Trinity Church in Gatesville.

Revival

• First Church, Paducah; Aug. 24-27; evangelist, Robert Barge; music, Derwin Comer; pastor, Ronnie Lambert.

WACO (ABP)—Trying to adapt to every trend in worship can become disruptive and distracting to a church, said Tim Studstill, director of music and worship for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Serving in a trend-driven congregation, Studstill said, can turn a worship leader ?into a “barista”—someone who prepares coffee drinks—“blending a heritage of hymns with a collection of … choruses, serving a perfectly satisfying selection of worship to discriminating worshipers.”

Churches that focus too much on ever-changing worship trends can get distracted from the real issues of the heart, Studstill said. Likewise, defining congregations by their worship styles is dangerous.

Sometimes churches get caught up in definitions like traditional, contemporary, postmodern, emerging and western-heritage that define churches.

“Denominations are identified according to (worship), and congregations split over it, and ministers resign over it,” Studstill told a gathering of worship leaders.

Music ministers from across the nation came together recently for the “Alleluia!” conference at Baylor University to examine worship trends and where they may be leading. “All ideas of worship are here,” said Randall Bradley, director of Baylor’s Center for Christian Music Studies. “It’s a place were people can come together and dialogue about ideas.”

Studstill described several trends that are influencing worship—relaxing the dress code, embracing a more contemporary approach to music and using more technology. Churches also have begun to throw out printed materials such as the church bulletin and the order of worship.

Gary Chevalier, pastor of worship arts at The Avenue Church in Waxahachie, said his church has done away with the order of worship.

“It just becomes a checklist,” he said. 

Terry York, associate professor of Christian ministry and church music at Baylor’s Truett Theological Seminary, helped conference participants look to the future of the church and what it might look like.

Participants predicted denominations no longer will have significant meaning, worship might become less performance-oriented and more participatory, and churches may offer music therapy to individual members, in the same way they offer counseling now.

MARSHALL—Building and maintaining relationships with other people through which the gospel can be shared is a messy proposition, Christian leaders say. Learning how to do it is no less messy.

Using often-messy team-building activities this summer, more than 4,000 young people who attended Super Summer camps learned how share their faith naturally through relationships with other people. Each action—no matter how gooey, slimy or gross—provided teaching moments about evangelism.

Leighton Flowers, director of Baptist General Convention of Texas youth evangelism, said young people want to discuss spiritual matters, creating opportunities for Christians to share their faith. Super Summer camps sponsored by the BGCT at East Texas Baptist University, Hardin-Simmons University and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor help students understand how to do that.

“Sometimes it’s simply turning a conversation to relate to spiritual matters and their spiritual needs,” said Flowers, who directs the youth leadership development camps. “Many think of evangelism as awkward and stressful as you pull out the tract and force a conversation. These students are learning this can be done naturally and relationally. This generation is interested in spiritual things. They want to talk about the things of God, but they don’t want to feel like they are being manipulated. They want authenticity and honesty, not a sales pitch.”

Chelsea Westover (left) visits with Megan May prior to the group picture taken of the Orange School at Super Summer held at East Texas Baptist University. The two girls are from Dogwood Baptist Church of Athens.

Staff members at Super Summer transformed classrooms with vibrant themes. Leaders arrived early on the weekend prior to the start of a weeklong camp on Monday so that they have time to set up their school rooms, get to know their family group partners and prepare for about 800 campers each week.

Super Summer gives students the chance to be in an atmosphere where they learn how to share their Christian faith with others as well as share personal stories without fear of judgment. The experience of the week changes the lives of those attending.

One camper from Crosby, Sasha Savoy, a high school sophomore said, “There was an exercise where some went to hell and some went to heaven. It impacted my life and brought me closer to God and showed me that life won’t always go my way, but that there is something bigger.”

James Bridges of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Henderson visits with Lisa Allen of First Baptist, Cleveland during the Super Summer session at ETBU.

Super Summer gives the students at host universities an opportunity to minister and be servants.

“I love recreation and helping set up. But I love worship time and watching the students lives change throughout the week,” said Lauren Shuman, a senior at ETBU. “It is a lot of work making sure campus is ready but when the time comes for the campers to arrive, it is all worth it!”

In addition to Super Summer in Texas, 189 students – more than double the number of students who participated last year – went to Tokyo for Super Summer Global. During their trip, more than 50 people made professions of faith.

“Super Summer global is really taking off and growing,” Flowers said. “It’s challenging students to think outside their churches and outside their perspectives.”

With additional reporting by John Hall of BGCT Communications

WARWICK, R.I. — Members of Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church in Dallas view the needs of New England Baptists as great. So is the congregation’s commitment to help meet those needs.

Members of Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church recently signed a partnership agreement with the Greater Boston Baptist Association and the Southeastern New England Baptist Association, committing to provide financial and ministerial assistance to the churches in these two associations, and it states a reciprocal agreement from the Greater Boston and Southeastern New England Baptist Associations to provide “housing, meals, and other resources” to visiting ministry teams as financially possible.

By the time the agreement was signed this month, after five Shiloh Terrace representatives took a five-day prayer walking tour of churches and communities in the two New England associations, their personal commitment was clear.

“We saw it as an opportunity for our church to be a resource,” said Cecil Deadman, member of Shiloh Terrace and church staff/committee resource specialist of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

After a preliminary vision trip to the northeast in February facilitated by the Texas Partnerships Office of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Deadman saw and felt the need for aid among Baptist churches in New England.

The BGCT has been part of the Impact Northeast partnership with New England since 2001, and Texas Baptists statewide help to support Texas Partnerships through their gifts to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.

“There are churches virtually everywhere, but they’re basically empty on Sunday,” Deadman said. “They’re just kind of existing.”

The associations in the northeast expressed struggles openly to Deadman, and he said he felt motivated to take action.

Cecil Deadman and Danny Francis pray outside a school in Northborough, Mass. with Pastor Stephen Georgeson of Rice Memorial Baptist Church in Northborough.

Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church members Jerry Allen, Danny Francis and Mac and Peggy Bolton traveled with Deadman to meet leaders from the two New England Baptist associations, talk to pastors and church members of congregations affiliated with the associations and prayer walk through the churches’ communities. The Dallas team visited Providence, Putnam, Conn., Northborough, Mass. and two locations on Cape Cod.

Traveling in person and touring the areas covered by the partnership made prayer efforts tangible for Shiloh Terrace representatives. Following conversations with pastors of area churches, the Texas group went out on the streets to pray over specific places—such as schools and new residential developments—that pastors hoped to reach.

The Texans participated with pastors Mike Beckman of Hope Chapel Baptist Church, Mike Alford of Mid Cape Baptist Church and other volunteers from churches and the Baptist Convention of New England in a prayerwalk practicum on Saturday morning, led by Randy Sprinkle, the New England convention’s director of transformational leadership. Sprinkle taught about prayer walking, its practice and its potential effects, then passed out maps for participants to apply what they’d learned.

(back row) Mac Bolton, Al Riddley (GBBA DOM), Rafael Hernandez (SNEBA DOM), Jerry Allen, (front row) Cecil Deadman, Peggy Bolton, and Danny Francis, after sign Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church's partnership with the GBBA and SNEBA.

Prayerwalking “is not an activity, it’s not an event; it’s on site, active spiritual struggle,” Sprinkle said. God “leads us into prepared places.”

Prayers throughout the weekend concerned different struggles specific to each community. Church plants in each association aim to reach unchurched people, as well as those currently attending non-Christian places of worship.

“We have a huge occult presence here on the Cape,” Beckman said.

Leaders also presented concerns about the area’s evangelistic poverty, despite the large number of churches present. Several pastors desire that their churches become “community churches” intent on reaching neighborhood residents.

For any revival to take place, church members in New England will have to take the lead. Through the new partnership, Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church will have the opportunity “to participate in something that has eternal benefits,” Deadman noted.

The partnership anticipates the monumental challenge facing church plants in New England, and in the agreement Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church commits to providing “leadership, encouragement and training” to these churches “as practical and financially feasible.”

Church pastors and the associations’ missions directors, Al Riddley and Rafael Hernandez) were visibly encouraged by the Texans’ visit.

“It tells our people that what’s happening here … is an important part of God’s kingdom plan,” Beckman said. “It helps people to have a greater vision.”

The Baptist General Convention of Texas currently has a ministry relationship with Baptists in New England through the Impact Northeast Partnership. For more information about mission opportunities in the region, contact Steve Seaberry at (888) 244-9400.