Articles from April 2018

As Victoria Lopez shared her testimony, members of the crowd dabbed their eyes to wipe away tears. The 16-year-old told the crowd of approximately 3,200 at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas, that she continues to look to God while fighting cystic fibrosis, a progressive genetic lung disease. She said through all her hospital stays, infections and surgeries, she has relied on God for help.

By Abby Hopkins

In 2017, 123 young women considering abortion came to a ministry in Decatur. After receiving loving assistance from Wise Choices Pregnancy Care Center, 103 of these “abortion-minded” women chose life, and the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering is playing a role in serving these new families.

“These girls are absolutely heroes. Choosing to love the child, even when it’s hard – it’s what motherhood is all about,” said Connie Wyatt, CEO of Wise Choices.

Wise Choices is a Texas Baptist Hunger Offering ministry that seeks to empower families throughout a woman’s pregnancy and for the first year of the baby’s life by giving hope.

“We meet them where they are. When they make the choice for life, they’re not in it alone,” Wyatt said.

Texas Baptists offered pastors and their church members the opportunity to be refreshed and reminded of biblical stewardship, including personal and church budgeting. The first of five “Giving Your Money Purpose” day retreats in 2018 was held on Saturday, April 21, at Houston Baptist University.

The Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas (WMU) hosted their Annual Meeting and Missions Celebration on April 13-14 at First Baptist Church Georgetown. The focus of this meeting was to pursue God’s Gospel-calling. The event challenged attendees to make an impact in their communities for the Kingdom through passionately telling His story, creatively empowering leaders and obediently engaging the world for Christ.

Él pudo haberse sentido insignificante. Era tan solo un niño de camino a casa con una canasta con el almuerzo de su familia: cinco panes pequeños y dos pescados.

Andrés, uno de los discípulos de Jesús, vio el insignificante almuerzo y preguntó: “…pero ¿qué es esto para tanta gente?” Me imagino que el chico se peguntó: “¿Cómo puedo marcar una diferencia?”

Y es entonces que el Salvador entra en escena.

“Tráiganmelos acá—les dijo Jesús. Y mandó a la gente que se sentara sobre la hierba, Tomó los cinco panes y los dos pescados y, mirando al cielo, los bendijo. Luego partió los panes y se los dio a los discípulos, quienes los repartieron a la gente”.

Todos comieron

hasta quedar satisfechos, y los discípulos

recogieron doce canastas

llenas de pedazos que sobraron. Los que comieron fueron unos cinco mil hombres, sin contar a las mujeres y a los niños

(Mateos 14:18-21, NVI).

By Caleb Seibert

This month, the Christian Life Commission joined Gov. Greg Abbott and several groups to declare April “Second Chance Month” for formerly incarcerated individuals. Second Chance Month is an opportunity to highlight the challenges of formerly incarcerated individuals and their families and to share stories of redemption for those who have successfully overcome their criminal pasts.

Nearly 70,000 people are released from Texas state prisons every year, but most churches have little to no interaction with them. These people and their families often face a mountain of obstacles to re-entry ranging from work barriers and criminal debt to the deep stigmatization that comes with their past experiences.

Research by Lifeway Publishing in Nashville seems to echo this sentiment. After polling 1,000 Protestant churches, Lifeway found that 31 percent said no former inmates attended their church, 36 percent said one or two former inmates attended, and only 33 percent indicated three or more former inmates attending their church.

Hebrews 13:3 says to “remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them.” How can Christians remember those who are in prison and those who have been released?

Here are four practical suggestions for ministry . . .

Each year, deep in the heart of Texas, Texas Baptists meet on the first Sunday in June at the historic Independence Baptist Church to honor individuals who have represented Texas Baptists exceedingly well.

Today, churches have access to the largest and most diverse mission field, with people from nearly every continent, age group

and cultural background. In Matthew 10, Jesus sent out his disciples to share the Good News, and we have the same mission today - just with more advanced tools.