Great Commandment

When Gaston Oaks Baptist Church faced the impending reality of closing its doors for good, leadership in the church sought to utilize the resources and property the Lord had given them to keep their ministry alive. The result was a reimagined ministry that would reach the nations right in their neighborhood. They named this new endeavor the Gaston Christian Center.

The combined missions efforts of Texas Baptists over Spring Break involved more than 1,400 middle, high school and college students engaged in ministry across the United States. Projects ranged from rebuilding homes in Houston damaged by Hurricane Harvey, providing free van rides and pancakes to fellow college students in South Padre Island and engaging in evangelistic efforts alongside church planters in New York City.

I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Discovery Weekend for Go Now Missions from February 16-18. During those three days I learned a lot. I learned to trust in God, to listen to what He was telling me and to follow my heart. I went into the weekend with a feeling that I was supposed to go to a specific place.

Back in 1848, at the first Baptist state convention in Texas, a handful of words were used to describe the primary purpose of the group gathered. Later on, in 1886, those same words were incorporated into the Baptist General Convention of Texas constitution at its formation.

“BENEVOLENT WORK” is an old phrase referring to what churches do to help people meet their basic needs. Benevolence takes many forms, but a story told by Jesus provides many churches the foundation for their efforts.

La Primera Iglesia Bautista de Valley Mills se encuentra en la cima de un monte en una comunidad de alrededor de 1,200 residentes. A pesar de que la iglesia ha participado continuamente en ministerios a la comunidad desde sus comienzos, el Pastor John Wheatley estaba interesado en encontrar maneras nuevas para servir. Él se comunicó con la Escuela de Trabajo Social de la Universidad de Baylor y pronto le conectaron con Travis Engel, un trabajador social quien comenzó a servir en la iglesia en el otoño del 2016.

It was Christmas morning. There were 10 of us crowded into my grandmother’s toasty living room. The torn wrapping paper was piled high and the folded gift bags were stacked neatly to return to the box for next year. The smell of bacon and sausage filled the air and each of us sifted back through our hauls to see just how good Santa was this year.