November 17, 1999
Texas Baptist Men review a
year of busy relief efforts, plan for more
___By Orville Scott
___Texas Baptist Communications
___EL PASO--Texas Baptist Men voted at their annual convention in El Paso to appoint a committee to conduct a pilot victim relief ministries project in Southwest Dallas, heard reports by disaster relief volunteers and presented the annual Parabaloni Awards to two top Baptist General Convention of Texas leaders.
___Highly trained local church volunteers with the victim relief ministries pilot project will provide assistance and ministry to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs ofvictims of crime, said Don Gibson, director of restorative justice ministry for Texas Baptist Men.
BGCT Executive Director Bill Pinson (left) and BGCT Treasurer Roger Hall and their wives display their Parabaloni Awards presented by Texas Baptist Men.
___Victim relief ministries will be a non-denominational, local-church-based, volunteer-supported ministry network coordinated by Texas Baptist Men but involving every church of every denomination in the community, he said.
___"Texas Baptist Men's role is to develop a model for victim relief ministry and to provide the coordination and training for implementing the ministry on a community-by-community basis," Gibson said.
___Executive Director Jim Furgerson, discussing his organization's well-known role in disaster relief, said a team of volunteers currently is serving in flood-ravaged Southern Mexico. The eighth team of disaster relief volunteers is serving in Kosovo, and volunteers have completed construction of 70 of the 100 homes planned in Honduras for victims of Hurricane Mitch, he added.
___President Bob Dixon, who led Texas Baptist Men to develop its network of worldwide ministries by volunteers, said the first family visitation center will be built by Texas Baptist Men Builders under direction of James Butler of Manor, vice president for Texas Baptist Men Retiree Builders.
___About 10 years ago, the builders constructed Texas' first Hospitality House for families visiting inmates at prisons near Huntsville.
___Butler reported to the Texas Baptist Men convention that the volunteer builders this year have constructed facilities for 22 churches, saving the churches well over $1 million. Also, he said the volunteers built one new home and rebuilt three others following a tornado in DeKalb in East Texas.
___Convention participants heard a report by Larry Blanchard of First Baptist Church in Lindale, who helped deliver a mobile kitchen and water purification equipment to Turkey after the earthquake this summer. The volunteers served about 120,000 meals for earthquake victims and shared Christ with many people, he said.
___Phil Johanson of First Baptist Church in George West and Noe Vella, pastor of a mission of Stonegate Baptist Church in Benavides, shared their experiences serving in Kosovo.
___Fred and Evelyn Johnson, also of First Baptist Church in George West, and Dick and June Moody of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Ennis described their experiences while participating in prayer walks in China this summer.
___Furgerson presented the Parabaloni Award for God's risk takers to BGCT Executive Director Bill Pinson and BGCT Treasurer Roger Hall.
___Also, he presented plaques to Ken Camp and Orville Scott of the BGCT communications office for co-authoring "Anyway, Anytime, Anywhere," a new book on Texas Baptist Men ministries released at the convention. Proceeds from sale of the book will benefit mission work.
___Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, told the lay leaders that one of the reasons missionaries around the world have been able to accelerate missions advances is that Texas Baptist Men has been able to serve so well wherever there have been natural and politically caused disasters.
___The Texas Baptist Men executive board voted to recommend to its convention Bob Dixon as the organization's president.
___ Elected as vice presidents were Ambrosia Benitez of New Braunfels, Hispanic Baptist Men; Larry Blanchard of Lindale, Challengers; James Butler of Manor, Retiree Builders; T.Y. Chung of Dallas, Korean Baptist Men; James Corliss of San Antonio, Royal Ambassadors; Bryan Finley of Kerrville, outdoor fellowship; Glen Gaines of Brenham, veterinarians; Mel Goodwin of Kilgore, communications; Mark Hollis of Crowley, restorative justice ministries; Damon Hollingsworth of Spicewood, education; Jerry Horn of Universal City, military fellowship; John LaNoue of Lindale, aviation; Joe Lenamon of Fort Worth, finance; Dick Moody of Ennis, Couples on Mission; Glen Smith of Sundown, Retiree Camp Builders; Leo Smith of LaMarque, personnel; Jerry Bob Taylor of Brownwood, policy; Jack Tennison of McQueeney, special building projects; B.B. Westbrook of Beaumont, Medical/ Dental Fellowship, DeWayne Williams of Arlington, agricultural missions; and Gene Wofford of Santa Fe, kingdom renewal.
___Elected regional leaders are Bill Merritt, El Paso; Brian Crittion, McCamey; Dale Pond, Midland; Alvin Fleming, Tulia; Wayne Maddox, Miami; Bob Mayfield, Wichita Falls; Steve Darilik, Bridgeport; Warren Hart, Paris; William Withers, Buna; Herb Weaver, Houston; Leo Smith, LaMarque; Isaac Torres, Kingsville; Ed Alvarado, Donna; Kent McCary, Uvalde; Jerry Horn, Universal City; Damon Hollingsworth, Spicewood; Buck Westbrook, Wimberly; Wes Farrell, Belton; Jerry Smith, Aquilla; James Pool, Ennis; Kevin Walker, Fort Worth; Les Brown, Ovilla; and Jerry Bob Taylor, Brownwood.
___New members-at-large are Joe Mosley of Dallas, for the year 2000; Powell Adams of Lubbock, for 2001; and Robert Hinojosa Jr. of Odessa, Hubert Childress of Killeen, Jared Sellers of Plains, Bill Noble of Brownfield, Gary Hillyard of Anahuac and Bruce Irving of George West, for 2002.
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