November 24, 1999
BGCT honors five for creative church ministries across state
___By Orville Scott
___Texas Baptist Communications
___EL PASO--Five churches and individuals received awards for exceptional ministry at the church ministries banquet during the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual session in El Paso Sept. 9.
___Joan Jackson, a member of First Baptist Church of Keeter in Boyd, received the Good Samaritan Award given to a lay person in community ministry.
___Jackson serves her church and community by caring for the elderly, feeding and clothing the needy, sharing her home with the homeless, taking food and visiting the bereaved, distributing plants to the sick and using her car as a church bus.
___Jackson "exemplifies Christ in everything she does," said her pastor, Brett Beasley.
___"She is a prayer warrior and a pastor's best friend. She has a burden for the lost, having started two missions in her own home. She gives with no regard for her own outcome. She has been a pillar in the community as an openly Christian public school teacher for 41 years."
___First Baptist Church of Hale Center received the Salt and Light Award for churches transforming the community through ministry outside the church walls.
___The church, where Gene Meacham is pastor, has a new community ministry, Mission Hale Center, reaching people for Christ. It has a building for food and clothing and other ministry outreach and has gotten the entire town involved in volunteering, giving food and raising money for ministry.
___Frederick Mattox, pastor of Mount Rose Baptist Church in Beaumont, received the Barnabas Award for being a leader in vocational community ministry.
___"Pastor Mattox approaches salvation for the lost and forgotten using an eclectic approach," said William James of Mount Rose.
___Mattox "leads outreach ministries that include soup-can ministry, nursing homes, recovering drug addiction, Christian-based '12 Steps in Prison' ministry, street evangelism and making disciples for Christ by penetrating and launching out into the 'deep waters' of the community," James explained.
___The Philippian Award for a community ministry sponsored by multiple churches went to Dallas Christian Women's Job Corps of Dallas.
___The award was accepted by Jana Young, associate to the director of missions for Dallas Baptist Association.
___Dallas Christian Women's Job Corps is a job readiness ministry for women entering the workforce.
___Women entering the program may be homeless and battling drug or alcohol addictions. Each student is paired with a Christian woman as mentor for a year. The students participate in 10 weeks of classroom instruction, including computers, money management, social skills, resume preparation and job interviewing skills.
___Dallas-area churches involved in the ministry include Cornerstone, Wilshire, Park Cities, First Duncanville, First Richardson and Lochwood.
___The Genesis Award for an innovative new community ministry went to the CheapSkate ministry of Highland Baptist Church in Lubbock.
___Highland Pastor Stan Blevins, who accepted the award for the church, said CheapSkate is "a ministry to skateboarders and in-line skaters, providing them a safe, supervised place to skate. This affords an opportunity for youth workers and church staff to share Christ with them."
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