May 29, 2000
Texas Baptists explore partnership
missions opportunities in Cuba
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___FARMERSVILLE--Bart Barber went to Cuba expecting to find struggling churches desperately in need of help. Instead, he discovered vibrant, growing, evangelistic congregations in need of partners.
___"There are 10 churches to every pastor there," said Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville. "They are working to build leadership. We hope to put together some ways to help train leaders."
CURT GRICE of First Baptist Church in Arlington demonstrates his video camera to a group of children from a Cuban Baptist Sunday School class, while Bart Barber (background) of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, looks on.
___The Farmersville church may develop member-to-member partnerships with a Cuban congregation, linking Texas Baptists by correspondence and prayer with a Cuban Baptist family. The church also may send a construction team for a building project at a Cuban Baptist conference center.
___Barber recently was part of a four-day exploratory trip to Cuba sponsored by Texas Partnerships. Joe Bruce, project director of Texas Partnerships, led a team that included Rick Williams from Carpenter's Way Baptist Church of Lufkin, Doug Tipps and Stan Livingston from First Baptist Church in San Marcos and Curt Grice from First Baptist Church of Arlington and representatives of the International Mission Board.
___The Baptist General Convention of Texas is involved in a limited partnership with the Eastern Cuba Baptist Convention.
___Barber said he had the opportunity to visit a variety of churches in the Guantanamo Province. He saw an established pre-revolutionary church in a traditional building and a house that had been converted to a church. He also saw a mission where 110 people meet each week in a crude structure built between two bamboo trees on a yucca plantation and a "house of prayer" that attracts 80 worshipers each week.
___"There was nothing contemporary about the worship, and they didn't sing indigenous songs. They sang 1950s Baptist hymns that were translated into Spanish. It was extremely traditional in one sense, but at the same time it was an extremely passionate, energetic worship service," Barber said.
___"There is a very dynamic, evangelical Christian church in Cuba. The churches have well-developed work in some areas such as music ministry and new church starting," said Don Sewell, director of Texas Partnerships.
___Texas Baptists are being enlisted to help meet key needs of the churches in Cuba such as discipleship training, leadership development, construction and renovation of facilities and financial support for retired ministers and widows.
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