November 12, 2001
TOGETHER:
God multiplies kingdom investments
___My heart continues to overflow with thanksgiving for the marvelous harmony and spirit of mission evidenced at our Baptist General Convention of Texas annual session.
___Every aspect of the meeting--from pre-convention evangelistic efforts to thrilling reports to quiet acts of personal sacrifice--underscored what the theme, "Be the Presence of Christ," could mean in our lives.
___Rick Davis, director of the BGCT Center for Strategic Evangelism, led his staff to be involved with Dallas Baptist Association and North American Mission Board inner-city evangelism teams in a campaign to Light Up Dallas. That five-day effort--preceded by prayer--yielded 1,193 professions of faith in Christ and 361 other spiritual decisions.
CHARLES WADE
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
___Leo Smith, newly elected president of Texas Baptist Men, urged his brothers to be Jesus' presence in all the needy places of Texas and the world. Texas Baptist Men have provided disaster relief in Houston and New York City. And they have accepted God's invitation to work in North Korea, Kosovo, Serbia, Belize, Honduras and Canada.
___Pastor Dorso Maciel from Primera Iglesia Bautista in Laredo led our benediction on Monday evening, offering a powerful prayer of blessing upon our BGCT family. Later, I learned he had taken a bus from the Rio Grande to Dallas earlier that same day and then returned home on the midnight southbound bus. His schedule required that he not stay, but rather than finding a substitute, he went to extraordinary lengths to fulfill his assignment. That demonstrates his wonderful dedication to the work of the BGCT and love for our Texas Baptist family.
___Wesley Shotwell, pastor of the growing Ash Creek Baptist Church of Azle in west Tarrant County and chairman of the 2001 BGCT order of business committee, shared with me one of the reasons his church is so committed to the BGCT. He said, "The BGCT was really there for us when we began to plan a new building."
___The BGCT Church Facilities Center helped the church examine its programs, needs and potential for growth. The offices of personal stewardship and congregational stewardship provided financial management seminars and a United We Build campaign. And the Baptist Church Loan Corp. offered the church a loan at a quarter point below prime. With that offer in hand, the church was able to negotiate with two banks and secure a loan at a half point below prime. Wesley said, "You can see why my church loves and appreciates the BGCT."
___The convention sermon by Ellis Orozco, pastor of McAllen's Calvary Baptist Church, was an unbelievably special time. He preached with unusual eloquence, insight and Holy Spirit power. Ellis, who is working toward his doctor of ministry degree at Truett Seminary, grew up in Houston's Templo Bautista. First Baptist Church of South Houston helped to start this congregation and sustain it through its early years.
___Consider what God does to multiply every investment his people make in kingdom work. Only a few will develop the extraordinary ability and discipline to preach like Ellis, but thousands will grow up to be what God wants and equips them to be.
___God is at work among Texas Baptists--saving the lost, meeting human needs, giving us a deep love for one another, calling out our young people for Christian vocations and putting it into the hearts of our churches to give sacrificially to help them have a place to be trained for kingdom service.
___We are loved.
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