November 5, 2001

Partnership missions event highlights opportunities
___DALLAS--Speakers presented the challenge of mission opportunities in New England and the Northeast as well as the Republic of Georgia and Spain Oct. 30 at a breakfast meeting of Texas Partnerships.
___Jim Wideman, executive director of the New England Baptist Convention, said there are "many opportunities of service" in

DON SEWELL, director of Texas Partnerships, displays a two-sided U.S./Spanish flag given to Texas Baptists by Spanish Baptist leader Manuel Sarrias.

his part of the United States.
___"We are looking for partners who will help us start churches and collegiate ministries on new campuses," said Wideman, who lives in Worcester, Mass.
___While the Northeast is home to 25 percent of the nation's population, the area has "the lowest ratio of churches to population" anywhere in the nation, he said.
___Texas Baptists, he said, are partnering with five state conventions in the Northeast in a program called Impact Northeast with a goal to start churches, impact college campuses, strengthen existing churches and contextualize leadership training.
___"Since the Impact Northeast partnership goes through 2007, we are hoping for long-term, church-to-church, association-to-association partnerships that assist us doing work we could not do for ourselves," Wideman said.
___The challenge of sharing Christ with people in the Republic of Georgia was presented by Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili, pastor of Central Baptist Church of Tbilisi, Georgia.
___He said the main emphasis of the ministry in the former Soviet Union country was to "present the gospel" and work for the social issues of the people.
___Manuel Sarrias, executive director of the Baptist Evangelical Union of Spain, asked for help in sharing the Christian message with his countrymen. "Come over to Spain to help us," he paraphrased a biblical request.
___

Get printer-friendly version of this story


Send this story to a friend

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook