February 26, 2001
TOGETHER:
God is blessing Texas Baptists; be sure to get the facts
___Every day, I receive letters, calls and e-mail--much of it encouraging. I hear from families who have been blessed by our Texas Baptist child care homes and from patients touched by the ministries of our hospitals. Churches express gratitude for the excellenttraining their pastors received in one of our universities or seminaries. Parents mention how much the Baptist Student Ministry means to their college-age children.
CHARLES WADE
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
___Woman's Missionary Union of Texas and Texas Baptist Men spark enthusiasm for missions in churches across Texas, and their ministries extend worldwide. Mission Service Corps volunteers enrich the lives of those who are touched by their unselfish, sacrificial ministry. The creative approach of Texas Partnerships enables churches and individuals to be involved in missions all around the world.
___River Ministry makes friends for the gospel and wins people to Christ along the Texas/Mexico border. For several years, it has sponsored four children's homes in Piedras Negras, across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass. Last week, I heard a pediatrician from Mexico tell how God called him to be a missionary doctor. Funding through the Mission Foundation of Texas and the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions will enable him to fulfill that calling by becoming the doctor for the 100 children living in those four children's homes.
___I am excited to think of the 1,451 new churches started by Texas Baptists since 1995. My heart is thrilled by reports of churches meeting human needs, reaching out to prison inmates and their families and ministering to victims of crime.
___I regularly hear from people touched by these and other ministries of our convention, as we help churches be all that God has called them to be in their communities. Your faithful and generous support of mission causes through the Cooperative Program and the Mary Hill Davis Offering make all this possible. You should share in the joy of knowing that lives are touched and changed by the gospel and by your love.
___But I hear from others, as well. I hear from churches that have decided to pull away from the work and ministries of the BGCT. And my heart aches. First, because every church is important, and its partnership in the family makes us all stronger. Second, because the reasons most often stated for leaving tell me they have not been told the truth about the Baptist General Convention of Texas. If someone should begin to talk to your church about withdrawing from the life and work of the BGCT, make sure the church has access to all the facts.
___I have established a quick-response team of trained advocates for the BGCT who can go to any church and answer questions and give the facts. We have sought to lift up the good God is doing through the BGCT and the churches we serve, rather than being critical. But the time has come for the BGCT to refute false charges, misrepresentations and half-truths. If you need our help, please call Bill Arnold's office at (214) 828-5343 or e-mail at arnold@bgct.org.
___Every church is precious to me and to the BGCT. Some may decide to go away from us, but I want to be sure no one leaves because they felt unneeded or because they did not have all the facts.
___We are loved.
___
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!
