February 5, 2001

Women urged to create a spiritual environment at home
___By Ferrell Foster
___Texas Baptist Communications
___SAN ANTONIO--Christian women should maintain a "spiritual environment" in their homes, one that is conducive to leading family members to accept Christ as Savior, Bobbie Neal advised during a Women Reaching Texas conference Jan. 27.
___About 400 women attended the event at Shearer Hills Baptist Church in San Antonio,

WOMEN PRAY at the altar as Margarita Trevino closes a worship service in Spanish during the Women Reaching Texas conference Jan. 27 in San Antonio.

said Debra Hochgraber, women's evangelism consultant for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The Women Reaching Texas conference was held the day before the BGCT Evangelism Conference.
___Neal, president of Amarillo Racial Reconciliation Ministry and a member of St. John Baptist Church in Amarillo, led a small-group seminar titled "Witnessing to those Closest--Our Family."
___Christian women have a responsibility to "prayerfully create the environment and sensitivity" for sharing the truths of God's salvation in their homes, Neal said. She listed five ways to accomplish that goal:
___ Be a Christian yourself. "If we're going to share salvation, we must be saved ourselves," she said.
___ Allow your families to hear and see Christ in your life. "When you come to my house, you're going to see Christian books, ... Christian music," Neal said. "Our children copy us. They will do what we do."
___Likewise, it is important for children to see adults praying and attending church, she said. Children are watching, and they notice the television shows that are viewed and the music that is played.
___ Maintain close proximity with your family. "Turn the TV off. Be with your children. Keep them close to you. Know what they're doing," Neal said. She also encouraged the women to stay close to their husbands.
___Staying close to the family also involves witnessing, Neal said. "We don't always have to know Scripture. But there is someone I know, and he knows all the Scripture, ... can do all things. When you know Jesus, you can witness to your family."
___ Maintain a bond of friendship with your children. "Be your children's best friend," she advised. If you're not, someone else will be. "Go to the games with your children, go to the school functions. Let your faith be seen with your children," Neal urged.
___"The more I played with my children," the mother of four said, "the more I learned about my children."
___ Be committed to your family. "Where there is commitment, there is accomplishment," she said.
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