November 18, 2002

HALLIE TOLBERT, pastor of West Side Baptist Church of Killeen, interviews Ridge and Traci Adams and their children during a missions-night emphasis at the BGCT annual session. Tolbert helped the family relocate from Oregon to Texas. Adams now is pastor of Willow Grove Baptist Church in Moody.

Missions emphasis shows far-flung reach of Texas Baptists
___By John Hall
___Texas Baptist Communications
___WACO--Texas Baptists minister, no matter the time, location or circumstances.
___A missions presentation at the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual session highlighted many ways Texas Baptists are

TEXAS BAPTIST MEN volunteer Eddie Fonseca

ministering around the world.
___It featured appearances from Texas Baptists of different ages, races and from different church sizes. Students doing missions through the Baptist Student Ministries on their campuses also testified.
___Many times using an "as we go" approach to missions, Baptists have ministered through everything they do, speakers said. For example, evangelism teams at the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City witnessed to many people while performing common tasks such as sweeping and cleaning toilets.
___Woman's Missionary Union of Texas focused on reaching the world while ministering in the state. WMU teams witnessed and prayed for campuses and international students who may not have had contact with the gospel.
___"We want to help people minister locally but think globally," said Carolyn Porterfield, WMU executive director. "We believe nations that have been brought to Texas will believe if Texas Baptists will be faithful in sharing the gospel with them."
___While WMU reaches the world in Texas, several groups traveled overseas to minister. The Baylor Religious Hour choir traveled to Paris, the Singing Men of Texas performed in China and some Wayland Baptist University students ministered in Kenya through a BSM trip.
___The foreign mission trips changed the way students view people, one student said.
___"I'd say the impact was pretty profound," said Mike Smith, a Wayland student. "This trip allowed me to see the world in a new light. It just did amazing things in me."
___Many Texas Baptists also serve in Mexico, bringing food, digging wells and spreading the gospel in areas where there is little evangelical Christian presence.
___Texas Baptists also continue to care for fellow Texans. First Baptist Church in Clifton, for example, participates in a food pantry, a card ministry and an outreach to youth and adults at Mission Arlington.
___Prison ministries reach one of the largest state populations of inmates in the United States. Texas Baptist churches supply worship services and care for inmates and their families. Some churches help recently released inmates connect with churches.
___Texas Baptist Men respond to calls around the globe, despite adverse circumstances. They recently witnessed gunfire and missiles flying overhead while distributing food in the Gaza Strip.
___In the United States, they respond to disasters of all kinds, including tornadoes, floods and man-made tragedies.
___Texas Baptist Men, like many Texas Baptists participating in the missions program, said they minister "any way, any time, anywhere."
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The Baptist Standard



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.

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