January 28, 2002
TOGETHER:
Help build Christ-centered families
___Helping families be healthy and strong is a goal of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Our vision statement says the BGCT will "assist churches and related ministries to encourage healthy, Christ-centered families" (Ephesians 5:21-6:4). When families in our churches are growing in their love and care for one another, then the churches' effectiveness in being the presence of Christ in the world is enhanced.
___We are told that more than half of all marriages end in divorce, and 20 percent of those divorces occur within the first two years. The average marriage lasts seven years. Usually, couples spend more time preparing for the wedding than for their marriage--the most complex of human relationships. We must be actively involved in strengthening the marriages within our congregations.
___One BGCT ministry that helps churches address this concern is "Hope for Home"--a model for developing family ministries in the church. Mike Lundy and Carol Bowman in the Christian Life Commission lead this effort, providing information, training, consultation and resources.
CHARLES WADE
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
___One of Hope for Home's emphasis areas for 2002 is "Starting Strong ... Staying Strong," focusing on marriage preparation and marriage enrichment. Several workshops and conferences have been planned this year to help ministers strengthen marriages within their churches, including their own. Pastors want their churches to have marriage ministries, not become wedding mills. They want to provide timely help for families to "divorce-proof" the marriages of their people.
___The first "Starting Strong" workshop is this week at First Baptist Church in Arlington.
___If you read this in time to get to Arlington by 9 a.m. on Thursday morning, Jan. 31, I encourage you to do so. If you are able to attend, call Carol Bowman at (214) 828-5190 or e-mail bowman@bgct.org by Wednesday afternoon.
___Another "Staying Strong" event will be April 20, also at First Baptist Church in Arlington. The Prepare/Enrich program certification training will prepare ministers to use marriage counseling tools that have proven effective with more than 50,000 ministers and counselors from several denominations.
___And later this year, the BGCT is sponsoring a marriage enrichment opportunity exclusively for Texas Baptist ministers and spouses. The "Celebration of Marriage in Ministry" conference will be Oct. 24-26 at the Radisson Hotel in Fort Worth.
___As you read this, we are involved in one of the most historic Evangelism Conferences in Texas Baptist life. Rick Davis is calling upon Texas Baptists to "Pray for This Harvest." God has put before our churches and each one of us a "field" ready for harvest. There are lost people all around us. I join in calling all Texas Baptists to pray for the lost on a daily basis. Pray for a specific person you know who needs to know Jesus Christ in a saving relationship. I call upon our pastors to lead their churches to pray for the lost in every service.
___The greatest thing that ever happens in a family is when someone is saved and their faith and life begin to make a difference in everything about their home. I want Texas Baptists to help build healthy, Christ-centered families by helping people be saved and by helping saved people act like it! There is a lot to be done. Let us get on with it.
___We are loved.
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