Two churches: One Lord, one faith, one name

January 6, 2003

Jenna Creech (left) presents one of three banners made from ribbons and bells provided by University Baptist Church in Houston. The two banners shown at right above were made by university students in Uganda to emphasize the importance of worship and Christ.

Two churches: One Lord, one faith, one name
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___The churches share the same name but are separated by an ocean. One church is American, the other Ugandan, but both are united in their worship of Jesus Christ.
___University Baptist Church in Houston is, in a way, the namesake of University Baptist Church in Mbarbara, Uganda.
___Larry Pepper, a missionary appointed by the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, was a member of the Houston church before his call to overseas service.
___Pepper, a physician, said God used his Houston pastor, Robert Creech, to spark his journey to the mission field.
___"God used Dr. Creech in that he was regularly putting before the church the importance of missions and using the talents and giftings we have for God," Pepper said. "He especially got me thinking when he preached a sermon on 'What in Heaven's Name are You Doing?' that focused on living your life with a kingdom perspective and evaluating what you are doing that has eternal significance."
___That sermon stuck with Pepper long after he rose from his pew that day, and it was constantly in his thoughts and prayers.
___"God led me to a point of total commitment of my life, even to the point of being willing to let go of my job as NASA flight surgeon if he asked," Pepper recalled. "I told God I would even do that."
___After beginning application process for missionary service, Pepper met some Ugandan missionaries while on a three-week volunteer mission trip to Rwanda. "They told me of the need for a teaching physician at the medical school here," Pepper said. "God's hand was apparent all the way."
___In addition to teaching at the hospital, Pepper also runs an AIDS clinic and started University Baptist Church on the campus of the Ugandan university.
___Choosing the name was easy, h

Three students from the university in Mbarara, Uganda, pose in front of the Texas-made banners.

e said: "Our church was named University Baptist Church because we were primarily targeting university students and staff and we were meeting right at the university. It seemed right also as we were coming from University Baptist Church in Houston. We felt it would somehow bring the two parts of the body of Christ closer together as well."
___And, indeed, the relationship between the two congregations has remained close. The Texas church helps the Peppers communicate with their stateside friends through a newsletter and prayer support. The church also provides other forms of encouragement, including paying the entire family's airfare last November when Sally Pepper's father died.
___"Our ties to UBC individuals and families have been such an encouragement to us," Pepper said. "Notes, letters, e-mails have regularly come that have lifted our spirits. Special gifts sent have surprised us a number of times--one family sends videos, another sends a special chocolate Easter egg, others give to a special fund.
___"God uses UBC people in ways that can only be his work as we have gotten notes at times that were just what we needed to hear. It has truly been amazing."
___Recently Creech, his wife, Melinda, and daughter Jenna represented the Texas supporters at the Ugandan church's fifth anniversary.
___In preparation for the trip, Mrs. Creech led the Houston congregation to create three banners for the Ugandan church. Families were invited to bring four yards of colored ribbon of their choosing and a small bell. Each ribbon bears the name of the family that donated it as a reminder to the African congregation of the number of people praying for them. About 200 responded, and women of the church arranged the ribbons by color. One church member fashioned crosses for the ribbon to hang from and made them so that they easily disassembled for the flight to Africa.
___Mrs. Creech said she got the idea for the ribbon crosses when she saw something similar at an East Texas Episcopal church camp. "I immediately thought of that passage of Scripture, '... by his stripes we are healed.'"
___Creech said the African congregation was thrilled with the banners and the music made by the bells as the banners were presented.
___While in Africa, he taught 40 church leaders about the role of the pastor in the church. Pepper taught them about the church's responsibility to minister in the AIDS-ravaged continent. Robert Mooney, another missionary, taught about how to organize a church. Mrs. Creech helped university students create worship banners of their own.
___"We had a great week of celebrating the goodness of God and the diversity of cultures," Pepper said.
___
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