Anderson to chair BGCT's missions network board; first meeting set

February 10, 2003

Anderson to chair BGCT's missions
network board; first meeting set
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___The initial 32-member board of directors for Texas Baptists' world mission network has been named, and the board will meet for the first time Feb. 20-21, according to Bob Campbell, president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and chairman of a nominating committee appointed by the convention.
___At its 2002 annual session in Waco, the BGCT voted to approve recommendations of the Missions Review & Initiatives Committee, including creation of a world missions network. The network is to help churches, associations and individuals "fulfill their missions calling through both short-term and long-term missions endeavors across the United States and the world."
___The convention authorized the network's initial board to be named by a nominating committee consisting of the presidents of the BGCT, Texas Baptist Men and Woman's Missionary Union of Texas; the chairs of the BGCT Administrative Committee, Executive Board and Missions Review & Initiatives Committee; and the BGCT executive director.
___The nominating committee looked for "proven leaders" with practical missions experience, knowledge about missions strategy and the ability to think creatively about missions innovation, said Campbell, pastor of Westbury Baptist Church in Houston.
___The committee interviewed each prospective board member individually, ensuring that the nominees would be able to commit the necessary time to the board.
___"These people are all willing to invest the time needed for the start-up of this network," Campbell said. "We told them there may be two meetings a month in the beginning, to get it off the ground."
___Justice Anderson, who served 17 years as a Southern Baptist missionary in Argentina and 27 years as professor of missions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, has been named chairman of the board.
___Albert Reyes, president of Hispanic Baptist Theological Seminary in San Antonio, has been named vice chairman.
___One-fourth of the board is non-Anglo, including the president of the Texas Baptist African-American Fellowship, Dennis Young of Missouri City. More than one-fourth of the board is female.
___"I believe this to be the greatest diversity on a beginning major board in our history as Texas Baptists," said Charles Wade, BGCT executive director. "We have achieved diversity related to age, gender, ethnicity, geography, lay and clergy while, at the same time, enlisting in every case people whose deepest Christian passion and experience are focused on missions."
___The board includes two associational directors of missions--Tim Randolph from Tri-Rivers Baptist Area and Josue Valerio from El Paso Baptist Association.
___Former missionaries on the board include Jim Heflin, now teaching at Logsdon School of Theology in Abilene and a member of First Baptist Church of Abilene; Mike Stroope, now teaching at Truett Theological Seminary in Waco and a member of Cottonwood Baptist Church in Dublin; Keith Parks, former denominational missions executive and new initiatives subcommittee chair on the Missions Review & Initiatives Committee and a member of First Baptist Church of Richardson; Bob Pinder of First Baptist Church in Georgetown; Nina Pinkston of Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth; and Karen Hatley of First Baptist Church of Lorena.
___Pastors on the board include Pakon Chan of Christ Chinese Baptist Fellowship in Arlington; Greg Dearing of University Baptist Church in Arlington; Mark Dunn of Crestview Baptist Church in DeSoto; Manuel Longoria of Iglesia Bautista Templo in Lubbock; George Mason of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas; John Ogletree of First Metropolitan Baptist Church in Houston; Kyle Reese of First Baptist Church in San Angelo; and Jeff Williams of First Baptist Church in Denton.
___Texas Baptist Men leaders on the board include Damon Hollingsworth from Spicewood Baptist Church, Bill Noble from First Baptist Church of Lubbock and Jered Sellers from Bellaire Baptist Church of Lubbock. Texas WMU leaders include Frankie Harvey from Nacogdoches Bible Fellowship, Nelda Taylor Thiede from First Baptist Church of Gonzales and Edna Wood from Columbus Avenue Baptist Church in Waco.
___Other board members are Carol Childress of Leadership Network in Dallas and a member of Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall; Irma Alvarado of First Baptist Church in Donna; Gloria DeBose of First Baptist Church of Midland; Marilyn Hilyer of First Baptist Church in Tyler; Leon Miller of Trinity Baptist Church in Kerrville; Jeff Raines, minister of missions at First Baptist Church in Amarillo; and Paul Swinney of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler.

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