The Baptist General Convention of Texas postponed its state Bible Drill finals, which had been scheduled the first weekend in May.

The BGCT moved the competition in the wake of a swine flu outbreak, and it came as other Texas agencies postponed or cancelled events due to the outbreak. The state University Interscholastic League postponed or cancelled its academic and athletic competitions until at least May 11.

“Our children are our greatest asset,” said BGCT Discipleship Specialist Dickie Dunn. “We’ve decided to push back the Bible Drill finals to a later date when we know our children can gather in a healthy environment. At that point, we look forward to coming together and celebrating the hard work these young people have put in all year in preparation for this competition.”

The event tentatively has been rescheduled for May 15-16 at the Baptist Building in Dallas. Future updates will be found at www.bgct.org. For more information, contact Dunn at (888) 244-9400.

Meanwhile, BGCT missions personnel remain in daily contact with Baptists in various parts of Mexico, where the swine flu outbreak first captured public attention, said Josue Valerio, missions team leader with the BGCT Executive Board staff, who recently returned from the El Paso/Juarez area.

“The federal government in Mexico has asked schools, camps, churches, and some businesses to close until May 6.  So, this is what we are communicating to churches and mission groups going into Mexico,” Valerio said.

A church-starting conference in Mexico City he had planned to attend was canceled, he noted.

“My plans are to go to Mexico City and Puebla in the last part of May or beginning of June to assess the situation,” he said.

The BGCT missions team is working with churches that have planned mission trips to Mexico to provide alternative places of service, he added.

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