Churches challenged to move outside four walls, be on mission for Christ_72604

Posted: 7/23/04

Churches challenged to move outside
four walls, be on mission for Christ

By Marv Knox

Editor

HOUSTON--No matter what others think, God will judge the Baptist General Convention of Texas by one standard, Ed Hogan told participants at the Texas Baptists Committed annual convocation in Houston.

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Posted: 7/23/04

Churches challenged to move outside
four walls, be on mission for Christ

By Marv Knox

Editor

HOUSTON–No matter what others think, God will judge the Baptist General Convention of Texas by one standard, Ed Hogan told participants at the Texas Baptists Committed annual convocation in Houston.

“The BGCT will be judged by whether or not we win this state for Christ,” insisted Hogan, pastor of Jersey Village Baptist Church in northwest Houston. “Regardless of what historians say of us, God will hold us accountable.”

To illustrate, he described the population that lives within a five-mile radius of his church: “That's 630,000 people. Forty-four percent of them–300,000–claim no religious affiliation. God will hold me accountable as pastor for what we accomplish in reaching them. God will hold me accountable for what I do personally to reach people for Jesus Christ.”

“Local Churches on Mission” was the theme for the annual Texas Baptists Committed meeting. A range of speakers from churches described missions tasks and opportunities that confront Texas Baptists:

“Our challenge is to take what God has given us and get it to people in need,” noted Phil Lineberger, pastor of Williams Trace Baptist Church in Sugar Land, a Houston suburb.

Many Texas Baptists–particularly those who live in upscale areas such as Sugar Land–are wealthy by the world's standards and must “resist social pressure to spend more and more on themselves,” he said.

But spending their money to participate in missions is one of the best things Texas Baptists can do, he added. Besides benefiting people in need, missions strengthens churches and their members, Lineberger said.

“The personal touch (of missions) has softened their hearts,” he explained of his church members' involvement.

For example, white-collar volunteers watched as a child “with nothing” gave sacrificially to participate in an offering taken at a church on a mission site.

On another mission field, teens from the church discovered a young mother, who had died alone at home, with her three small children, all abandoned by the husband/father.

“These are life-changing experiences,” Lineberger insisted.

Churches must be near-sighted and far-sighted, advised Michael Bell, pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

Near-sighted churches see the needs in their communities, and far-sighted churches focus on needs around the world.

“We need both,” Bell said. “There are hurting people everywhere. There are needs everywhere. …

“Authentic Christianity is a hands-on experience,” he added, noting, “If you're not a missionary, you're a mission field.”

And Texas is a growing mission field, said Rudy Camacho, a founding member of Iglesia Bautista Genesis in Fort Worth and a former president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas.

Fifteen million Mexicans live along both sides of the Mexico-Texas border, Camacho said. Texas alone is home to 8 million Hispanics, who now comprise 38 percent of the state's population.

“You're becoming the minority in Texas–in about five years,” he told the largely Anglo audience.

Texas Baptists must focus their energy and resources on the missions challenge among them, Camacho said. “It's getting late. We're about 10 years behind, … (but) the field indeed is brown for harvest.”

As they seek to do missions, churches and other groups should not confuse their organization with the kingdom of God, warned Ron Danley, pastor of Lytton Springs Baptist Church near Dale, south of Austin.

When churches become organization builders, they see people as resources needed to build the church, he explained. But when they are kingdom advancers, they recognize people need what the church has–the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

The call to engage in missions means Christians must serve the world, reminded Elmo Johnson, pastor of Rose of Sharon Baptist Church in Houston.

“Jesus expects every church–every church–to get out of their four walls. Get in your community,” Johnson said. “That's missions–to get out of your four walls, get to know the people and the needs in your community.”

Missions also means shaping the culture, emphasized Larry Venable, pastor of Freeman Heights Baptist Church in Garland.

“The people of God are called to challenge and change culture, but the culture will not come to church,” Venable said. “So, the church challenges and changes culture by serving culture.”

That means meeting needs, he explained. In his church's community, that involves operating a pregnancy center and food pantry, setting up a back-to-school nursing program, providing Bible clubs and gang-prevention ministry for children and teens, offering English-as-a-Second-Language classes for adults and tutoring for children, as well as conducting a sewing ministry and also a Bible school that operates alongside a summer food program.

“One of the lessons we've learned is the more you do, the more God gives you to do, and God gives you people to do it,” he said. “We've learned to wait on God for resources. … God brings everything you need.”

Christians can improve their missions effectiveness by listening, suggested Jeff Raines, missions minister at First Baptist Church in Amarillo.

He described the church's three-year partnership with Baptists in Uganda that involved providing discipleship training, church construction and discussions about doctrine.

“A key factor that served us well in that relationship was a willingness to listen,” Raines said. By listening to the knowledge and ideas of their Uganda hosts, the Amarillo Baptists not only affirmed and strengthened the Ugandans but also gained much from the experience.

The Amarillo congregation's goal is to involve at least 10 percent of its average Sunday school attendance in hands-on missions “somewhere in the world” every year, he said.

In following Christ's directive to engage in missions, Christians have a four-fold assignment, said Charlie Johnson, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio.

“We have a Great Commission,” Johnson said, noting Jesus' commandment to take the gospel into the whole world. “We have a great permission–a pass to go into the world, to love people across race, nationality, ethnicity, class and religious barriers.

“We have a great transmission. We've got the right message” of salvation through faith in Christ. “We have a great submission. We are to be submissive to (Jesus') love as we are submissive to each other.”

Texas Baptists need to be involved in missions personally and boldly, concluded Mike Massar, pastor of First Baptist Church in Tyler.

He described the thrill his church has received from two types of local missions challenges–starting a new satellite program in the booming south part of town while branching out into an array of human-needs ministries in the community surrounding its downtown site.

“We needed to have a missions experience that was not vicarious,” he said, affirming hands-on involvement of many church members.

And Baptists shouldn't fear failure, he added. “You can fail as long as you're failing forward.”

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