‘Every crime has a victim’_51605

Posted: 5/13/05

'Every crime has a victim'

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

AUSTIN–David Cooke, associate pastor and minister of education at First Baptist Church in Devine, regularly wears a pin on the lapel of his jacket, but it isn't a cross or American flag. It isn't even a religious statement, yet it says a lot about his spiritual life.

The pin displays a picture of his then-19-year-old niece Rachel Cooke surrounded by a web site address, www.rachelcooke search.com. His niece disappeared after going for a jog in 2002.

Family members spent weeks dealing with police, answering questions from the media and searching hundreds of Central Texas acres. To this day, police still do not know what happened to Rachel Cooke. She has not been located and there are no witnesses or suspects that indicate a kidnapping. The situation remains open-ended.

“Without a body, without any knowledge of what happened, we can't have a funeral,” David Cooke said. “We couldn't even have a full memorial. We've had prayer services.”

The Cookes are not alone in their experience. More than 1.8 million people were victims of violent crime in the United States during 2003.

“It's a lot more prevalent than anyone else knows,” David Cooke said. “When we lost Rachel, I had several people come up to us one by one and share similar stories.”

A crime victim can serve as the epicenter of pain. Emotional trauma can radiate to family members, friends and acquaintances, sometimes not showing itself for years. Beyond the tragedy of the crime, family members may have to deal with police questioning, media inquiries and constant uncertainty.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas Missions Equipping Center staff members believe victims of violent crimes need to be served. Several years ago, the convention created Hope for Healing Ministries, a nonprofit group Texas Baptist officials want to become a self-sustaining service for victims of violent crime.

A story is behind each news headline about violent crime such as murder, rape, mugging or robbery, said Susan Edwards, director of Hope for Healing Ministries. Part of that story is lives that have been changed forever.

Fourteen years after Charla Wheat was murdered, her parents continue dealing with the situation. The man convicted of killing her continues sitting on death row. Bonnie and Dwayne Wheat of Berea Baptist Church in Big Spring do not know when the execution will be.

“The pain is not as great, but you never forget about a child that you've lost,” Bonnie Wheat said. “Charla's death has changed who we are and what we are about. It's a part of our ministry.”

Wheat and her husband, pastor of Berea Baptist Church, have led several conferences encouraging bivocational ministers to serve victims of violent crime. They have ministered to families experiencing many of the same feelings they have felt.

This is where Hope for Healing Ministries wants to join victims of violent crime, Edwards said. She is in the process of raising funds for a victim memorial center, the only such facility in the nation. The buildings will be built in Huntsville and be the headquarters for counseling victims and training church leaders to help victims.

“Hope for Healing Ministries will be a vehicle that our churches and communities can use to minister to the victims in their midst,” Edwards said. “It is a vehicle to provide education, encouragement and hospitality.”

Hope for Healing is intended to address the long-term effects of being a victim, Edwards said. While Texas Baptists commonly react to the immediate needs of hurting people, they often are left to fend for themselves months later.

“Every crime has a victim,” she said. “Without a victim, there is no crime.”

For the past three years, the BGCT has sponsored the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Victim Clearinghouse in Austin. The support includes a prayer breakfast where convention leaders can better understand how they can help minister to victims.

Faith Lutheran Church in Georgetown served in a way David Cooke would like to see many Baptist churches follow. The congregation turned its facilities over to the Cooke family to be used as the headquarters for search efforts following Rachel Cooke's disappearance.

A horse search team was based out of the church's parking lot for weeks. Ministers have continued contact with the family even though none of the family was part of the congregation.

Bonnie Wheat said many people are hurting as a result of violent crime. Unfortunately, many churches do not even realize some of those people are in their pews. Christians need to step up to serve these victims as Christ would.

“I know we need offender ministry, but my heart is with the victims,” she said.