Around the State: DBU and UMHB students serve communities

More than 760 Dallas Baptist University students participated in SWAT—Student Welcome and Transition—the largest group in the school’s history. Incoming new students joined 125 upperclassman leaders who spread across the Dallas-Fort Worth area to stock food pantries, paint facilities at after-school programs, plant gardens and meet other community needs. Student teams served at more than 20 locations— from Midlothian and Waxahachie in the south, to Dallas in the northeast, to Fort Worth and Arlington in the west—including Mission Arlington, Beautiful Feet Ministries in Fort Worth, Brother Bill’s Helping Hand in Dallas and Voice of Hope in Dallas. “DBU seeks to raise up Christ-centered servant leaders,” DBU President Adam Wright said. “We are thrilled to welcome our newest incoming class of DBU students on University Hill, who will serve as leaders among our community and around the world for the glory of God.”

During Welcome Week at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, returning students joined incoming students for the annual Love CTX event, as groups traveled throughout Central Texas to participate in community service in churches, nonprofit organizations and parks. Organizations that benefited from student volunteers included Habitat for Humanity, the Ronald McDonald House and the Belton Christian Youth Center. Hundreds of students helped with projects that ranged from organizing food pantries to landscaping and minor construction.

The Texas Baptist Women in Ministry board elected Anyra Cano as coordinator, effective Sept. 1. The part-time position, the organization’s first staff position since its founding in 2015, is funded by a grant from the Eula Mae & John Baugh Foundation. Cano earned her undergraduate degree in biblical theological studies from Baptist University of the Américas and her master’s degree in global leadership from Dallas Baptist University. She has served on the board of the national Baptist Women in Ministry organization, as well as numerous committees and teams with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas. Cano is youth minister at Iglesia Bautista Victoria en Cristo in Fort Worth and will continue her work there in addition to her role as coordinator of Texas Baptist Women in Ministry.

Wayland Baptist University named Stephen Stookey as dean of its School of Religion and Philosophy, effective Sept. 1. He succeeds Clinton Lowin, who resigned in June to become a chaplain in Germany. Stookey joined the Wayland faculty in 2016 as a professor of religion. He taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1995 to 2004 and at Dallas Baptist University from 2006 to 2014. He was a visiting professor at The Evangelical College of Theology in Sierra Leone and a resident fellow at the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute before joining the Wayland faculty. Stookey earned his undergraduate degree in religion from Baylor University and a Master of Divinity degree and doctorate in church history from Southwestern Seminary. He is a trustee of the T.B. Maston Foundation and serves on the board of directors of the Baptist History and Heritage Society. He has been a member on two commissions with the Baptist World Alliance, and he has served with The Fellowship of Baptist Historians and the Texas Baptist Historical Society. Stookey is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the American Society of Church History.

Oza Jones joined the Baptist General Convention of Texas Great Commission Team as evangelism associate for African-American ministries and church revitalization. Jones received his Bachelor of Arts degree in biblical studies from Southern Bible Institute in Dallas. He was pastor of Grace Tabernacle of Praise Church in Grand Prairie.