BELTON—Bivocational ministers and their spouses gathered at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor to discuss “Simple Solutions for Tough Times: Living By Faith” during the annual Bivocational Smaller Church Ministers and Spouses Statewide Conference.

In addition to times of networking and fellowship, the gathering included seminars on such topics as conflict management, the use of technology in ministry, counseling and evangelizing communities, how to juggle a career, ministry and family and how to equip church leaders to serve congregations.

“I hope families had good experiences in our workshops and learned a lot through them,” said Cecil Deadman, Baptist General Convention of Texas small church/bivocational consultant. “I also hope that (participants) were able to spend time together and enjoy some relaxation.” 

A teen conference also was held for children of pastors, deacons, music leaders and administrators. The Nick Gainey Band led worship, and Emily Prevost , associate director of the BGCT Congregational Leadership Team and young leaders consultant, was the keynote speaker.  Prevost’s message challenged students to train themselves spiritually by praying and dwelling on Scripture by reading it habitually and focusing on key words.

“The talks were really good,” said Laurel Luedecke, a Bell Baptist Association summer missionary who helped lead the youth portion of the conference. “I hope it enriched their worship experience, and that they realized worship goes outside the normal church service.”

She believes it is beneficial for youth to network with other students with common backgrounds.

“It is important youth have this opportunity to mingle with kids that are in their same situation,” Luedecke said. “They’ve made good friendships, and hopefully realized they’re not the only ones going through their particular situation.”

Scholarship were presented to Joao Chaves of Grace Point Church in San Antonio, a Baptist University of the Americas student, and James Han of New Song Church in Carrollton, a Baylor University student, from the Claude and Ilene Slate Memorial Scholarship Fund.  The scholarship fund is made possible through individual contributions and a pre-conference golf tournament each year. 

“I think God worked through people like you,” Chaves said in receiving the scholarship. “It’s amazing how God has been faithful to me and my family.”

Both scholarship recipients are going into bivocational ministry, and the money will be used for their education.

“God is a great provider,” Han said. “Because of you, the Lord has pulled through in my life again.”

Leonardo Diaz of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Hitchcock was named Exemplary Bivocational Pastor of the Year because of his committed leadership to both the church and his community. He was recognized for his service during the Hurricane Ike recovery period as he encouraged the community through work projects, block parties and worship services.

Others honored included Jimmy Young of Streetman Baptist Church as the Exemplary Bivocational Music Minister of the Year and Derrell Monday of the Bi-Fork Baptist Area as the Exemplary Director of Missions. The association also provided a plaque expressing appreciation for Randy Rather as president of the Texas Baptist Bivocational Ministers and Spouses Association since 2007. 

The group elected a new slate of officers: President Tony Tawater, pastor of Lone Willow Baptist Church in Cleburne; First Vice President Rosalind Ray of Fairy Baptist Church in Fairy; Second Vice President Richard Ray, pastor of First Baptist Church in Wink; Treasurer Danny Rogers of Living Proof Baptist Church in Cleburne; and Secretary Ellen Goodson of Highland Baptist Church in Denton.

Just like the Apostle Paul needed Luke the physician as his traveling companion on missionary journeys, a wheelchair-bound young woman who feels called to India needs someone to serve alongside her.

Heather Herschap worked in Bangalore on two month-long mission trips— during the summers of 2005 and 2006—with the help of classmates at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary and WorldconneX, a missions network the Baptist General Convention of Texas launched.

Herschap, who has cerebral palsy, served with proVision Asia, counseling and ministering to physically challenged people.

Heather Herschap worked in Bangalore, India, on two month-long mission trips when she was a student at Truett Theological Seminary. She feels called to return for a one-year missions commitment, but she needs a caregiver to serve with her. (PHOTO/Ken Camp)

Since her graduation from seminary, she has dreamed of returning to India for an extended one-year missions experience.

But finding a classmate who could receive field-experience credit for a one-month missions trip proved easier than enlisting a long-term traveling companion. After more than 18 months, she has been unable to find a caregiver to accompany her.

“There have been possibilities along the way, but they all fizzled out for a number of reasons,” she said.

While she has found it “very difficult to wait,” Herschap noted her physical limitations make it essential that someone to travel with her.

“Cerebral palsy is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain at birth. That means my body is spastic—tense and contracted—affecting my extremities with complete feeling in my entire body. There is a loss of hand-eye coordination and fine motor control,” Herschap explained.

As a result, she needs help with bathing, grooming, basic hygiene and transportation.

“I need to be pushed in a manual wheel chair, but I can drive an electric one on my own,” she added.

If she can find a caregiver, both she and her traveling companion would serve with proVision Asia under the auspices of the Mission to Unreached Peoples missions-sending organization.

“I need someone not only to take care of my basic needs, but also to be my missions partner, going and serving as a missionary, as well,” Herschap explained.

Responsibilities include providing respite care for parents of children with physical disabilities, as well as helping disabled people with vocational training, physical therapy, job placement and English-language skills.

The caregiver would not have to be a seminary graduate, but she would need to complete training provided by Mission to Unreached Peoples. Herschap remains confident she has enough financial support to cover her caregiver’s expenses and provide some compensation, as well.

Anyone interested in more information about serving as Herschap’s caregiver in India can e-mail her at herschapah@gmail.com.

Waiting and searching unsuccessfully for a missions companion has proven frustrating, Herschap admits. But she remains confident God has a plan and purpose.

“I’m completely out of ideas. It’s all in God’s hands,” she said. “I’ve given it back to him.”

HOUSTON—Parents of missionaries support their children’s ministry, but they also need support from other missionary parents who understand the hardship of being apart from their children.

Susan Kilcoyne, who attends South Main Baptist in Pasadena, works as the state coordinator for the Missionary Parents’ Fellowship and participates in the fellowship’s Houston group. She serves as the connection among the missionary parents’ groups in Texas.

Amber Hill Beck, who grew up in Thailand where her parents served as missionaries, enjoys time with grandmother, Betty Price of Carrollton. (PHOTO/Courtesy of Missionary Parents Fellowship)

The International Mission Board started seven groups composed of 475 family units, including parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. The families come together in their areas in homes, restaurants and churches to share common concerns.

Those concerns become particularly acute for families when missionaries serve in places closed to overt Christian missions.

“A lot of parents of missionaries now can’t talk to anyone about what their children are doing,” Kilcoyne said. “It’s a good place for them to come and see that other parents have the same feelings.”

Parents whose children recently went overseas need to hear from parents who have gone through these experiences for 15 years or more, Kilcoyne said.

“It’s an encouragement, especially for parents who are new to this,” she said.

The groups meet and share information from the International Mission Board, prayer requests, praises, things going on in the lives of their children and if someone has visited his or her children. They also pray together.

“We always, always have a time of prayer for the children and the other missionaries on the mission field,” Kilcoyne said.

Kilcoyne can relate to parents in this group. Her son and daughter-in-law serve, along with her granddaughter, as missionaries in France. Although she does not see them as often as she would like, advances in technology have helped bridge the distance gap.

“I can’t imagine not being in contact with them,” Kilcoyne said. She uses Skype—with a computer and webcam—to see and talk to them. “We don’t get to see them (in person) as much as a normal parents or grandparents.”

The distance and dangers involved can be tough issues for parents at home. Parents sometimes have difficulty understanding their children’s call to missions when they have not felt this call themselves, Kilcoyne said.

“I have to let them do what God has called them to do,” Kilcoyne said about her son and daughter-in-law. “I know in my heart-of-hearts, if the Lord has called them to go to another country, I cannot stand in their way.”

The group addresses concerns like these and would love to have as many parents as possible involved in their efforts, Kilcoyne said. The group also communicates to parents through e-mail, but getting together can be more rewarding, she said.

“I think it gives the parents a feeling of not being alone, not being in a situation where no one knows what they’re going through,” Kilcoyne said.

Groups meet in Fort Worth, San Antonio, Brownwood, Tyler, Houston, Northeast Texas and North Dallas. For security reasons, the group does not encourage people who do not have children in missions to come.

HITCHCOCK—Last fall, Hurricane Ike left Primera Iglesia Bautista with nothing. One building was filled with two feet of water. Another building filled with four feet of water. Everything was damaged and needed to be replaced.

But Pastor Leonardo Diaz said God delivered the congregation. It managed to be a source of calm in its neighborhood following the storm and rebuild its facilities with the help of friends across the state. The congregation recently rededicated its facilities.

Churches statewide discovered the congregation’s needs, Diaz said. Some connected through the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Others did so through the Galveston Baptist Association. Often, connections were made through friends of friends.

First Baptist Church in Paris partnered with Primera Iglesia Bautista in the recovery process. The Paris church raised $18,000 for its Southeast Texas brethren for building supplies as well as teams to do the construction.

“They’re the ones God had in mind who would not give up in faith, because we have no flood insurance. When we saw the devastation, we knew it would take a God-sized miracle,” said Diaz, who recently was honored with the Texas Baptist Exemplary Bivocational/Smaller Membership Church Pastor Award.

The choir at Primera Iglesia Bautista in Hitchcock leads in worship at a rededication service for the church facilities after the building was severely damaged by Hurricane Ike. (PHOTOS/Courtesy of Primera Iglesia Bautista, Hitchcock)

Bill Kennedy, a member of First Baptist Church in Paris, said the church cherished the opportunity to build a relationship with Primera Iglesia Bautista. “I feel like we were doing what God wanted us to do. There have been a number of times in my life when I felt I was in God’s will. That’s how I felt throughout this.”

The assistance helped the church rebuild as well as reach out to its neighbors. Members of Primera Iglesia Bautista handed out bottled water following the storm. They also provided backpacks and school supplies to area children and offered mounds of clothes to the community. Most recently, the church held a Vacation Bible School in an effort to share the gospel.

The congregation’s commitment to reaching its community embodies the spirit of Texas Hope 2010, a Baptist General Convention of Texas initiative to share the hope of Christ with every Texan by Easter 2010.

“I always thought that God has a purpose for us just being there because the people need to know about Jesus,” Diaz said. “We need to be the light there. We’ve been really blessed by the help that has been coming in.”

Many families see it as a milestone when they are able to send their first child to college. The family of caregivers associated with Children’s Emergency Relief International is no exception.

CERI celebrates the success of Velautham Subasini as she recently received acceptance to college, a rare achievement in Sri Lanka. (BCFS PHOTO)

CERI, the overseas arm of Baptist Child & Family Services, established the foster care system in Sri Lanka at the government’s request after a devastating tsunami swept across the island five years ago, leaving thousands of children orphaned.

Since then, CERI caseworkers have found permanent homes for the children in their care.

And the CERI-Southeast Asia family is celebrating an important achievement by one of the young adults in its care. Thanks to CERI’s financial and emotional support, 20-year old Velautham Subasini was recently accepted to college.

Only 11 percent of the children in Sri Lanka who take pre-university classes go on to study in college. Thanks to CERI, Subasini said, she has confidence to achieve her goals. Subasini has been with CERI two and a half years, and financial provision for her pre-university education was made possible solely by CERI supporters.

Subasini has three sisters and two brothers. When she was just 1 year old, her father disappeared in the civil war that continues to plague Sri Lanka. Two years ago, her mother died of cancer. Since then, she has lived with her aunt, and CERI has helped the family with basic day-to-day needs.

“CERI’s financial assistance, love and care are a Godsend in my life,” said Subasini. “I believe God will continue to support me as I further my education.”

COVINGTON, La. (RNS)—An Alabama woman used the spine of a Bible to conceal several hacksaw blades that helped her husband and three other inmates escape a maximum-security prison.

Claudia Buras was booked into the St. Tammany Parish jail on one count of introducing contraband into a penal institution and one count of assisting escape. Both are felonies, each carrying a maximum sentence of five years behind bars.

When Buras, 24, of Irvington, Ala., came to the jail to visit her ex-husband, murder suspect Eric Buras, she smuggled the hacksaw blades to him by delivering the Bible, Sheriff Jack Strain said.

She had peeled off the Bible’s spine and then glued it back with the 6- to 6 1/2-inch blades inside, investigators said.

After she left, Eric Buras was strip searched, but the Bible was never inspected, Strain said.

“Our deputies would not have dismantled the Bible,” the sheriff added.

Three other men accused of involvement in various murders escaped with Buras in the jailbreak. Three of the escapees were caught within hours; a fourth eluded authorities for just over two days.

Prison officials say the inmates removed the caulk around a window and then used the hacksaws to cut away metal bars over the window.

SHREVEPORT, La. (ABP) — A teenager from Shreveport, La., continued to fight for her life in a Mississippi hospital four days after a July 12 bus crash that killed one and injured 22 passengers on their way to a church camp in Macon, Ga.

John Henson, associate pastor for emerging ministries at First Baptist Church in Shreveport, reported on Facebook that a July 16 CT scan found extensive swelling and hemorrhage to the brain of his daughter Maggie Lee, a rising seventh grader at First Baptist Church School.

Funeral services for Brandon Ugarte, 14, were held in Shreveport July 15.

She remains the most critical of surviving youth and adult sponsors injured when a church bus carrying them blew a tire and rolled over near Meridian, Miss., on the way to a Passport youth camp on the campus of Mercer University.

One boy, 14-year-old Brandon Ugarte,  died while being airlifted to a hospital in Jackson. Hundreds attended his funeral July 15 at the Catholic church his parents attend.

Updates on Maggie Lee's condition indicate her lungs and heart are stable, but doctors continue to be concerned about intracranial pressure, a critical measure in monitoring and treatment of brain injury.

According to an informational website, the average ICP in a healthy adult is in the range of 0 to 10 mmHg. Any pressure greater than 20 is abnormal and above 60 is fatal. Henson's pressure had hovered in the 30s all week before spiking into the 40s during the night of July 15.

John Henson reported midday July 16 that his daughter's ICP was in the low 20s, a plateau that doctors had hoped to reach during a critical first 72 hours after a head injury.

Elevated ICP creates a problem when fluid surrounding the brain has nowhere to go and can deform and cause further damage to the brain. Outcome is affected by both the amount and duration of pressure, but children have better recovery rates than adults.

John Henson and his wife, Jinny, both made Internet appeals July 16 for urgent prayer for their daughter. People from all over the world are responding. The largest of a number of Facebook prayer groups dedicated to teh youth group had grown to nearly 8,000 members by the time this story was filed.

Meanwhile, others who suffered serious injuries continued to improve.

Teenager Chase Johnson was discharged from Rush Hospital in Meridian July 15 and headed for home.

Sarah Smith, who was originally taken to a hospital in Meridian and transferred to Jackson with neck and upper-back fractures, awaited a final consultation with her doctor before being released, possibly July 16.

Lauren Murchison had surgery July 15 in Jackson to clean out a facial bone fragment that was affecting eye movement. Earlier she underwent surgery to repair a femur broken in two places, a broken clavicle and other injuries. She was described as alert and communicative before the most recent operation.

Jason Matlack, the church's youth minister, was transferred to a private room in Meridian and expected to be transported to Shreveport by the end of the week.

Kyle Kelley, an adult chaperone on the trip who works part time for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship  of Louisiana, was also moved to a private room in Meridian. An update on the church website said he was in a good deal of pain and it would take some time for his broken bones to heal, but both he and his wife, Charlene, a member of the national CBF Coordinating Council, are in good spirits.

Another Facebook group applauded heroic efforts by a National Guard unit that happened to be following the bus when it went out of control and rolled three times before landing on its side with three passengers trapped underneath. Soldiers physically lifted the 30-passenger bus to gain access to the pinned victims and began triage credited with saving lives.

Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler told The Meridian Star that seeing dozens of people littered across eastbound lanes of Interstate 20/59 — many of them seriously injured and in shock — was one of the worst scenes he had ever worked.

–Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

Previous articles:

Shreveport church focuses prayer on daughter of church staff member

Pastor says National Guard saved lives following wreck of church bus

Church bus headed toward Passport overturns, killing teen

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP) — David Rogers, son of the legendary preacher and Southern Baptist Convention president Adrian Rogers, is resigning after 19 years as a missionary to Spain.

Rogers, a blogger who has written extensively about his disagreement with International Mission Board policies against praying in tongues, said Baptist politics had nothing to do with the decision, which is based solely on health issues involving a family member.

Rogers said he will remain in the Memphis, Tenn., area to work full time with the Adrian Rogers Pastor Training Institute, where he has been editing training materials in Spanish and English on a temporary basis for several months.

At the institute, founded in 2003, Rogers works alongside his brother Steve and sits at the desk formerly used by his father while he was pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis for 32 years before retiring in 2005.

Rogers said part of his work will be dedicated to building the Adrian Rogers Legacy Library, a project by the family to electronically index and cross-reference notes and transcripts of more than 6,000 sermons the elder Rogers preached during a ministry spanning more than 50 years before his death in 2005.

Rogers and his wife, Kelly, have been on stateside appointment and leave of absence for two years. He said they had planned to return to Spain a year ago but decided to remain in the United States for personal family reasons.

He described the decision to leave the IMB as "painful" and said he would continue to support and pray for missionary colleagues still on the field.

Three years ago Rogers wrote IMB trustees objecting to a new policy banning missionaries who admit to a "private prayer language" in their devotional lives. He said he could not speak for his late father, but he voiced concern that the "conservative resurgence" that he helped launch in 1979 was "in danger of being commandeered in a new, more extreme direction."

Rogers told Associated Baptist Press July 16 his opinions about IMB policies or SBC politics had nothing to do with his resignation, and he hoped media would not ask personal questions that intrude into a private family decision.

–Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

MUSANZE, Rwanda—Baylor University graduate student Evan Martin traveled to the other side of the globe expecting to bring Christ and western technology to Rwanda. But what he found was a people who, in spite of a history of genocide, poverty and depravation, have a vibrant relationship with Christ.

More than 500 African children sang, danced and lifted their hands to God in worship as Martin stood in awe observing the youth of Rwanda on fire for God.

“It was mind-blowing; more than I had ever expected,” he said.

Martin and 34 other Baylor University business, social work and engineering students—along with six faculty members—served two weeks in Rwanda putting into practice on the mission field what they learned in the classroom.

Baylor Mechanical Engineering Professor Bill Jordan coordinated the engineering projects. The volunteers partnered with Bridge2Rwanda, an organization seeking to advance Rwandan technological and enhance education with specialized training from outside agencies.

“One of the things I like about Bridge2Rwanda’s stated purpose is that they want to build a bridge from the west into Rwanda, and change people at both ends,” Jordan said. “I want to help Rwandans, but I also want to help students here.”

The Baylor engineering team was stationed at Musanze’s Sonrise School, a facility in northern Rwanda that provides quality education to children and orphans. The students originally planned to build a solar panel system to power a technology lab. However funding and timing conflicts delayed the panels’ delivery from China. So, the team re-focused their mission on a series of water purifying projects.

“They had a well drilled, but it wasn’t connected to the school,” Jordan said. “So, students designed a system that would pump water from the well to the school.”

Baylor University engineering students work on a solar power control system in Rwanda. (PHOTOS/Courtesy of Bill Jordan/Baylor University)

The project provides long-term potable water access to the school. Sonrise was paying $2,000 a month for water and $800 a month for firewood to boil the water.

Students worked from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on a mixture of high and low-end technology projects using their knowledge of concepts like distance, gravity and elevation.

“The majority of what we did was the students’ ideas,” Jordan said. “They did the calculations and contributed on their own.”

The students taught the workers how to operate the various filtering systems, so the Rwandans could continue to have clean water after the team left.

“They have a lot of bright people over there, but very few engineers and accountants,” Jordan said. “They need borrowed talent to train and further educate the (people).”

Jordan believes the experience profoundly affected the Baylor students.

“They saw what engineering in the developing world looks like, and I think now they have a better vision of what Christian engineers can do.”

Jordan’s hope was for students to learn they can use their vocational skills as a ministry tool.

“There’s not a Christian approach to fracture mechanics,” Jordan said. “But where Christianity plays a role is in what you can do with the skills you have. Students love the fact that they can use engineering in a Christian context.”

When not working, the team developed relationships with the people.

“We were spiritually blessing them by helping them engineering-wise, but everyone wanted to do more on a personal level,” Jordan said.

The students were not hesitant about sharing their faith wherever they went.

“One cool thing that happened was that our driver, Salim, came up to one of our team members, Brad Sanders, to talk about Christianity,” Martin said.

“He was a Muslim and wanted to be prayed with. He had known about Christianity, but what was holding him back was his family. They were his lifeline; if they found out he wanted to be a Christian, he’d be kicked out.”

Despite the language barrier, Sanders was able to communicate God’s love to the driver.

“He ended up accepting the Lord,” Martin said, “And we found someone to help support him. Right before we left from the airport, Salim prayed for us in Rwandan.”

Martin said seeing the people turn to God was an eye-opening experience. The country is still recovering from a 1994 genocide that killed a million people in 100 days.

“It was amazing to see how God is healing them,” Martin said. “They are able to live side-by-side again.”

Martin is thankful he could use engineering as a ministry in this developing part of the world.

“Everybody has things they’re good at,” Martin said. “No matter where you go, there’s something you can do to be a disciple.”

JACKSON, Miss. (ABP) — Five of six victims still hospitalized after a deadly July 12 church-bus accident were improving two days after the wreck, but the next 72 hours remained critical for a church staff member's daughter suffering severe head injuries.

Greg Hunt, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Shreveport, La., said doctors at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., were still waiting until brain swelling goes down before they can determine the extent of trauma to Maggie Lee Henson, daughter of the church's associate pastor for emerging ministries, and how she might respond to treatment.

Maggie Lee Henson

"She's the one we are most in need of prayer for," Hunt said July 14 from the hospital in Jackson. Hunt said doctors had gotten her brain pressure under control and are monitoring her condition.

Henson, a seventh grader at First Baptist Church School, was one of three passengers ejected from and trapped under a church bus carrying a church group to a youth camp in Georgia that flipped and rolled three times after a blowout on an interstate near the Alabama-Mississippi state line. One youth, 14-year-old Brandon Ugarte, was pronounced dead on arrival after being airlifted to the hospital in Jackson.

Of the 17 youth and six adults injured in the wreck, six remained hospitalized on July 14.

Hunt said one of the youth, Lauren Murchison, was doing well after surgery July 13 to fix two breaks in her femur, facial fractures and other injuries. He said Sarah Smith, who was transported to Jackson with neck fractures, could go home as early as Wednesday.

He said three people hospitalized nearer to the crash site in Meridian, Miss., including two adult sponsors, were also improving, and that the teenager, Chase Johnson, would be released soon.

Hunt announced in May that he was resigning at the end of August as pastor of First Baptist Church to devote full time to a seminar and consulting ministry he started in 2001.

Hunt declined to discuss whether the tragedy might alter those plans, but he did pledge that the associate pastor "can focus all his energy on being a father and being a husband" and that youth minister Jason Matlack would be allowed to recover from serious injuries he sustained in the crash.

"I am present and accounted for, and I'm the senior pastor of First Baptist," Hunt said.

"This church needs me to be fully present and accounted for and I intend to be," he said. "We're going to make sure that everything is under control and good solid leadership remains unbroken."

The family of Maggie Lee Henson set up a page on an Internet service called Caring Bridge to consolidate updates on her condition. Her father said on Facebook early July 14 that the top priority now is for brain swelling to go down. 

First Baptist Church held a midday prayer vigil July 14 for Henson and other victims and their families.

–Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

Previous articles:

Pastor says National Guard saved lives following wreck of church bus

Church bus headed toward Passport overturns, killing teen

SHREVEPORT, La. (ABP) — A church-bus crash that killed one teenager and critically injured another July 12 could have been worse if a transport bus carrying National Guard soldiers had not come upon the accident scene nearly immediately, according to the pastor of the stricken congregation.

Greg Hunt, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Shreveport, La., described rescue efforts by the Alabama National Guard's 2101st Transportation Company, Detachment 1, as "amazing."

"Every story for people of faith has these subplots where God sends his angels," he said.

The soldiers were traveling right behind the church bus, which was carrying 17 teenagers and six adults when it blew a tire on Interstate 20 near Meridian, Miss., he said. The blowout caused the driver to lose control, and the bus flipped three times before landing on its side.

The guardsmen lifted the bus off the ground to remove two victims trapped underneath, he reported. Unit members trained in triage immediately started treating the most seriously injured until emergency crews arrived.

One youth died 

One youth died on the way to the hospital. Hunt identified the dead teenager as Brandon Ugarte. Hunt said he did not know the boy's age, but media reports said the age of the fatality was 14.

Hunt described Ugarte as "a lovely young man" who, while not a church member, was involved both with the youth group and First Baptist's Chinese mission.

Ugarte was one of three crash victims airlifted from the crash site to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss.

Another victim taken to the Jackson hospital was Maggie Lee Henson, the daughter of John Henson, the church's associate pastor for emerging ministries. She remained in critical condition the morning of July 13 with severe head injuries.

Hunt said doctors worked throughout the day July 12 to stabilize her because of heart and lung complications. Surgeons were waiting for her vital signs to improve before operating.

A third victim, Lauren Murchison, was having surgery July 13 to repair a broken femur. She suffered multiple fractures, a punctured lung and cuts and bruises. "She's not in good shape, but they are confident they will be able to put her back together again," Hunt said.

Hunt said in all six people remained hospitalized a day after the accident. They included Jason Matlack, the church's minister of youth,  and another adult sponsor, Kyle Kelley, who is part-time associate coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Louisiana. Kelley's wife, Charlene, represents Louisiana on the CBF's national Coordinating Council.

"The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship family grieves over this tragic accident involving members of one of our partner congregations," said Daniel Vestal, CBF's executive coordinator. "I encourage each of us to be in prayer for the family of the deceased, those who are injured and this church family during this time of crisis. We know that the Lord who gives us life will also sustain us through difficult times."

Going to Passport camp 

The group had left the church's campus in Shreveport about 4:45 a.m. on July 12. They were headed toward a week-long camp operated by Passport, a Christian organization formed in 1993 that combines camping with a hands-on mission project. Passport is a CBF partner organization, and youth groups from many CBF partner churches participate annually in Passport camps.

Camp pastors told participants in the Passport session that began July 12 about the tragedy during their Sunday vespers service and prayed for those involved.

"Passport has been inundated with prayers of support for the students, leaders and their families," said Colleen Burroughs, the group's executive vice president. "Meridian ministers and churches have been gracious in their response and offers for help, as has the hospital staff. We continue to wait for positive reports for those still in the care of the medical staffs in Jackson and Meridian."

Burroughs and her husband, Passport President and CEO David Burroughs, traveled to Meridian the night of June 12 after learning about the accident. She described it as "a terrible tragedy that will take a long time to recover from on physical and emotional levels."

The camp was being held on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Ga. Mercer President William Underwood expressed "profound sympathy" to the Shreveport congregation.

"Our thoughts and prayers will be with them as they grieve and heal in the days and weeks ahead," Underwood said in a statement.

The crash occurred shortly after 10 a.m. Back in Shreveport, church began hearing about it just minutes later, while gathering for First Baptist's 10:30 a.m. worship service.

Hunt said as soon as word of the tragedy was received, the church immediately altered plans for its two morning  services, focusing on prayer and immediate action.

"Our church was the church yesterday," he said, describing the experience as "just absolutely an extraordinary story of love and grace."

Parents and church members rushed to Mississippi, where members of two Meridian congregations — First Baptist Church and Fifteenth Avenue Baptist Church, met them to help sort out where their loved ones had been sent. Emergency personnel took injured victims who were not airlifted to Jackson to three local hospitals in the Meridian area. Luggage and other items recovered from the crash site were taken to Fifteenth Avenue Baptist Church — located in Meridian's hospital district — where family members could pick them up.

Hunt said support for the congregation was flooding in from all over the world. Several prayer groups cropped up on social-networking sites, and by the morning of July 13 one Facebook group had more than 1,200 members and nearly 100 wall postings.

GARLAND—For some, it happened as tears rolled down their cheeks. For others, it took place as they were kneeling quietly. But for most, they simply raised their hands.

The students were called. And their lives changed.

Teenagers reacted differently to hearing the gospel during the Baptist General Convention of Texas Youth Evangelism Conference, but whether they showed an outpouring of emotion or stood in stoic reflection, they were affected.

Students made professions of faith, rededicated themselves to Christ and strengthened relationships within their youth groups. They answered a call to vocational ministry. They responded to a call to evangelize their campuses.

Leighton Flowers, director of BGCT youth evangelism, said God moved through the conference to change young people’s lives. Leading up to the event, every person who attended the conference was prayed for, and counselors and youth group leaders continue to follow up on each decision.

“All are called. If you are a believer, you are called. You don’t have to sit around and wait for (God) … to call you to spread the good news. You are already called,” Flowers said.

“The calling to the non-believer is the call to Christ, the call to come, the call to all you who are heavy laden, come, and I will give you rest. It’s a universal calling to all mankind. Not all will respond. Not all will come. But all are called.”

Gordon Banks, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and current senior pastor of New Heart Worship Center in Auburn, Wash., calls people to Christ during the BGCT Youth Evangelism Conference.

The event was part of Texas Hope 2010, an initiative that encourages Christians to pray for un-believers, care for people in need and share the gospel with every Texan by Easter 2010.

Featured speakers Gregg Matte, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Houston, and Gordon Banks, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and current senior pastor of New Heart Worship Center in Auburn, Wash., urged students to grow closer to God through studying the Bible and praying, using that as a foundation to spread the gospel with others in their schools and beyond.

More than 100 students exemplified what it means to respond to God’s call as they were commissioned to spread the gospel in Tokyo as part of Super Summer Global.

During the commissioning, parents prayed with students, students prayed with each other and the Youth Evangelism Conference crowd prayed for the trip.

Flowers believes mission trips like the one to Tokyo affect students’ view of the world and how they minister in it. Going to a place like Japan, where there is little evangelical Christian presence, students see the need for sharing the gospel in Texas, he said.

“Students are changing Texas by changing Tokyo,” Flowers said.

“When a student gets out of his bubble and goes to a place where there is darkness, he begins to appreciate the light he has at home and tries to spread it.”