AUSTIN (BNG)—A Southern Baptist lawmaker is trying to make it harder for couples in Texas to get a divorce by proposing legislation to eliminate “insupportability” as a grounds for dissolution of marriage.
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MINERAL WELLS—Long before state officials called on church leaders to help meet the needs of foster children, a Baptist pastor in Mineral Wells and his family responded to God’s call to meet that challenge.
Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott and H.L. Whitman Jr., commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, sent a letter to faith leaders Jan. 11 urging congregations around the state to join a “network of nurture” to help meet the needs of foster children and their families.
Nathan and Kayla Buchanan of Mineral Wells are pictured in a Christmas card photo with their three biological daughters (left to right) Elaina, 14, Kate, 12, and Olivia, 9, along with a foster son whose image is obscured due to foster-care system privacy regulations.Nathan and Kayla Buchanan plugged into that network early. The pastor of First Baptist Church in Mineral Wells, his wife and their three biological children have opened their home to eight foster children, age 5 and younger, for various periods of time the last couple of years.
After their third daughter was born nine years ago, the Buchanans felt God leading them to add to their family through adoption. After talking with an agency and learning more, the couple put together a life-book—a scrapbook about their family for the review of birth mothers who were considering the placement of their children.
“After three to four years, we didn’t have any birth mothers who chose us,” he said. “That was disappointing, but we realized later God was preparing us for foster care.”
Change the lives of whole families
As the Buchanans learned more about the foster care system, they resonated with its goal of reuniting children with their birth families and maintaining their ties to kin, culture and community.
“We wanted not only to change the life of one child or several children but to change the lives of whole families,” he said.
Buchanan learned about the urgent need for foster families from a speaker who addressed the local ministerial alliance.
“I found out there were 100 kids who needed to be placed and only three homes available in our county. We had kids from Palo Pinto County who were being placed as far south as Houston,” 300 miles away from birth parents and siblings, he noted.
Out of that ministerial alliance meeting, three churches—including First Baptist in Mineral Wells—agreed to sponsor awareness and orientation meetings for prospective foster parents. Those three meetings drew 90 participants. Three couples, counting the Buchanans, agreed to begin the process to become foster parents.
Completing 30 hours of training proved challenging for a pastor with a busy schedule and a mother trying to homeschool three children, particularly since it involved attending meetings in Arlington, 65 miles away.
Foster Care Redesign piloted
That experience made Buchanan an advocate for Foster Care Redesign, a program that stresses local solutions and contextualized approaches to facilitate the placement of children in homes close to their birth families and communities of origin.
The program takes into account the disparity between rural and urban areas in terms of access to resources—training, counseling, medical and dental care. Palo Pinto County was part of a seven-county region that served as a pilot for Foster Care Redesign.
Once the Foster Care Redesign pilot program was in place in Palo Pinto County, the Buchanans were able to complete the necessary training for foster parenting through online and in-home instruction.
“We have 19 (foster) homes in our county now, up from the three we had before,” Buchanan said. At one point, Palo Pinto County had more than two-dozen available, but about 50 percent of foster families are “one and done,” serving as foster parents on just one occasion.
Challenges of being foster families
Buchanan understands why half of foster families open their homes to children just one time.
“It’s hard,” he admitted. Families must adjust their schedules and living arrangements, and they bond with a child who ends up leaving their home.
One particularly difficult situation for his family arose when CPS moved a pair of siblings—a 3-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl—from their home after five months to place them with a different foster family. Their pain eased somewhat when they learned CPS found another foster family who was able to accept five children at the same time, reuniting the brother and sister with three siblings.
“It was good for them in that situation, but it still was sad for us to see them go,” Buchanan said.
‘All in this ministry together’
Every time a foster child leaves their home, the Buchanans hold a family meeting with their three daughters to discuss their continued involvement in foster parenting.
“We wouldn’t do it if we weren’t all in,” he said. “We’re in this ministry together.”
For however long a child is in their home, the Buchanans seek to provide a positive Christian influence.
“We teach them about Jesus, and we teach them to pray,” he said. “Those are seeds planted in their lives. We trust God they will grow, and others will come along to water them.”
Churches can provide care for foster families
Buchanan believes churches can do more to care for children in the foster system and provide “wraparound care” for foster families. It begins with awareness, he noted.
“I didn’t know about the need, I’m the pastor of First Baptist Church and was president of the ministerial alliance,” he said. “So, how can we expect our church people to know unless we make them aware?”
Once they discover the need, some church members may feel God leading them to complete the necessary background checks and training to become respite care providers for foster parents, he noted.
“Another way they can help is to come and do laundry” for a foster family—particularly in the hours immediately after a child is placed in a foster home, when they arrive with unlaundered clothing and other possessions in plastic trash bags, he said.
Foster families who struggle with the time constraints of transporting children to school, doctors’ appointments and other activities appreciate receiving meals, he added, based on personal experience.
Churches can aid in prevention by sponsoring parenting training and workshops to help struggling families in their communities, he said.
Individual Christians also can become advocates for reform of the child welfare system—including calling for increased funding for Child Protective Services, whose caseworkers are “overworked” and short-handed, Buchanan said.
Additional ways to be part of the network of nurture
In their letter to faith leaders, Abbott and Whitman recommended additional ways congregations could become part of the “network of nurture.” Their suggestions include:
“Sometimes it takes a congregation to raise a child,” the letter stated. Abbott and Whitman urge congregations to contact Felicia Mason-Edwards, division administrator for faith-based programs at the Department of Family and Protective Services, at faithpartners@dfps.state.tx.us.
For more information from the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission about foster care and how churches can be involved, click here.
Buchanan believes pastors need to preach on the subject.
“We don’t have a foster care ministry as just one more ministry at church. This is the ministry of the church,” he said. “James 1:27 says the pure and undefiled religion God accepts is to ‘look after orphans and widows in their distress.’ As Christians, we need to look after our kids in our communities. We are the ones who are called to care for kids in distress.”
DALLAS—A young refugee from Southeast Asia who benefitted from a ministry supported by the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering serves on the Dallas Youth Commission, where she seeks to make a positive impact on her peers.
Mu Di, who came to faith in Christ through a ministry supported in part by the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, serves as vice chair of the City of Dallas Youth Commission.Born in Southeast Asia, Mu Di and her family arrived in the United States as refugees in 2007.
When the family settled in the Dallas area, they received assistance from H4R, a ministry supported in part by the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering. H4R helped her family complete government paperwork, taught them English as a second language and assisted the Di children with homework.
While she was in junior high school, Mu—whose family was Buddhist—attended a camp for refugee students hosted by H4R and accepted Christ as her Savior. Several of her siblings also made professions of faith in Christ.
As Mu grew in her newfound faith, she found encouragement through the testimony of H4R volunteers and staff members.
One day, during her sophomore year at Bryan Adams High School in Dallas, Mu was introduced to her local councilman, Mark Clayton, who was delivering school supplies to refugee students at her apartment complex.
Mu told Clayton about the persecution she saw in her home country and why she wanted to work to make a difference with her life. Impressed by the young woman, Clayton soon recommended her to serve on the Youth Commission for the City of Dallas.
Service as vice chair of the commission has opened doors for Mu to share her Christian testimony and empower her friends and family to make a difference in the community they now call home.
Through Texas Hunger Offering gifts, H4R helps food-insecure refugees families by providing access to a community garden where they can plant and harvest their own vegetables.H4R began serving Dallas-area refugees in 2009. Through Texas Hunger Offering gifts, H4R helps food-insecure refugees families by providing access to a community garden where they can plant and harvest their own vegetables, as well as helping them apply for public assistance.
H4R not only provides help with issues directly related to hunger, but also also works to enable refugees, like Mu’s family, to become self-sufficient as they find jobs, seek citizenship and begin to overcome poverty.
Since H4R began, the ministry has helped 75 refugees become U.S. citizens, and more than 20 have graduated with high school diplomas. Five families have bought their own homes. H4R also launched a ministry partnership in Southeast Asia.
LUFKIN—Nobody who knew Tiffany Pangarakis doubted her determination. Smart and hardworking, she could succeed at anything she put her mind to, they agreed. Nothing could stop her, they thought.
But life sure tried.
Her father died when she was 15, and her mother died two years later. She was legally declared an adult and was on her own. She struggled to get by but enroll in Angelina College in Lufkin. Then she became involved in what she now calls “a bad relationship.” Shortly after, her daughter, Kalista, was born.
Setbacks and desperation
School would have to wait, she thought. Her daughter was what was most important. She started working full-time, driving 100 miles round-trip to make a living.
As if Pangarakis didn’t have enough to balance, Kalista suffered through health issues that required numerous doctor visits, forcing her mother to miss work one too many times. She lost her job. And she was desperate.
“I was a nervous wreck,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do. I had a daughter. I didn’t have a job. I had no hope.”
Hope rediscovered at Buckner Family Pathways
An uncle told her about Buckner Family Pathways in Lufkin, a ministry that empowers and strengthens vulnerable single-parent families by giving them a secure place to live, help with child care and assistance in gaining life skills while parents work to reach their higher education goals.
The solid foundation Buckner offered provided the footing Pangarakis needed to take the steps to fulfill her potential. She quickly bonded with Buckner staff members who started out as professional caseworkers, turned into mentors and became what she desperately missed—family.
“They’ve really become a family to us,” she said. “My daughter’s gotten to grow up here. We came just before her second birthday. This has become her family.”
When Pangarakis experiences difficult times, Buckner staff members know just what to say to keep her moving forward. Once when she and Kalista were sick, staff members brought them homemade soup. On other days, she receives texts saying staff members are praying for her. Kalista has bonded with the other children on campus. She plays with them daily, her giggles filling her home.
“Seeing how these ladies work and seeing the difference they’ve made in my life, they’ve inspired me to want to work in social work. To be able to give back would be such a blessing,” Pangarakis said.
Demonstrating determination
Family Pathways in Lufkin Director Holly Valentine is amazed by Pangarakis’ ability and determination.
“She is a very smart young woman,” Valentine said. “She’s probably the only person I know who can function on no sleep and write a 14- to 15-page paper in a few hours and get a 98 on it. She’s done that again and again.”
Pangarakis completed an associate’s degree and then went on to work on her bachelor’s degree in social work at Stephen F. Austin State University.
She received some unexpected help one day when she was thinking about quitting school. As she walked through the social work building at the university just as she’d done hundreds of times, she noticed a plaque she hadn’t seen before.
“This name just jumped out at me,” she said. “It was my mom’s name. It was her signature from the honor society in 1993 when she had graduated. To me, it was God telling me: ‘Your mom sees you and is proud of you. Keep going.’”
She completed work on her bachelor’s degree and graduated from the university in December. Now she has her choice of jobs to support her daughter as she begins her postgraduate work.
In preparing for the Family Pathways graduation ceremony the day before college graduation, Valentine struggled to find words to express adequately how she feels about Pangarakis.
“She’s such a dynamo,” Valentine said, unsuccessfully fighting back tears. “She’s such a smart lady. I’m so proud of all she’s accomplished.”
DALLAS—Texas Baptist Men volunteers rang in the New Year by loading a shipping container with medical supplies and equipment two healthcare professionals from Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall collected for Baptist Medical Centre in Ghana.
Jim Howard, a physician from Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, works at the Texas Baptist Men Missions Equipping Center in Dallas, loading medical supplies and equipment in a container for shipment to Ghana. (Photos by Ken Camp)For more than a decade, physician Jim Howard and surgical assistant Lyle Duyck, both laymen at Lake Pointe Church, have collected donated medical equipment and supplies from Dallas-area hospitals for healthcare ministries in developing nations.
The pair have focused on opened-but-unused supplies that otherwise would have been discarded after surgeries were cancelled, as well as serviceable equipment hospitals wanted to replace.
Texas Baptist Men volunteers load a container with medical equipment and supplies for a Baptist hospital in Ghana.The container volunteers filled at the Texas Baptist Men Dixon Missions Equipping Center in Dallas was scheduled for shipment Jan. 6 to Ghana.
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Foreign Mission Board—now International Mission Board—founded the Baptist Medical Centre in Nalegiru, Ghana, in 1958, working in partnership with Ghana’s Gold Coast Baptist Conference.
Ron Wingard (left) from Mesquite helps physician Jim Howard (right) of Rockwall prepare medical supplies for shipment to Ghana.The IMB transferred the hospital to the Ghana Baptist Convention two years ago. The 123-bed hospital serves about 10,000 inpatients and 60,000 outpatients a year.
Howard has journeyed to Ghana more than 20 times in the last 12 years. He plans to return in February to work with field clinics as part of a Lake Pointe mission team and to serve an additional two weeks at the Baptist Medical Centre.
A second container of medical supplies Howard and Duyck collected will be shipped to a Christian worker in Iraqi Kurdistan who has a long-term relationship with TBM.
The worker—whose name and precise location are withheld for security reasons—works in cooperation with the Kurdistan Regional Government to aid refugees, internally displaced people and others in need.
TBM President Gary Smith, a member of Brookhaven Church in McKinney, noted the exact date for shipping the container to Kurdistan still is being negotiated, but it likely will be loaded and ready in mid-February.
BEAUMONT—The first thing Art Weiner sees when he wakes up each morning and the last thing he sees before nodding off to bed at night is her photograph. She’s his everything and always will be—his beloved wife, Alice.
“She was the most wonderful person I’ve ever known,” he said. “We were only married 71 years. We were more than the usual married couple. We were friends.”
Caring for vulnerable children
She lost her extended battle with Alzheimer’s disease, but he carries on fighting for the causes she would have wanted. He’s particularly supportive of Alzheimer’s research and caring for vulnerable children, including those Buckner serves in Southeast Texas.
He offers financial support to Buckner Children’s Village. His generosity and passion have helped minister to children when they are most vulnerable.
He’s also sponsored parties that bring the children in Buckner Emergency Shelter together so they can relax and enjoy themselves. Children come to the shelter, where Buckner staff members assess their needs so they can find the best match with foster families.
“Children are simply drawn to Mr. Weiner,” said Laura May, executive director of Buckner in Southeast Texas. “He’s made an incredible difference in their lives when they most need it. They gather near him to hear his stories and soak in his wisdom. He inspires children to do their best in school and reach their full potential.”
Creating special memories for children
Time and time again, he creates very special memories for the boys and girls at Buckner. Most notably, the children joined him for an Independence Day party that included a local veterans group, as well as guests from Pelican Bay Assisted Living Community.
“It was a very memorable moment, watching the children’s faces as two of America’s finest demonstrated the folding of the flag,” Weiner said. “They shared the meaning of the flag and the ceremony. Most of the boys and girls had never seen this before, and they loved it.”
Young people particularly love hearing stories of when Weiner played baseball.
“They’re willing to talk,” he said. “They want to talk. We talk about all kinds of things. That’s what this is all about—to provide educational materials and meet their needs.”
Weiner has connected with the children and enjoys providing opportunities that allow them to tuck away memories of special events they never will forget. The majority of the children he visits reside in the emergency shelter at Buckner for 30 to 90 days, and although he rarely sees the same child twice, he connects with each group he visits in the same way.
“They are kids who have gone through a tragedy,” he said. “Their lives have been disrupted, and they aren’t quite sure what’s going to happen to them next. I just encourage them to get an education, study, work hard and choose to do something in life that they enjoy doing. Then it’s not work. The sky’s the limit to what they can do with their lives.”
Looking at the picture of his wife, Weiner smiles. She would have been proud to see the joy on the children’s faces at Buckner.
“Everything I do is in her name,” he said. “Everyone knows of her. I have a huge photograph of her in our bedroom. It’s what I see before I go to sleep. It’s what I see when I wake up. I talk to her. I talk to her all the time. I talk to her about what I’m doing on her behalf.”
Editor’s Note: This obituary has been updated to include information about visitation and funeral arrangements.
TYLER—Retired pastor, former denominational executive, seminary dean and Texas Baptist statesman Paul Powell died Dec. 28 in Tyler after complications from a stroke two weeks earlier. He was 83.
“No one since George W. Truett has better borne the title ‘Mr. Texas Baptist’ than Paul Powell,” said Joel Gregory, professor of preaching at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, where Powell served six years as dean.
“His influence and legacy were already legendary during his life and will only grow in stature and significance now that he has entered the life beyond. He towered over generations with unequalled leadership. A giant oak has fallen, and his place in the horizon of our lives will not be filled again with his like.”
Humble beginnings
Powell liked to say he journeyed “from the backwoods of East Texas, to the back alleys of Port Arthur, to the back of the class in school,” but God used him in spite of humble beginnings.
His long career in ministry included pastorates at five churches, including 17 years at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, where he saw attendance grew from about 700 to more than 2,500.
“A dead church is a poor recommendation for a living Savior,” the always-quotable Powell said.
‘No creed but the Bible’
He was elected president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 1985 and re-elected in 1986 at the height of the “Baptist battles” in the Southern Baptist Convention.
Friends remember Paul Powell for his quick wit and down-to-earth wisdom. (BGCT File Photo)At the time, critics accused Southern Baptist seminary professors and denominational leaders of theological liberalism and called for them to sign statements affirming belief in biblical inerrancy. Powell responded by insisting, “Baptists have no creed but the Bible,” and asserting his willingness to sign every page of it.
“I don’t intend to sign anything more, and I won’t sign anything else,” he added.
‘Not a Mickey Mouse operation’
Powell left Green Acres to become president and chief executive officer of the Annuity Board of the SBC—now GuideStone Financial Resources.
At the 1994 SBC annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., Powell faced a challenge when a strong contingent of ultra-conservative Southern Baptists wanted his agency to adopt a “sin-free” investment policy, even though the board already refused to invest in businesses directly related to alcohol, gambling, tobacco or pornography. Some wanted the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission to monitor Annuity Board investments.
“Since we are in the home of Disney World, I need to tell you that the Annuity Board is not a Mickey Mouse operation, and it is not being run by Goofy and his friends,” Powell said in his annual report to the convention.
Seminary dean
In 2001, Powell was appointed dean of Truett Theological Seminary. During his six years in that role, the seminary’s enrollment more than doubled, and its endowment increased to more than $38 million. The seminary’s 550-seat chapel is named in Powell’s honor.
When Powell retired from Truett Seminary in 2007, Randall O’Brien, former provost and executive vice president of Baylor, said, “I would say of Paul Powell what (former Houston Oilers Coach) Bum Phillips once said about Earl Campbell: ‘He may not be in a class by himself, but it surely doesn’t take long to call the roll.’”
The Baylor family and seminary community is “deeply saddened” by news of Powell’s death but “greatly gladdened by the quality of his well-lived life,” current Truett Seminary Dean Todd Still said.
“His sincerity, courage, wit, generosity, fortitude and integrity endeared him to so many, including myself. Indeed, it might be fairly said that Paul Powell was appreciated by most but respected by all,” Still said.
“He was a pastor’s pastor, a leader’s leader and a Bear’s Bear. For me, he was not only a father-like figure, but he was also a beloved friend and ardent supporter. I will miss him, but this I know—the impact of his life is both inestimable and eternal. What was true for Paul of Tarsus was no less true for Paul of East Texas: ‘For (him) to live (was) Christ and to die is gain,’” Still said.
Multiple awards and honors
In addition to his service at Green Acres, Powell was pastor of churches in Belfalls, Troy, Taylor and San Marcos.
Powell earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University and a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He received honorary doctorates from Baylor, East Texas Baptist University, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Campbell University and Dallas Baptist University.
He was president of the Robert M. Rogers Foundation of Tyler, and he served on the Baylor board of regents from 1994 to 2001, including a term as chair.
The Baylor Alumni Association named Powell a distinguished alumnus in 1988 and received the association’s George W. Truett Distinguished Service Award in 2005. He received the Herbert H. Reynolds Award for Exemplary Service to Baylor in 1999. He also was named a distinguished alumnus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1990.
He received the Texas Baptist Legacy Award from the BGCT in 2014.
‘A down-to-earth, approachable servant leader’
BGCT Executive Director Emeritus Bill Pinson called Powell “unapologetically Baptist in his beliefs and at the same time an unashamed member of the larger Christian family of faith.” He praised Powell as a Baptist statesman who remained “a down-to-earth, approachable servant leader.”
“Through his books and sermons, he impacted a multitude for Christ, yet he also led a host of persons one-by-one to faith in Christ,” Pinson said. “Full of life, never boring, he met challenges head-on boldly and courageously, yet with compassion.”
On the day before the stroke that led to Powell’s death, Pinson visited with him on the phone. He recalled Powell talked about plans for the future, ways to help pastors and churches and a new book he hoped to publish in January, as well as “chuckling about events we had experienced.
“That was Paul,” Pinson said. “Up to the end of his earthly life facing a future with optimism and a sense of humor rooted in a deep faith in Christ. What a terrific contribution to the kingdom he made. How we will miss him!”
Prolific author
Powell wrote 50 books, many of them published during his time at the Annuity Board and given to pastors. He enjoyed recounting a conversation with his friend, Russell Dilday, former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
“Have you read my last book?” Powell asked.
“I sure hope so,” Dilday replied—at least in Powell’s version of the story.
As it turned out, the final book Powell published within his lifetime was released in the last few months—his memoir, God Works in Mischievous Ways. Near its conclusion, he wrote:
“When I look back across the years, I can see the hand of God guiding and directing me when I thought I was in control and making my own decisions. I’ve already said it, but I need to say it just one more time: God works in mischievous ways. He had far more in store for me than I ever dreamed possible. Mine is and has been a blessed life.
“I am not yet ready to write ‘The End’ to the story quite yet, but I am ready and willing to sit down and watch that sunset any day that the Lord gives his permission.”
Powell was preceded in death by a son, Kent Powell, earlier this year.
He is survived by his wife, Cathy; son, Mike Powell of Tyler; daughter, Lori Powell Gropper of Dallas; and three grandchildren, Jordan, Katie and Matthew.
In accordance with the family’s wishes, Baylor set up a fund for individuals who wish to honor Powell with a financial contribution in his memory. Gifts will be used to create the Paul W. Powell Preaching Fund at Truett Theological Seminary. To contribute, click here.
Visitation is scheduled for 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 1, 2017 at Stewart Family Funeral Home, 7525 Old Jacksonville Highway, in Tyler. A memorial service is scheduled for Monday, January 2, at 2:00 PM in the Chapel of Green Acres Baptist Church.
CORSICANA—The world’s largest organic pineapple farm became a Texas Baptist church’s missions base in Costa Rica, thanks to a Corsicana layman.
Soon after Danny Reeves arrived as pastor of First Baptist Church in Corsicana six years ago, he presented his missions vision to the congregation.
“Brother Danny is a big believer in being an Acts 1:8 church,” said Bob McNutt, referring to the New Testament verse that says: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
In the case of First Baptist Church, Reeves explained, that means missions activity in Corsicana, around Texas, elsewhere in the United States and globally.
At its peak, the 3,000-acre pineapple plantation Collin Street Bakery operated in Costa Rica produced 30 million pineapples a year.McNutt, president and chief executive officer of Collin Street Bakery, told Reeves his family business owned a pineapple plantation in Costa Rica, and First Baptist was welcome to use it as a base of operations for missions in Costa Rica.
Pineapple plantation as missions base
Collin Street Bakery initially secured 365 acres in Costa Rica to start its own pineapple plantation after suppliers of the high-sugar-content pineapples the bakery uses in its famous fruitcakes raised prices 50 percent over four years. In time, the plantation grew to 3,000 acres, and at its peak, the organic farm produced 30 million pineapples a year.
McNutt offered accommodations in the plantation’s lodge, capable of housing up to 18 people, and he agreed to provide meals for the church’s mission team and arrange their ground transportation.
Use resources for kingdom purposes
McNutt’s willingness to make available his company’s resources for missions has inspired other members at First Baptist, Reeves noted.
“It’s extremely exciting to see God open doors as he has used local people who take what they own and use it for the purposes of the kingdom,” he said. “It’s been mentally and spiritually engaging, as they ask, ‘What do I have that can be used by God?’”
Thomas McNutt, the company president’s nephew, agreed.
Bob McNutt, president and chief executive officer of Collin Street Bakery, told Pastor Danny Reeves his family business owned a pineapple plantation in Costa Rica, and First Baptist Church in Corsicana was welcome to use it as a base of operations for missions in Costa Rica.“This was all Bob’s vision,” he said. “He has an entrepreneurial mind, and he said: ‘The infrastructure is there. Here is how it can be used for the gospel.’”
An eye-opening experience
The 26-year-old Texas A&M University graduate, who is a vice president in the family business, traveled to Costa Rica as part of the mission team from First Baptist Church a couple of years ago.
Team members spoke in school assemblies, led skits and crafts activities for children, and went door-to-door inviting people to attend evangelistic services at local churches, he recalled. The commitment of the Christians in those churches left a deep impression on him.
“So many times, we value the wrong things—material things and accomplishments in the eyes of the world,” he said. “In Costa Rica, I got to be with some incredibly accomplished people—not because they are materially successful but because they have a heart for God.”
Attract attention, draw crowds
Another nephew, Will McNutt—who jokingly identifies his role at Collin Street Bakery as “general counsel, chief paper pusher and vice president of nepotism”—coordinated logistics for a 2015 mission trip to Costa Rica.
When teams from Texas travel to Costa Rica, it helps local Christians gain a hearing, he noted.
“Every year when the Americans come to town, it attracts attention, and the pastor of the local church uses that attention as a ministry tool,” he explained.
Costa Ricans are eager to talk with people from the United States, and they are receptive when the Americans invite them to evangelistic church services, he noted.
‘Beachhead for missions’
The “beachhead for missions” God provided at Collin Street Bakery’s pineapple plantation enabled First Baptist to make local contacts and establish relationships in the country, and the missions partnership continues to inspire involvement by members, said Reeves, president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
“Every single time we have gone, new people have joined us,” he said.
The pineapple planation grew so successful, Collin Street Bakery eventually used only about 10 percent of the pineapples grown there and sold the rest. So, the bakery sold the farm with one provision—First Baptist Church would continue to have access to the facility. Since the sale of the property, the church group stayed at the plantation’s lodge once and used a hotel on another occasion.
Work behind the scenes
Recently, the bakery purchased a comparatively small plot of land near the original plantation to start another pineapple farm. And the long-range plan includes building a lodge on the property so the Corsicana church group will have its own missions base, Will McNutt noted.
Although Bob McNutt has journeyed to Costa Rica in advance of the mission teams to work out details, and he has encouraged his nephews’ involvement, he hasn’t personally participated in a mission trip. Instead, he prefers to work behind the scenes, handling logistics for the endeavor, he insisted.
“I don’t know that I’d be particularly good at knocking on doors,” he said. “I recognize my own strengths and weaknesses. I’m just happy to have been helpful.”
LONGVIEW—Christmas came early this year for vulnerable families and children served through Buckner in East Texas.
In a day filled with parties, smiles, laughter and joy, families served through Buckner foster care as well as those served through the Buckner Family Hope Center in Longview received presents, participated in games and celebrated the season.
About 200 families—210 adults and more than 400 children—served through Buckner Family Hope Centers, Buckner Family Pathways and Project Hopes gathered for a Christmas party Dec. 13 at Grace Creek Church in Longview.
The event included dinner, crafts, cookie decorating, a devotion and family photos. Families won new bikes for their children, grocery gift cards, Chick-fil-A gift cards, a Best Buy gift card and an Xbox.
“God has done so much through Buckner and through the hard work of the families we serve this year,” said David Ummel, executive director of Buckner Children and Family Services of East Texas. “Christmas is the perfect time to come together as a Buckner family and celebrate their accomplishments and thank God for his guidance in our lives.”
Later that night at First Baptist Church, more than 130 foster children and their families who receive ministry through Buckner participated in a Christmas party sponsored by the Longview branch of Morgan Stanley that included pizza, drinks, cookies, a photo booth, face painting, games and a visit from Santa Claus.
“Christmas is a time when families come together,” Ummel said. “It’s a time to create memories. The Morgan Stanley-Buckner Foster Care Christmas party is an excellent opportunity for the children and families we serve to do both.”
The Longview branch of the financial services company has provided gifts for hundreds of children served through Buckner foster care since 2004.
“We started this several years ago in the place of an office Christmas party,” Financial Adviser Rick James said. “We thought it would be better to do something for others at Christmas, especially for children who might need some extra Christmas cheer.”
Children most often come into foster care after being removed by the state following neglect or abuse. Through foster care, children begin to heal from what they have experienced as they enjoy healthy family relationships. The Christmas party is another way to help the healing process.
For some of the children, this is the first time they will get to enjoy the simple pleasures of Christmas such as a tree, decorations and presents.
“The Christmas party helps shine hope into the lives of children,” Ummel said. “During this time, it doesn’t matter where you came from or what you’ve experienced, you can simply be a child. You can soak up the Christmas season and enjoy it like never before.”
Helmet, hats and hugs. Nineteen seasons of chasing a walnut and bronze trophy culminated in a flurry of embraces and flying headgear Friday night, Dec. 16. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor is the NCAA Division III national champion.
Read it in the Temple Daily Telegram.
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica—Several never had participated in a mission trip or traveled outside the United States. A few never had flown on an airplane. But members of the East Texas Baptist University softball team overcame fear of the unknown to show Christ’s love in Costa Rica.
“You could see something changing in them throughout the week as they learned so much,” ETBU Softball Coach Janae’ Shirley said. “You could see they were starting to recognize and see God in everything that they were doing and the different places they served.”
The ETBU softball team and the Costa Rican national team pray together after their exhibition games.During the Dec. 10-17 mission trip, team members distributed Bibles, worked on construction, served at a school and home for children, and played two exhibition games against the Costa Rican national team.
“For my teammates and me, this mission trip was a huge step out of our comfort zone,” senior Kaitlyn Hollingshead said.
While in Costa Rica, the Youth with a Mission San Jose location served as the softball team’s base of operations. YWAM provided the students support through translators, Bible study, lodging, meals and worship experiences.
“It was a moving worship time full of songs in Spanish and English, but regardless of the language, voice and hands were held high, worshipping the one and only Savior,” junior Katelyn Cooper said. “It was an amazing time getting to talk and pray with the workers on the base from all over the world.”
Shirley noted one YWAM guide explained how sports can open doors to share the gospel that sometimes otherwise are closed in Costa Rica.
With Uno cards ready, ETBU senior Trina Deyo and sophomore Alexis Nixon have fun with elementary students in Costa Rica.“My faith was encouraged to hear these young ladies share the message of God’s love through Jesus to Costa Ricans on their doorsteps, on the sidewalks and in their living rooms,” said ETBU President Blair Blackburn.
“Challenged to overcome the language barrier, our students used their Spanish scripts to guide their introduction, discuss the power of God’s word, deliver the Bible as a gift and offer to pray for families they met along the way.”
Jayme Perez, who never had been outside the United States, insisted the experience in Costa Rica changed her view of the world.
“It made me realize how blessed that I am to have grown up in a Christian environment and attend a Christian university, like ETBU,” she said, noting she was shocked people didn’t have access to Bibles and were grateful to receive one.
“We know that God’s word is a powerful tool, and we are so excited to have a small part of sharing it with the people in Costa Rica,” said Scott Bryant, ETBU vice president for spiritual development. “We prayed over every Bible that was given out, and we know that God’s word does not return void.”
After playing the Costa Rican national team in softball, helping at an orphanage and being immersed in a new culture, the team left Costa Rica “with changed hearts, a deeper passion for the Lord, and stronger relationships as a team,” Hollingshead said.
In May, the ETBU men’s soccer team plans to travel to Nicaragua. Next December, the Tiger bass fishing team and ETBU baseball team will participate in foreign missions.
DALLAS—Texas Baptist Men—working with a North Texas radio station, LifeWay Christian Stores and First Baptist Church in Dallas—provided more than 90 cases of Bibles and Christian books to Texas prisons this year, and organizers of the effort hope to do more in 2017.
“This is a ministry that has eternal value,” said Don Gibson, retired executive director of Texas Baptist Men and a restorative justice ministry volunteer.
Bibles and other Christian books are sorted and boxed at the Texas Baptist Men offices in east Dallas in preparation for delivery to Texas prisons.Chaplains in Texas Department of Criminal Justice correctional units distribute Bibles to inmates and make Christian books available to them through the prison libraries, Gibson explained.
David Umfreville, founding director of Prison to Praise International, began collecting Bibles and Christian literature for prisoners more than 35 years ago, when he led prison and jail ministries of First Baptist Church in Dallas.
When a chaplain requested 5,000 Christian books for the inmate library at the Beto Unit in Tennessee Colony, Umfreville contacted the general manager at KCBI-FM. The Christian radio station promoted the book drive and continued to emphasize it in the years that followed, collecting more than 6.5 million books in three-and-a-half decades.
Since 2013, the TBM Dixon Missions Equipping Center in east Dallas has been a collection site for the drive, held each October, and TBM volunteers have helped sort and package the books for delivery to prisons.
Don Gibson helps collect, sort, box and deliver Christian books to Texas prisons.“LifeWay has been a great contributor to the Christian book and Bible drive,” Gibson said. This year, eight stores in North Texas and Tyler participated. They not only collected books from customers, but also gave away cases of discontinued titles or slightly worn Bibles.
Next year, TBM not only will collect Bibles and Christian literature as part of the October book drive, but also in conjunction with a March 11 Restorative Justice Ministry conference at the Dixon Center, which coincides with Gibson’s 80th birthday.
Congregations that discontinue their church libraries or pastors who retire and want to downsize their personal collection of books should consider donating to the prisons, Gibson suggested.
Biblical commentaries and seminary-level theology books go to the Darrington Unit in Rosharon, where Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary operates an extension center, he explained.
Chaplains also need undated Bible study books, Gibson noted. BaptistWay Press and the Baptist General Convention of Texas donated a sizeable number of books in recent months, but chaplains could use more, he said.
Chaplains also have requested children’s books for the family visitation rooms in prison facilities, he added.
“We also would like to collect enough Bibles and Christian books to meet the needs of the Hospitality House in Huntsville and other facilities around the state,” Gibson said.
In addition to serving inmates and their families, TBM also distributed about 3,000 Bibles to correctional officers last year during national Correctional Officers Appreciation Week, he noted.
“When you add up the officers and their families, along with the inmates and their families, you’re looking at a 4 million to 4.5 million people group here in Texas,” Gibson said. “That’s an incredible mission field right here.”