John LaNoue understands trauma. He witnessed it around the globe as a pioneer in disaster relief ministry with Texas Baptist Men. He experienced it as a 4-year-old on the day his father—a boilermaker who worked in a Southeast Texas shipyard—left his family and again, a few years later, when his mother and his alcoholic stepfather divorced.

Now, LaNoue wants to make sure relationships between fathers and sons don’t become a casualty of military service and the trauma of separation due to deployment.

Working with Col. Charlie Reynolds, the U.S. Army’s Africa command chaplain, and in cooperation with Unlimited Potential Inc., an Indiana-based sports ministry, LaNoue leads father-and-son weekend retreats for military personnel. He has conducted the retreats at Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Drum, N.Y.; and Wiesbaden, Germany. The most recent, in Italy, was scheduled in May.

Reynolds helped develop the weekend format in response to a soldier who, after being deployed 180 days a year, noted problems maintaining his relationship with his son and asked for help.

Reynolds has known LaNoue since their student days in the doctoral program at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. Considering LaNoue’s four decades experience working with men and boys, the chaplain realized he would be an ideal speaker for a retreat geared toward fathers and sons.

It’s no bag of tricks, but John LaNoue has plenty of tools for object lesson when he leads father-and-son retreats for military personnel. (Photos/ David Clanton)“The best ministries are the ones the Holy Spirit does, and I get to just go along with them,” Reynolds said.

For some, the retreats offer opportunities to reconnect after long periods of separation. For others, they provide soldiers the context for establishing strong bonds with their sons prior to overseas deployment.

“One of the awesome ones was at Fort Drum before deployment to Afghanistan. Everyone knew we would lose some soldiers, and for some of the fathers and sons, it would be their last outing together,” Reynolds said.

During the weekend retreats, while former Major League Baseball players provide sports clinics for the boys, LaNoue speaks to their fathers. He establishes a rapport with the soldiers by telling them about some of the places he has served with Texas Baptist Men disaster relief.

“I let them know I’ve never been in the military, but I have worked below the radar in some places like North Korea, Iran, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina” on Christian humanitarian missions, he said.

That captures the attention of the military personnel, Reynolds noted.

“The Army guys love John. When they find out about the adventures God has given him, they instantly respect him and relate to him,” he said.

This excerpt is from an article featured in the July issue of CommonCall magazine. Read more stories like this, plus commentary, news and other resources, by subscribing here.

DALLAS—Texas Baptists joined other religious leaders and state and local officials at a meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss the humanitarian crisis caused by a surge of unaccompanied minor immigrants from Central America.

Chris Liebrum, who leads the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ disaster recovery program, and Kevin Dinnin, president of Baptist Child & Family Services, a BGCT-related agency providing care for children housed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, participated in the July 9 meeting.

Border Patrol agents from Eagle Pass rescue a woman and her daughter from the Rio Grande River. The El Salvador citizens were struggling to stay afloat when spotted by agents, who deployed flotation devices and pulled them from the water. (Photo by Border Patrol Agent Carl Nagy)Others included Arne Nelson, president of Catholic Charities of Dallas; Gov. Rick Perry; Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas; Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who previously had volunteered the county to house up to 2,000 immigrant children; the mayors of Dallas and Grand Prairie, and county and state officials.

Albert Reyes, president of Buckner International and a leader in the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, was invited to the meeting but was traveling in Peru. Buckner has worked in Latin America more than a decade, including longstanding ministry in Guatemala, home to many of the immigrant children.

Obama held the meeting in Dallas one day after he asked Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency spending for the crisis along the Texas/Mexico border. Border Patrol has apprehended more than 50,000 unaccompanied minors so far this year, many of them fleeing violence in Central America.

‘Back and forth’ dialogue

Liebrum characterized the meeting as a genuine roundtable discussion with “quite a bit of back and forth” dialogue, noting Obama called on each person to ask for his or her ideas.

Liebrum commented he hoped everyone would consider what it would be like to be a 4-year-old child in Guatemala whose parents decide he should risk making a journey to the United States.

“Years from now, when he is grown, I hope he will look back on this experience and think, ‘The Americans treated me with kindness and with respect.’ From a Christian standpoint, I hope he will say: ‘They treated me in a godly way. They treated me the way Christ would have treated me,’” he said.

In addressing reporters after the meeting, Obama commended Dallas-area officials for offering to make sites available to house immigrant children.

“And I indicated in hearing the stories of churches that are prepared to not just make donations but send volunteers to help construct some of these facilities or fix them up, and their willingness to volunteer in providing care and assistance—I told them, ‘thank you,’ because it confirmed what I think we all know, which is the American people are an incredibly compassionate people, and when we see a child in need, we want to care for them,” he said.

Coordinating services in Dallas

A few days before the roundtable meeting with Obama, Dallas-area religious leaders met with Jenkins about his offer to shelter immigrant children in Dallas County. Participants who gathered to discuss ways the faith community could respond included David Hardage, BGCT executive director; Jana Jackson, director of family and community ministries for Dallas Baptist Association; Jeff Jones, vice president of spiritual development for Buckner International; and Dan Malone, general counsel for Dallas Baptist University.

“This is an unfortunate, even awful, situation for everyone,” Hardage said. “So much of what has happened and is happening is out of our control. What we can control is our response to human need. We will try to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those in need.”

BGCT President Jeff Johnson praised Texas Baptists for seeking ways to minister to children in crisis. Texas Baptist Men worked with the Border Patrol about two weeks to provide child care, showers and laundry service for underage undocumented immigrants detained in Brownsville until government contractors assumed the responsibility. TBM volunteers washed more than 1,200 loads of laundry and made available about 1,800 showers for the children at Fort Brown. Recently, TBM volunteers at Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen also assisted with laundry, and TBM leaders have stated their willingness to meet ongoing needs as requested.

In a column he wrote for the Baptist Standard, Johnson recounted a conversation with a man who prayed, “God, help us and our nation out of this immigration crisis.”

Johnson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Commerce, told the man rather than seeking to pray their way out of a crisis, he hopes Christians—and Texas Baptists in particular—will “pray our way in” to an opportunity for ministry.

“Have you ever thought maybe this immigration crisis is giving Texas Baptists an opportunity to glorify God on a national stage?” he wrote.

However, not all national attention directed toward Texas Baptists has been positive.

Criticism of BCFS

Todd Starnes, a columnist and commentator for Fox News, carried a series of reports critical of BCFS shelter operations at Lackland AFB and a similar facility at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, each capable of housing about 1,200 children, ages 12 to 17.

Starnes quoted unnamed sources who claimed the government is downplaying health risks—including tuberculosis, measles, chicken pox, lice and scabies—at the facilities. Starnes also alleged a security force there bullied staff and threatened them with arrest if they spoke publically about conditions in the facilities.

BCFS posted a response on its website in which it pointed to its 70-year record of providing “high-quality care for children, families and communities … operating with the greatest level of transparency and integrity.”

“Our team is comprised of professional emergency management and health-care professionals, and the safety and security of those in our care are protected by off-duty commissioned law-enforcement officers,” BCFS stated.

The immigrant children “are under the conservatorship of the federal government and, like any child in foster care, their personal information is private,” the statement continued.

BCFS reported all children at the facility are medically screened and immunized according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. In its statement online, BCFS reported 119 children treated for lice, 22 treated for scabies and one child hospitalized with swine flu.

“The most common illnesses seen at Lackland are fever, headache, upper respiratory colds and ingrown toenails,” BCFS stated.

A 16-member team of mental health clinicians is working at Lackland, and the clinicians are supervised closely by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its office of refugee resettlement federal field specialist, BCFS noted.

“Religious services are provided each Sunday if youth would like to participate,” said Krista Piferrer, executive vice president for external affairs at BCFS. Dan Trevino, associate pastor at Baptist Temple Church in San Antonio, provides five services each Sunday, she noted. The Roman Catholic archbishop of San Antonio also has presided over masses at the shelter. At Fort Sill, a nearby Catholic church and a nondenominational Protestant church offer Sunday worship services.

“BCFS has provided Spanish-language Bibles for youth as well, and many participate in weekly Bible study,” Piferrer said.

The agency also pointed out officials from the state and federal government, health-care agencies, faith-based organizations and the news media visited the shelter and noted its clean and safe operation.

Jeh Johnson, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, submitted testimony June 24 to a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding the border crisis.

Commendation from Homeland Security

In addition to commending the Border Patrol and other federal personnel, Johnson said: “I have also witnessed how the not-for-profit Baptist Child & Family Services stepped in quickly and is also doing a remarkable job housing the unaccompanied children at Lackland, identifying and then placing them consistent with HHS’s legal obligations. All of these dedicated men and women deserve our recognition, support and gratitude.”

The BGCT has established a “For the Children” fund to help finance ministries to immigrant children. To donate online, click here.  Checks can be mailed to P.O. Box 159007, Dallas 75315-9007. Any funds collected beyond the requirements of the current situation will be used for other disaster recovery needs.

SPADE—Like many other rural congregations, First Baptist Church in Spade recently closed its doors. Thanks to the foresight and generosity of its members, however, the congregation’s ministry continues.

Les Griffin, director of missions for Caprock Plains Baptist Area, points to a mural removed from the baptistery at First Baptist Church in Spade. Once the painting is restored, it will be displayed at the area office in Plainview as a tribute to rural churches. (PHOTO/George Henson)The congregation donated more than $50,000 to Wayland Baptist University to establish two endowed scholarships and $20,000 to Caprock Plains Baptist Area to create a permanent missions fund.

Also, First Baptist made everything inside its building available to other churches. That included the pulpit, pews, stove, refrigerator, carpet, air conditioners and sound equipment. In the end, only an extremely heavy piano remained.

Iglesia Bautista Calvario in Kress received the pews and made a donation to the Caprock Plains Baptist Area mission fund in appreciation, as did several other churches. In addition, the Kress congregation asked permission to give the now-vacant church a thorough cleaning from top to bottom.

Les Griffin has served three years as director of missions for Caprock Plains Baptist Area, comprised of the 86 churches of the Caprock Plains, Staked Plains and Llanos Alto Baptist associations. Previously, he had been a pastor 37 years—the last 30 years in the Panhandle.

“Some people—including myself—thought being director of missions was similar to being pastor of a lot of churches, but it is not really anything like being a pastor,” Griffin said.

A vision for the future

Much of his job involves equipping churches to determine a vision for the future and take steps to make the vision a reality.

For some rural churches, though, that is more difficult.

“Since our rural areas are for the most part declining, some of the smaller churches are down to 12 to 15 people,” he said.

“I have gone to a church with as few as five people showing up for the meeting with the intent of closing the church. That’s why they invited me—‘Help us close the church.’ That’s a sad thing. They got to thinking about all the details of it, and they decided to keep going.”

The real reason some congregations decide to keep meeting goes deeper.

Belinda Chapman attended First Baptist Church, Spade, all her life. Although it was hard to see the church close its doors, she is glad other churches will benefit from its fixtures, and its assets will establish two endowed scholarships at Wayland Baptist University and create a permanent missions fund for Caprock Plains Baptist Area. (PHOTO/George Henson)“It’s hard for a church to die, because the people have so much commitment to each other and the community in which they serve,” he noted.

When the Caprock Plains area was settled in the 19th century, each community followed a typical pattern, he said.

“The very first thing they built was either a school or a church, and sometimes those two things happened almost simultaneously. Then, if they were lucky, they would have the railroad, the mercantiles and maybe a bank,” he said.

“As these little communities die, many things go away, but the community will remain as long as the school still is there. And thinking about Spade, they lost their school a few years ago. And then I’ve noticed the last organization to go is the church. It’s the first to come and the last to go.”

Even when a church closes, a desire to minister remains, he observed. Griffin recalled two congregations whose buildings later housed other churches.

Closing a church

“A lot of time, when they close that church, they want to do something with the property, the assets,” he said. “Generally, the thing that pushes this toward a tipping point is an older gentleman who has been preaching there or leading a Bible study who retires or gets sick, and they realize they can’t bring someone else in. So, they basically call me in to close the church.”

The condition of the Spade church’s facility impressed Griffin. The congregation completely renovated the sanctuary just over a decade ago, and they maintained it well. Many congregations would love such a facility; it simply is in the wrong location. The congregation dwindled to a half-dozen members.

Belinda Chapman attended First Baptist Church all her 62 years. She remembers in the 1960s when the church was the center of the community with monthly church fellowship events, Vacation Bible School and a full Sunday school.

“It was very hard thing, but when Les told us what all we could do with church, it eased the pain. We felt better about what was going to happen,” she said. “There may not be any more Sunday morning here, but there is a part of it that continues to live on.”

Although the Spade congregation owned the building, they did not own the land it occupied. A local farmer allowed them to build on a corner of his land but never deeded the land to the congregation. The building now belongs to the third generation of that farmer’s family.

Its other assets will continue to be used in ministry, however.

“One of the things that excited them, both with their donations to Wayland and our area, was that, ‘Long after we’re gone, those funds will still be helping the kingdom of God.’ People can catch that vision. People want to leave a legacy,” Griffin said.

Rescuing a mural

The church’s legacy included a mural hung in the baptistery. Hand-painted on canvas in the 1940s by an artist who painted murals for numerous churches, it had been hung with a frame tacked around it.

“I started looking at this, and I wanted to take that mural down and mount it in the area center as a tribute to rural churches,” Griffin said.

Some of the paint flaked while it was being taken down, so it is being restored in preparation for display at the area office in Plainview.

“We will frame it and mount it with a plaque and dedicate it to the rural churches who are the foundation of the area ministries we have now,” Griffin said.

The mural depicts a river scene.

“Whether that is the River Jordan or someplace in Mississippi, it represents the kingdom of God growing. It represents the kingdom of God moving, like a river does,” he said.

The Kingdom of God survives

A congregation should remember the kingdom’s forward movement during a discussion of a church’s closing, Griffin added.

“I think it is good for us to remember, lest we get too discouraged: There is no church in Ephesus that Paul founded. There is no church in Colossae. There is no church in Corinth. Those have all gone. Churches come and go; the kingdom of God survives,” he said.

“The fact that a church no longer exists does not diminish what it did while it was there, nor does it mean that the church doesn’t bubble up in other forms in different places.”

Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas is collecting donated durable medical equipment this week to be distributed by missions partners in Havana, Cuba.

Texas WMU is accepting walkers, wheelchairs, crutches and canes for Cuba at six sites throughout Texas.

Wheelchairs must have all parts, including footrests. Make sure the footrests are with the wheelchair when it is dropped off at a donation site.

Floor tips for walkers and canes must be in good condition. Replace any excessively worn tips before the items are donated.

Underarm rests and floor tips for crutches must be in good condition. Crutches need to be zip-tied together in pairs.

Donated items will be accepted at each of these locations:

• Houston Area

Contact: Susan Morgan

10527 Minturn Ln, Houston

(281) 807-4537 

This is a private residence. Please call in advance.

• Austin Area

Contact: Virginia Kreimeyer or Rita Kennamer

Austin Baptist Association, 3811 Harmon Ave., Austin

(512) 259-3510 or (512) 454-2558 

Donations may be dropped off Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• San Antonio Area

Contact: Ruth Hiner

Berean Bible Fellowship, 6670 Heritage Lake, San Antonio

(210) 497-5059 or (210) 381-7500

Donations may be dropped off Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  

• Dallas Area

Contact: Mickey Lenamon

Texas Baptist Men, 5351 Catron, Dallas

(214) 381-2800 

Donations may be dropped off Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Abilene Area

Contact: Mike Greenfield

First Baptist Church, 1333 North 3rd, Abilene

(325) 673-5031

Donations may be dropped off Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

• Waco Area

Contact: Carol Huckeby

First Baptist Church, 500 Webster Avenue, Waco

(254) 752-3000

Donations may be dropped off Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

CEDAR HILL—Mission Cedar Hill participants take seriously the words of Jesus: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Mission Cedar Hill volunteers from High Pointe Baptist Church clear brush at Camp Ellowi. (PHOTO/Tyler Agnew)

The mission project of High Pointe Baptist Church sent about 50 high school students and 21 adults around the city to work on 14 projects, ranging from trimming trees and clearing brush at a local camp to painting and remodeling the Cedar Hill Museum of History. At every turn, they made an impact on their community.

“We just want to show Christ’s love,” team leader Rachel Shoemaker said. She led a group of 12 in remodeling a portable building at Bray Elementary School for the Cedar Hill Action Team, an after-school mentoring program for youth.

Volunteers exemplified the Mission Cedar Hill motto, “Taking care to the community.” At Cedar Hill Food Pantry, Director Gene Sims watched with a full heart as three students helped with landscaping.

“It makes me smile,” she said. “It really helps, because the flowerbeds haven’t been worked in forever.”

Senior Mikel Terry and freshman Rebekah Stepanian pulled weeds and raked leaves as the Texas sun beat down on them.

Mikel Terry works in the Texas heat, raking leaves at Cedar Hill Food Pantry during Mission Cedar Hill. (PHOTO/Tyler Agnew)“You really have to push yourself out here. It’s not easy, especially with the heat,” Terry said.

He agreed with Stepanian, who said it’s all worth it, because they are “able to help the entire community all in God’s name.”

About 1,300 local residents visit the pantry each month seeking help, so volunteers stay busy caring for clients. Sims views help with small repair and maintenance projects as a huge blessing.

“When we see something come up that needs to be done, we call Mission Cedar Hill, and they take care of it for us. They are definitely doing God’s work,” she said. Mission Cedar Hill began more than a decade ago as part of Transformation Vision, an organization Mayor Rob Franke and other community leaders started to unite people of faith to improve the city.

“We are a racially diverse city, and we’re economically diverse,” Franke said. “So, we started looking for those things that bring us together more than divide us.” Franke believes faith in Christ served as a rallying point, and “it became a real cornerstone of our city.”

Daniel Fennig uses a pole saw to clear fallen limbs from the roof of a structure at Camp Ellowi during Mission Cedar Hill, a ministry of High Pointe Baptist Church. (PHOTO/Tyler Agnew)Franke approached Toby Snowden, High Pointe’s senior pastor, about leading Transformation Vision’s Protecting Children and the Elderly Committee, and Mission Cedar Hill resulted. Many of Cedar Hill’s elderly live on fixed or low incomes Snowden noted. At times, this results in their houses not meeting city codes. Mission Cedar Hill started to address those needs.

“We will go and bring their property up to code,” he said. Projects include repairs, painting, clearing brush, mowing and even installing wheelchair ramps for the disabled. The first year, Mission Cedar Hill brought one house up to code; this year, they completed five. Student participants enabled Mission Cedar Hill to expand its number of projects. “We have more students that sign up for Missions Cedar Hill than we take to youth camp,” Snowden said.

“And they pay to do it,” High Pointe Youth Minister Daniel Foster added. “It’s been neat seeing them come alive and (their) desire to serve others.” Mission Cedar Hill represents more than a few days of outreach for students. “This has become a part of our DNA,” Snowden said.

PLAINVIEW—For Wayland Baptist University professor Charles Huang, this July 4 holiday was like none he had experienced before. It marked his first Independence Day as a U.S. citizen.

Huang, assistant professor of exercise and sport science, took the oath of citizenship June 26, completing the process to become a citizen. His wife, Yan Wang, took the oath a little more than a month before.

Grew up in China

The couple—who grew up in China—participated in the process together. His citizenship took a few extra weeks, because he wanted to change his legal first name to Charles—easier for Americans to remember and pronounce than his given name, Chaoqun, which he kept as his middle name.

Huang (pronounced Whong) arrived at Wayland in 2012 after serving as a visiting professor at the University of Utah and falling in love with the United States. Huang holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in education from East China Normal University, but he dreamed of earning a Ph.D. from an American university.

He arrived in Utah in August 2007. Shortly after beginning his doctoral program, he started the application process to bring his wife and daughter, Yingzhi, to the United States.

When his family arrived, he said, they immediately felt at home in the United States.

Found faith in Christ

Although Huang came to the United States to pursue his education, he found much more. He found friends, freedom and faith in Christ.

A friend took him to church and introduced him to a God unlike what he had heard of in his native China, he said.

“In the church in the United States, we talk about the love—God’s love. And people love each other,” he said.

Huang didn’t grow up in church and never was introduced to the gospel until moving to the United States.

“That’s amazing,” he said. “When I first attended worship, Sunday worship, and sung the songs, I felt filled, and felt tears in my eye. I don’t know why.”

Huang soon became a Christian, and his newfound faith made a huge impact on his life.

“The first thing is God knows me, and God leads me to fulfill my dreams and leads me to the right way to live,” he said.

‘God has a plan for me’

“Previously in China, because of China’s education, we focused on man’s effort to fulfill the dreams. But after I know God, I think the Father has a plan for me. I also need to do something, but God has a plan for me. I just need to follow God’s plan and do those things.”

While Huang said his relationship with God changed him spiritually, it also made a readily observable change in his life.

“I feel my temper has also changed a lot—especially when teaching,” he said.

Teaching in China focused on getting the desired results, and that meant forcing students to learn, he explained. With the change in his life, he discovered encouraging students rather than getting angry at them as a better way to approach education.

“It changed me a lot. I feel I am nicer, much nicer than in China,” he said.

Howard Payne University received $25,000 in scholarship funds from TexasBank through the Doss Foundation. The gift to HPU for its Heart of Texas Scholarship fund was part of an $88,000 contribution to Brownwood-area high schools and colleges for scholarships in 2014. In the last seven years, the Doss Foundation has donated more than $425,000 to educational institutions in the region.

State Bar honors Baylor Law School. The State Bar of Texas recognized Baylor Law School with an award for exceptional service to the poor, the 2014 W. Frank Newton Award for Pro Bono Excellence. The award recognizes the work of attorney groups whose members have made an outstanding contribution to the provision of, or access to, legal services to the poor.

ARLINGTON—Whether Jagee Melton leads worship for hundreds of children during a week at summer camp or provides music for a women’s luncheon, her goal remains the same—to connect all ages to biblical truths through songs.

Jagee MeltonMelton is a member of Fielder Road Baptist Church in Arlington, where her husband serves as the children’s minister.

Throughout the year, she leads worship at a variety of events, such as church camps, Vacation Bible School, outreach activities, women’s conferences, Mothers of Preschoolers groups, retreats and mother/daughter events.

In addition to leading worship, Melton has created events for young girls and teens focusing on modesty, relationships and “guarding their hearts.”

“I’m very diverse in the way that I’m able to minister to people,” she said. “A lot of times, people see that I do children’s events and don’t think that I can come and minister to the women of their church or vice-versa. They think, ‘Oh, she does women’s events, so she can’t put on neon shoes and have fun with the kids.’ During this season of my life, I am very fortunate that God has allowed me opportunities to minister to both groups. It’s my passion to sing and share God’s truths in a way that will lead people closer to Jesus.”

Leading worship at children’s camps

This summer, Melton is leading worship for children’s camps around the state, including Mount Lebanon Baptist Encampment in Cedar Hill, Latham Springs Baptist Encampment in Aquilla and Circle Six Ranch Baptist Camp at Stanton.

Following the events, Melton enjoys interacting with audiences and hearing stories about how lives are being influenced for God’s glory.

“The sweetest parts of these events happen in the quiet moments afterwards, when people share their stories and ask you to pray with them,” she noted. “It’s always a meaningful time when little girls in the third or fourth grade come up and ask, ‘How do I know when I’m hearing God’s voice?’ or they will say, ‘I think God is calling me into ministry.’

“It’s those special moments that make my job really great. It means so much that they took the time to come up and share their heart. A lot of times, people will share about dealing with the loss of a family member. It is so meaningful when people share what their family is going through, because I can relate to so much of it.”

 Melton began to use music as an outlet to express her feelings and emotions following the deaths of her father and brother.

“Within a period of three years, my family really went through a valley,” Melton said. “My father was killed in a car wreck, and then three years later, my brother also died in a wreck. During this time, I really went through a season of difficulty and depression.

Beginning a music ministry

“As my husband was trying to encourage and pray for me, he asked what I would like to be involved in and what I was passionate about. I told him about my desire to sing and minister to women. We began reading Scriptures together, praying about it and brainstorming different ideas. A month later, someone left a donation at the church for me to begin a music ministry, which was so surprising because we were still in the initial phases and just brainstorming ideas.

“About that time, my husband was scheduled to attend a children’s conference in Florida, and I was able to attend with him. It was at this conference that I was introduced to Charlie Bancroft, a children’s worship leader whose stage name was Uncle Charlie. The girl who had traveled with him for years was retiring to go on and do other things in life. When Charlie asked if I would be interested in doing children’s events and camps with him, I remember thinking that God was leading me to pursue women’s ministry and I had my hands full raising four boys.”

Importance of reaching all ages

However, as God continued working in Melton’s life and opening doors to lead worship, she realized the importance of reaching out to all ages.

“Within a year’s time, my perspective began to change as the Lord reminded me about the importance of being willing to minister to any age group,” Melton said. “Sure enough, I started performing children’s events with Charlie and had so much fun. It’s funny how I had forgotten the little girl in me until I got on stage and it was time to sing songs like, ‘I Like Bananas’ and ‘Making Melodies.’ It was like God revived this little kid in me, who still wanted to play and have fun. At the same time, these wonderful opportunities were placed before us to teach kids about God’s love and faithfulness through these songs. 

“When I found myself ministering to children, it made me reflect on many of the verses that I learned growing up and helped me to realize that there will come a time when God will use these verses and special moments for these children to reflect on throughout their lives.

“Through these opportunities, I began to realize the Lord would equip me for whatever situation that he placed before me. I recognized that my responsibility was to be available and ready to go, wherever the doors open and the Lord leads—regardless of whether the audience is 8 years old or 80 years old.”

The Dallas Baptist University men’s soccer team traveled to Curitiba, Brazil, during the 2014 FIFA World Cup to minister to the poor and needy.

Members of the Dallas Baptist University Patriots mission team included (front row, left to right) Kody Dale, Gerson Mendoza, Andrew Byrd, Riley Alvey, Landon Lacy, Brandon O’Donovan, (second row) Mason Stringer, Brian Robertson, Ryan Jackson, Adam Williams, Cameron Garner, Alex Becerra, Assistant Coach Austin White, (third row) Coach Chris Crawford, Cameron Gilbert, Chuck Schober, David Fraga, Cameron Hatch, David Balyeat and Leevi Schwartz. (PHOTOS/Courtesy of Dallas Baptist University)The Patriots’ nine-day mission trip was part of DBU’s Global Sports Mission Initiative, designed to give student athletes opportunities to share the love of Christ overseas.

The 20-person mission team originally planned to work at construction sites, schools and juvenile delinquent facilities, as well as connect with Brazilians through soccer.

However, before the team arrived in Curitiba, a massive storm dropped three months’ worth of rain on the region in a matter of hours. Overnight, flash floods displaced more than 13,000 people from their homes.

Modifying their original plans, the mission volunteers shifted their focus from construction to supporting disaster relief efforts. On their first full day in Curitiba, the soccer team served at a clothing distribution center, sorting clothes after a surge of donations that followed the flooding.

Kicking off their Brazilian soccer debut, the DBU Patriots played the semiprofessional team Parana Futbol Clube, who defeated the student team 2-0.

DBU student athletes Ryan Jackson (left) and Riley Alvey help paint a facility for juvenile delinquents during a mission trip to Brazil.“To be able to play a team of that quality and skill on this trip was a huge blessing and a great challenge, which we handled well,” DBU junior Chuck Schober said.

The day after that match, the team returned to the clothing distribution center to collect, sort and distribute clothing and hygiene products to poverty-stricken people around Curitiba.

Later, the team traveled to a facility that offers children a safe place to play during the day, keeping them off the streets. The DBU Patriots interacted with the children, teaching them soccer and showing them the love of Christ.

Traveling to a facility for juvenile delinquents, the team helped paint an aging 2,000-square-foot building. The staff of the facility noted with astonishment the work ethic and joy the soccer team exhibited in painting the interior and exterior of the building in a day and a half.

“The way that we have been able to help out in so many different ways and work with so many different people has been an eye opener for all of us,” DBU junior Landon Lacy said.

Kody Dale (left) and Leevi Schwartz (second from left), members of the Dallas Baptist University men’s soccer team, visit with Brazilian young people during a mission trip.The team attended a Saturday night worship service at First Baptist Church in Curitiba, where several students shared their Christian testimonies and provided information about DBU and its mission.

The Patriots soccer team spent their last two days in Curitiba participating in friendly soccer games and relationship building before traveling to the Portal Do Futuro sports complex in the village of Cajuro.

“Getting to play soccer and watching a World Cup game with the kids and seeing how much of an impact you can make by doing these things is an amazing experience,” DBU freshman Gerson Mendoza said. 

“I never thought that soccer could be so useful when trying to connect or show them some love.  … God has truly blessed us, and even though we came here to serve, I feel like I have received more than I could ever give.”

MCALLEN—At their annual meeting in McAllen, messengers and guests at the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas focused on becoming passionate disciples of Jesus.

Rolando Rodriguez uses a soccer ball as an illustration in addressing the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas annual meeting in McAllen. (BGCT PHOTOS)The event drew 1,374 registered participants, with 490 serving as messengers from Hispanic Texas Baptist churches. The three-day family event included activities for children and a special track for youth and college students.

“During Convencion, we were challenged to be passionate disciples, taking the Great Commission personally and be faithful to God’s calling in our life,” said Rolando Rodriguez, director of Hispanic ministries for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. “The attendance surpassed our expectation. Without a doubt, God was glorified through this event.”

Newly elected officers of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas are (left to right) Joel Ake, secretary; Ray Zamora, second vice president; Rolando Aguirre, first vice president; and Bea Mesquias, president.Messengers approved a $65,000 budget for 2015 and re-elected Bea Mesquias from United Baptist Church in Harlingen to a second term as president. Other officers are first vice president, Rolando Aguirre from Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen; second vice president, Ray Zamora from Primera Iglesia Bautista in Donna; and secretary, Joel Ake from Primera Iglesia Bautista in Dallas.

Throughout the event, speakers emphasized the crisis along the Texas/Mexico border, where about 50,000 unaccompanied immigrant children have entered the United States so far this year.

“We were blessed with the wonderful support from the churches in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Jesse Rincones, executive director of the Hispanic Baptist Convention. “We were able to use the occasion of our annual meeting to bring attention, prayer and support for the humanitarian crisis of unaccompanied children that are flooding the valley region.”

Jesse Rincones, executive director of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, led the annual meeting in McAllen to focus attention on the humanitarian crisis caused by tens of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children entering the United States from Central America.During a bilingual session, Albert Reyes, president of Buckner International, spoke on what it means to be a passionate disciple. Drawing from Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 9, he emphasized disciples should love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. He encouraged Hispanic Texas Baptists to give reverence, commitment and obedience to Jesus Christ as Creator and Redeemer.

“God took his creative hand, and he made you with a purpose,” Reyes said. “You will never be at your happiest until you know what that is.”

Luis Gabriel Cesar Isunza, pastor of Iglesia Bautista de Ciudad Satelite in Santa Ana Jilotzingo, Mexico, emphasized the non-negotiable attributes of following Jesus.

“God wants to be first above all relationships,” Isunza said, drawing from Luke 14:25-33. “Before you make your plans, you need to take them to the Lord.”

MCALLEN—The crisis along the Texas/Mexico border caused by an influx of about 50,000 unaccompanied immigrant children into the United States so far this year captured the attention and concern of participants at the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas in McAllen.

“It is necessary for us to bring attention to the humanitarian crisis affecting tens of thousands finding themselves abandoned and in need of basic necessities,” said Jesse Rincones, executive director of Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas.

“We are here to express our commitment as Hispanic Baptists to provide assistance, awareness and prayer for those in need.”

Convencion President Bea Mesquias and other Hispanic Texas Baptists volunteered at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen prior to the annual meeting to support volunteers who are caring for unaccompanied children. Although they were unable to interact with the children, they helped fold clothes and clean restrooms.

They are ‘in need of hope’

“My prayer is that we can work with the government to help these women and children,” Mesquias said. “They have food and clothing and shelter, but they are in need of hope. I pray we can find ways to share the word of God with them and that God will protect them during this difficult time.”

Several Hispanic Baptist leaders stood on the banks of the Rio Grande and prayed for wisdom and God’s sovereignty. Recognizing the difficult circumstances many are fleeing, Julio Guarneri, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen, prayed for the children’s home countries.

Prayer for Central America

“We pray for the situations in Central America. We cannot begin to imagine what conditions would push a mom to cross an entire country with their baby in hand, riding on trains, risking their lives,” Guarneri said.

“We cannot imagine the kind of poverty or violence that they face. Father, we know that they have enough hope that would bring them here. Father, we pray that you would be in the situation there and that your shalom, peace, would be with them.”

SCROGGINS—When Texas Baptist Men needed a better way to drill water wells in developing countries, a couple in Northeast Texas developed a low-cost portable rig capable of drilling a 100-foot well.

A few years ago, Harold and Kathy Patterson founded Northeast Texas Disaster Response to support the disaster relief and water-drilling ministries of Texas Baptist Men. They design, build and maintain equipment for the ministries from their rural home in Scroggins, east of Winnsboro, where they attend First Baptist Church.

When Texas Baptist Men needed a better way to drill water wells in developing countries, Harold and Kathy Patterson—founders of Northeast Texas Disaster Response—developed a low-cost portable rig capable of drilling a 100-foot well. (PHOTO/David Clanton)Drawing on more than 35 years experience as a mechanic—and on his wife’s suggestions and assistance—Patterson has created a mobile bunkhouse capable of housing nine disaster relief volunteers, a mobile shower unit and a mobile laundry unit.

Last year, he accompanied a TBM water ministry team to Kenya to drill a well. The volunteers wanted to use appropriate technology available to local residents, so they started drilling with a hand-operated auger.

“The first five feet, it worked well. But then we hit hard shale, and it wouldn’t penetrate it,” he said. With the help of local volunteers, the TBM team completed digging the well with picks and shovels.

“We have to do better than that,” he concluded.

About 40 years ago, Patterson worked on an oil well-drilling rig. Using what he learned from that experience and a lifetime of mechanical work, he and his wife created a small-scale water well-drilling rig.

Modified posthole digger

He used a similar—but costly—piece of equipment he found on the Internet as his guide. But instead of an expensive engine and complex transmission, he used a simple two-person posthole digger with a six-horsepower engine for his creation, which the Pattersons built for less than $2,000.

“We have needed a simple, low-cost, automated water-drilling rig for a long time as our water ministry has grown greatly in these past few years,” said Don Gibson, TBM executive director.

“The Pattersons have been able to design and build one that is ideal in function and in cost. It can be shipped anywhere, used anywhere, for drilling up to 100 feet deep.”

Because it uses a commonly available small engine produced by an international company, parts are readily available worldwide—even in many developing nations, Patterson noted.

“Even if there’s a part not available locally, they are small enough they can be shipped for next to nothing,” he said.

Headed for Nigeria and India

The first unit already has been tested at a couple of locations in Texas, and it will be used soon to drill a well for an orphanage, widows’ center and hospital in Eku, Nigeria, and a medical mission in India.

Initially, Gibson talked to the Pattersons about building five well-drilling rigs if God provided $10,000, since the project was not included in the TBM budget.

Within a few weeks, before the need was publicized widely, about $8,000 already had been donated. In fact, when the Pattersons mentioned the project at First Baptist Church in Winnsboro, four Sunday school classes gave enough to build one rig.

“I would love to see 25 of these operating,” Patterson said, noting 6,000 children a day die due to lack of clean drinking water. “If we can make a difference, it’s worth every penny and worth every minute.”

For more information about the TBM water ministry, call (214) 275-1100.

Read more about Harold and Kathy Patterson in the upcoming August issue of CommonCall magazine. CommonCall features inspiring stories about Christians living out their faith and informative articles about ministries that actually work. An annual subscription is only $24 and comes with two complementary subscriptions to the Baptist Standard. To subscribe to CommonCall, click here.