INDEPENDENCE—Joy Fenner, who has encouraged missions work and missionary education around the globe for decades, was honored June 6 with the Elder Statesman Award from Independence Association.

Fenner served two decades as executive director-treasurer of Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas and was the first woman president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. She is the 59th recipient of the Elder Statesman Award, presented by the Independence Association and Baptist Distinctives Committee/Texas Baptist Heritage Center. The honor was bestowed at Independence Baptist Church, the oldest continually active Baptist congregation in the state.

Fenner clearly represents the purpose of Independence Association—to emphasize the importance of education and missions in Baptist life, said Bill Pitts, president of the association.

He noted Baylor University and the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor, which trace their origin to Independence, were founded as a result of the missionary fervor of Baptists.

Bill Pinson, executive director emeritus of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, said Fenner unites Texas Baptists’ strong commitment to education and reaching the world with the gospel. She built upon and expanded the foundation that generations of Texas Baptists laid before her, he noted.

In 1967, Joy and Charlie Fenner married, and they packed their bags for Japan, where they served with the Southern Baptist Convention Foreign Mission Board as missionaries until 1980. In their service there, they grew to love the Japanese culture and people, looking to share the hope of Christ as often as possible.

They returned to Texas in 1981, and Joy Fenner became the executive director-treasurer of Texas WMU. During her 20-year tenure in that position, Texas WMU continued to encourage Texas Baptists to share the gospel with a growing and diversifying population.

She spearheaded efforts by WMU during the Mission Texas emphasis to raise funds for starting new churches, including the triple-triple campaign for the Mary Hill Davis Offering, an effort to triple one year’s offering and then triple it again the next year.

She also helped develop the WorldTouch and Touch Tomorrow Today endowments, which support mission work through Texas WMU. These funds help with mission work in a number of ways, including ministry to missionaries and their children, providing resources in various languages, supporting the Texas Baptist Nursing Fellowship and African-American work, and assisting in leadership development. She also served as president of Texas WMU, and she has served on the board of trustees of East Texas Baptist University.

In the Elder Statesman Award program, Carolyn Porterfield of Texas WMU taught the Bible study, BGCT Executive Direcotor Randel Everett preached the sermon, retired BGCT Treasurer Roger Hall shared about the history of Independence Association and Independence Baptist Church, and Ruth Landes Pitts, Deirdre LaNoue and Ed Wittner provided music.

Charlie Fenner, who provided a musical interlude on the old 1874 church organ, was recognized for the shared ministry he and his wife have had.

Also recognized were several former Texas WMU presidents who had served with Fenner during her term as WMU executive director/treasurer—Millie Bishop, Gerry Dunkin, Mary Humphries, Kathy Hillman and Jeane Law.

Upon accepting the honor before many of the friends and colleagues she has served alongside, Fenner thanked Texas Baptists for all that they have done. She called herself a product of Texas Baptist life.

“Thank you, Texas Baptists,” she said. “Thank you for loving me, for growing me and for gifting me today with this honor.”

• Texas Baptist Children’s Home will hold a reunion July 31. The celebration also will include the marking of TBCH’s 60th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of John and Brenda Toner as houseparents. Activities will begin with cottage tours at 9 a.m. A group photo is scheduled for 11 a.m. A barbecue lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The reunion is free for all alumni and family members, but notification of attendance is required. Call (512) 246-4248 to make reservations or for more information.

• Two longtime educators at East Texas Baptist University have retired. Brenda Dearman, professor of music, taught in the School of Fine Arts 30 years. Charles Sutton, professor of education, came to ETBU in 2002 and is retiring after 48 years as an educator.

• Hardin-Simmons University honored retiring professor of mathematics Ed Hewett not only by naming him faculty member of the year, but also tapping him as the inaugural recipient of the Stars of the Purple and Gold Award for perseverance and dedication. Anita Lyle, administrative assistant to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts, was named staff member of the year.

• Dallas Baptist University named Linda Smith its staff member of the year. She has worked at DBU 34 years, 33 of those in the school mailroom.

• Eric McQuiston has joined Baptist Child & Family Services as a regional emergency preparedness coordinator. He served 20 years as a medic in the U.S. Air Force, managing and training rapid response teams.

• Howard Payne University recognized 121 student-athletes for their success in the classroom and their fields of athletic endeavor. To qualify, students had to achieve a cumulative grade-point average of 3.o or greater, make a significant contribution to his or her team, and maintain a high level of integrity.

Anniversaries

• Knobbs Springs Church in McDade, 155th, May 23. Mark McBride is pastor.

• Larry Davis, 20th, as pastor at South Garland Baptist Church in Garland, June 13.

• Terry Sinclair, fifth, as minister of music at First Church in Lakeside, June 27.

• Artis Edwards, fifth, as pastor of New Beginnings Church in Brenham.

Retiring

• Robert Davenport, as pastor of Mount Sylvan Church in Lindale, June 30. He has served there since 2000. He previously was associate pastor of North Klein Church in Klein and was minister of pastoral care and single adults at Metropolitan Church in Houston.

• E. L. “Skip” McNeal as pastor of First Church in Sanger, June 30, after 30 years involvement in the community, Denton Baptist Association and the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The church will honor McNeal and his wife, Mary, June 27 at 6 p.m. with a celebratory program and reception. Former members and friends are invited to attend.

Events

• The Telestials will present a concert July 2 at First Church in Devers. An offering will be taken. For more information, call (936) 549-7653. Harry McDaniel is pastor.

• Pleasant View Church in Dallas will celebrate 163 years of service to the community July 11 with homecoming services. Former pastor Joe Price will preach in the morning service. Joel Swofford and the Gloryland Boys will sing in the service and present a concert in the afternoon. A meal will follow the service. Swofford will preach after the afternoon concert. For more information, call (214) 824-1161. Bob Hendley is pastor.

Licensed

• Michael Gleason, to the ministry at First Church in Pettus.

Ordained

• Ryan Chandler, to the ministry at First Church in Christine.

Revival

• Mount Pilgrim Church, Corpus Christi; June 23-25; evangelist, Jean Burch; pastor, Claude Axel.

Deaths

• R.B. Baker, 81, June 7 in Temple. He served 21 years as pastor of Memorial Church in Temple and was named pastor emeritus. His other pastorates included Marlow Church in Milam County, Calvary Church in May, First Church in Moody, First Church in Caldwell and Harris Avenue Church in San Angelo. He was born July 22, 1928, in Burkburnett to Robert B. and Altie Denton Baker. He married Bettye Griffith on May 3, 1948. He graduated from Olney High School, Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he received his doctorate from Howard Payne University, where he served on the board of trustees. He took many groups on tours to the Holy Land, and he was an interior designer. Survivors include his wife, Bettye Baker of Temple; a son, Mark Baker of Temple; a daughter, Belinda Clark of Austin; two sisters, Zola Owens and Ruth Young, both of Olney; five grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

• James A. Puckett, 76, June 12 in McKinney. He served nearly 20 years as pastor of First Church in McKinney. He served previously as pastor of Texas Baptist churches in Wortham, Big Spring and San Antonio, as well as churches in Kentucky and Michigan. Born in Quitman, he was baptized and ordained to the ministry at First Church in Quitman. He graduated from Tyler High School and attended East Texas Baptist University and Tyler Junior College before earning degrees from Baylor Univer-sity and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Puckett served as a trustee at Baptist Memorial Geriatric Center, Hispanic Baptist Theological Seminary, Dallas Baptist Univer-sity and East Texas Baptist University, and he was a director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board. He was preceded in death by his parents, Otis and Era Shaw Puckett; sister, Newlyn Cain; and great-granddaughter, Lily-Maih Callaway. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Edna; son, Jim Puckett, Jr. of Princeton; daughter, Carol Puckett Lockwood of San Antonio; and son, Timothy Puckett of Allen; six grandchildren and a great-granddaughter; sisters, Gwen Lipscomb of Garland, Patsy Gaston of Okmulgee, Okla.; brother, Joe Puckett of Dallas; and numerous nieces and nephews.

• David Baysinger to Second Church in La Grange as youth minister from Walnut Creek Church in Azle.

• Aaron Coffey to First Church in Floresville as minister of youth from First Church in Gladewater.

• Keith Coleman to First Church in Dublin as pastor from First Church in Granbury, where he was associate pastor/minister to students.

• Nathan Johnson to First Church in Schulenburg as minister of youth and music from Indian Hills Church in Grand Prairie, where he was youth pastor.

• Richard McCroskey to First Church in Sulphur Springs as youth minsitry intern.

• Laura Smitherman to Desoto Hills Church in Southhaven, Miss., as children’s minister from First Church in Burleson.

• Paul Walker to First Church in Wichita Falls as singles ministry coordinator.

LIPAN—God gave Olen Reynolds a love for music, and he’s been giving it back ever since.

Reynolds, 83, officially has been Allison Baptist Church’s music director the last 61 years, but he started leading the music long before that. Reynolds never has drawn a dime of salary, but he was the recipient of a couple of love offerings during revivals.

He can remember standing on the pianist’s bench and leading the singing at age 7. By age 12, he was the church’s regular song leader, even though he didn’t make a profession of faith in Christ until he turned 16.

“I’ve sang all my life, and don’t know a note of music. When I was young, I could hear a song three times and sing it, but I can’t do that anymore because I can’t remember them,” Reynolds said.

Little has come between Reynolds and leading the Sunday morning hymns—not even his wedding.

He and his wife, Bea, married on Nov. 8, 1947, years after they met as children during a tent meeting.

“We were in the church the next morning. We didn’t go on a honeymoon, but we’ve been on one ever since,” he said with his quick laugh and even quicker smile.

The only thing that has interfered with his leading music was about an 18-month term of military service during World War II.

Allison Baptist church, a rural congregation that numbers about 50 on Sunday mornings, has changed little in all the years Reynolds has served there.

“The music hasn’t changed, because I wouldn’t change it,” he said. “I’ve got to do the old Baptist hymns I always knew, and that’s it.”

Reynolds has been playing a guitar since he was 14. That ability proved especially useful after the church building burned on a Sunday morning in 1955. Members tried to rescue the church’s piano, but it became stuck in the front doorframe and burned with the rest of the church.

Reynolds still recalls how the members of the church worked hard on their farms all week but showed up every Saturday to help rebuild the church.

He counts “How Great Thou Art” and “Victory in Jesus” as favor-ites, but the old hymns all have special place in his heart.

“I sing a special now and then, but I just do that when I’m called on by the Lord. … If it gets to be a ritual, that’s not a special. I like to get up and there and get ready to sing and tell my pianist, ‘Now this is going to be a special.’ And she may not even know it,” he said with a laugh.

The church has a mixture of longtime members and newcomers, but the music seems to suit them all, he said.

“I guess they (like the music), because that’s what we were doing when they first came, and maybe that’s why they came back,” he said.

The hymns are crucial to worship, Reynolds believes.

“Every hymn has a message. And like a verse in the Bible, every time you sing it, it may have a different message. And I say: ‘It ain’t me up here. The hymn is the worship part.’ I say: ‘Go by that. That hymn is what’s to be focused on.’”

Pastor Wayne Ford, who has served the Allison church 30 years, said Reynolds is important to the church’s worship.

“I depend on him a whole lot. The messages in the songs really set the pace for the whole service,” Ford said.

Reynolds has no thoughts of retiring.

“That’s my way of worshipping the Lord—leading the music. I’ve never been a pew warmer,” he said.

Reynolds always counseled others to do the things they love and has attempted to follow that same track for himself.

“You do what you love to do, and I’ve always loved music,” he said.

He was recently asked why he’s always so happy, he said.

“I’ve got my funeral bill paid. I’ve got a place where I’m going to be buried. And I’ve got a place in heaven I’m going to. What is there to worry about? Dying is just the door to heaven. That’s all it is.”

And Reynolds surely will enter with a song on his lips.

ORLANDO, Fla.—A 35-year-old prayer God that “never stopped answering” led Mary Lou Serratt to receive the Woman’s Missionary Union’s Dellanna West O’Brien Award for leadership development among women.

Serratt, a member of First Baptist Church in Amarillo, accepted the award during the WMU annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., June 14. Serratt has worked with girls and women from Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Iran, Iraq, Korea, Laos, Liberia, Spain, Sudan, Thailand and Vietnam, helping them learn the Bible and grow as leaders.

Serratt’s ministry began in 1975, as she helped plan a mission trip to Korea, she said.

She felt all the other mission team members possessed special skills that would be useful on the trip, but she didn’t know how she could contribute. “So I prayed, ‘God, would you pour your love for people through me?’” she recalled, noting God responded when she sensed an “immediate connection” to the Korean people.

“God answered that prayer, and it’s still going on,” she said.

When she returned to Amarillo, where her husband, Delbert, was a pastor at the time, a Laotian pastor in the community asked her to provide “special care” for a group of Laotian girls. The pastor asked her to teach not only about the Bible and about missions, but also to show the girls who lived far from their native land “how special they are” and how to be leaders.

In addition to the Laotian girls, she soon began teaching girls from Korea and Spain, giving birth to International Acteens, a cosmopolitan version of the Baptist missions program for teenage girls.

One day, the girls took turns answering the question, “What will you be doing in 10 years?” Serratt remembered.

One girl replied, “’Mrs. Serratt, I don’t know where I will be in 10 years, but you will be my teacher,’” she said, her voice catching with emotion. “That’s the legacy of leadership. Teaching never ends.”

Serratt continued her ministry to international women when she and her husband moved to South Texas, where he was an associational director of missions. In retirement, they returned to Amarillo to discover “people from all over the world had arrived.”

She teaches them English as a Second Language and also the Bible.

“I’m watching them learn and grow, and they teach me so much,” she said.

Serratt encouraged other Baptists to share her ministry, particularly as people from mission fields around the world immigrate to the United States.

“Don’t put up barriers” between people of different cultures and languages, she pleaded. “Let God love people from around the world through you. That’s what it’s all about.”

“I have observed Mary Lou as an outstanding Acteens leader, a capable associational WMU director and officer of WMU of Texas,” said Joy Fenner, former executive director and former president of WMU of Texas. “Then her heart led her to work with the ethnic women and families who came to her community and church. Out of this church experience came the desire to help develop missions education among the emerging ethnic groups in Texas.

“The Hispanic and Korean work were growing, but multiple other groups needed personal, hands-on assistance,” Fenner added. “Mary Lou patiently works to understand the unique culture of each group, diligently seeks to present the concepts of WMU’s missions tasks in simple words and context, finds one or two within each group to mentor, and helps those women to develop strong, working relationships with pastors.”

Carolyn Porterfield, multicultural consultant for WMU of Texas, nominated Serratt and explained: “She has developed leaders who are now leading in their national ethnic fellowships. It is a joy to see her ‘in action’ with the women because her love for them radiates to them and they know it.

“I have watched her pour herself into these women, to help them develop into confident leaders who are respected by the pastors of their respective churches. Any time, day or night, she will take their calls and nurture them in the Lord. She is very much loved by our ethnic leadership.”

Serratt has served in church, associational and state WMU leadership. In addition to years of leading Acteens, she’s served as vice president of WMU of Texas and a volunteer multiethnic consultant, among other leadership roles. She also writes for national WMU for the Missions Plan Book, a resource written in basic English for smaller or new churches, multicultural congregations and deaf congregations.

Courtney Simpson and Julie Walters of WMU contributed to this story.

BELTON—The body of a 22-year-old graduate student was found on the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor campus the evening of June 12. 

He was identified as Adarsh Johnson Don Basco, a student from India pursuing a Master of Science in Information Systems degree at the university.

Known to his friends as “Johnson,” he recently had been recognized as the MSIS Outstanding Graduate Student for 2010 and was scheduled to graduate from the master’s program in August.

Friends reported to police he left a gathering at his home near the edge of the UMHB campus in the early morning hours June 11.

His friends became concerned when he did not return and reported him missing to the Belton police the following day.

“The university is deeply saddened by the loss of this wonderful young man,” said UMHB President Randy O’Rear.

“Johnson was an outstanding graduate student and was dearly loved by our faculty, staff and his fellow students. Our prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”

Officers at the scene said there appeared to be no signs of foul play. 

Based on information available at this time, university officials believe his death was accidental and are awaiting official confirmation. The investigation is being handled by the Belton Police Department. The body has been sent to Dallas for autopsy.
 

Haitians need help, and they need it fast. 

Robert Shehane recently returned from a four-week stint in Haiti seeking missions opportunities and potential Church2Church partnerships on behalf of Texas Baptists in the first of what will be several trips to the region.

Haitian children gather at a church. At least 160 children on the streets of Grand-Goâve can’t afford their school tuition. Texas Baptists are being encouraged to provide funds for tuition and school supplies. (PHOTO/Courtesy of Robert Shehane)

Homelessness is just one of many problems caused by the January earthquake that devastated Haiti. There are 200,000 people throughout the country currently living in the floodplains in tents, under tarps and in makeshift shelters. Food is scarce. Clean water is even scarcer.

“When I was there, it would get up to 130 degrees inside my tent during the day,” said Shehane, a retired Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board missionary. “When I went to bed at night, it was about 105 inside the tent.”

The biggest concern right now isn’t the scorching heat, but the coming rains. Haiti’s mountain ranges collect water, causing flash flooding and even mudslides, he said.

“Rainy season comes into full force in July or August, so there’s a real time crunch,” Shehane said. “We need to get these houses up and get people in decent shelter before the rains start. The people are also vulnerable to hurricanes, and hurricane season is just around the corner. When hurricanes hit, what’s going to happen to them? There is a definite sense of urgency to get these people into homes.”

Shehane has identified two main areas where Texas Baptists’ help is needed. The first is Grand-Goâve, about 40 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, and the nearby Petit-Goâve. The second is Delmas, a major city near Port-au-Prince. 

Building homes is the first among several priorities for volunteers in Haiti. In Grand-Goâve, part of the reconstruction plan provides work for local church members by hiring them to do reconstruction of destroyed and damaged homes.

Mission teams can plug into the work that’s already going on, and when they leave, construction doesn’t have to come to a halt.

The second priority is rebuilding the school owned by Grand-Goâve Baptist Church. About 200 students are now attending classes under tarps while Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and International Ministries American Baptist Convention USA work to rebuild. These two organizations are already partnering with the Haitian Baptist Convention.  Texas Baptists are joining into this partnership with the Haitian Baptist Convention, CBF and American Baptists on this project.

“The school’s needs are so great,” Shehane said. “Their budgets are in shambles. The other day I was talking with someone at the school and I overheard a teacher telling a little girl that she had to bring 60 gourde, which is $1.54, for her month’s tuition the next day or she couldn’t come back to school. And you know what? I bet she didn’t get it.”

There are at least 160 children on the streets of Grand-Goâve who can’t afford their school tuition.

“Texas Baptists can help with this project,” Shehane said. “We want to provide tuition for one year for as many street kids as possible who can’t afford it. They need backpacks, basic materials, textbooks and uniforms.”  An annual gift of $160 would help a child in Grand-Goâve be able to attend school for one year and receive supplies.

Other construction opportunities for Texas Baptists include rebuilding churches, the third priority Shehane has identified. The Baptist church in Petit-Goâve was completely destroyed. The church in Grand-Goâve is missing a roof and has unsafe walls and a cracked foundation.

“What we’d really love is to find enough Texas Baptist resources to rebuild the churches for them,” Shehane said. “The Grand-Goâve church is the one spearheading the efforts to rebuild their members’ homes. They don’t have any resources left over to repair their own building at this time.”

Thirty-seven miles away in Delmas, Shehane identified three churches that could benefit from Church2Church partnerships. At one church, 125 members were injured, 10 were killed including their pastor, 200 homes were destroyed, 250 were damaged and the church building was severely damaged.

Members of Salem Baptist Church of Delmas also lost their pastor in the earthquake. Sixty church members were wounded or injured, 30 homes were destroyed and 50 homes were damaged.

Martissant Baptist Church in Delmas lost eight members to the earthquake. One hundred and thirty people were wounded or injured, 130 homes were destroyed, 45 were damaged and the church building was damaged. Four children in the congregation were orphaned. Martissant has asked for a Texas Baptist partnership to help rebuild its members’ homes.

Shehane said he hopes partner churches will meet needs where they are able, but also act as networkers on behalf of their Haitian partners.

“The church partners might not meet the need directly, but they can connect with the people who can meet the needs,” Shehane said.

In addition to construction projects, there is a need for nurses, doctors and ophthalmologists to go Haiti in the upcoming months. There is a mobile medical clinic in place on the church grounds in Grand-Goâve staffed by one part-time nurse.

“We would like to plug in some Texas Baptists nurses to go and work for a week at a time,” Shehane said. “We also need general practitioners for neglected people who have never had that type of care.”

“We need ophthalmologists to come to Haiti and give eye exams and do cataract surgery,” Shehane said. “We would love to take 1,000 pairs of glasses on the next trip in all different kinds, all different prescriptions, to match them up with people as best as we can.”

Texas Baptists also are coordinating with Texas Baptist Men in the construction of two wound care clinic—one in Grace Goave and one in Delmas 28, which is part of Port-Au-Prince. These clinics will provide follow-up care for people who were injured in the earthquake and for other on-going health care needs. In addition, the medical professionals who staff the clinics will train some of the local people in proper wound care so this assistance can continue eve after there are no medical staff on site.

“The needs are just so immense,” Shehane said. “How do you decide what to do? You can’t do it all. Even together, we can’t do it all. You just have to take your slice and decide: ‘This is what we’re going to work on. This is where we can help to make a difference.’”

The Baptist General Convention of Texas is coordinating mission trips to the Grand-Goâve area of Haiti, 2.5 hours from Port-au-Prince. Chaplains, counselors, builders, doctors, nurses, eye doctors and any willing hard workers are needed for rebuilding projects and other mission opportunities.

Trip dates are June 26-July 3, July 10-17, Aug. 21-28, Sept. 4-11, Oct. 9-16, and Nov. 13-20. Trip costs are $40 per day, plus airfare, and include meals, water, tents, showers and toilet facilities. The BGCT is offering grants to assist with airfare to Haiti. Contact Marla Bearden at (888) 244-9400 for more information.

MIDLOTHIAN—Crystal, a high school senior trying to juggle classes and living on her own since she was 15, was exhausted from working late hours at a fast-food restaurant and was ready to drop of school until an adult mentor came her way.  

In August 2009, Crystal agreed to participate in Movement Towards a Future, a mentoring program at Midlothian High School. The initiative was started through First Baptist Church and a partnership with Texas Baptists made possible through the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.

The program enlisted adults from eight Midlothian churches to spend one hour a week with students at risk of not completing high school, encouraging them toward graduation, holding them accountable for grades and helping them dream about their future and see their potential.

Crystal was paired with Pam Poole, a member at First Baptist Church. At their first meeting, Poole discovered they shared a distant relative, a connection that put Crystal at ease and enabled her to open up to Poole.

“I could see how God had gone before her,” Poole said. “Immediately, we were connected and bonded.”

As Poole spent weeks with Crystal, she began to see how many students have no one to speak truth to them, to show them that they are capable of a better future and let them know they are loved and special. This realization pushed Poole to do whatever it took to help Crystal graduate from high school and to help her see that she is valued.

“You don’t realize how many children are out there with no covering,” Poole said. “They have no one to get them breakfast, help them with homework and encourage them.”

For Dena Petty, director of the Movement Towards a Future, loving students and helping them through their struggles—whether anger issues, drugs, lack of motivation or a rough family life—is living out the hope of Christ before the students’ eyes.

“I really feel that mentoring is the gospel,” Petty said. “It is one soul caring for another soul, one-on-one. It is giving someone hope each week, consistently showing up. I am only here to love you unconditionally and show you how to have a better life the best way I know how.”

Alyssa Threatt spends time with her mentor, attorney Susan McMillon.

Although the mentors were not allowed to share their faith openly unless a student directly asked since the initiative was coordinated by the school system, mentors had many opportunities to live out their faith. Many did this through being consistent in their presence and speaking words of hope to each student—words many at-risk students hadn’t heard before.

“On Sunday mornings at church, we are told to get out there and make a difference but many of us don’t know how,” Petty said. “Many (students) will not step foot in our churches. So, this is a way to show them who Christ is and meet them where they are. “

More than 60 mentors committed to meet with their assigned student for an hour during a school day for 28 weeks. As the bond between the mentor and student continued, many invested more time out of their love for the students.

“Two hours of my week changed a girl’s life for a lifetime,” Poole said. “Eight hours a month—one workday a month—made a difference in someone’s life.”

In the process of helping the students, Petty discovered 11 students in the program were homeless. Soon. she and the mentors not only became encouragers, but also resource connectors, helping the students find places to live, food to eat, jobs to provide for themselves and the necessities to survive and complete high school.

On May 4, more than 120 mentors, students and teachers gathered at Midlothian Conference Center for a luncheon and entertainment by the Midlothian High School hip-hop club to celebrate the 50 students who completed a year of mentoring. Through the program, the students completed another year of school, with nine of the 12 graduating seniors making plans to attend a community college or university, something they had not thought possible in the past.

“We had stories of one kid making Fs and Ds. His mom was drunk by 3 p.m. every day. Then he had an older brother who dropped out. Then just all the sudden, he decided to take the direction that the mentor showed him and he is making all As and Bs now,” Petty said.

Above all, Petty said, she and the mentors don’t get involved just to see students succeed in their high school careers. They get involved because they love Christ and they are called to share his hope with others.

 “We don’t do this to make a difference in the lives of others,” Petty said. “Otherwise, we will be extremely frustrated. We do this because we are called. Love the students right there where they are and let God do the rest.”

The mentoring program will continue next year through the support of First Baptist Church and the Mary Hill Davis Offering. Petty hopes to expand the program by recruiting 25 more mentors as next year the program will include any high school students instead of just upperclassmen. One Midlothian middle school already has asked to be added to the program, but Petty is still searching for funding for this expansion.

“I would love for this to grow and be in every school,” Petty said. “The people who mentor, they are so blessed. The students involved, they are so blessed. It is the way God intended it. All the doors are open in the schools for this to happen, we just need to get in there.”

BROWNWOOD—Cara Brewer, recent Howard Payne University graduate, was thrilled recently to learn she will receive a full-tuition scholarship to Texas Tech University School of Law this fall. She gratefully acknowledges, however, this is not the first time she has experienced God’s provision for her education.

During her first year at Howard Payne, Brewer applied for a scholarship through the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation. When she learned she had received the $22,000 scholarship, she quickly went home to tell her parents.

She was surprised to learn the scholarship answered a prayer offered by her parents four years before.

Her father, Shawn Brewer, is pastor of First Baptist Church in Eastland and, when his daughter was a freshman in high school, their church entered into a large building program.

Brewer and his wife, Lauri, prayed fervently over the amount God would have them give toward the program. They felt God asking them to give the money they were planning to set aside for Cara’s education. Not knowing how God would provide, but trusting his sovereignty, the couple pledged their money.

When Cara Brewer came home as a college freshman and told her parents about the scholarship she had been awarded, they started crying and told her about the pledge they had made to God’s work.

The scholarship was the exact amount they had pledged to the building program at their church four years earlier.

“I was so in awe of our faithful God,” Brewer said. “We pray to God who is able to do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. God used my parents’ faithfulness to help build a gym in Eastland. Through this gym and the basketball program that is held there, young men can learn about God and experience a father figure in their lives. All the while, God had a plan to provide for my education.”

Having seen God’s provision throughout her life, Cara looks with anticipation to what her future holds.

“God is big,” she said. “I can rest assured, knowing he is in control.”

WAXAHACHIE—It wasn’t too long ago that Brandon Jones was watching men gallop by on horseback with lassos twirling over their heads. Now, he watches as teenagers whir by on their skateboards, building up speed for their next trick.

A year ago, he was minister of missions at Frontier Cowboy Church in Waxahachie. Now, Frontier is a lot less cowboy.

For Jones, it’s really not a big deal.

“Our mission is the Great Commission,” he said. “We feel like Christ told us to go and reach people and make disciples, and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”

Moving from roping events to a skate church targeting teenagers marks a significant transition—one that mirrors a transition taking place in the congregation overall.

The change has not occurred suddenly, Pastor Ken Ansell said, but rather gradually as the congregation has sought to follow God’s leading.

Frontier Church in Waxahachie is offering youth a "skateboard church" on the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant.

The church dropped “Cowboy” from its name and now just calls itself Frontier Church. The church has sold its building on the south side of town and has moved near downtown into a leased building.

The beginning of the changes “didn’t come out of any kind of burning bush experience,” Ansell said.

“The leadership didn’t hold any sort of meeting and plot a new course. It definitely came out of a desire to reach the greatest number of people,” he explained.

While many churches successfully have reached unchurched people who identify with the cowboy culture through rodeo-style events and worship geared toward western heritage, the approach did not work for Frontier Church as well as its leaders had hoped it would.

“The roping events and other things we were doing just weren’t being effective for us. Sure, they would come and rope, but that was it,” Ansell said.

The desire to reach more people started Ansell and the congregation looking for strategies to reach a residential area of Waxahachie that had about 2,500 homes and little church presence.

The church tried to start Bible studies in homes there, but after a while, they fizzled, Jones said.

As Jones and Ansell drove through the community looking for other ways to connect, they noticed a lot of children and teenagers skateboarding, and they decided to use that hobby to try to reach families.

At first, they set up ramps at the church.

Teenagers gather in a fast-food restaurant parking lot to test their skateboarding skills. Frontier Church in Waxahachie—formerly a cowboy church—uses the approach to attract young people from a neighborhood with little church presence.

“But you could tell as the parents dropped their kids off that they never considered us as a place for them to go to church,” Ansell said.

Not long after that, Jones contacted the manager of a fast-food restaurant who agreed to let the ministry use a portion of its parking lot for a couple of hours each Monday afternoon.

While there have not been any professions of faith yet directly resulting from the “skate church” outreach, Jones has seen attitudes of many youth change over the last several months through the Bible studies that are a part of the afternoon of skating.

“A lot of these kids get to see how God is really relevant to them, and talk about him, and ask questions and get those questions answered,” he said.

While “Cowboy” isn’t part of the name anymore, Ansell said Frontier Church still has a bit of western flavor, just because of who he is and who the people are who attend.

“We’re trying to treat western heritage as definitely part of who we are but not the whole sum of who we are,” he explained.

While Ansell admits the transition sometimes is uncomfortable for many, including him, he feels good about where the church is headed.

“God is definitely leading us on this track,” he said.

Jones had no problem explaining why a church associated with western heritage might start a skate church: “If we limit ourselves to cowboys, we limit God and what he can do through us. There is a whole world of people who need to know Christ.”

The Baptist General Convention of Texas has endorsed more than 600 chaplains, as of the most recent meeting of the endorsement council, said Bobby Smith, chaplaincy relations specialist.

“We are at present endorsing an average of 75 people per year. We are in our eighth year and have endorsed 610 people,” Smith said.

Texas Baptist-endorsed chaplains serve in eight areas—health care, military, restorative justice, business and industry, pastoral counsel, public safety, crisis response and biker ministry. Chaplains in these areas fill ministry needs a church pastor normally cannot, Smith said.

A hospital chaplain, for example, is trained in hospital protocol, etiquette and terminology. He or she knows and is known by the hospital staff and has access to areas of the hospital normally unavailable to non-hospital employees.  

“The chaplain has a better understanding of procedure and can get information for a patient’s family that the pastor wouldn’t be privileged to,” Smith said.

An organization’s chaplain develops relationships and builds trust that would be impossible or impractical for a church pastor to cultivate. Having that trust is necessary before “efficient and effective” pastoral ministry can happen, Smith said.

Naturally, specialized training is required for such an environment-specific ministry. Becoming a vocational chaplain requires years of education and experience, with board certification as the end goal, he explained.

The first step in becoming a certified chaplain is theological education—typically a master of divinity degree.

The next level of training is clinical pastoral education. The would-be chaplain spends one year—for a total of 1,600 hours—learning by doing in the field.

The third step towards certification is endorsement.

“Endorsement is important for a chaplain because it says, ‘This person’s not a lone ranger,’” Smith said. “It shows that they have a theological base for their ministry and do ministry from their faith group’s perspective.”

The final step is certification by a national certification board. A chaplain seeks certification from the board under which his or her ministry falls.

“Certification validates chaplains’ training and shows they are qualified for the job,” Smith said.

“The primary mission of my office is to help people discover their calling for chaplaincy and their responsibility to be pastoral caregivers. Secondly, we support these Christian caregivers in their calling and ministry. And number three is to help them develop those caregiving skills in continuing education settings.”

BEEVILLE—South Texas Children’s Home Ministries sent 100 boxes of food and provisions for children and families affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

The children’s home worked with Rudy de la Cruz, pastor of Quisqueyana Baptist Church in Santo Domingo and other partners in the Dominican Republic to deliver the supplies to churches in Haiti.

Rudy de la Cruz, pastor of Quisqueyana Baptist Church in Santo Domingo, delivers supplies from South Texas Children’s Home Ministries to Iglesia Tabernaculo de la Trinidad in Bouque, Haiti, for distribution to children and families affected by an earthquake.

As the Baptist workers traveled through the countryside, they were struck by the desperate situation of the Haitian people.

“It was the middle of the day, the time for preparing their main meal, but there was no smoke from charcoal fires—no smells of food in the air. Just hundreds of people walking, milling around, hopeless, hungry,” De la Cruz said. “They just stood around or moved slowly and aimlessly from place to place, and no one was working. None of the children seemed to be in school, but they didn’t laugh or play. They just stood, with sad eyes, and hunger stamped on their faces.”

The team planned to let Iglesia Tabernaculo de la Trinidad in Bouque, Haiti, quietly distribute food to families in its membership, but when the team arrived, more than 1,000 people had gathered as word had spread food supplies might be available.

To avoid a riot, the bus was parked a few inches from the church door, and the sealed boxes were passed through a window of the bus and taken directly into the church.

The church provided a safe haven for the supplies, in spite of the damage it sustained in January’s earthquake. Large cracks in the roof and walls have made it unsafe for worship, and the congregation now meets under tarps strung between tree-branch poles.

An earthquake left large cracks in the roof and walls of Iglesia Tabernaculo de la Trinidad in Bouque, Haiti, making the building unsafe for worship, but the congregation continues to gather for worship under tarps strung between tree-branch poles.

After all the boxes were unloaded, the pastor of the Haitian church led a brief worship service and spoke words of encouragement to the gathered crowd. As the crowd disbursed, the team left in the bus so that the pastor could quietly distribute the boxes of food to individual families.

“If the provisions of food from around the world would have been distributed through the churches in Haiti, the churches could have delivered the food to their congregations and communities. The bottleneck that is preventing hungry people from receiving the food could have possibly been alleviated. So much food continues to be stored in huge warehouses and crates, and is even rotting on piers, while so many go hungry,” De la Cruz said.

South Texas Children’s Home Ministries has been involved in international ministry and humanitarian aid for several years, with much of its work centering in the Santo Domingo area of the Dominican Republic.

“We pray that these provisions will be an encouragement to these Haitian Christians and their pastor,” said Joanna Berry, vice president of family counseling and international ministry. “We want them to know that God and his people have not forgotten them in their distressing situation.”