Officers of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and the Baptist General Convention of Texas have agreed to meet together to work on a revised unification agreement between the two groups.

The revised document will be made available in both English and Spanish and will be presented to messengers to the Convencion annual meeting in Dallas, June 28-30, for their approval.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas and what was then known as the Mexican Baptist Convention of Texas originally ratified a unification agreement in 1964. After a committee analyzed the agreement in the mid-1970s, it was revised in 1977, with the understanding it would be reviewed periodically.

“The main purpose of this action is to bring a better relationship between both conventions and to continue to work together in a united way to extend the kingdom of God,” said Convencion President Baldemar Borrego. He hopes the updated agreement will inspire more Hispanic Baptist churches in Texas to support financially the BGCT Cooperative Program.

“This is a new day where we have the opportunity to work more closely than ever before,” Borrego said. “We would like to thank BGCT Executive Director Randel Everett for his role and his willingness to bring together both conventions.”

GILMER—Billy Foote believes in the power of revival meetings. Some of the most important milestones in his spiritual life have been linked to revivals, and last month another occurred when he conducted his 1,000th revival.

Every meeting has been chronicled in date books going back to his first, more than 50 years ago.

“It all started at the Bagwell Baptist Church in Bagwell. We were back there this past year—50 years later. While we were there, the church voted and approved to have us come again in another 50 years,” he said with a laugh.

Evangelist Billy Foote and his wife, Winky, have served together in ministry more than 45 years. Foote recently conducted his 1,000th revival meeting.

Laughter comes naturally to Foote as he recalls the joy that has been his through his service to God, but so do tears—also from joy—as he thinks back on people who invested so much in him and his pilgrimage with Christ.

A native of Commerce, Foote will turn 70 years old later this year. “I used to think that was old, but I’ve changed my mind about that,” Foote said.

He grew up shy and retiring, but after a protracted series of invitations began attending Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church in Dallas as a high school sophomore.

In April 1956, evangelist Holland London preached a revival at Shiloh Terrace, Foote surrendered his life to Christ and “suddenly everything changed,” he said. “I’ve found something so wonderful and life-changing, I’m caught up in it.”

It wasn’t long until Foote sensed a new direction for his life.

“I’m feeling God’s call on life,” he said.

The summer after he graduated from high school, Sam Jones, a friend a year older, asked Foote if he would lead the music for a revival Jones was to conduct.

Foote had a question: “Would I have to wave my arms?”

“Well, I think that would be best,” Jones replied.

At that point, Foote said he didn’t know if he could do it.

“He told me, ‘I’ve heard you quote many times, “I can do all things through Christ.” Is that something you just say or do you believe it?’ Sam was direct like that, but I heard his heart more than his voice,” said Foote, who went home and started practicing waving his arms in front of a mirror.

“So, we rode this bus up to the church, and all these people were waiting to meet us. We had an enormous crowd that night. There must have been 30 people,” he said with a grin.

“I came back home feeling like I had been at a Billy Graham crusade, and on that bus ride home, I had a definite conviction that God had a call on my life.”

While Foote spent 12 years on three church staffs, most notably at Calvary Baptist Church in Longview, he found his calling conducting revivals.

He has been asked often about why he chose to lead revivals rather than serve on a church staff, and said that while it’s certain it’s his calling, it’s harder to explain.

“I was saved by a revival meeting, Sam Jones asked me to lead music at a revival where God confirmed his calling on my life, and I’ve just always been drawn to it,” he said. “I know the power that is in them.”

One important milestone in his life did not, however, happen at a revival—meeting his wife of 45 years, Winky. But Foote readily acknowledges she has played a pivotal role in his ministry.

“There would not be a list of 1,000 revivals without the support and encouragement I have received from her. I could not have done it without the wife I have,” he said.

For her part, Mrs. Foote said she felt a call to ministry at age 11, and she has found the fulfillment of that call through their ministry.

From 1958 until 1971, Foote led the music for revivals. In 1971, he felt the call to begin preaching them. While he still leads revival choirs, his wife performs the special music for the revivals he conducts.

Many of the revivals he has conducted have been in the churches of the young people to whom he ministered at Calvary Baptist Church in Longview who later felt their own call to ministry.

Gary Orr, pastor of many years at Trinity Baptist Church in Longview, falls into that category, he noted.

In honor of the impact Foote has had on so many lives, his alma mater, East Texas Baptist University, conferred on him an honorary doctor of divinity degree recently.

While Foote has achieved 1,000 revivals, he is not finished preaching or singing. His 1,001st already is scheduled for later this month.

And, of course, he has an appointment to keep in Bagwell in 2058.

MARSHALL—For the second consecutive year, the Baptist Student Ministry of East Texas Baptist University sponsored a powder puff football game to raise money in support of summer mission trips by students.

The freshman and sophomore women teamed up against the junior and senior women. Each participant paid a $15 entry fee, with all the proceeds going to missions.

“The event was an amazing time for awesome and hilarious fellowship, raising over $600 for the summer mission fund,” BSM Intern Jarrin Peeples said.

“Last year, the BSM council decided to hold a powder puff game, because we knew it had been awhile since the campus had a game. We knew the students and faculty would really enjoy the game if we brought the game back.”

According to ETBU BSM Director Mark Yates, a mission offering goal of $3,000 was set to fund student missionaries through Go Now Missions of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Go Now Missions sends Texas university students around the world to share the love of Christ.

“We are getting closer to meeting our goal, because $350 was received at ETBU’s summer mission commissioning chapel,” Yates said. “This summer, over 120 ETBU students will be serving in over 10 countries and five states through various mission sending organizations.”

Two ETBU students will serve this summer through Go Now Missions. Aaron Reed, a sophomore from Malakoff, will be in the Middle East, and Hallsville freshman Stuart Suddeth will be in Alaska.

“ETBU’s students, faculty and staff do well in their giving through various fun events and fundraisers,” Yates said. “Our biggest challenge is in leading our campus to give sacrificially toward missions not just at the special emphasis times but year round.”

The junior/senior team halted a comeback try, winning 26-18. ETBU Tiger Football Coach Mark Sartain was one of the guest referees, along with Vice President for Spiritual Development Alan Huesing and Post Office Clerk and Intramurals Director Kenny Elliot.

“My only close call was barely being able to get out of the way of one of the senior’s shifty, speedy running backs,” Sartain said. “I think she used me as a blocker.”

“So many people outside of the BSM helped make the powder puff game a success,” Peeples said.

The Student Activities Board, led by ETBU Student Activities Coordinator Meagan Smith, provided free concessions for contestants, as well as the fans in attendance. Director of Resi-dence Life and Summer Camps Jae Hunter was the DJ providing music and commentary between plays.

VERNON—For some, it’s rough riding on the way to heaven. There were more bumps and bruises than baskets made in a game of donkey basketball that featured area high school teachers, firefighters and a college softball team. But there were nearly as many people who came to faith in Christ.

The event was one in a weeklong series of evangelistic efforts in the Paducah, Childress, Vernon and Quanah area as part of Texas Hope 2010, a Baptist General Convention of Texas initiative to share the gospel with every person in the state by Easter 2010 and meet human needs.

About 1,000 people turned out for hamburgers, fun and camaraderie for the Vernon event. Thirty-nine people came forward to make first-time professions of faith in Christ, while others rededicated their lives. Sixty people made first-time professions of faith during the entire week of events that brought together 15 congregations.

“We thought this would be a good way to initiate getting the gospel to every person,” said Derrell Monday, Bi-Fork Baptist Area director of missions. “God’s done a good thing. It’s opened a door as we go door-to-door.”

Tommy Spencer, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Vernon, said the cooperation of churches in the area is a reflection of their desire to see God’s kingdom grow, not simply grow individual congregations. God has honored that desire and has brought people to know him as a result of the Baptists’ efforts, Spencer stressed.

Through Texas Hope 2010, the Bi-Fork Area is seeking to share the hope of Christ with every person in the region. These evangelistic events were the start of that effort.

“Texas Hope 2010 is a huge part of this,” Spencer said. “We’re doing a number of things to reach the community.”

Ronnie Lambert, pastor of First Baptist Church in Paducah, said three people came to know Christ as a result of a revival.

“It was a good experience,” he said. “It’s something we are privileged to do in the future.”

BGCT Evan-gelism Director Jon Randles praised the work of Bi-Fork Bap-tists, noting their commitment to reach people who live in their neighborhoods.

“Instead of holding associational rallies that bring together the same group of believers each year, these chur-ches planned events together that would not only reach a larger section of their communities, but pre-Christians, as well,” he said. 

“It took a lot of teamwork, planning and prayer. The re-sults were outstanding. Evan-gelism is hard work, but the bottom line is lives changed. These churches and their pastors put energy and creativity into this plan, and God blessed. This kind of effort will work in many places around our state.” 

WAXAHACHIE—The western-heritage churches of Texas and their ever-increasing brethren outside the state now have a place to look toward to get their bearings.

The Texas Fellowship of Cowboy Churches/American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches dedicated its new headquarters, dubbed the Supply Depot, in Waxahachie.

“The key is that it gives us a hub to work from to meet the needs of everybody in every direction. It provides us with a central location to communicate with the many western-heritage churches. And that communication includes the Internet,” said Ron Nolen, executive director of the Texas Fellowship of Cowboy Churches.

The facility also provides a place to store resources such as a tent, ministry trailers and a new mechanical roping calf. The “Sparky III” roping calf was a gift from Marv and Cathy Kaptain, All Around Performance Horse Weekly and RFD TV, and the Top Hand Cowboy Church of Valley Mills. The mechanical calf will be loaned out to about 50 churches a year to aid in their outreach ministries.

One important way the building will assist the western-heritage effort is by providing volunteers a location where they can come and assist, Nolen said.

“You can’t pay for all the help you need in a ministry like this, and this allows us to plug in many more people and provide them with avenues for ministry,” he said.

The facility also will provide a meeting place for Iglesia Vaquera of Ellis County, a Hispanic western-heritage church.

“Just like the Ellis County Cowboy Church was an example, a model, a flagship of success that other people could come and look and then say, ‘We can go back home and start one of those,’ we need one of those flagship-type models for the vaquero movement,” Nolen explained.

It took many hands to make the supply depot a reality, however. And it was the celebration of cooperation that marked the dedication day.

“What a privilege it has been for the BGCT to help not only with this building, but also the movement. We take no credit for that, but appreciate the opportunity to be a part,” said Steve Vernon, associate executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. “It is a joy to celebrate the way God is moving in the lives of so many.”

The 10,000-square-foot building is in large part due to the work of the Texas Baptist Men Retiree Builders.

“I can remember when we started dreaming of a facility like this,” TBM Executive Director Leo Smith said. “When this sort of started coming together, Ron said, ‘We want your builders to come help us.’ I said, ‘We’ll see what we can do.’ You can look around and see what TBM Retiree Builders can do.

“I am so excited about the cowboy church movement and the way it reaches so many people who have been overlooked. I think you have probably heard me say my dad would probably be in heaven today if there had been a cowboy church movement.”

As for the new building, Smith had only one instruction, “Let’s just wear it out.”

Lucy Havens, who along with her husband, Little George Havens, started the Cowboy Camp Meetings more than 40 years ago, said she was proud to say the reins for the camp were now in the hands of the cowboy churches.

The day also was one of remembrance as Jerry Dill, the TBM lead carpenter on the building, was honored. He died less than a month after the building was completed.

Iglesia Vaquera will be an crucial part of the movement’s outreach to Hispanics, Pastor Tye Howard said.

“This is not just for our benefit, but will serve as a model for vaqueras all over,” he said. The vaquera will reach more nominal Catholics than any other kind of church, “because we have a rodeo arena, and they don’t.”

The potential is limitless, especially if the movement stretches southward into Mexico, because most Hispanics have some connection to a rural lifestyle, he added.

Todd Hervey, regional director of the American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches, said the facility will allow the growth outside the state to come at a greatly accelerated rate.

The building signals a continued movement of God among western-heritage churches.

“Nine years ago this past March, Texas Baptist people began to join the Lord in what he had chosen to do, a sovereign demonstration of his Spirit called western-heritage evangelism and ministries,” Nolen said.

“Now in 2009, this movement of God’s Spirit has resulted in 144 Baptist way cowboy churches being planted in Texas and some 20 more outside of Texas with the probability that God will use Baptist people to plant and develop some 350 works in Texas and America by the end of 2011, with the hope that three quarters of a million souls will be won to Christ during the next 90 years.”

GRAND PRAIRIE—Brad Davidson and Jordan Clark are best friends who like to use humor to make a serious point about salvation through performance comedy. Despite living in different states, their love for God and performing skits is the glue that holds them together.

And just like the name of their drama ministry, their lives are Far From Ordinary.

After graduating from the University of Oklahoma, the two college roommates and theater majors were at a crossroads in search of how to use their degrees to glorify God.

“After graduating, we had no idea what we were going to do with our lives, but we knew we wanted to use our theater degrees for God’s glory,” Davidson said.

“I had been greatly impacted by the Skit Guys, a phenomenal skit group, and so I approached Jordan with the idea of starting our own skit ministry. After a year of planning and trying to figure it all out, we formed Far From Ordinary and have been performing ever since.”

Today, Far From Ordinary performs at Disciple Now weekends, fall festivals, youth camps, conferences and worship services. They will be performing at Super Summer at East Texas Baptist University in June.

“We use skits and videos to share God’s messages with a world that desperately needs it,” Davidson said. “Every event is different and that is one of the things that we like best about our ministry. We recently performed at a Disciple Now at First Baptist Garland. We were able to perform for their youth several times throughout the weekend and then got a chance to perform for their worship services on Sunday morning. It was amazing to—in the course of one weekend—perform in front of sixth graders and senior adults.

“Our craziest event was a fall festival down in the Hill Country of Texas. More than 3,000 people were present, most of whom were not believers, and we performed on the flatbed of a trailer. It was so loud that I couldn’t hear Jordan speaking five feet away from me, but the Lord showed up and moved in a powerful way. It just went to show us that even when the circumstances were out of our hands, God was still in control.”

Far From Ordinary writes all of their skits and enjoys the challenge of crafting scripts that integrate Scripture and drama in a fresh and exciting way.

In addition to this creative ministry, Davidson is an elementary school teacher in Mesquite, and he helps lead a college and young adult ministry called “The Link” at The Oaks Baptist Church in Grand Prairie. Clark serves as a high school intern at a church in Littleton, Colo., and is a seminary student in Denver.

“We love getting to meet and minister with thousands of random people that we never would have gotten to meet otherwise and speaking God’s word to people who may have never heard it before,” Davidson said.

“We don't know where the Lord is going to take us next, we simply rely on the fact that he is in control.”

IRVING—Three men from Irving—two from Plymouth Park Baptist Church, one from a nearby Church of Christ—literally let the chips fall where they might during the city’s recent ninth annual faith-based Great Days of Service.

Collectively known as “the chainsaw gang,” their job as part of Great Days of Service during two recent weekends was to clear brush or topple trees on owner-occupied properties identified by the city as needing pruning. Other volunteers worked on plumbing, painting and generl repairs.

Ray Lunsford and Chuck Halteman are veterans in Texas Baptist Men disaster relief work all over the country, so much so that Halteman keeps a duffle packed for quick departure on call. Close to home this time, completely equipped and in non-disaster mode, all they needed were designated sites.

“There’s just one reason we do disaster relief—to witness. We pray with the people, leave them a Bible and encourage them to trust Christ,” Halteman said.

He didn’t say, but he and Lunsford undoubtedly did their share of trusting Jesus on their most challenging Great Days of Service call this year—riding a cherry-picker up 40 feet or so to cut the top out of an enormous cottonwood tree estimated to be at least 100 years old.

During the two weekends of service, volunteers from Plymouth Park Baptist Church packed and delivered to workers about 400 sack lunches donated by Irving restaurants and grocery stores.

Since the program’s beginning in 2002, host church duties have rotated among five participating churches, with a sixth to enter the circuit in 2010.

This year it was Plymouth Park Baptist’s turn, which meant two members—Steve Epperson and Angie Walker—served as co-chairs. He moved among the couple of dozen work sites selected by city officials. She coordinated all aspects of food intake and lunch preparation and deliveries, plus helping handle constant cell phone calls to and from work sites needing help, running out of materials or running out of work.

Quick notes on her master control sheet include jottings like “a lot of work to do,” “7 workers needed,” “sand and replace floor,” “bath tub patch,” “tear down shed,” “build steps for shed” and “tree removal.”

The latter is where “the chainsaw gang” came in. Lunsford and Halteman particularly enjoyed being able to sleep in their own beds after each work day rather than in sleeping bags on church gymnasium floors as they often do on Texas Baptist Men missions.

A $120,000 gift to Buckner International from Memorial Baptist Church in Taylor has made a big difference for children in two countries.

Through the gift, Memorial has changed the face of care for children in La Loba, a Mexico City-area colonia, and in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The largest portion of the gift will be used to build a community center that will focus on feeding children in La Loba, an impoverished area near a landfill. The remainder was targeted to support the Babies Home in Ethiopia.

It’s an unusually sized gift that Albert Reyes, president of Buckner Children and Family Services, says will make an unusually big difference to the affected children.

“Through Memorial’s giving, we will be able to construct this feeding center, which already is feeding more than 140 children five times a week in an open-air space between two buildings. We’ll now be able to provide additional programs in the safety of a center and hope to increase our ability to feed 250 children a week,” Reyes said.

“This gift also will allow us to bring additional support to the Babies Home, giving us the ability to care for more small children needing care and waiting for adoption. This is a blessing from God.”

Pastor Dudley Marx said the direction Memorial Baptist church took reflected its desire to help impoverished children.

“We do not have very many young children in this church, and when we brought in ideas, the children really hit home. They recognized the direction this world is taking and children need help,” Marx said. “Jesus helped everyone, but the poor were attracted to him. We want to be like that, to do like Jesus does.”

SAN ANTONIO—Many high school students who live in the low-income neighborhoods of San Antonio’s West Side never even consider college as a possibility. Ariana Hernandez is an exception, thanks in large part to a program supported by Baptist Child & Family Services .

Hernandez, a senior at Harlandale High School, recently was accepted to Angelo State University after receiving help from College VISTA, a program founded by Maria Fernandez.

“Ms. Fernandez is a huge help,” Hernandez said. “She organizes the paperwork for the colleges we plan on applying to and gives us the extra push to meet deadlines for scholarships. She makes it so much easier.”

Fernandez started small with only five students in 2007. She has since then helped West Side students win nearly $1 million in scholarships to schools, including Dartmouth College, Loyola University-Chicago and Columbia College-Chicago, as well as Baylor University, Texas A&M and the University of Texas at Austin.

VISTA partners with Guadalupe Street Coffee, a community ministry and development project of Baptist Child & Family that provides free computer access and a safe place for weekly advising sessions.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas, San Antonio Baptist Association, Trinity Baptist Church and Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio support the project.

VISTA and Guadalupe Street Coffee offer one-on-one advising for students who need assistance with the college application process, including tutoring for college entrance examinations, financial aid and career advising.

“VISTA students always have priority,” Hernandez said. “We can stay late at the coffee house if we need to, and the computers help us out tremendously.”

Individual counseling partnered with convenient scheduling and location is what sets the program apart. VISTA works with students, parents, school counselors and universities for the benefit of the student.

Students eligible to participate in the VISTA program must be enrolled in grades eight through 12, have at least a “B” grade point average with good school attendance, be committed to attending VISTA advising sessions and have the desire and determination to go to college.

Many are following a dream to be the first person in their family to attend college.

Hernandez plans to major in education and obtain teaching certification. Her long-range goals include earning a master’s degree and returning to San Antonio’s West Side to teach third graders.

• Buckner International and the Center for Informed Faith have announced an alliance combining efforts to promote the center’s mission of equipping Christians while enabling Buckner to expand its global work on behalf of children and families. Buckner and the center will develop curriculum for local churches, equipping them to serve the needs of at-risk children and orphans. The plan also includes joint vision mission trips to countries served by Buckner. A fall trip to Ethiopia is in the planning stages.

• Jalil and Sundus Dawood have been appointed by the North American Mission Board as church start-ers in Richardson. He also is pastor of Arab Church of Dal-las in Richard-son. The Dawoods are the parents of two daughters, Farrah, 13, and Faith, 7.

• Houston Baptist University has named Joella Morris as the Woman of the Year. She is the wife of HBU founding father Stewart Morris. Morris was instrumental in helping move the Museum of Southern History to its home in the Joella and Stewart Morris Cultural Arts Center on the HBU campus in 2008. She was presented with a framed leaf of the title page of the Book of Ruth from a 1611 King James Bible and an engraved stone paver for the school’s Heritage Walk.

• Dallas Baptist Univeristy has added four professors to its faculty—Aaron Fletcher, associate professor of biology; Paul Kim, assistant professor of biblical studies; Han-Chieh Wei, assistant professor of computer science; and Jim Graham, assistant professor of Christian education.

Anniversaries

• Jeremy Glossup, fifth, as minister of youth at East Delta Church in Lake Creek, May 1.

• Blue Ridge Church near Kosse, 150th, May 3. Jim Houser is pastor.

• Whispering Meadows Church in Dayton, 25th, May 17. There will be a barbecue lunch and a concert by Crossing Jordan. Rodger Powe is pastor.

• Toby Irwin, 40th in ministry, May 26. He is pastor of Belmore Church in San Angelo.

Deaths

Howard Payne University seniors Ashlie Martin of Farwell (left) and Cora Durain of Houston (right) were the recipients of the 2009 Nat Tracy Servant Leader Awards. The award was established in 1998 to honor students who best demonstrate servant leadership qualities as exemplified by the life of Tracy, a member of HPU’s Bible faculty from 1950 to 1975.

• Jay Skaggs, 89, April 13 in Dallas. He served as business administrator of Cliff Temple Church in Dallas and as comptroller/assistant treasurer and later treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Erma; daughters, Ginger Jennings and Mary Lynn Kapner; sister, June Smith; and four grandchildren.

• Jim Hatley, 85, April 22 in Grapevine. He was a Baptist minister who served in a variety of positions in churches in Missouri, Texas, Arizona and Tennessee. He also served in many short-term ministries that took him to 40 states and 16 countries. Among his Texas posts, he served as director of missions for Magic Valley Baptist Association in the Rio Grande Valley, Austin Association and later as a Partnership Missions consultant with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He also was involved with Texas Baptist Men. On their first out-of-state mission, he drove an 18-wheeler loaded with relief supplies from Dallas to Honduras. He served the Southern Baptist Convention as the first national director of world missions conferences. Among his other roles were director of Hispanic relations for Dallas Baptist University, vice president of the BGCT, senior adult minister at First Church in Grapevine and chairman of the board of trustees for the Valley Baptist Mission/ Education Center in Harlingen. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Imogene; daughters, Tura Cason, Kathy Bassham, Beth Crooms and Mary Geiger; 10 grandchildren and 8 greatgrandchildren.

David Howle, associate professor of religion at Wayland Baptist University, portrayed the school’s founder, James Wayland, in a monologue that recalled the physician’s move to Plainview in 1891, his experiences as a doctor on the plains of Texas and his involvement of civic affairs as part of the school’s centennial year Founder’s Day activities.

• Martha Scott, 50, April 26 in Wichita Falls. She was the sister of Baptist Standard Editor Marv Knox. Her other brother, Martin is pastor of First Church in Temple, and her father, Marvin, is an Oklahoma pastor, but has spent much of his career leading Texas churches. She was educated at Jane Brooks School for the Deaf in Chickasha, Okla., and graduated from Petrolia High School in Petrolia. Following graduation, she became a teacher’s aide for Wichita Falls Regional School for the Deaf and served there 26 years until medical retirement in 2005. She was a member of Faith Church in Wichita Falls. She is survived by her husband, Billy; parents, Marvin and Margaret Knox; brothers, Marv and Martin; grandmother, Helena Moore; mother-in-law, Earlene Scott; and uncles, Garvin Knox and Norman Moore.

Events

• The North Central chapter of the Singing Men of Texas will present a concert at Columbus Avenue Church in Waco May 7 at 7 p.m. The concert will honor those who have served in the military. All military personnel and veterans will receive a complimentary CD of a Grammy-nominated song by Russ Murphy called “Welcome Home.” Admission is free, but a missions offering will be taken. For more information, call (254) 752-1655. Brian Dunks is pastor.

• The Blackwood Quartet will present a concert May 22 at 7 p.m. at First Church in Denton. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. For more information, call (940) 382-2577. Jeff Williams is pastor.

Revivals

• First Church, Franklin; May 3-6; evangelist, Robert Barge; pastor, Jim Manning.

• East Cisco Church, Cisco; May 10-13; evangelist, Herman Cramer; music, The Andersons; pastor, C.T. Floyd.

• First Church, Newcastle; May 10-13; evangelist, Robert Barge; pastor, Richard Dunnam.

• Windsor Park Church, DeSoto; May 17-20; evangelist, Jon Randles; pastor, Chris Seidlitz.

Ordained

• Jim Rich and Casey Durst as deacons at Posey Church in Sulphur Springs.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas postponed its state Bible Drill finals, which had been scheduled the first weekend in May.

The BGCT moved the competition in the wake of a swine flu outbreak, and it came as other Texas agencies postponed or cancelled events due to the outbreak. The state University Interscholastic League postponed or cancelled its academic and athletic competitions until at least May 11.

“Our children are our greatest asset,” said BGCT Discipleship Specialist Dickie Dunn. “We’ve decided to push back the Bible Drill finals to a later date when we know our children can gather in a healthy environment. At that point, we look forward to coming together and celebrating the hard work these young people have put in all year in preparation for this competition.”

The event tentatively has been rescheduled for May 15-16 at the Baptist Building in Dallas. Future updates will be found at www.bgct.org. For more information, contact Dunn at (888) 244-9400.

Meanwhile, BGCT missions personnel remain in daily contact with Baptists in various parts of Mexico, where the swine flu outbreak first captured public attention, said Josue Valerio, missions team leader with the BGCT Executive Board staff, who recently returned from the El Paso/Juarez area.

“The federal government in Mexico has asked schools, camps, churches, and some businesses to close until May 6.  So, this is what we are communicating to churches and mission groups going into Mexico,” Valerio said.

A church-starting conference in Mexico City he had planned to attend was canceled, he noted.

“My plans are to go to Mexico City and Puebla in the last part of May or beginning of June to assess the situation,” he said.

The BGCT missions team is working with churches that have planned mission trips to Mexico to provide alternative places of service, he added.

DENTON—Students from the Baptist Student Ministries at Texas Woman’s University spent their recent spring break serving a church in Brooklyn, N.Y., participating in ministries ranging from organizing a clothing closet to feeding the homeless to ministering at a women’s shelter. 

“Even in a place as large as New York City, people are still looking for personal connections without any strings attached,” said Devin Perkins, a senior psychology major. 

“No matter where you are the desire for unconditional love is the same, but without Christ it is hard to accept it.”

Students saw the needs of the homeless and responded by making and delivering lunches where several homeless people gathered to cash-in recyclable items for food money.

“The people there aren’t looking for handouts. They just want to talk to a loving person,” said Andrea Eberly, a political science major. “That’s how they saw Christ in us, just through our willingness to listen.”

In addition to the homeless ministry and work at the church, the students were involved in a special night at a women’s shelter for women dealing with substance abuse issues. As they shared testimonies through music and words, students noted the women at the shelter were encouraged by the message of hope and of Christ’s mercy. After the program, the students were able to visit with the women while giving manicures and serving refreshments.

“They just need someone to listen to their story and not judge them. That was the best part of working with the women’s shelter. I was glad to just sit and listen to their stories that they were open to telling,” said Hope Melson, an occupational therapy major.