Ringing phone signals church’s call to serve

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VICTORIA—Templo Jerusalem Baptist Church was looking for a place where it could invest itself locally in ministry. That place literally called the church to serve.

Children from the Fox Run apartment complex enjoy activities led by volunteer from Templo Jerusalem Baptist Church in Victoria.

The manager of a nearby apartment complex phoned the church and asked its members to consider starting a ministry on the premises. The complex had experienced a shooting and fighting between tenants and saw routine drug activity. The manager was looking for a way to improve the environment for residents.

“When she contacted us, we felt like it was a godsend,” said Pastor Ricky Garcia, noting the call came as the congregation was evaluating local ministry opportunities.

Since the phone call last fall, the congregation has led activities for children in the apartment complex on the last Wednesday of each month. Each effort has had a different theme, but Garcia said the message has been the same—Christ is Lord and Savior.

Garcia said the church is following the model members see in the Bible. Christ and his followers ministered to people placed before them.

“By focusing on what was in front of them, they created a wave that reached the multitude,” he said.

Craft activities engage the children's creative skills.

On the church’s first visit to the apartment complex, residents were skeptical of what the congregation was attempting to do. They avoided eye contact with church members and remained distant from them. As time has passed, tenants have become more comfortable with the church group.

Following the most recent church-sponsored event in the complex, a family asked a few church members to come inside their apartment and pray for them.


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“It’s a pretty big stride,” Garcia said. “When we first got there, everyone was very cautious about us. They’re beginning to trust us.”

Church members are encouraged by the ministry opportunities they see, especially younger members of the congregation. Many of them enthusiastically serve each week.

“The kids are really excited about it,” Garcia said. “The youth are really excited about it. They’re really enjoying this, working with the kids.”

Guadalupe Baptist Association Director of Missions Tommy Bil-lings praised Templo Jerusalem Baptist Church’s desire to reach out to its community and willingness to respond to God’s call upon the congregation to serve in the apartment complex.

Templo Jerusalem Baptist Church Sunday school teacher Tammy Randall (left) and church missionary Elida Alanis (seated in a chair) teach children from the Fox Run apartment complex in Victoria.

“God gave them a heart for the Fox Run apartment complex, which is very near to their campus,” Billings said. “God just placed it on their heart.”

The congregation hopes excitement and opportunities will lead to further chances to pray with people and share the gospel. The congregation plans to distribute Texas Hope 2010 multimedia compact discs containing gospel presentations to every apartment in the complex.

Texas Hope 2010 is an initiative to share the hope of Christ with every Texan by Easter 2010 and place Scripture in every Texas home. Texas Hope 2010 CDs include gospel presentations and ways to access audio versions of Scripture

“In the near future, I’d like to get in more homes and pray with them,” Garcia said. “I think prayer can open up a lot of opportunity. I know once we pray, they’re going to see God move, and they’re going to see how mighty God is.”

For more information about Texas Hope 2010, visit www.texashope2010.com.

 

 


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