Hello, Texas Baptists. First, on a personal note, as of this writing, it appears Kathleen and I are getting close to buying a home in Dallas. We are appreciative for the "above and beyond" assistance of our real estate agent, Gail Williams, an active Texas Baptists at Wilshire Baptist Church (www.wilshirebc.org) here in Dallas. We'll be glad to move soon!
Thank you to Travis Burleson of First Baptist Church in Salado (www.fbcsalado.org) for the opportunity speak at their "Glorieta Comes to Salado" event and to preach in worship service. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet many fine people and pastors from Central Texas.
have heard positive reports about the beginning semester ministries of our Baptist Student Ministries leaders. Thanks to you, we are able to have effective ministry and gospel presentations on the college and university campuses around the state. Please join me in praying for these leaders and the opportunities they'll have to share Jesus with students.
Kathleen and I attended an endowed scholarship luncheon at Baylor University's Truett Seminary. This scholarship was established by Tom and Patsy Freeman, active Texas Baptists at First Baptist Church of Huntsville (www.fbchuntsville.org) in memory of their son Butch, who heroically gave his life saving many others in an airplane accident in Alaska six years ago. It's sweet to know a tragedy has been turned into a gift to benefit ministerial students for years. If you have an interest in establishing an endowed fund to benefit one of our institutions, our Texas Baptist Student Ministries or a ministry in your church, please contact Bill Arnold at our Texas Baptist Missions Foundation. I encourage you to consider this prayerfully as a part of your offering plan.
I so much enjoyed preaching at Preston Highlands Baptist Church (www.prestonhighlands.org) in Dallas recently. Its pastor, Jeremy Johnston, is providing excellent leadership, and the entire service was a blessing to us.
Congratulations to the South Texas Children's Home Ministries (www.stch.org) on the dedication of the new chapel, named after Jess Lunsford, former pastor of First Baptist Church in Beeville, who also was the founder of the children's home. The dedication came on the 60th anniversary of STCHM. Thanks to you, our Texas Baptist family, we are able to provide $600,000 annually to its work, along with scholarship support for its students. Eron Green is the new administrator there. Let's pray they have a wonderful semester and many lives are changed through worship in this new chapel.
Let me thank Frank Page, executive director of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, for stopping by your Baptist Building for a visit recently. I appreciated the opportunity to get to know him a bit better.
More next time.
David Hardage is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.
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