Author: Russell Lightner

Dallas church bringing gospel to thousands through food ministry

‘We have a responsibility’
 

For Johnnie Bradley, pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church for the past 16 years, the struggles of the pandemic meant increased opportunities to share the gospel by expanding the church’s longtime Messiah Ministry outreach.

Messiah Ministry was part of Shiloh even before Bradley and deacon James Smith, current outreach director, arrived at the church. For years, deacon John Lemons, former outreach director, and church volunteers regularly brought men from the Dallas Life Foundation and Union Gospel Mission to Shiloh on Sundays for worship, a meal, a visit to the church clothes closet and food pantry.

“I just provided a little more structure when I came,” Bradley said. “The more organized you are, the more people you can help.”

In this case, organization included integrating the men more smoothly into the church service, so their presence became natural and not distracting. Trips to the clothes closet were moved to after the worship service when men might also pick up toiletries and nonperishable food items. 

Even before COVID hit, Bradley saw the need to expand the ministry beyond the homeless. 

“I shared with our deacons and the members that we should not just focus on sharing the gospel with men and women who were homeless, but we should also be even more focused on the fact that there are men and women that have jobs or are unemployed but not homeless,” he explained. “We needed to broaden our approach in sharing the gospel.”

A partnership with the North Texas Food Bank followed. Then came COVID.

Shiloh started regular food giveaways, which accelerated when the pandemic struck.

“When COVID hit, it just gave us a heavier influx of people who came to our food giveaways,” Bradley said. “We had already restructured our paradigm.”

messiah ministry outreach

20-25

monthly church volunteers

14,000

pounds of food

800-1,500

families served each giveaway

Food giveaways ongoing

Twice monthly food giveaways continue at the church, even as COVID has waned. Dates vary, as Shiloh follows the schedule given by the food bank, an organization tasked with serving many zip codes.

On giveaway days, which are publicized on social media, by flyers, and via a special flag outside the church in its highly visible location off busy West Illinois Avenue, cars line up well in advance of the opening time. 

“It’s not unusual to see 75-100 cars in line before we start,” Bradley said, adding that giveaways run from 8 a.m. to noon. Guests fill out brief registration forms to ensure there are no duplicate recipients and the food is distributed fairly.

In addition to what the food bank provides, the church purchases items for distribution. It’s gone at the end of each giveaway day.

Bradley said the church distributes up to 14,000 pounds of food (roughly 1,500-3,000 boxes) to 800-1,500 families from the community during each giveaway. Included in the food packages are gospel tracts and invitations to the church. Some 20-25 church volunteers assist in each distribution, including counselors who not only help folks with the food but also pray with them.

During the height of the pandemic, the church also received 18-wheelers of food from Bring the Light Ministries to supplement what the NTFB provided, although that partnership has phased out.

Around 25 volunteers gather at each Shiloh distribution to give out not only food, but personal care and prayer. SUBMITTED PHOTO

"We have a responsibility to try to help people, try to serve people, try to share the gospel when we are trying to assist them with their physical needs. We give a hand up, not a hand-out. We meet people where they are."

Johnnie Bradley Tweet

A multiethnic ministry

The Shiloh congregation, which has just under 500 members and an average in-person attendance of around 325, is predominantly African American. Even so, the recipients of the food giveaways are mostly Hispanic and Anglo, Bradley said, adding, “There is a major need in our zip code.” 

The scriptural basis for helping those in need is clear, the pastor said. “We try to fulfill what the Scripture says: when you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it to me,” he continued, paraphrasing Jesus in Matthew 25:40. The Old Testament emphasizes giving, too, Bradley added, referencing Proverbs 28:17.

“The poor we will have with us always,” he said. “We have a responsibility to try to help people, try to serve people, try to share the gospel when we are trying to assist them with their physical needs. We give a hand up, not a hand-out. We meet people where they are.”

Testimonials are not uncommon. Men and women on the grounds of the church sometimes weep when they receive food or assistance. It can be a transformational experience.

“Toward the end of the day, we are the hands and feet of Jesus,” Bradley said.

Other churches have gotten on board, the pastor added, noting that volunteers from New Hope Baptist, pastored by Damien Williams, have partnered with Shiloh, assisting when help is needed.

Shiloh invited members of North Garland Baptist Fellowship to assist in running the giveaways, too, Bradley said, so they could learn the system. Shiloh sent boxes of food to North Garland, a suburban church whose demographic varies considerably in terms of income, to do their own giveaway during the worst of the pandemic.

“Even professionals were struggling,” Bradley said. “We did more ministry during COVID than before COVID,” he mused, noting that while July 2022 will feature only one food giveaway because of vacations and schedules, August will include a backpack and school supply initiative.

At the height of COVID, many communities were hemorrhaging, he added. “The Lord made a way for our church, for His church, to make a difference. The church fulfilled the mission of the church.”

Deep in the heart of Texas, a gospel explosion

China Spring church plant rapidly
reaches neighbors, co-workers for Christ
 

At a year-and-a-half old, Wellspring Church in China Spring has grown to about 250 members, has nearly paid for 36 acres for a future campus, and is self-supporting financially with three full-time staff members. 

“We’re seeing families transformed—those that came in that maybe were on the fence or just hadn’t been in church in a long time or maybe were unchurched completely, really beginning to grow in the Lord and love Him deeply,” said Matt Byrd, who pastors Wellspring, located about 13 miles northwest of Waco. 

Byrd, a Southwestern Seminary graduate who was called to ministry at a Centrifuge camp at Glorieta years ago, said it’s no longer just the church planting team trying to bring people in. 

“God has just moved in our people, and there’s a community in our church that exists, a family that exists, and they’re going out and reaching their neighbors and inviting their co-workers,” Byrd said.

One of the factors that has contributed to Wellspring’s rapid growth is that China Spring is one of the fastest-growing suburbs of Waco, fueled in part by the popularity of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper,” based in Waco, Byrd said. Though he finds it unbelievable, people nationwide still use their family vacations to visit the Silos at the now-world-famous Magnolia Market. 

Wellspring launched in February 2021 as a plant of RockPointe Church in Flower Mound and First Baptist Church in Cooper, both churches where Byrd had served on staff. From the beginning, discipleship pastor Brent Bolton and worship and student minister Austin Crosby were part of the team. 

“We launched with about 60 adults serving that day, and I think we had 230 or 240 people come to the opening service, which was incredible,” Byrd said. The serving team grew out of home meetings that had started the previous fall. 

Lead pastor Matt Byrd said he has had a front row seat to watching God accomplish the impossible in the planting of Wellspring Church in China Spring.

“It’s been kind of fast and furious ever since then,” Byrd said. More than 30 people have been baptized, and some men have been through about 10 months of training as elder candidates. Byrd hopes they’ll be installed in August.

When 36 acres of land became available on the main highway, the church sensed God saying, “This is for you,” and they took on nearly half a million dollars of debt as an eight-month-old church plant last fall. They owe $70,000 nine months later and are on track to pay it off within a year of buying the property.

“God has been overly kind to us, and it has been an amazing journey,” Byrd said. “It has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in ministry, but it’s also some of the most fun I’ve ever had because you get kind of a front row seat to, ‘If God doesn’t show up, we’re going to die out here.’ He does incredible things that are seemingly impossible, like, ‘This doesn’t happen without God doing this.’”

When Byrd was led to plant in China Spring, he didn’t realize what a tight-knit community it was, but that has contributed to the church’s growth. 

“I’ve got three kids under the age of 10, and they go to church with the same kids they go to school with and play sports with on Saturdays,” he said. 

CrossTraining is a three-day summer event at Wellspring Church in China Spring that teaches children about glorifying God. Submitted Photo

"God has just moved in our people, and there’s a community in our church that exists, a family that exists, and they’re going out and reaching their neighbors and inviting their co-workers."

Matt Byrd Tweet

The local high school won a state football championship last fall, and some of the coaches attend Wellspring. Baylor, of course, won the Big 12, and some of those coaches also go to Wellspring. “It’s been neat to celebrate what’s going on in those types of ways in the community,” Byrd said. 

Most Sundays, Wellspring serves 80-100 children with 25-30 volunteers. “Our student ministry kind of popped up out of nowhere,” he said. “We weren’t quite ready for it, but we had students, so we started it.” They’ve seen more than 10 students give their lives to Christ. 

“We probably have 120 adults serving in our church regularly right now,” Byrd said. “Our church wouldn’t happen without our laypeople serving.” Part of that includes setting up and tearing down for Sunday services at China Spring High School.

Church planting is important, Bryd said, because, statistically, church plants reach more lost people in the first couple of years than established churches. 

“I think maybe it’s because you’re meeting in a coffee shop or a school cafeteria or a movie theater where the unchurched or lost people maybe feel less intimidated than coming into an established church,” Byrd said. 

He believes Scripture commands believers to multiply churches.

“I believe that the missional push of the kingdom of God was supposed to be through the context of the local church,” Byrd said, “so I believe our call to go and make disciples is one of going and planting healthy churches that make those disciples.”

Becoming a church for the community

Soon after I started pastoring, I was told our city was in the Guinness Book of Records for the most churches per capita. This bit of faux trivia began to captivate my mind and I could not let it go. I couldn’t reconcile the overwhelming number of churches with the unchecked suffering I saw each week. 

Around this time, I preached out of Jeremiah and one verse in particular started to shape my vision for my community. It was Jeremiah 29:7: “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” 

In a time of physical exile, the Israelites were called upon to bless their captors. We are living in cultural exile. What would it look like for us to seek the welfare of the city where God has sent us? I asked myself that question repeatedly. I felt God telling me to share that same message with others, and soon they were convinced, as well. Here are some things to consider as you help your church become a church for the community:

Dream with God

Dreaming with God can feel dangerous. You need to ask yourself what it could look like in your context to display the love of God. What ills need to be addressed? What wrongs need to be undone? What could He have for you and your people? I have found God’s dreams to be far loftier and better than my dreams. 

What started as an idea—a dream—has grown six years later to include the cooperative efforts of 36 churches in my city to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We prayer-walk, share the gospel, pull weeds, paint, build, clean, and whatever we can to show the love of Christ together for the glory of God.

Matt Beasley Tweet

Work with people

You can’t accomplish your task alone. I called many non-profits in town to ask them what they would think of all of the churches coming together to help them accomplish their mission. I called pastors and took them to lunch. Working across denominational, ethnic, racial, and socio-economic lines is good for you and the people of your community. This collaborative work under the banner of King Jesus is the kind of cooperation a skeptical world needs to see. 

Give your work away

Soon after my dream took flight, I sought to give it away. I didn’t want the dream to depend on me. I found a faithful man in my local body whose family has been here for over 100 years and whose name was well-respected. I asked him if he would champion this ministry and worked alongside him to aid in the transition. We also recruited leaders from other churches.

Support without stealing the spotlight

Handing over the ministry meant handing over its direction. Sometimes we crave recognition for what we do. Try and turn that desire into action which recognizes and values the efforts of others. Pastors come and go, but I wanted to be a part of something that would outlast me. Remember the words of Jesus and do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.

What started as an idea—a dream—has grown six years later to include the cooperative efforts of 36 churches in my city to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We prayer-walk, share the gospel, pull weeds, paint, build, clean, and whatever we can to show the love of Christ together for the glory of God. We probably won’t make it into the Guinness Book of Records, but we are becoming a church for the community.

Pastor de San Antonio lleva a su iglesia a ministrar en el mismo complejo de viviendas en el que creció

Una inversión de por vida

Una cerca de metal divide los lados este y oeste del complejo de viviendas públicas Mirasol Homes ubicado justo al oeste del centro de la ciudad. Es un territorio familiar para Edward Beltrán, pastor de la Iglesia Bautista Génesis, quien fue criado por su abuela en una vivienda pública cercana.

“Crecí con alimentos del gobierno, queso, mantequilla y leche en polvo… en el epicentro de estas viviendas”, dijo Beltrán sobre su infancia en los apartamentos de Villa Veramendi.

La historia de Beltrán muestra la provisión de Dios que lo llevó a plantar Génesis, la cual se fusionó con éxito con la histórica Iglesia Bautista Hot Wells en el 2008.

En diciembre del 2021, Génesis se asoció con la iglesia Everyday Christian Fellowship (ECF) de Cibolo y su ministro de niños, Jimmy Turner, en una campaña iniciada por ECF en julio del año anterior para evangelizar en Mirasol. Cada dos sábados, el grupo ofreció almuerzo, juegos y actividades evangelísticas. Asistieron residentes del lado oeste del complejo.

Para ellos poder llegar al lado este del complejo, nació el “Mirasol Block Party” (Fiesta en la Cuadra de Mirasol).

El 2 de abril de 2022, con la ayuda de la Convención de los Bautistas del Sur de Texas (SBTC), comenzó la fiesta con el ilusionista cristiano Edgardo Ferrer y el artista Rik Moore, quienes “presentaron mensajes del evangelio creativos y entretenidos”, dijo Bruno Molina, quien es el Asociado de evangelismo entre creencias religiosas e idiomas de la SBTC. Un zoológico interactivo atrajo a los niños y una cena con salchichas atrajo a personas de todas las edades. 

“Es el sur de Texas”, dijo Beltrán. “¡Debíamos tener salchichas kielbasa!” Agregó su agradecimiento a la SBTC por compensar los gastos de comida, honorarios y viajes para el evento.

Dos estudiantes universitarios de Criswell College participaron en la fiesta de la cuadra como parte de la iniciativa F.I.R.E. por sus siglas en inglés, (Forjando Relaciones Integradas a través del Evangelismo) que promueve la participación de profesores y estudiantes en ministerios enfocados en las misiones a través de iglesias locales. Vinieron unos 60-70 residentes de Mirasol, incluidas tres familias del lado este. Un total de ocho personas, siete niños y un adulto, profesaron su fe en Cristo ese día.

Desde entonces, Genesis y Everyday han hecho un seguimiento cada dos semanas con los residentes, dijo Beltrán.

La jornada de Beltrán

En inglés, Mirasol se traduce como “see the sun”, lo cual puede sonar al pronunciarlo en inglés como “see the son”, que significa “mirar al hijo”. En la Fiesta de la Cuadra de Mirasol, utilizaron ese juego de palabras para invitar a los residentes de un barrio de San Antonio a “mirar al Hijo de Dios”. Y ellos lo hicieron.

La jornada de vida de Beltrán también ha sido una búsqueda del Hijo.

Su abuela lo crio después de que su madre, quien anduvo perdida en el mundo de las drogas, ya no pudiera cuidarlo.

“Por la gracia de Dios, mi abuela me acogió”, recordó Beltrán. “Ella me crio en el complejo de viviendas para que no estuviera bajo la custodia del estado”. 

Afortunadamente, la historia de la madre de Beltrán no terminó en tragedia. A través de conexiones con Victory Outreach, un ministerio conectado con Teen Challenge de David Wilkerson, fue salva en el 1980 y se convirtió en líder del ministerio. 

Pasó 27 años con Victory Outreach en San Antonio, Houston y Laredo, y finalmente se volvió a casar. Cuando dirigía el lado femenino de una casa de rehabilitación en Houston, Beltrán pasaba los veranos allí, durmiendo en la sección de hombres mientras se quedaba con su abuela en San Antonio durante el año escolar.

Pasé mis veranos observando. Escuché a ex convictos y drogadictos compartir sus testimonios.

Edward Beltran Tweet

A los 31 años, en marzo del 2003, fue ordenado como ministro. Lanzó la plantación de una iglesia en el 2007.

A pesar de un deseo de mucho tiempo de asistir al Seminario Teológico Bautista Southwestern (SWBTS), Beltrán se dio cuenta de que su vocación era para el centro de la ciudad. Comenzó a asistir a clases a nivel de seminario a través de un programa de SWBTS en la Iglesia Bautista Village Parkway en San Antonio hasta que Steve Branson, pastor de Village Parkway, le aconsejó que primero completara su título universitario.

En la universidad, Beltrán descubrió que le encantaba escribir, el gobierno, la política e incluso las matemáticas. Tal vez podría convertirse en maestro, pensó.

“Me encanta todo”, dijo. Obtuvo un Grado Asociado en Ciencias de Northwest Vista College, una Licenciatura en Administración de Empresas de University of the Incarnate Word y una Maestría en Administración de Empresas de Texas A&M San Antonio, con la ayuda de su empleador corporativo. Ahora trabaja como entrenador en esa misma corporación multinacional de alimentos.

Una fusión milagrosa

Poco tiempo después de que Beltrán lanzara la iglesia Génesis hace 15 años, el pastor George Harrivale de la histórica Iglesia Bautista Hot Wells se le acercó.

Beltrán le dio a Harrivale un recorrido por las instalaciones de Génesis, una casa convertida en una iglesia, lo que tomó “unos 3 minutos”, dijo con una sonrisa. Beltrán se sorprendió cuando Harrivale sugirió una fusión entre Genesis y Hot Wells.

“Nosotros éramos una plantación de iglesia. Ellos acababan de celebrar 75 años de estar en la comunidad”, dijo Beltrán. Hot Wells fue anteriormente un área de moda con un hotel histórico que una vez albergó al comediante Charlie Chaplain y al presidente Franklin Delano Roosevelt. La iglesia se inició en la calle Avondale en el 1932 antes de mudarse a un campus espacioso en Hot Wells Boulevard.

Los mentores de Beltrán le aconsejaron tener cautela, ya que las fusiones rara vez funcionan. Robbie Partain ayudó a obtener asistencia para la plantación de iglesias de la Convención de los Bautistas del Sur de Texas. Génesis se unió a la Asociación Bautista Bluebonnet y la fusión se llevó a cabo en el 2008, cuando la Bautista de Hot Wells traspasó oficialmente su propiedad a la asociación que, a su vez, la puso a disposición de Génesis.

“Estaba como un niño en una tienda de dulces. De repente tuvimos un santuario para sentar a más de 200 personas, un edificio educativo con una biblioteca, un edificio administrativo, un área para tener compañerismo”, exclamó Beltrán.

Y a diferencia de algunas fusiones de iglesias, esta se mantuvo.

“Ellos fueron fieles, perseveraron y conservaron la propiedad hasta que el Señor nos trajo al área”, dijo Beltrán, comparando las acciones generosas de la gente de Hot Wells como, por ejemplo, “donar la escritura de su casa a alguien”.

“Era la iglesia de todos, la iglesia de sus hijos, las familias se casaban allí”, dijo Beltrán.

Hoy, la Iglesia Génesis facilita proyectos misioneros a corto plazo en el centro de la ciudad, asociándose con otras iglesias en San Antonio y en todo el estado. Si bien los números no están a la altura de los niveles antes de COVID, la asistencia oscila entre 65 y 75, lo que la convierte en una iglesia pequeña con un gran impacto. 

San Antonio pastor raised in projects is now leading his church to minister there

Ametal fence divides the east and west sides of the Mirasol Homes public housing complex located just west of downtown San Antonio. It’s familiar territory to Edward Beltran, pastor of Genesis Baptist Church, who was raised by his grandmother in public housing nearby.

“I grew up on government cheese, government butter, and powdered milk … in the epicenter of the projects,” Beltran said of his childhood in the Villa Veramendi apartments.

Beltran’s story showcases God’s provision that led him to plant Genesis, which successfully merged with the historic Hot Wells Baptist Church in 2008.

In December 2021, Genesis partnered with Cibolo’s Everyday Christian Fellowship and its children’s minister, Jimmy Turner, in an outreach begun by ECF the previous July to evangelize the Mirasol housing complex. Every other Saturday, the group offered lunch, games, and gospel activities. Residents from the complex’s west side attended.

To reach the east side, the Mirasol Block Party was born.

On April 2, 2022, with help from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, the party kicked off, featuring Christian illusionist Edgardo Ferrer and artist Rik Moore, who “presented creative and entertaining gospel messages,” said Bruno Molina, SBTC language and interfaith evangelism associate. A petting zoo drew kids and a sausage meal attracted folks of all ages. 

“It’s South Texas,” Beltran said. “We had to have kielbasa!” He added his appreciation for the SBTC’s offsetting the expenses of food, honorariums, and travel for the event.

Two Criswell College students participated in the block party as part of the F.I.R.E. (Forging Integrated Relationships through Evangelism) initiative promoting the engagement of professors and students in missional ministries through local churches. Some 60-70 Mirasol residents came, including three families from the east side. Eight—seven children and one adult—professed faith in Christ that day.

Since then, Genesis and ECF have followed up bi-weekly with residents, Beltran said.

Beltran’s journey

In English, Mirasol is translated, “see the sun.” At the Mirasol Block Party, residents of a San Antonio barrio were invited instead to “see the Son.” And they did.

Beltran’s life journey has been one of seeking the Son, also.

His grandmother raised him after his mother, lost in the netherworld of substance abuse, could no longer care for him.

“By God’s grace my grandmother took me in,” Beltran recalled. “She raised me in the housing projects so I would not be in the custody of the state.” 

Beltran’s mother’s story doesn’t end in tragedy, thankfully. Through connections with Victory Outreach, a ministry connected to David Wilkerson’s Teen Challenge, she was saved in 1980 and became a ministry leader. 

She spent 27 years with Victory Outreach in San Antonio, Houston, and Laredo, eventually remarrying. When she led the female side of a rehab house in Houston, Beltran spent summers there, sleeping in the men’s section while staying with his grandmother in San Antonio during the school year. 

"I spent my summers observing. I listened to ex-cons and drug addicts share their testimonies."

Edward Beltran Tweet

“I spent my summers observing,” he said. “I listened to ex-cons and drug addicts share their testimonies.” Beltran’s experiences with street ministry in the impoverished wards of Houston led to his becoming a Christ-follower. 

At age 31, in March 2003, he was ordained. He launched a church plant in 2007.

Despite a longtime desire to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Beltran realized his calling was to the inner city. He started attending seminary-level classes through a SWBTS program at Village Parkway Baptist Church in San Antonio until Steve Branson, Village Parkway pastor, advised him to complete his undergraduate degree first.

In college, Beltran learned he loved writing, government, politics, even math. Perhaps he could become a teacher, he thought.

“I love it all,” he said. He earned an associate degree in science from Northwest Vista College, a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of the Incarnate Word, and a Master’s of Business Administration from Texas A&M San Antonio, with assistance from his corporate employer. He now works as a trainer with that same multinational food corporation.

A miraculous merger

A short time after Beltran launched Genesis 15 years ago, he was approached by Pastor George Harrivale of the historic Hot Wells Baptist Church.

Beltran gave Harrivale a tour of the Genesis facility, a home converted into a church, which took “about 3 minutes,” he said with a chuckle. Beltran was astonished when Harrivale suggested a merger between Genesis and Hot Wells.

“We were a church plant. They had just celebrated 75 years of being in the community,” Beltran said. Hot Wells was formerly a fashionable area with a historic hotel which once hosted comedian Charlie Chaplain and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The church was started on Avondale Street in 1932 before moving to a spacious campus on Hot Wells Boulevard.

Beltran’s mentors counseled caution, since mergers often do not work. Robbie Partain assisted in getting church planting assistance from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Genesis joined the Bluebonnet Baptist Association and the merger proceeded in 2008, when Hot Wells Baptist officially deeded its property to the association that, in turn, made it available to Genesis.

“I was like a kid in a candy store. We suddenly had a sanctuary to sit over 200, an education building with a library, an administration building, a fellowship hall,” Beltran exclaimed.

And unlike some church mergers, this one stuck.

“They were faithful and hung on and preserved the property until the Lord brought us into the area,” said Beltran, likening the generous actions of the people of Hot Wells to “gifting the deed of your house to someone.”

“It was their church, their children’s church, families were married there,” Beltran said.

Today, Genesis Church facilitates short-term missions projects in the inner city, partnering with other churches in San Antonio and across the state. While numbers are not up to pre-COVID levels, attendance runs about 65-75, making it a small church with a big impact. 

Communicating our pro-life convictions clearly

This past month we witnessed the answer to decades of prayer with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade. This is a huge victory for life! 

In the days that followed, I watched mixed responses from pro-life Christians. It became obvious to me that the conversation about abortion has become such a polarizing political issue that many Christians are left wondering how to respond. 

I believe this is due to how ill-equipped believers are to explain their pro-life position with conviction and compassion. Many pro-life Christians are deeply convicted on this issue but unable to adequately communicate their beliefs. Abortion is a complex issue in our culture. There are so many arguments pertaining to the 100 different “what if” scenarios such as rape, incest, situations where the mother’s life is at risk, a broken foster care and adoption system … the list goes on. These scenarios have left many believers confused as to how to respond and led some even to compromise. We must admit that the pro-choice secular culture is a lot better at confusing the issue than most Christians are at clarifying it. 

Therefore, we have to equip our people to think with what I refer to as “theological logic.” Complex moral issues, such as abortion, require that we are grounded both in the theological reasons of why we are pro-life and the ability to logically apply that theology to the complexity of the issue. Let me illustrate it.

When it comes to theology, the Bible is clear about two fundamental truths regarding life. First, all humanity has intrinsic value and is therefore deserving of equality and dignity because we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Secondly, all human life begins at conception (Job 31:15; Psalm 51:5; Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:4-5). We also must acknowledge that science overwhelmingly agrees with the Scriptures on this.

Now, based on these two theological truths, here is the logic I use to explain my pro-life argument and establish a fundamental premise that helps me work through complex issues.

"We have an opportunity in front of us to show that followers of Jesus have a deep-rooted love for humanity."

Todd Kaunitz Tweet

Using this fundamental premise flow chart I have developed (inset above), I have established a fundamental premise statement: Abortion is morally and biblically wrong because it takes the life of an innocent human, which violates the truth that every person has intrinsic value. 

This fundamental premise statement enables me to work through the complexity of all the “what if’ arguments surrounding abortion and to have a theologically logical conversation that explains my pro-life position. Every argument given by the secular culture to justify abortion can be addressed by this statement. Regardless of the reasons a person may give to justify having an abortion, none of them would nullify this statement. Each of the “what if” situations requires attention, as well as unique and intentional care, but this statement helps us to clarify that abortion is off the table as a legitimate solution. It may not tell me what the answer is, but it definitely tells me what the answer is not.

Leaders, I want to encourage you to equip your churches to have pro-life conversations with those who may be opposed. We can with love, compassion, and grace give an explanation for our beliefs. We have an opportunity in front of us to show that followers of Jesus have a deep-rooted love for humanity, and it is that love that calls us to seek justice, serve the poor, stand against racism, care for orphans, adopt babies, and defend the unborn.

Therefore, we must stand and fight for justice for the marginalized and vulnerable in society, and no one in our nation is more vulnerable than the unborn—no one! 

For further information about this article, visit nbbctx.org/abortion.

Arlington couple brings personal approach to six decades of teaching Sunday school

Reaching, Teaching, Loving

Zach and Donna Prince have a regular routine when they have company over to their home. When it’s time for their guests to depart, the Princes make a point to walk them out, stand in their driveway, and wave until the visitors are out of sight. 

For the Princes, hospitality is about more than just being polite or making their guests comfortable while inside their home. It’s about letting them know they’re glad they came, that they personally care for them, that they enjoyed spending time with them. 

It’s relational.

Throughout their 32 years of marriage, Zack and Donna have brought this same mindset to serving their church, Tate Springs Baptist Church in Arlington—where Zack has been a member since 1975 and Donna since 1976. Zack has taught Sunday school nearly 65 years, ranging from teaching boys, coed youth, junior and senior high students, young marrieds, and now, since the 1990s, a class for senior adults. It’s the same class where he and Donna met in their 30s and 40s and where they have aged, grown, and served together.

Zack’s life group fosters discussion. He is adamant that it is not lecture-based. He researches commentaries to expand on and discuss in class. He asks lots of questions to create more opportunities for sharing. In other words, it’s about more than conveying information. 

It’s relational.

“Relationships happen in small groups,” said Donna, who also teaches a weekly women’s Bible study, “and small groups function best when they are relational.”

Relationships happen in small groups, and small groups function best when they are relational. 

Donna Prince Tweet

Relationships aren’t just casual in Zach’s Sunday school class; they are a necessity. The class includes about 40 regular attenders and 12 members who are homebound, all of them ranging in age from their early 60s into their 90s. The class has faced a number of challenges over the last several years. COVID was certainly one of them, but there have been other illnesses, as well as deaths. As such, there are more widows and widowers in the class now, with many navigating a difficult new reality.

“You can’t just go to Sunday school or go to Bible study every Sunday and teach a lesson and expect to have much effect on anyone, especially older people,” Zack said. “They need more help.”

And help is what Zack and Donna offer. They spend many of their days visiting sick people in the hospital or cooking and delivering food to families in need. The gift of shepherding, Zack says, is so much more than teaching; it’s also being available to serve, to do for people the things that they need done when they can’t take care of it all themselves. And those that are able in the class are wonderful about serving others, too. Some drive for Meals on Wheels and drive other members to doctor appointments. They cook and serve meals for funerals and often collect needed items for ministries that serve those who are often underserved, such as new mothers and low-income families.

Zack Prince has taught Sunday school nearly 65 years, ranging from teaching boys, coed youth, junior and senior high students, young marrieds, and, since the 1990s, a class for senior adults. SUBMITTED PHOTO

It’s a culture of service that is spreading. Richard Hight, who has been a member of the class for five years, considers Zack a mentor and friend. Hight serves in a weekly community outreach that feeds the homeless in Arlington, serves in Meals on Wheels, and often joins Zack in visiting class members who are homebound or in the hospital.

“He has set a wonderful example of what it looks like to shepherd others,” Hight said. “He faithfully demonstrates a servant’s heart and genuinely cares for those God has placed in his classes.”

In turn, Zack says he doesn’t think he could have continued to teach the class without Donna’s support and partnership in ministering to the class. Said Zack: “She has been a great, great person to shepherd these people.”

So how long will Zack continue to teach the class? “I want to go out with my boots on,” he says, acknowledging that they plan to continue to serve as long as they are able. He believes he has been able to make it this far because of the truths in Matthew 6:33, which lead him to seek the Lord before all else, and Philippians 4:8, which has helped him realize the need for daily, personal, reflective time with God. So until the day comes when his season of teaching is over, he plans to do three things in keeping with 1 Thessalonians 1:3: maintain strong faith, carry out loving deeds for others, and look forward to Jesus Christ’s return.

The Lord has blessed the Princes’ faithfulness. They reared their children in church, who in turn did the same with their families. Now, on Sundays, four generations of Princes are present at Tate Springs. Donna and Zack can look across the church auditorium and see their oldest daughter, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

“In money, in time, in love of other people, in helping and serving—you cannot out-give God,” Donna said.

“I believe that as we serve our class, God blesses us and our family so much.”

Becoming a church friendly to those with special needs

Editor’s note: Southern Baptists of Texas Convention churches will observe Special Needs Sunday on July 10. The SBTC caxn help you evaluate your current level of accessibility and take steps to welcome even more families. Contact Sandra Peoples at specialneeds@sbtexas.com to get started.

When we got our son’s autism diagnosis in 2010, a lot changed for our family. Our plans for his schooling changed, the way we spent our money changed (“therapy” got added to our budget), and even our home changed as we turned an extra room in the basement into a safe sensory space for him. 

One more important part of our lives also had to change—our church. At the time, my husband pastored a small church in rural Pennsylvania. For us to stay there and serve the congregation God had called my husband to shepherd, they would have to welcome James and make accommodations for him. Thankfully, they did! 

God raised up helpers in the church who had backgrounds and experience in therapy and special education, as well as family members of those with disabilities to guide us in those early years of making first our children’s ministry and then all our church ministries welcoming for special needs families. James flourished there, and more families came because our church was known for being accessible. We didn’t make it complicated or expensive. We just followed Jesus’ example in the gospel of Matthew. 

After Jesus’ triumphal entry, Matthew 21 tells us He cleansed the temple of moneychangers and those selling animals for sacrifice. They were likely set up in the area open to Gentiles and those who were considered unclean, including people with disabilities. When Jesus drove them out and overturned the tables, Scripture tells us “the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them” (v. 14). The barriers were gone—they could enter the temple area and come close to Jesus. 

Any church can break down barriers and invite those without access to come close to Jesus and be part of our church families. It takes three simple steps:

Identify the barriers that may be keeping special needs families from attending your church

According to the 2000 census, one in five families in the U.S. has a member with a disability. If that percentage isn’t reflected in your church, they may be facing challenges that are keeping them from attending.

Implement changes that will break down those barriers

You don’t have to think about these changes as adding programs or taking resources. They are signs of friendship and hospitality. How can our children’s ministry be welcoming to a student with autism or our youth ministry to a teenager with Down syndrome? How can we show hospitality to a family in our worship service that has a member who may make noises during what is usually a quiet part of the service? Because we see the image of God in all people He created, we can ask the Holy Spirit to first work in our hearts and then work through our hands as we break down barriers so everyone is welcome in our churches.   

Invite families in the community to join you

We consider special needs families an unreached or underserved people group. A great way to start reaching them is to offer respite nights or sensory-friendly events. Encourage your congregation to invite the families they know to special events and services. Word will spread that you are a welcoming church!

Special needs ministry isn’t about adding a new ministry to your church—it’s about making your existing ministries accessible so special needs families can be transformed by the gospel and use their gifts to build up the church body. Churches of every size in every corner of Texas can do that!

Kingdom collaboration: Denison churches working together to impact their city

There were so many times Mark Baca considered leading his family away from the church they had called home for nine years.

Difficulties at the church abounded. Several pastors had come and gone. Parts of the building were in disrepair. Attempts to set things in order at the church were wobbled by COVID. Attendance began to drop as some members lost patience and went elsewhere.

“There were times when it was really rough,” Baca said. “But every time me and my wife tried to go somewhere else, God kept pulling us back and we felt like He was telling us, ‘I know you want to leave, but you need to stay.’”

Baca and others who stayed at the church are now seeing God’s hand move through a partnership with a sister church located just two miles away, Parkside Baptist Church. In late 2021, leaders at the struggling church approached Parkside’s pastor, Jeff Humphrey, to ask if his church would be willing to take over the property and help revitalize it. 

Humphrey, who has been at Parkside for about two years, said he wasn’t sure if his church would be willing or ready to take on that kind of project. But there was a deeper connection between the churches that brought with it a willingness to answer the call for help. In the late 1950s, Parkside was responsible for planting the church, which at the time was called Hyde Park Baptist Church. But over the years, difficulties led the church to become a campus site of another church in the area.

So in essence, the struggling church wasn’t just a sister congregation of Parkside. It was born of it. Several of the members at Parkside were once members at Hyde Park. 

“Because our people had so many fond feelings for the years that they saw ministry going on there, they were like, ‘Let’s do it,’” Humphrey said.

Combined churches service of Parkside Baptist Church, Living Hope Fellowship in Denison, and Palabra de Fe.

‘A new day’

Parkside took a holistic approach to the revitalization project at the struggling church, which was rebranded Living Hope Fellowship. Part of that approach led Humphrey to ask members of his church to become temporary missionaries who would not only attend Living Hope on Sunday mornings but assist with many of the necessary tasks that would be needed to revitalize the church. Sixteen Parksiders answered that call, with some of them joining the worship team and others taking teaching roles. That team has also taken the lead in making improvements to the building, which included replacing a cross that had once been fixed to the outside of the facility but had since fallen. 

Humphrey said it was critical in the first phase of the revitalization—which is being aided by funding from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention—to create a vibrant worship experience at Living Hope and add Sunday school classes for all ages by Easter. Ed Fleming, a member of Parkside who had been involved with other revitalization-type projects, was called to serve as Living Hope’s interim pastor through the first phase. In addition to preaching, Fleming said he began meeting with members one-on-one to give them an opportunity to be heard after weathering a difficult season for the church. Some of those conversations were difficult, Fleming said, but necessary and productive.

“I was trying to encourage the people and rebuild trust,” Fleming said, “and to show them that it was a new day.”

Brooklynn Burch (left) and Mark Bacca recently became the first two people baptized at Living Hope after its revitalization partnership with Parkside. SUBMITTED PHOTO

"We were very sad in our spirit that the possibility existed that God’s Word might not be shared on that corner anymore. … We just felt very strongly that we wanted to do whatever we could to keep that going."

Johnnie Smith Tweet

More healthy churches, not fewer

Denison has a population of just over 26,000 people located in what is known as the Texoma region of the state, consisting of a cluster of mostly rural counties on the Texas-Oklahoma border. According to census numbers, Denison has experienced roughly 10 percent growth since the 2010 count, and in Texas, populations are only increasing and becoming more diverse. In other words, more healthy churches are needed, not fewer. Humphrey said the Texoma population is projected to double in the next 10-15 years.

But there was another reason leaders at Parkside didn’t want Denison to lose another church.

“We hated to see that place not be a church,” said Johnnie Smith, a 77-year-old Parkside deacon who began attending Hyde Park Baptist Church shortly after it was started. Smith is now among the group of temporary missionaries at Living Hope. “We were very sad in our spirit that the possibility existed that God’s Word might not be shared on that corner anymore. … We just felt very strongly that we wanted to do whatever we could to keep that going.”

Living Hope Fellowship has now moved into the next phase of the project, which will focus on equipping those involved in the worship service and Sunday school classes to reach, teach, and minister. Humphrey said the hope and prayer is that Parkside can turn the operations of Living Hope back over to its own leaders by the end of 2022 or early 2023.

As part of the revitalization process, Parksiders have had several work days at Living Hope. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Encouragement in the congregation is rising as it watches what the Lord is doing through an effort that Humphrey calls “cooperative, not competitive.” When the Living Hope revitalization project began in January, the church had 26 adults and eight children regularly attending. By the end of April, there were 36 adults and 10 children attending. Easter was a particularly encouraging time for the church, as 73 people were in attendance after the congregation did an outreach blitz in the neighborhoods surrounding the church. By May, the church experienced its first two baptisms since the partnership began. 

Baca, who was baptized at an early age but realized he had not fully trusted Jesus until years later, was one of them. He is now serving on the worship team and with the church’s youth.

Humphrey said Parkside has a vision to continue partnering with other churches to revitalize and also to plant new churches. In such partnerships, he sees a picture of the gospel that brings together rather than separates, that cooperates rather than competes.

“Texoma needs a lot of great, healthy churches that have a lot of diversity in reaching a very diverse population that’s coming our way,” he said. “We don’t want to compete. We want to collaborate. If we can do something to help the other churches around us be stronger, let’s go, because if God wins, we all win.”

Growing through criticism

I will never forget that moment. It was a Sunday morning well over a decade ago. I had labored over my message for the church all week. I worked diligently to craft a sermon with the right mix of exposition, illustration, and application. I poured hours of my life into that message. 

As I stood behind the pulpit and delivered the message the Lord had prompted in my heart, it seemed to be connecting with everyone in the place. It was one of those days you felt like you hit a home run. 

Until the moment came. 

As I talked to people after the service, a man walked up to me and gave me some sharp criticism over my message. He strongly disagreed with something I said and wanted to be sure I knew it. I thanked him for his input and moved on to the next person.

The remainder of the day I could not find the ability to celebrate all that God did in that service and in the lives of people simply because of the criticism of that one person. I was blinded to the potential blessings that hundreds may have received because of the sharp and painful words of one man. 

Have you ever had that experience? I have had many others like it since then. However, as I have grown in leadership, I have learned how to grow through criticism as well. 

Criticism is a natural part of being a leader. The criticism you receive as you lead may or may not be helpful. It may or may not be delivered with the right intentions. It may or may not be substantiated. However, the criticism itself will not ultimately determine anything in your leadership, but how you respond will. 

As I have grown as a leader and in the grace of our Lord, I have learned two significant key components on dealing with criticism:

"I have learned that the people who truly care about me give criticism in a way that is helpful and profitable in my walk with the Lord and my calling."

Nathan Lorick Tweet

Don’t internalize criticism from someone you wouldn’t seek advice from

The presence of critics will be a permanent fixture throughout your leadership. I have learned that the people who truly care about me give criticism in a way that is helpful and profitable in my walk with the Lord and my calling. They are not just out to get me or out to find something to criticize in order to hurt me. These are the people who spur me on to be a better leader every day. If you are in a position of leadership, I encourage you to be diligent and only accept criticism from those you trust.

The best response to criticism is always prayer

As a leader I am constantly drawn back to the life and leadership of Moses. He rarely got a day off from being criticized for the challenges the nation of Israel faced. Almost every time he was criticized by the people or even his own family, you found him on his face praying! Moses knew the best way to respond to criticism was to seek wisdom from the Lord. 

I started doing this in my life a few years ago and it was a game-changer. In moments of sharp criticism, nothing calms my mind and heart like taking it directly to the Lord. Praying allows me to guard my heart from becoming bitter or angry at the one who is criticizing. In fact, it puts me in the right place to be objective with the criticism I receive. Prayer should be our first response. Let me encourage you to stop and pray next time you feel the weight and sting of some critic’s words.

You will have challenges, you will have critics, and you will have voices seeking to derail you from what God has called you to. However, never let your mind and heart get positioned to listen to those voices above the One voice that called you and equipped you to lead. 

I am praying for you as you lead and lead well! I am in your corner. I am your cheerleader. I believe in you! I love you and am honored to serve you!