A week in the life of the Baptist Temple Campus

The #BTCampus is a busy place all week. The week begins on Sunday morning at 9 AM with prayer but by this time the custodian has already unlocked doors, turned on lights and prepared the church for for worship. A hostess has made coffee and set up the hospitality table.

There is Bible study for all ages from 9:30 – 10:30, followed by four worship services, at 11, in American Sign Language (Family Deaf Church), Spanish (Iglesia Bautista Betel) and two in English (Baptist Temple Church and Sunny Slope BaptistChurch). At 1 PM CBC, Highland Park meets for worship and Free by theTruth at 2 PM.

Mondays start early as parents begin to drop their little ones at the BT Early Learning Center at 6 AM. By the time our resident charter school starts (Jubilee Highland Park), we have 400 kids on campus. There is ceramics in Fritz Hall, Zumba in the chapel, and basketball (every night) in the gym. Girl Scouts meet in the evening. Our doors close at 9 PM.

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays our thrift-store and client-choice food food pantry are open from 9 am to 1 pm. Tuesday evening we host Bible Study Fellowship for women (English, Spanish and ASL). A free community meal is served on Wednesday evenings followed by Bible study and worship for all ages. Zumba repeats on Thursday evenings. San Antonio Against Slavery, also meets on Thursday.

Saturday is our quiet day. Only the gym is active in the morning but there are periodic events such as the Fall festival, food distribution, back to school bash and work days. 

An urban church can be the center of community life, ministering to both the physical and spiritual needs of its members and neighbors. Studies by Partners for Sacred Places discovered that more than 80% of the people served by a thriving church are not church members.

If your church closed its doors, would the community miss it?