The Bible begins with water. In Genesis 1:2, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Before land was formed, before vegetation or living creatures appeared, there was water—formless, deep, and mysterious. God brought order to these waters. It is both life-giving and, when unrestrained, capable of overwhelming destruction, as later seen in the flood narrative of Genesis 6–9.
Water’s dual nature—life-giving and destructive—sets the stage for its role in redemption. We see it displayed in the parting of the Red Sea. The Hebrews are trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the sea. What appears as certain death becomes the means of salvation. God parts the waters, creating a path of deliverance for His people while the same waters collapse upon the pursuing Egyptians. Water becomes both judgment and salvation. For Israel, it is a passage into freedom; for Egypt, it is an instrument of destruction.
The New Testament deepens this imagery. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul describes Israel’s passage through the sea as being “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” A transition into a new identity. This concept finds fuller expression in baptism, as described in Romans 6:4, believers are “buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that…we too might walk in newness of life.” Through water, the believer symbolically dies to the old life and rises to new life in Christ. Baptism is a reenactment of deliverance, a visible sign of an inward transformation.
The birth of Jesus involved the breaking of water—the amniotic fluid that signals the arrival of new life. The One who created the waters of Genesis was Himself born through the waters of childbirth. Creation and incarnation meet. The Creator steps into creation, embracing its physical realities to redeem them.
In John 4, Jesus offers a Samaritan woman water that will become “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Unlike physical water, which temporarily satisfies thirst, this living water represents the enduring, life-giving presence of God through the Holy Spirit. Later, in John 7:37–38, Jesus proclaims, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Water becomes a source of continual spiritual vitality.
The theme reaches its climax in Revelation 22:1: “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” This final image brings the biblical narrative full circle. The waters that once covered the formless earth now flow in perfect clarity and purpose, nourishing the tree of life and sustaining the renewed creation. The invitation that follows— “Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Revelation 22:17)—echoes the offer of living water made by Jesus.
What the Bible presents theologically, San Antonio experiences physically: a world where water is both a gift of God and a reminder of human dependence. The city was founded where water could be found. Yet, as in Genesis, the waters must be managed and respected. When rainfall declines, the illusion of abundance disappears. Water is not guaranteed—it is given.
In our drought-prone region, this symbolism carries added weight. “Living water” speaks directly into lived experience. Physical water can fail, systems falter, and supplies diminish, but the water Christ offers is not subject to drought. It is not dependent on rainfall or geography. It flows from a different source. The dryness of the land is a reminder that human life is dependent, not self-sustaining. Just as the body thirsts for water, the soul thirsts for something more enduring.
The same God who brought order to the waters, parted the sea, and offered living water remains the source of life today. Life is sustained not by what we control, but by what we receive. The deeper promise remains unchanged: the source of life does not run dry and satisfies the deepest thirst of the human soul.
It is time to level up—to provide more services to more people and to break the soul-crushing cycle of generational poverty that plagues our community.
The Highland Park Community Assistance Network has operated for more than ten years as an unincorporated association and a ministry of Baptist Temple. Its most visible expressions have been the services provided at the Brunnemann Building—the thrift store, food pantry, and community garden—along with the many community ministries that operate across the Baptist Temple campus.
This network of churches and service organizations is strengthened by a growing number of off-campus partners who provide essential services and resources. It also includes an expanding base of volunteers and financial supporters who are vital to our mission.
As the needs of our community have grown, so have the resources. We have reached a turning point. We must now build capacity and expand our network. To that end, Highland Park CAN has been formally incorporated as a nonprofit corporation, and we have applied for 501(c)(3) designation with the IRS.
This step will allow us to seek funding from foundations and businesses that do not provide grants to churches. More importantly, it will enable us to expand partnerships to address both the spiritual and material poverty of our neighbors more effectively.
This ministry outpost is strategically positioned near the heart of San Antonio, with access to four interstates and two bus routes. It sits in a zip code where life expectancy is lower than in much of the city. It encompasses 80,000 square feet of ministry space and rests on a long history of faithful service, supported by a strong and growing base.
It is vital that this work continue—and that it remains what it has long been: an oasis of hope in a desert of need.
Guest Blog by Roland Bazaldua
The sports and day care ministries are the reason I have been a member of Baptist Temple since I was 9 years old...almost 40 years! The day care introduced me to BT, but it was the sports ministry that drew me in.
I watched Pete Burton coach a women’s softball team at South Side Lions Park. I can’t tell you how excited I was when I found out one of the women from that team would be coaching a youth boy’s softball team. Wanda Phillips was the coach. Cleta Foster, Evelyn Walker, and Marcia Frazelle served as assistant coaches. These women taught us more than how to play a game. They used each practice and game as an opportunity to witness to us and teach us life lessons. I’m not saying it was a religious service or devotional time. What I am saying is that they would show us love, patience, encouragement, and strict discipline should we need it.
Here’s one life lesson that remains with me to this day. To be eligible to play in that week’s game a player could not miss Sunday School for two weeks in a row. Coach Phillips had me so scared to miss Sunday School that I would attend the First Baptist Church of Sinton and bring back the bulletin to show I had been in Sunday School when we went there to visit my grandmother.
On one occasion, our pitcher and best hitter, Steve Hartsfield, was “benched” because he had missed Sunday School for two weeks in a row. Coach Phillips could have chosen to “overlook” his absence. Instead, she announced at practice that Steve would not be playing that week. These are the kind of life lessons we learned from these women.
As teenagers Mike Edwards and I moved up to the men’s team. There was one small problem for me. I wasn’t as good as most of the men on the team. I would only be put in the game in the late innings when the game was usually out of reach. That’s when Max Brunnemann and I developed a relationship that I cherish to this day. Max was the catcher. He took me under his wing and showed me how to play the position of catcher. Our pitcher was Mr. Ray Black. Max taught me how to place the glove just the way Ray wanted it.
During some games, at the objection of some of the players, Max would take himself out of the game so that I could play. If you know of Max’s competitive nature, you might think this was a tough decision for him. However, if you really knew Max, you would know a man full of love and compassion. He realized that softball was a ministry and that all should be included.
Even though I wasn’t athletically gifted, the men on that team made me feel as if I belonged. The greatest game in the history of Baptist Temple softball is the one that never was played! At practice some of the men talked about how much fun it would be to play a practice game against the women. The reason the men gave for not playing the game was that they “did not want the women to get hurt.” Between you, me, and the fencepost, I think the men knew the Baptist Temple women might have won.
The sports ministry is an important part of Baptist Temple. I’m sure glad that Pastor Jorge is supporting the various sports and extra-curricular activities here. You never know if one of the kids you are ministering to today will make a profession of faith, join Baptist Temple, and spend the rest of their life loving and worshipping the Lord. I know that is what happened to me.
Published in the Baptist Temple Church Bulletin on May 15, 2011 in recognition of BT’s sports ministry during our centennial celebrations.
