It
was another year of blessings for the ministries that share the
Baptist Temple Campus. We are blessed to now have six congregations
meeting on the BT campus. Community Bible Church of Highland Park
joined our family of churches in May. In the Fall, Weapons of
Deliverance and Sunny Slope Baptist Church started worshiping at our
location. Together we baptized
36 people last year.
VACATION
BIBLE SCHOOL involved the four churches on campus at the time and
a mission team from Houston; a total of 96 workers. Our enrollment
was 153 and 32 decisions were recorded, leading to many of our
baptisms.
WORSHIP
events this year included an Easter
Sunrise service and the musical presentation “Champion of
Love.” In May we concluded “BELIEVE,”
a 30 week sermon series and Bible study in conjunction with 14 San
Antonio Area churches. During Advent we celebrated the Hanging
of the Green (with CBC Highland Park and Family Deaf Church),
Christmas Eve (with CBC Highland Park) and a memorial service for
people in our community who lost a loved one this past year (with
Immanuel
Motorcycle Ministry).
FELLOWSHIP
opportunities abounded for all ages. The children
and youth
went on a variety of field trips; and our senior adults enjoyed
monthly luncheons. There were church-wide fellowships as well,
including a Valentine's
lunch, and banquets in the Spring
and Fall.
In June we enjoyed a campus-wide
picnic at Roosevelt Park.
COMMUNITY
OUTREACH included our annual Fall
Fest and National
Night Out events. Our first Back
to School Health Fair attracted 488 people. A total of 19
churches, businesses and community groups participated to provide
food, games, health screenings, vaccines, school supplies and fresh
produce.
Another
first this year was our community
Christmas party. Snacks, make and take crafts, games and
Christmas carols made this an event that we look forward to
repeating.
FIGHTING
HUNGER remains our most visible ministry. We collected and
distributed nearly 80,000 lbs of food. (That's 30,000 more than last
year.) This includes groceries for 6300 people; 1800 received
individual ministry through our client choice food pantry.
We
provided 75,469 meals to our community through our Wednesday
night dinners, summer feeding and other venues. This included 151
breakfasts, 1628 lunches, 3550 dinners and 9140 snacks.
FACILITY
IMPROVEMENTS are a continuing effort on the BT Campus. Some major
improvements came as result of a contract between Parent-Child
Incorporated and our Early Learning Center. This includes a new
freezer, new ovens, playground equipment, classroom furniture and
security cameras. Additional security cameras were added by Highland
Park Gifted and Talented Academy.
Another
big improvement involved boosting our wireless internet capacity to
reach more areas of our campus. This was made possible in partnership
with CBC Highland Park.
THREE
NEW PARTNERS came to the BT campus this year in addition to the three
new churches. The Christian Women's Job Corps Job helps us to provide
job readiness training. San Antonio Sports brought the Fit Family
Challenge to our campus, with an average participation of 58 per
week. Immanuel Motorcycle Ministry came alongside to enhance and
expand our evangelistic efforts.
We
hosted 9 MISSION TEAMS from as far away as Connecticut and South
Dakota. They ministered all around San Antonio including the Rosemont
Apartments and Habitat for Humanity houses.
Each
year God provides the workers, leaders and physical resources to meet
the changing needs of the community that surrounds us. Our impact has
drawn the notice of local government leaders in 2016 leading to
campus visits from state representatives Diego
M. Bernal
(District 123) and John
Lujan III
(District 118) and Mayor Ivy
Taylor. I believe that there are greater things to come in 2017.
“Expect
great things from God; attempt great things for God.”
Pioneer
Missionary William
Carey
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