Stewardship of a legacy

An oasis of help in a desert of need

God’s hand was evident when, after seven moves in seven years, Baptist Temple found its permanent home. It was an idyllic location, former pastureland, in a prosperous suburb on the growing edge of a city on the move. In the right place at the right time for the Baby Boom, the church exploded in growth, with never ending building programs and property acquisitions.

In the life of most churches there comes a peak in growth followed by a slow decline. Attendance drops, donations decrease, and buildings age. As a result, many churches find themselves unable to afford building maintenance and are forced to close. Lifeway Research found that, in 2019, three thousand new churches opened and forty-five hundred closed.

These church closures often occur in areas of need where the people are too poor to support a building that was built by a more affluent congregation. Yet, the need is still there. These buildings, dedicated to God, built by the prayers, the dollars, the blood, sweat, and tears of past generations are being lost to the Kingdom. At the same time, new church starting efforts often focus on growing parts of the city. I understand that is where the people (and the money) are, but this trend increases the growing disparity between the haves and the have nots.

Inner city churches usually provide critical services to under-resourced neighborhoods. Eighty percent or more of the people who are served are not church members. Church closures also mean shutting down food pantries, youth programs, addiction treatment support, and other vital ministries. In the inner city, the property is as much a ministry as the programs it hosts.

BT has beautiful, well-built facilities. We have nearly eight thousand square feet on three acres that are strategically located near an interstate exit that connects with three other highways and has access to public transportation. Once again, God’s hand is evident in the longevity and continuing Kingdom value of this mission station that has repeatedly adapted its ministry to the changing needs of its community, maximizing the resources provided by God through faithful people. It is a significant legacy of the faithfulness of past church members, who had a vision of establishing a spiritual lighthouse, shining God’s love on Highland Park.

While we have done a commendable job of sharing our space in a way that divides our expenses and significantly multiplies our ministries, there is not a lot of money available from the small churches and nonprofit organizations with whom we share our facility. Because of this, we have had to subsidize these groups, offering space at below fair market value. We have placed ministry over money, relying on God to fill on the gaps. And He has.

Donations from mission minded individuals beyond our church membership have helped sustain our efforts at demonstrating God’s love in practical ways to our neighbors. Now, perhaps more than ever, Baptist Temple is THE church for our community. The need has never been greater.

Click here to donate now to support our fight against generational poverty.

Extra Grace Required

One reality of urban ministry is that we encounter some “extra grace required” people. Folks living with mental illness, poor manners, a shady past or all of the above. Maybe, folks with shabby clothes and poor hygiene that reflect their financial poverty. They require a measure of tolerance, patience, love and extra grace. At times they will need to be gently corrected or quickly rebuked. Often, they will need to be forgiven.

Some fear that “extra grace required” people will chase away the “right” people. There is a measure of truth in that. They disrupt the religious club vibe that we often confuse with koinonia. That's why they are made to feel unwelcome in many churches. That's why many inner city church members look different than the surrounding community.

Jesus was criticized for hanging out with the “wrong” people. He was called a “friend of sinners” for spending time with prostitutes, Samaritans, tax-collectors and others outside of polite society. His Apostles included a tax-collector and a terrorist but no high society folks.

James (2:1-9) warns us about showing partiality to the “right” people who enter our assembly while ignoring those who appear to be less successful. Throughout the Bible, God demonstrates his choice of people that would be overlooked by the standards of the world to carry out his plan. He chose Jacob over Esau and David over his older brothers. “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” - 1 Corinthians 1:27 (ESV)

God sends “extra grace required” people into our lives to teach us how to love. They, too, are part of the Body of Christ. Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” - Matthew 25:40 (NIV)

Sometimes a church will pray for God to bring them people and, then, complain about the people God sends but an effective inner-city church brings people who are living in darkness into the light of Jesus' love.

The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness

a light has dawned.

Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)

Churches Partner to Create a First-Rate VBS experience in the Inner-City

Vacation Bible School (VBS) is the highlight of the year for Baptist churches. It is an opportunity to teach children about Jesus and make contact with new families. This year we had a spectacular VBS on the Baptist Temple campus. Not because of our enrollment, 249, nor the number of workers, 96, not even the 32 professions of faith. Many churches have eclipsed those numbers. What was remarkable was that four churches sharing an inner-city campus joined forces to provide a top caliber VBS experience. The congregations included a Spanish language and a Deaf congregation. A 30 member short-term mission team from Houston added to both the success and the extraordinary nature of this bold ministry endeavor.

The stories are even more noteworthy than the numbers. The 32 professions of faith included children whose families are hostile to the gospel. This is not a dark cloud overshadowing a joyful event. This is the light of Jesus penetrating the darkness. “This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine,” will be the theme song of these young lives.

One woman, who recently committed her life to Christ, asked for a copy of the adult VBS class picture. It was her first Bible study. Ruby, one of our seniors, attended the adult class. She was not sure why God led her to attend until she gave away a Bible on the first day. She brought a Bible to give away each day of VBS.

Our mission project this year was to prepare emergency meal bags. One child overheard another telling us he had no food at home. He decided to give his bag to the hungry boy.

Hunger is a problem in our community. Over 90% of the children in our three closest elementary schools qualify for free and reduced lunches. We provided a free dinner each night for the folks involved with VBS, along with a healthy snack.

VBS helps us to minister to both the spiritual and physical needs of our community. Moreover, we created new relationships through which we can share God's love to the families in our community.

Mission teams can greatly expand the ministry of inner-city churches

Nearly 100 students from the University of Texas at Arlington Baptist Student Ministry spent six days at Baptist Temple to minister in San Antonio. They formed 11 teams, partnering with churches to host backyard Bible clubs in low-income neighborhoods and apartment complexes, serving in a soup kitchen and at a nursing home.

One of the things that struck the students was the poverty found in San Antonio. “One of the main things that surprised me is the neighborhood here around the church has a lot of poverty.” said UTA student, David Weick, “It’s a level that most of us don’t see when we go around in our towns. It’s amazing to see the need of the people here and to see how the church is stepping up to meet the needs.”

These short term missionaries have a long-term impact in urban areas where the need exceeds the resources. In Chicago, one large team was so helpful in so many areas that several local ministries banded together to continue their work. In New Orleans, short-term missionaries worked in tandem to run a day camp all summer. In Miami, short-term missionaries helped jump start a children's Sunday school in a church that had no children.

These collaborations between churches that have abundant resources and those who do not demonstrate the unity of Christ's followers and unleash the power of the Holy Spirit in mighty ways. I have been on both sides of short-term missions and know that everyone involved benefits.

Baptist Temple will host several teams this summer to bring a variety ministries to San Antonio. We will also team up with several churches to send a group to minister on the Mexican border.

Losing valuable real estate

Perhaps the biggest investment a church will make is building facilities. A strategic location is selected, plans are drawn up and a building fund campaign is launched. Through sacrificial giving and with hope for the future, a new building is erected.
Years later many of these congregations decline in membership and the beloved structure is now underutilized and needing repair. Eventually the church decides it can no longer endure under the current circumstances and close the doors.

I ran across this situation in New Orleans when I was starting a Spanish-language church in the basement of an Anglo church. Another Anglo church, six blocks away, was disbanding and wanted to sell their building. The money would go to missions.

Acting quickly, I petitioned that the property be turned over to my new church start. Why pay real estate commissions to sell the property and again, later, when we would buy another property. Moreover, my mission field was this very neighborhood.

My argument prevailed and my small Spanish-language church took possession of the building. I was able to recruit an intrepid team of seminary students who developed a thriving ministry in that building including an English-language service, a mid-week youth service, free music lessons, a free summer day camp, food pantry and other services to the community.

This church became a training lab for seminary students, many of whom went on to work in missions around the globe, and a blessing to the community. It even provided an apartment for me that supplemented my modest salary.

There are many inner-city church properties that are being underutilized and, worse, sold off. These properties are in the midst of deep spiritual and economic poverty. It is possible that these properties could be used to house non-religious or faith-based community-based ministries. These ministries could pay for the utilities and upkeep. On Sundays the pulpit can be filled by ministry students and lay preachers who are looking for an opportunity to preach.

This would meet the spiritual and physical needs of the community and take advantage of a building built through sacrificial giving and with hope for the future. We cannot continue to retreat from the areas in our cities where the gospel is most needed.