Six Churches, One VBS

For the second year, the churches that meet on the Baptist Temple campus joined forces to put together a high quality VBS. The level of energy and the spirit of unity displayed were beyond measure. The Sunday morning attendance of the BT campus churches ranges from 20 to 150 and includes Baptist Temple Church, Community Bible Church Highland Park, Mision Bautista Betel, Family Deaf Church and Sunny Slope Baptist Church.

These churches have a diverse membership that crosses ethnic, racial, language and economic barriers. We were joined this year by a church that ministers to African refugees, Iglesia del Dios Altisimo. Their African children plus a student mission team from Baptist University of the Americas brought a total of 14 different nations to our campus that week.

Our efforts resulted in over 90 workers, 173 students enrolled, 667 dinners served, $730 raised for missions and six decisions for salvation. Although the six decisions seems a low number, we had a lot of children return who had made decisions last year.

The most significant impact of that week was the Kingdom impact of six churches, different from each other in many ways, working together for the sake of the gospel!

Click here for a slide show recap of VBS 2017 on YouTube.

We Can Have Peace in Our Relationships

Colossians 3:15

Jesus Christ can us move us from division to community.

People find it hard to live in harmony & peace with one another. We fight and we bicker. We criticize and tear each other down. Our courts are filled with people who can't get along. We encounter strife at work, at home and, even, at church. We compete for position, for attention, and for material gain. It was not long before Adam and Eve turned on each other. Jealousy drove Cain to kill his brother and drove Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery. Lust drove David to take the wife of one of his mighty men. And so it goes.

In the New Testament we read repeatedly of enmity between the Jews and non-Jews. Ethnic and racial strife is as old as the Tower of Babel and is as fresh as the morning news.

There is good news. God has sent us the Prince of Peace. “Jesus himself is our peace, who has made the two one [Jews and non-Jews] and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14).

The Bible teaches, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

In a world filled with strife the church must be an oasis of peace. We should both examples and agents of reconciliation. After all, we are carrying out His ministry of reconciliation as His ambassadors.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
Colossians 3:15

see also: 

We Can Have Peace with God 

We Can Have Peace on Earth

 

Ministry to the Deaf

There are over 750,000 deaf people in America. They are among the most unevangelized people groups. Fewer than 8 out of every 100 deaf people in the US ever attend church. Fewer than 4 out of 100 claim a personal relationship with Christ.

Ministry to the deaf is complex. One reason is that deaf people who use American Sign Language (ASL) form a distinct culture. The Deaf have unique legends, social customs and experiences. 

Like other people with disabilities, the Deaf have been discriminated against in their jobs and are often left out, ignored or mistreated. Past experience may make them wary of your motives. They also tend to be straight forward and blunt in their communications.

Another complexity is that deaf ministry is a family affair. Ninety percent of deaf children have parents with normal hearing, but only about one out of 10 of those parents can carry on a conversation in ASL. Most of these parents begin with little knowledge about the deaf world and are unaware of available resources. They feel overwhelmed by the challenges of raising a deaf child and feel alone in their struggles.

Children who have a Deaf parent are bicultural and often find themselves torn between two worlds. Like all bicultural children they have challenges and issues that are difficult to understand.

Children who have a Deaf sibling often feel they have to compete with the deaf child for parental attention and can become resentful. They usually learn sign language better than the parents and find themselves serving as interpreters between the parents and their deaf siblings.

Mixed marriages between hearing and deaf people face challenges as they try to blend deaf and hearing cultures and lifestyles and families together.

Baptist Temple has been blessed with the privilege to host the San Antonio Baptist Deaf Mission; a work started 20 years ago by the San Antonio Baptist Association (SABA). Baptist Temple did not not invite them. They were sent to us by God.

Several weeks ago the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) called to ask if we were interested in hosting this mission. We were recommended as a church with a heart for ministry by Patty Villareal, a professor at the Baptist University of the Americas.

The Missions Committee enthusiastically recommended that we do this. The church responded with a similar spirit and the vote to host the Deaf Mission passed without opposition.

The San Antonio Baptist Deaf Mission is an independent church sharing our facilities. They will be part of our Sunday School and other ministries but will hold their own worship service in FLC101 at 11 AM on Sundays.

The mission is led by John and Mary Ann Richey (both hearing) and currently numbers around 40 with an average attendance of around 25. We expect the move to Baptist Temple to generate excitement and allow us to minster to more deaf people and their families. They had their first worship service at BT this past Sunday and had four first time visitors.

Deaf churches are rare. Most deaf ministries involve having a deaf interpreter translate a service that is primarily intended for the hearing. This is certainly polite but not empowering. A true deaf church holds its own worship service, has its own officers and determines its own destiny as led by the Holy Spirit.

We are blessed to be able to partner with people who expand our ability to spread the gospel.

Sharing space with other churches

A Dallas church did not let their declining numbers stop them from having a major missional impact. Like many urban churches in transitional communities, Gaston Oaks Baptist Church’s congregation was aging, shrinking and did not reflect the demographics of their neighbors. Their answer was to share their facility with three congregations (Burmese, African, and Hispanic) comprised of people groups from their community. The result has been a revitalized ministry and a full sanctuary (when all four churches worship together).

Urban church buildings are treasures provided by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Christians in the past. Those who have been entrusted with these facilities honor past sacrifices by finding creative ways to continue to shine the light of the gospel that transcends language and culture.

Here is the article: Church finds renewal in opening doors to ethnic congregations

Crossing cultural divides

I had an opportunity to talk to some seminary students about cross cultural ministry today. They are working in a church where the members are primarily middle class Anglos but the transitioning community is primarily poor Hispanics. They are tasked with the community outreach ministry. They have had much success with ESL and youth sports programs but cannot get the community folk into Sunday school and worship.

Their frustration highlights the complicated nature of multicultural (and transitional) churches. Although the Anglo church has taken steps to reach out to the community there are still some challenges to overcome.

There are language barriers, cultural differences, socioeconomic disparity and more. While church members may be willing to make adjustments, the unchurched have no compelling reason to come to worship. So, the big challenge is the fact that the unchurched are…well…unchurched.

Just because a person comes for English classes and brings their kids for soccer doesn’t mean that they are agreeing to Sunday worship. It does, however, offer an opportunity to build a friendship. Multiple contacts over time and the working of the Holy Spirit are the keys to soul-winning.

If the prospects won’t come to church, they might attend a home-based Bible discussion group. They primary objective ought to be community building with light Bible discussion. As the group develops cohesiveness, more serious Bible study can be introduced.

There’s no guarantee that they will come to the Sunday morning main event but it does provide an opportunity for witness and discipleship.