A word from your missions office
By HEITH MITCHELL
I ran across this verse last week, “Where no oxen [are], the trough [is] clean; But much increase [comes] by the strength of an ox” (Proverbs 14:4 NKJV).
I’ve read over it many times but I haven’t seen it. It is a blessing to me because it speaks of our servent roll of taking care of missionaries. I see several things in this passage.
- We can have messy and productive ministry or clean and fruitless ministry but we can’t have neat, tidy, safe and productive ministry. I know that’s a lot to take in, but isn’t it true? I love Solomon’s logic: “You gotta pick between a clean barn or a productive crop.” The Lord has called each of us to roll up our sleeves and get dirty beside real people making disciples of real people. Real ministry is messy!
- We are responsible for keeping the trough full. Missionaries should engage lostness by bringing the Gospel and taking nothing from the Gentiles (3 John 7). We are making sure that called men and their families can eat and live while they share the gospel.
- We have to make sure that the missionary families are cared for. I grew up on a dairy farm. Dairy cattle and oxen have this in common, they poop where they eat and stay. The stable and manger will soon get unsanitary and compromise the animals health if it isn’t regularly cleaned. Your missionaries need training, accountability, fellowship, prayer, resourcing and encouragement in order to stay healthy. (Paul received all these things from the churches that supported him.) This is why they have a sponsor church, Texas Missions team, your church, and you.
Ironically, I spent my early life shoveling and cleaning the barn. God has me in that same roll now. He has given me and the Texas Missions team the burden to take care of missionaries so we can see:
PROJECT 2029
100 New Churches/10 years
- That we see an aggressive multiplication movement of churches who make disciples, equip and release leaders, and start churches for the glory of God and the advancement of his Kingdom Mission
- That each new mission begin with a plan to begin three new churches in their first 10 years
- That pastors and churches of the association be encouraged and equipped to start new churches
- That we connect, evaluate, identify and train new prospective church planters
I would love to come and share Texas Missions with your church or association. I have open dates and look forward to hearing from you.
A word from your missionaries
Jaime Garcia – Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida Mission, Gilmer/Mesquite
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that, having always in all things all that is sufficient, you may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). Thank you for participating in the missionary work and continue to pray for all the missionaries and their families so that God will have more opportunities to present Christ perfect to every man. Blessings to you all.
Prayer Needs:
Once again I thank you very much that you are a great supporter of missions. Help me pray for the response time of the people and for the Antioquia Church and Shiloe Baptist Church that God can do great things in every person that is directly involved or in some other way.
Chris Driver – West Texas Multiplication Network/Texas Missionary Care
There has been a big change in the West Texas Network. We have a full-time network leader…me! I recently resigned my pastorate at Fifth Street, Levelland to focus on reaching west Texas for Christ. It wasn’t as easy as that makes it sound. I love my church and I love our people. But God has grown the network faster than I ever could have expected and the balance between the church and the network was more than I could do. I have learned over the years that if it’s right for me to be in one place, then it’s also right for me to not be in the another. That gives me great confidence that God is going to be just as active at Fifth Street in our new season there as He will be in the network and our next steps there. I am now able to focus on getting the members of our plants the training they need to reach their communities. I am also working with several pastors in other towns to get them the same training! It’s pretty exciting to see God’s glory returning to towns that haven’t seen it in so many years! Please continue to for new contacts in new towns as well as for partnerships with pastors of little churches that still have a heart to reach their communities. It’s a big work but we serve a big God!
Prayer Needs:
Pray for new multiplication circles that are starting with our plants as well as with several existing churches. Also, pray for a person of peace in the town of Sundown as well as the young man I met in Lazbuddie.
Matthew Prather – The Bridge Mission, Midlothian/Waxahachie
Easter Sunday we celebrated the grand opening of our new building. It is great to have a place to call home and no longer moving from one building to the next. A lot of time and energy went into getting the building ready for Easter Sunday. On Easter Sunday we had about 130 in attendance and had some give their life to Christ! We celebrate what God is doing at The Bridge. We seek to use this new building as a tool to reach new people. We also were able to partner with a local school and host an Easter egg hunt allowing us to make many new connections. Continue to pray for us as we continue to strive to reach our community and build relationships with those around us. Thank you for your continued support and prayers.
Prayer Needs:
Pray that we find an associate.
Cristian Martinez – Grace Harvest Baptist Mission, Lubbock
We have been working towards bringing individuals and families together to experience life in Christian community. Why is this so important?
Jesus, who is the head of the church body, gave us the command to make disciples of all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Triune God and teach them to obey all things Jesus taught. If we want to teach the disciples to obey everything that Christ has commanded us, that includes practicing the “one-another-commands” taught by Jesus and reminded by the apostles (Jn. 6:43; Ro. 12:6; Jn. 13:34; Ro. 12:10). It is not possible to obey Jesus without being part of a local church. Jesus desires that his disciples grow in love, holiness, unity and humility as they live in community practicing the “one-another-commands.” It is by obeying those commands in the context of the local church that Christ is followed, disciples mature and reproduce. In the biblical model ministry happens in life and discipleship happens in community.
Please pray with us that God would bring people into reconciliation with Him and unity with His family.
Prayer Needs:
Praise the Lord for my legal status completion. Pray for my wife’s pregnancy to be completed soon.
Neptaly Molina – Iglesia Bautista Mission, Nacogdoches
We have had contact with three Puerto Rican families. Ricardo, Miledy, Santoyo Javier and Cristal and Gloria and Pedro, I am already starting the initial discipleship with Gloria and Pedro and three children.
Prayer Needs:
Please pray for us, for the growth of the work, new families, and those we already have.Please for my health, and spiritual and emotional nuture of myself and my family.Pray for our documents.Pray for our studies at the seminary in Jacksonville and the end of the semester. Pray for a new Hispanic work in Marshall.Pray for Venezuela.
Isaias Rojas Osechas – Church Plant in Spring
We request prayer because every day that passes and we as a couple also increase the work of evangelization and discipleship more.
Thank you for your support and financial support and your prayers.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for a vehicle to mobilize and establish more appointments in the new homes and a more functional residence for the disciple meetings.
Cliff Robertson – Carpenter’s House Mission – Lake Jackson/Clute
We must continue to reach out to the community. We can never grow complacent or allow ourselves to become weary in well-doing. It’s not about numbers as much as it is about reaching the lost for Christ. If our church is full of saved people, then we need to be equipping them to reach the lost and then sending them out… so that we might reach the lost and dark world.
Prayer Needs:
Pray that as we grow, God sends the volunteers and we are effective at raising up leaders to help us go to the next level.
Gamalier Luna – Mission in El Paso
Dear shepherd, do not give up, God is good and will bless you.
Prayer Needs:
Always pray for strength, encouragement and passion for the Kingdom of God.
Lee (nickname) – BMA Texas Missionary among Arabic Refugees, Richardson
“For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man also shall be ashamed of him, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
In last two months, I don’t have new families except two, Reda’s family, and Ali’s family, and three youth girls Mariam( Marie ) Noor and Aseel. I knew them through a picnic by a school for Arab refugees. l was invited to share my testimony with them. It was a great day with a big challenge. There were about 85 Adults and more than 150 children. I communicated with them after the picnic through the phone, and I took appointments from them.
I invited two of the families I knew before to the picnic with their children. They were so happy and they asked me to keep doing activities like this.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Lee as he recovers from surgery and cancer.
Mike Watt – Crosswork Mission, Tahoka
Tornadoes just hit our small town. We were fortunate to be missed by most of the destruction.
Prayer Needs:
Pray we can be ready to meet needs and share Jesus.
Spencer Simpson – Redeemer’s Love Mission, Houston
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. We are excited to see what God will do this summer as we begin membership classes and grow our various discipleship groups.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for the hearts of our regulars and future members that the Lord would prepare them to be actively seeking out and making disciples. We have been building for the last seven months to the point and we are praying that we see the fruit. We are also in need of a person willing to lead us in worship. We want them to be someone that is a part of our mission, not just someone we hire to come play and sing. It’s important that they are a part of us.
Ronnie Mills – Kingdom Chapel Mission, Saginaw/North Fort Worth
BMA family, we are so thankful for your prayers and support. We are thoroughly enjoying this journey as a new church and we know that we would not be where we are today without all the encouragement, love and support from all of you. Thank you!
Prayer Needs:
Please pray for our staffing progression.
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