FBC North Channel serves Rio Grande Valley congregations with upgrades

PREMONT—For 18 adults and youth from Houston’s First Baptist of North Channel, the days after Christmas 2012 involved much more than shopping and football. The group headed south to minister in the Rio Grande Valley near Falfurrias. First Baptist of Premont was among two Baptist churches to benefit from what has become a semi-annual mission trip to the area surrounding Alice.

“This was our fifth time down to the Alice/Falfurrias area,” said Ken Durham, North Channel pastor. “We’ve gone three times after Christmas and twice in the summer.”

The effort began over three years ago when Alice area pastor Lupe Martinez told his future son-in-law, Steven Hammock, then North Channel’s youth minister, about the needs of churches in the Valley. Mike O’Neill, director of missions of the Coastal Bend Baptist Association, later became involved as a point person linking churches in need of assistance with North Channel.

Planning for this year’s trip began last summer, when Durham contacted O’Neill to inquire about area needs.

“It takes a good bit of planning,” Durham said. “We not only supply the labor, we supply all the materials for whatever construction work we do.” Depending upon the job, materials may be purchased in the Houston area or locally in the Valley.

“We have put roofs on two churches in that area and one time we brought all the materials from Houston,” Durham said. “The next time, the roof [project] was so large that we had to have the materials delivered from Robstown to the church in Alice [which received the roof].”

For this year’s North Channel team of seven adults and 11 youth, it would be toilets, not roofs, which would be replaced at First Baptist Premont. The group painted Sunday School classrooms, the fellowship hall and the Pioneer Clubs room. They installed ceiling fans and replaced seven antiquated commodes. They also conducted a winter Bible school for local children on three evenings.

“We are very thankful for their work and to have met them,” said Barbara Rice, wife of the Premont pastor. “They came, worked and left and wouldn’t accept any payment for all the fixtures or the work they accomplished.”     

“They went all out,” added Rick Rice, pastor of First Baptist Premont. “It was absolutely fantastic. We appreciate them so much.”

Rice was initially concerned about expenses and hesitated to let the North Channel group tackle all the work needed at Premont. Durham reassured him that labor and materials would be provided without cost.

“I reminded him [Brother Rice] that we’ve put two roofs on churches down there and what he was wanting to do was a drop in the bucket financially compared to what other churches have needed,” Durham recalled.

“I told them I’d have to see about appropriating funds for the work,” Rice said. “Their pastor said, ‘The way we work is we do the work. We shake hands. That’s it.’”

North Channel member Jim Elliott, who has spent the last 26 years as an automotive teacher at Houston’s North Shore Senior High, is a regular on the North Channel Valley mission trip and typifies the level of expertise of some of the volunteers. “I can do just about anything as far as wood work or metal work. I can weld. I work on cars, I can build a house. I have built several rooms on houses. I’m not rich, so I can help people with my hands. I don’t mind doing just about anything,” said Elliott, who added, “God has blessed me.”

Elliott’s 20-year old granddaughter accompanied the North Channel group this year, an added blessing to the longtime volunteer.

When asked about funding, Durham explained that North Channel participants pay $40 apiece to go on the Valley mission trip. Since at least half of the volunteers are from the youth department, some funding comes from the church’s youth mission budget. Donations from people inside and outside the church make up the rest—helping to provide materials, food and gas.

The painting and facilities upgrade was exactly what the older congregation at Premont needed. So was the winter Bible school held during the evenings of Dec. 26-28.

The entire North Channel group is involved in both the Bible school and construction. “We all do everything,” Durham said, explaining his role in planning, gathering materials and facilitating the work. “The crew does a lot of the work and I am there to make sure they have what they need.”

At Premont’s winter Bible school, the team used curriculum from Go Fish. “Our youth run the recreation, the arts and crafts and the snack part,” Durham said. “My wife traditionally teaches the Bible story.” A little boy who attends Premont’s Pioneer Clubs accepted Christ at winter Bible school.
The team even gives out five “practically new” bicycles as rewards for attendance and participation in the Bible school. A volunteer fireman and member of North Channel makes this generosity possible through his access to a corporate program providing bikes to needy kids.

“One little boy 10 years old won the last bike we had this year,” Durham recalled. The boy already had a bike and didn’t really need another. At first, he considered giving it to his little brother, who was not yet old enough for a bike.

“One of the other participants was actually crying because he wanted to win the bicycle,” Durham said. Before the end of the night, the older boy had given the bike to the child who so badly wanted it.

“Every time we go we are looking forward to being able to bless some folks, but we end up being blessed ourselves,” Durham said, recalling the bike incident.

“My heart goes out to the community. I know they have fallen on hard times,” Elliott said. “The spirits of these people are enormous. They keep on trying to do what they can for the Lord. There is gratification [in helping them].”

North Channel intends to go on helping. Mission trips to the Valley and the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma are on the docket for 2013, as is a mission trip to Guatemala this summer. The purpose of the latter will be to build concrete ovens for mountain dwelling families who only cook over open fires.
“They die at a young age inhaling the smoke all their lives,” said Durham, who explained that the concrete block ovens will be bought and constructed on site and donated to families. The trip to Guatemala will also incorporate medical missions work. Elliott plans to participate.

As for North Channel’s lasting contribution to Premont? “They did an incredible job. We will be forever grateful!” Barbara Rice exclaimed.