English
Korean
Spanish
While I hope you read the Texan from cover to cover every time it hits your mailbox, there’s a particular story in this month’s issue I don’t want you to miss.
I won’t steal all its thunder here, but within these pages you’ll find an article about South Euless Baptist Church, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. It’s not a large church (most of our Southern Baptists of Texas Convention churches, in fact, are not), but this church has a huge heart for telling people about Jesus. Most Sundays after church, when many of us are hurrying home to watch football or racing to restaurants to beat the “church crowd,” a group of South Euless members rushes out to local parks and other locations to evangelize.
That fact alone, though encouraging, may not move the needle for you. But here’s what should: during one of those Sunday park visits last year, one of the church’s members–the pastor’s wife, as a matter of fact—shared the gospel with a homeless woman who decided to turn her life over to Christ on the spot.
A few weeks later, that homeless woman died.
So many thoughts ran through my mind when I first read this article:
What would have happened had this church not been so committed to sharing the gospel?
"This magazine’s mandate in 2024 is the same: we’re going to continue to tell the stories of what God is doing in and through the lives of His people in SBTC churches."
What an impactful ministry this church is engaged in!
What a great God we serve, who would allow these two women to meet at the right place at the right time!
What a story.
Days later, I was still thinking about the homeless woman. I found myself wanting to know more about her. I wondered about the circumstances that brought her to the park that day. I wondered if she had ever heard about Jesus before that moment. I wondered if she ever thought she’d escape the tormenting cycle of poverty that traps so many.
Regardless of the answers to those questions, this I know: she’s never been better than she is today, living in the eternal and perfect presence of our God and Creator.
From the time this woman opened her eyes at birth, Jesus was writing her story. That story included incredibly difficult chapters, but surely it included some good ones, too. At the same time, Jesus was writing the story of the pastor’s wife. I’d venture to say she will always remember the day God introduced her to that woman in the park. It will always be a significant point on the timeline of her life.
Jesus is writing your story today. You may be in the middle of one of those tough chapters, but He is still there, offering to guide you through it. You may be in the middle of season of celebration. You may be in a season of doubt, of wonder, of purpose.
This magazine’s mandate in 2024 is the same: we’re going to continue to tell the stories of what God is doing in and through the lives of His people in SBTC churches. Throughout the year, you’ll find articles featuring people who are willing to share how Jesus is writing their story.
As He writes your story, or as you reflect on some of your previous chapters that illustrate His goodness, we’d love to hear from you and share those stories with our readers. When we do that, we will not only encourage and equip one another, but we will shine a light on the One whose story the whole world needs to hear.
Happy New Year!
