Author: Russell Lightner

The next generation of ministry leaders won’t be found …

they will be forged through intentional investment

As Second Amarillo nears its 120th anniversary, it reflects on what was, what is, and what is to come

By the time the American frontier was officially closed in 1890, Amarillo had transitioned from a bustling Wild West town into a thriving hub of cattle shipping, and later a center for grain elevators, milling operations, and feed manufacturing. The population boomed as well, growing from just over 1,400 in 1900 to nearly 10,000 a decade later, according to the Texas Almanac.

At one point, three newspapers served the public, printing railroad timetables and carrying advertisements for goods ranging from clothing and dry goods to medicinal remedies. Amarillo ISD was formed in 1905, and a new courthouse and jail were completed a year later.

That same year, 1906, marked the founding of Second Baptist Church in Amarillo. To establish this mission of First Baptist Church, 20 charter members gathered in what the church website describes as “a humble frame building” at the corner of Fourth and Pierce streets. Over the past 120 years, the church has remained at that same location, though the facilities have been expanded and remodeled through the decades.

“We’ve always been right here,” said Larry Davis, who has served as senior pastor of Second Baptist the past two years.

The church will celebrate this milestone anniversary in October with a banquet, special worship services, guest singers and preachers, and representatives from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention.

“There’s a lot of history in this church,” Davis said, noting that the celebration will honor that legacy while looking toward the future.

Among those invited to the October celebration is Charlie Jones, who served as pastor for 32 years beginning in 1971, a time during which the congregation experienced significant growth. As part of the anniversary celebration, the church will recognize not only Jones but other former pastors who have faithfully served the congregation.

“Our church has been blessed with a strong history of long-tenured pastors,” Davis said.

After pastoring churches in Missouri and working with homeless veterans at a mission in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Davis and his wife, Sissi, sought God’s direction for their next place of ministry.

“The Lord answered the desires of my heart,” Davis said of Second Baptist. “This is one of the most loving churches we have ever been a part of. The church continues to grow, and people are excited about what God is doing. We have baptized 25 people during our first two years here.”

“This is one of the most loving churches we have ever been a part of. The church continues to grow, and people are excited about what God is doing. We have baptized 25 people during our first two years here.”

Senior Pastor Larry Davis Tweet

Outreach with intentionality

Intentional evangelism is a hallmark of the church.

“We are blessed with dedicated volunteers who truly desire to live out the will and work of God,” Davis said.

Outreach efforts take many forms.

“Last year, we took our first international mission trip in over 20 years,” Davis said. The trip ministered to churches in Brazil and resulted in 100 people praying to receive Christ.

Other efforts remain close to home. The church continues to host its annual VBS and fall festival, the latter drawing approximately 600 people for games, fellowship, and a gospel message in late October.

The latest Hope in the Park took place in March at Woodland Park. “For this event, we distributed 1,700 flyers to nearby homes, inviting families to the park and to our Easter service,” Davis said. Families enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs grilled by church volunteers, while police officers and firefighters brought squad cars and fire trucks for children to explore when the kids weren’t having fun in the bounce house. Fellowship and gospel conversations ensued. The church plans to host several such events throughout the year at local parks.

Outreach with a kick

The family life center is also home to a unique outreach through a karate program. Sensei Candy, a karate instructor, was seeking a space to hold classes when Sissi Davis connected with her. The church offered the use of its facilities with the understanding that each session would begin with prayer and that church volunteers could connect with families as opportunities arose.

Sensei Candy now attends Second Baptist, along with several families involved in the program.

“It’s an outreach God brought into our own building,” Davis said. “We want people to know they don’t have to go through life alone. We are here to walk alongside them.”

The church’s second annual karate tournament drew approximately 300 participants and spectators.

“Sharing the love of Christ and helping people become part of the body of Christ is central to what we do,” the pastor said, noting that some have even joined the church through additional programs such as a ladies’ exercise group.

Another popular ministry is the church’s Thursday night pickleball gathering, which offers open play, friendly competition, and an opportunity to connect with the community.

“We have a lot of fun,” Davis said. “We invite people to come, build relationships, and introduce them to the church. Many have come as a result.”

He added, “We are using every opportunity to reach people and share the gospel. Like the apostle Paul, we are willing to become all things to all people, that we might win a few.”

Prayer as the foundation

All of these efforts are grounded in prayer. On the second Wednesday of each month, the congregation gathers in the sanctuary for a dedicated prayer service.

“We ask for God’s favor,” Davis said. “He tells us to ask of Him, and He hears us. Too often we leave blessings untouched because we do not call on Him. God is able to do all things.”

“When Pastor Larry first came, he told us, ‘You all wear many hats,’” said Shelley Reid, the church’s children’s ministry director. Her husband, Galen, grew up in Amarillo and was raised at Second Baptist. The couple was married at the church, and their sons were baptized there.

Reid, who also serves on the anniversary planning committee, expressed excitement about the upcoming celebration.

“We have incredible volunteers,” she said. “They are faithful servants who love the Lord and are always willing to help wherever needed. We also have strong prayer support, and we know people are lifting up this church.”

Randall Byers serves in multiple roles at the church, including youth minister, director of television ministry, chief financial officer, and IT support. After a career in the health industry as a licensed paramedic, he now invests his time in ministry at Second Baptist.

“Over the years, I’ve seen many changes, as most churches have,” Byers said. “But through it all, the most important constant has been a shared commitment to faithfully follow God in every season.

“… I’ve had the privilege of serving under three pastors and witnessing decades of growth and a deepening understanding of our purpose,” Byers continued. “That purpose is clear—to serve God right here where He has placed us.

“My hope for the future is that evangelism will always remain at the forefront—that bringing people to Jesus and growing the kingdom of God will continue to define who we are and what we do.”

Chosen to Serve training carries with it a firm conviction: Healthy churches are served by healthy deacons

Bay Area Church is a large congregation located between Houston and Galveston in Southeast Texas. The church has a broad selection of ministries ranging from local benevolence and family ministries to church planting and missionary involvement in other countries, in addition to the usual selection of discipleship and fellowship opportunities for all ages.

Yet as church leaders considered ways to make their ministry more effective, they could see areas that needed shoring up. Their deacons were perhaps an underutilized resource as they focused on traditional roles such as widows ministry and serving the Lord’s Supper.

“[Those ministries] had been done in our church for a long time,” said John Eckeberger, a Bay Area deacon who also serves as the church’s pastor for missions and mobilization, “but there seemed to be a lot of gaps in service to our church that we’ve since asked the deacons to step into. It’s been a very positive thing.”

As he considered how the deacons might catch a revitalized vision for their service, Eckeberger thought of his friend, Jeff Lynn, who once pastored Yorktown Baptist Church down the road in Corpus Christi. Lynn moved from Yorktown to be senior strategist for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Church Health and Leadership team, a ministry area that includes deacon ministry.

Lynn saw a need and began developing a training tool called Chosen to Serve.

“I did a deep dive into what the Word said about deacons,” Lynn said. “There’s not really a job description for deacons. We infer a lot from Acts 6. We selected the title Chosen to Serve from that passage.

“This kind of broadens the understanding of the possibilities for service as a deacon. I think it’s an awareness—that’s what this training is for—that this is an office that functions to serve the church, though not to lead the church.”

When Bay Area’s deacons met with Lynn, the resource was in the testing and final development phase and the training manual that is now used had not yet been published. The manual has since been completed and is used by SBTC staff to train deacons in churches across the state.

The application of the training will be specific to churches applying its principles. One way Bay Area Church broadened the service of its deacons was through ministry teams. One team helps with the church’s benevolence ministry, another does fix-it jobs such as repairing fences that blow over during coastal storms, still another focuses on outreach, and there are several others. A recently launched ministry of deacon teams provides a short course in financial management for families.

“We really have challenged them,” Eckeberger said. “‘Figure out where you fit in this equation. Everybody needs to serve on a team, so pick a team that works for you and get after it.’ The challenge came from our time with Jeff, reminding them that we’re called to serve the church, not only to help widows.”

As part of his time with the deacons of Bay Area Church, Lynn also provided each deacon with a copy of Praying for Your Pastor by Billy Taylor. Eckeberger said his fellow deacons still talk about that book and its impact eight months after receiving it. These are also crucial parts of being a deacon—supporting the pastor and being spiritual men.

“Why,” Lynn emphasizes, “if all these seven men did was serve food, why was there such a premium on their spiritual nature, as we see in Acts 6 and 1 Timothy 3? All the other elements flow from the deacons being spiritual. We really do spend a lot of time on this spiritual element.”

One of the challenges Bay Area’s deacons faced prior to gathering for training and prayer was the sense they didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing. It led to a drop off in meeting attendance and general discouragement within that ministry body. Using Chosen to Serve has made a difference. Partly because of the size of their church and partly because of this expanding of their channels of service, the church is adding 15 men so it has 40 active deacons.

“I think it’s really been an encouragement [to our deacons]. ... There’s a different attitude in the meetings.”

John Eckeberger Tweet

“I think it’s really been an encouragement to them,” Eckeberger said. “I mean, there’s a different attitude in the meetings. In fact, I was just going over our agenda this morning because we meet this Sunday, and three of the things on the agenda are service-oriented. And that’s changed from two years ago.”

“I don’t think most deacons are aware of the potency of their ministry,” Lynn added. “I think a training like this broadens their understanding of what they do to stabilize the church, to work as a team. We’ve trained hundreds of deacons already. Can you imagine the extrapolated effect of that across Texas? I mean, I think healthy churches are served by healthy deacons.”

Interested in Chosen to Serve training? Email jlynn@sbtexas.com.

5 minutes: Q&A with Afshin Ziafat

Afshin Ziafat, lead pastor of Providence Church in Frisco, was born in Houston but moved with his family to their native country of Iran when he was two years old. His family returned to Houston when he was six, during the Iranian Islamic Revolution. As a high school senior, Ziafat became a Christian while reading a Bible an elementary school tutor had given him years earlier. His family disowned him because of his faith in Christ. Ziafat and his wife, Meredith, have three young children.

What is something Providence Church has been able to celebrate recently?

This past year we celebrated 20 years of our church. It was very special to look back and remember all that God has done in and through our body of believers. It inspires us greatly to continue seeking the Lord for more of His kingdom in our lives and extending through us to our community.

What do you want American Christians to know about the current conflict in Iran?

Although war is never something we desire and there are many debates online surrounding the conflict, the truth remains that God is sovereign over all the affairs of the world. Our desire is to pray for safety for all nations involved but also to pray for freedom for the people of Iran. I would want people to make sure they separate in their minds the people of Iran from the government of Iran. The people of Iran are some of the warmest and most hospitable people in the world.

How can American Christians be praying for Iranians, including fellow brothers and sisters in Christ?

The people of Iran have suffered 47 years of oppression under this Islamic regime, and yet one of the fastest growing underground churches in the world is in Iran. Our prayer is that a new day will dawn where these courageous believers will be able to spread the gospel openly without fear of retribution from the government.

What is a challenge Providence is facing?

We have been blessed to see God move in powerful ways as we have been a thriving and growing church. We have planted churches over the years and will continue to do so. To increase our capacity to reach more and send more people out, we have purchased land and are moving four miles to a new church site. There are many challenges as we are in the process of this expansion over the next year and would covet prayers for wisdom, guidance, and provision.

What’s one thing you’ve learned to this point of your ministry that you know you’ll never forget?

I have learned that God is bigger than anything I face. He sees the big picture and no obstacle stands in the way of His purposes. It is a joy to know that He sees the big picture and is in control. It reminds me to not keep looking ahead for my satisfaction but look to Him and enjoy the process of ministry.

How can SBTC churches be praying for Providence Church?

We would be so honored for you to pray for us to continue to be faithful to unashamedly proclaim the gospel and the whole counsel of God’s Word, that God would continue to make us a disciple-making church that pursues maturity.

5 minutes: Q&A with Beth Holder

Beth Holder and her husband, Phil, have served at Friendship Baptist Church in Beaumont for eight years. Phil is the church’s senior pastor. Beth, an elementary school special education inclusion teacher, leads a women’s Bible study and is involved with other ministries. The Holders have two married children.

What’s something you are celebrating at Friendship Baptist Church?

We’ve been praying about an apartment outreach ministry for some time. There are several apartment complexes around our location. We have not had any open doors until this year. In mid-January, we were able to start a Bible study at a complex. The manager has been very helpful and has even promoted it to residents and prospective residents. Adults and children attend, and we have been able to start planting seeds and sharing the gospel. The children have especially absorbed the Bible stories. It is a joy to see their interest and awe in the stories they have never heard before.

What are some things you are praying will happen at Friendship over the next year?

I am praying for God to use the apartment ministry and our food pantry to reach more people and that they will come to know Jesus. I am also praying God will send committed families to our church that are called to join us in the work of reaching our community. I am also praying God will strengthen our members and give them energy and passion to keep working to reach the community around us. They work hard, and I pray God will allow them to see some of the results of their labor.

What are some of the challenges of being a pastor’s wife others may not recognize?

I laugh when I am asked this question. I grew up as a pastor’s kid and said I would never marry a pastor. Despite being in a wonderful home with parents who sheltered me and my brother from many church difficulties, I saw challenges that I didn’t care to have. God has a sense of humor! One of the challenges others may not recognize is the loneliness of the pastor’s wife. So often it seems she has many friends because she interacts with many people, but the reality is that the pastor’s wife has few close friends with whom she can be completely open and honest. Another challenge is the assumption she knows everything about the church and its members. She does not. Another of the greatest challenges facing the small church pastor’s wife is weariness. She holds many responsibilities, some chosen and some by default. She often works outside the home while still fulfilling church and family responsibilities.

What’s the best piece of advice you have received about your calling?

In the midst of an extremely difficult time of ministry, my father said to me, “Don’t miss what God has for you, even in this.” I have tried to heed that advice in all circumstances—good, bad, hard, easy, etc. That is also advice I have passed on to others, especially fellow pastors’ wives. No matter what season we are in, God has something for us. If we aren’t focused on Him, we will miss it.

How can SBTC churches be praying for you, your church, and your ministry?

Pray that God will give us strength, energy, and passion to continue outreach efforts, and that God will direct us in those efforts. It is our prayer to experience growth through new believers, be a positive light in our community, strengthen the body we have, and glorify God.

Doing ‘the next right thing’

MinistrySafe training offers churches a step-by-step process to minimize the risk of sexual abuse

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The power of small things

We recently had a small crisis at our house: The adhesive glue that bonds our kitchen sink to the countertop stopped adhering, causing the sink to collapse down into the cabinet below and severing the drain pipe in the process. Repairs were delayed for several days due to the lingering effects of the January ice storm, which brought with it below-freezing temperatures for nearly 80 straight hours.

The sunk sink—which left us washing dishes in a bathtub for several days—wasn’t the only problem. We still needed to drip that kitchen faucet to keep the pipes from freezing. Since the dripping water had no way to drain, we decided to catch it in a large, plastic storage container that we would just have to empty every few hours.

Dumping that container in the mornings after the faucet had been dripping all night was an especially loathsome task. The water would slosh back and forth and, despite my best efforts, splash over the edge of the container and onto the living room floor as I awkwardly shuffled to the bathroom tub to empty it.

But each time I poured out that water, something occurred to me. The container, now half full and heavy, started with a single drop. And then another. And then another … until it was something much more formidable.

Yes, you know where I’m going with this. You should. We all should. It’s not rocket science. We know the little things add up. And yet somehow, I continually forget this. I want what I want, and I want it now. I want more money in savings. I want to lose a few pounds. I want to read more books. Unfortunately, now only comes in one size, and it’s not little drops.

It’s March, which means for many, the goals and resolutions set at the end of December (or on the morning of Jan. 1) have long been forgotten. When this happens to me, I look back and realize some of the goals I set at the beginning of the year weren’t as important as I once thought. But others do matter and I want to reclaim them. My sink crisis served as yet another God-given reminder that finding momentum to accomplish my goals and dreams begins not with a downpour, but with a few small drops. It’s a dollar in savings. It’s one less fast food meal. It’s setting a 10-minute timer to finally start chipping away at the book I bought two years ago. These things add up.

I can’t help but think about God’s Word. For many of us, it feels as unwieldy as trying to walk with a sloshing container full of water. The Bible covers thousands of years of human history and parts can be difficult to understand. And yet, it’s miraculously simple and accessible to anybody.

We don’t talk about this much, but churches are full of people who are ashamed of what they perceive as their lack of biblical knowledge, and they’re scared to death someone will ask them a question they might not be able to answer. I suppose that’s just where Satan wants us—intimidated, tentative, and distant from God and His truth.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. The reality is, God’s Word is for you. Not just the scholars. Not just the experts. It’s for you.

All you’ve got to do to start owning that truth is to drip the faucet. God will provide the increase.

The idea is to remain faithful

Editor’s note: Ken Wells is senior pastor of Northview Baptist Church in Lewisville. He recently shared part of his testimony with the Texan’s Gary Ledbetter.

n 1980, I was working in a grocery store when I got a call from my wife’s home church asking if I would preach for their homecoming. I said, “Sure.” I did, and then a few months later, the pastor came into the store where I was assistant manager, saying, “Hey, would you fill in for me this coming Sunday? I’m going to go hunting.” I’d been to Bible college and was comfortable doing that. It turns out his hunting trip was hunting a new church.

Well, he came back, resigned, and took a church in Oklahoma. The church immediately called me, and I was just 23. I’d only been married for a few months, and I had been on a staff in a small church. I probably had more students in my student ministry than in that little church [Northview Baptist Church in Lewisville] had counting everybody. I said, “Well, y’all need to find somebody older.” I figured somebody like who I am now, in their 50s or 60s.

The church had been through some rough times, so they did look at some other men. They had two or three other pastors come in and preach for them. Finally, about January of ’81, they called me and said, “Look, we knew back in August you’d be our next pastor.”

Well, now I had 20 people, and they handed me a lot of keys that nobody knew what they went to. They said, “We think this one opens the front door.” They said yes, I said yes. Then I said, “By the way, am I going to get paid? I hadn’t asked the question; I just assumed God was going to take care of me. They said, “Well, we have $50 a week and there’s an old house down the street, but we don’t have any money to fix it up. If you want to fix it up, you’re welcome to move into it, but we do have $50 a week. We suggest you keep your full-time grocery job.” The 20 people at Northview were doing all they could just to keep the doors open. The bank was even threatening to foreclose.

But by May, we had raised the money to pay off the loan and burn the note. Our next highlight was to begin giving to missions, just 3% to the association at first. But from that business meeting, for the next 13 weeks in a row, we had somebody saved, baptized, or join the church. They had not seen that in years and years. I credit the fact that we stepped out in faith and said, “We’re going to support missions.” We did, and God blessed it.

“My ministry verse is 1 Timothy 1:12: ‘I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He judged me faithful, appointing me to His service.’ I think the idea is to remain faithful.”

—Ken Wells Tweet

It was very exciting during those times. Obviously we didn’t just grow by leaps and bounds. As you hear at some churches, the pastor gets there and it goes from 0 to 200 people in a year. We didn’t do that, but we got to where we were hitting 30 and 40 and 50 and 60 pretty regularly. We were bumping that 100 mark—that magic 100 mark. But we were starting to do that fairly regularly. It was good.

It got so that I had to quit my grocery store job, my main source of income. At that point, I began to substitute in the local school system until the church was ready to support us full time.

That was 45 years ago this February. This is the only church I’ve pastored. We’ve seen Northview go through a lot of changes. Through the years, we’ve added a 500-seat auditorium. We’ve finished, a few years ago, 25,000 square feet of education space. I remember when I came, the church was looking for $500 or $600 a Sunday to keep the budget going.

We’ve also added a Hispanic church that is running around 250 each Sunday—I think they baptized more than we did last year. Our church reaches probably 700 families though a ministry that provides clothing and food that started in a house we bought across the street and now has spread to five locations in Denton, Carrollton, and our own Lewisville.

In February, I announced my retirement to be effective in May. My wife Teresa and I are staying at Northview—our kids are here, our grandkids (three, with one on the way), my mother-in-law lives right next door to the church, and Lewisville is our hometown. I hope to continue as chaplain for our fire and police departments, a role I’ve enjoyed for nearly 45 years as well.

My ministry verse is 1 Timothy 1:12: “I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He judged me faithful, appointing me to His service.” I think the idea is to remain faithful.