Author: Russell Lightner

Five minutes with Alyssa Whitehurst

Alyssa Whitehurst has served on staff at Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview since 2019 as minister to women, focusing on Bible literacy, multi-gen community, and intentional care ministries. Alyssa and husband, Kyle, enjoy spending their free time outdoors hiking, kayaking, BBQing, and enjoying good food, museum exploring, and landscape photography.

What’s one victory in the Mobberly women’s ministry you have celebrated recently?

One thing I continue to celebrate and thank God for is the foundation and longevity of our women’s ministry to one another and to the community. For example, we recently celebrated our Widow to Widow Ministry’s 20th anniversary. This group of women has experienced profound loss and yet finds the desire to serve and comfort other women with the comfort and generous love God has shown them. We have had women all over East Texas ask if they can join this group and others who have come to observe how to launch similar ministries in their churches

What’s one challenge you are facing?

Our church is very blessed to have a healthy cross section of many generations attending. One of the unique challenges is spending enough time observing how each generation engages with volunteerism, their communication styles/preferences, and their responsiveness to those outside of their peer groups. I find the most successful way to nurture a shared goal of multi-gen ministry is through one-on-one conversations and asking people directly to be a part of the solution.

What’s one thing you are praying will happen in the women’s ministry over the coming year?

We are in the process of launching our crisis pregnancy mentoring ministry to the community in partnership with Lifeline Children’s Services. I have been so encouraged by the overwhelming support of our congregation as we seek to step in as friends to women who need to know the impact of Christ. We have been able to help women begin healing from past unplanned pregnancies and abortions, and we are working with at-risk youth to prevent future unplanned pregnancies. We pray that this year we can become a beacon of hope to East Texas, that community agencies will call on us to partner with them, and that sister churches will join us in this work.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned to this point of your life and ministry you know you’ll never forget?

You cannot lead people where you are not willing to go yourself. You must dive in first if you want them to dive deep into His Word. You must let the potter do His shaping work in you if you want others to desire to be conformed to His image. You must learn to wait with increasing faith if you want them to enter seasons of suffering or waiting with steadfastness. Your life gives credibility to your message.

How can the churches of the SBTC be praying for you and your ministry?

My husband and I are stepping into a new season as first-time parents through domestic infant adoption. Pray that God’s name will be made known and all glory will be given to Him through our family and the ministry labors of Mobberly women.

We give so others can go

Editor’s note: In celebration of the Cooperative Program’s 100th anniversary, the Texan is including in each issue this year a testimony from a pastor explaining why his church gives through and believes in CP. The following was authored by Scott Maze, senior pastor of Cross Church DFW in North Richland Hills.

We give because of international missions.

Our church gives through the Cooperative Program because of three couples serving worldwide with the International Mission Board. Yes, thousands serve with the IMB, but these three are special to us. Each of these three couples has spent significant time being a part of our church family before living abroad. One couple serves in Central Asia, while two others serve in Southeast Asia.

I recently read an update where one couple shared the message of Christmas to a predominantly Muslim population. One of the other couples has recently shared significant gospel progress in a mountain village where Jesus’ name is little known. They have worked this area for over 15 years with little success, but that’s changing. Recently, a Buddhist father has finally embraced Christ by faith. He shares his testimony of his newfound faith in Jesus with arms spread wide as he speaks of Jesus on a cross. His enthusiasm is striking in a village where nearly every home has a small shrine to Buddha. Our church gives so they can share the good news of Jesus in these resistant areas.

We give to train future ministers.

Our church gives through the Cooperative Program so thousands of young people can be trained for ministry in one of Southern Baptists’ six seminaries. A quick comparison of Gateway, Southwestern, Southern, New Orleans, Midwestern, and Southeastern seminaries shows these are among the most attended theological schools in the nation. While nearly every other denomination’s schools declined in attendance, SBC schools witnessed a 14% increase between 2003-2022.

Besides their excellence in biblical training, one of the reasons these six seminaries are among the largest in the U.S. is because of the reduced cost of tuition provided by the generosity of churches through the Cooperative Program. These schools are among the least expensive seminaries because we all give. While no church could operate even one of these schools independently, collectively we can impact so many young lives. Churches need staff members, pastors, and missionaries who know the gospel well in order to start and build churches around the globe.

We give to plant new, evangelistic churches.

We give through the Cooperative Program so North American Mission Board church planters can give their lives to starting hundreds of churches across North America. Experienced Christians know new works are more effective at reaching new people for Christ. Many of our denominations’ recent baptisms are due to efforts by fresh new churches dotting the North American landscape. These churches freshly contextualize the gospel so that many people say yes to Christ. We need these new churches, and our church counts it as a privilege to give to provide salary, benefits, and costs so churches can thrive.

All these are reasons why our church family has more than doubled the amount of money we give through the Cooperative Program in the past decade.

What’s your Cooperative Program story?

Post your story to your social channels and use #cp100story.

‘Kindness outreaches’ are being used to help build bridges between planters, communities

Many of us have experienced it: the unexpected blessing when someone ahead of you in the drive-thru pays for your coffee or an unknown benefactor covers the cost of your restaurant meal.

Unexpected blessings. Random acts of kindness.

Since 1995, the U.S. has celebrated a national Random Acts of Kindness Day on Feb. 17. Today, churches are finding that acts of kindness need not be random at all, but rather, intentional acts to share the love of Christ.

Austin Cooper, outreach and connection pastor of Greenwood Baptist Church in Weatherford, has been leading kindness outreaches at the church for 15 years, even before he came on staff in June 2011.

As a college student, Cooper felt the call to ministry, but not as a youth worker, music minister, or lead pastor. A member of Greenwood since 2000, Cooper recognized the “outward-focused DNA” of the church and began small initiatives to reach the community through kindness in 2010.

“Simple acts of kindness show God’s love in practical ways … and lead to gospel conversations,” Cooper said.

The church started with small outreaches like dollar car washes. “People came in and we washed their car for free. Then we gave them a dollar,” Cooper said. “We told them that God’s grace is free but must be accepted like you are accepting this dollar. There are no strings attached.”

The kindness outreaches were a pretty big hit with the church right off the bat, Cooper said. Within a year, the church voted to call Cooper on staff.

Greenwood has found plenty of ways to show the kindness of Christ to its community. Raking leaves. Washing the windows of businesses. Handing out cold sodas at traffic lights. Giving away bottles of bubbles at the park. Even cleaning toilets at gas stations. Greenwood members have served Jesus by serving others, always making their purpose of sharing Christ known.

“We believe in getting churches outside the four walls,” Cooper said. Pastors and leaders of other churches heard about the kindness outreaches and asked for help in starting their own kindness ministries. Cooper developed materials and, with Greenwood members, offered training.

“We just started training churches as much as we could whenever we could,” Cooper said. “We trained churches in Weatherford, Tennessee, Florida, Louisiana, even New York City.”

“We learned some of the philosophy for outreach to care for people: how to serve them rather than getting them to serve you. It’s an outward focus to bless them, rather than getting them to bless you through attendance.”

—Bracken Arnhart Tweet

Kindness as a tool

Around 2019, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention approached Cooper to assist in training church planters in kindness outreach ministry. When COVID hit, in-person visits shifted to online video training.

“COVID helped people understand that if they don’t reach out, they die as a church. Outreach became foremost in people’s minds,” Cooper said.

Today, Cooper offers a four-week Kindness Cohort training via a series of 45-minute video calls. He provides written materials to cohort participants, including suggestions for kindness outreach events. To date, pastors and leaders from more than 450 churches have been through the training.

Greenwood has seen significant growth as well, with 450 baptized over the past two years.

“We have seen fruit,” Cooper said. “This type of outreach can get your people excited about outward focused things.”

Bracken Arnhart, founding planter of Hope Church in Robinson, near Waco, said the Kindness Cohort training has been helpful in starting a new congregation. Hope Church launched formally in December 2023, and Arnhart participated in the Kindness Cohort training in early 2024.

“We learned some of the philosophy for outreach to care for people: how to serve them rather than getting them to serve you,” Arnhart said. “It’s an outward focus to bless them, rather than getting them to bless you through attendance.”

Hope Church, which averages 70 in attendance, has seen steady growth. Among the kindness outreaches its members have conducted are distributing flowers to moms with kids at the park on Mother’s Day and going door-to-door to bless dads with a candy bar and a card for Father’s Day.

“We have dropped off donuts at local businesses,” Arnhart said. Hope members also distributed solar glasses during the last eclipse, handed out animal balloons at Robinson’s National Night Out, and sponsored a student lunch at the local community college.

On Feb. 22, Hope members spent a Saturday at Robinson’s only coffee shop handing out gospel cards and greetings along with free cups of coffee to customers.

Some beneficiaries have visited the church, but that’s not the only purpose.

“We’re new here. We are building a rapport with the community, so the community knows we are here to serve them and we are here to stay,” Arnhart said.

Kindness as a bridge

Kindness outreaches at Sweet Fellowship Church in Yantis, north of Tyler in East Texas, began early on since its founding in November 2021 as a result of livestreamed sermons preached by Pastor Perry Crisp during COVID.

Once pandemic restrictions eased, Crisp found enough online followers to begin Sweet Fellowship on Lake Fork, where the resort community was ready for in-person contact.

The congregation, which today numbers around 120, first met in parks and a vacant church building practically gifted to them and which they have recently outgrown. They hope to build on 13 acres they bought.

Crisp participated in a Kindness Cohort in spring 2022 and was immediately drawn to the concept.

“I was fascinated by it. Starting a new church, you find bridges to the community. You have to find a way to have conversations with people,” he said. Kindness outreaches provided opportunities.

“In our East Texas culture, kindness is one of the last bridges we have left to enter into gospel conversations,” Crisp said, explaining that most East Texans—raised in a heavily churched culture—claim they are Christians already.

“We are able to almost shock people with kindness. It gets them off their usual pattern of conversation and makes people more willing to listen. You are not asking anything of them. You are giving something to them.”

—Perry Crisp Tweet

“If that were the case, our churches would be full,” Crisp said, adding that Cooper’s counsel to “show God’s love in a practical way” resonates with people.

“We are able to almost shock people with kindness,” Crisp said. “It gets them off their usual pattern of conversation and makes people more willing to listen. You are not asking anything of them. You are giving something to them.”

Kindness outreaches have become one of the primary ways Sweet Fellowship does evangelism, Crisp said, adding that outreaches occur about once a month. They sometimes happen even on Sunday mornings during church time, which he said is a good time to reach the unchurched at home.

Sweet Fellowship kindness outreaches have included giving away bubbles at the park, Valentine’s cards with small chocolate candies attached in neighborhoods, flowers at the senior citizens center, and toys at Christmas.

“We go wherever we can find people,” Crisp said. Since the church is located at a lake community, they set up tailgate stations with cold water and soft drinks at boat launches, even offering to assist fishermen in getting their boats into the water. The helpful gestures ignite conversations.

“We want to show you God’s love in a practical way,” Crisp said. “It’s a soft pitch right over the plate so you can take a gospel swing.”

As Alvin church sends out its best to plant, the Lord keeps sending more

Heights Baptist Church is energized to grow the kingdom of God rather than focusing on growing its own congregation. Its pastor, Lee Peoples, says any church, no matter its size or resources, can help start a new church to reach the unreached.

“In the book of Acts, you often see the kingdom growing by multiplication, not just addition,” Peoples said. “The blessing has always been as we have sent people out, we turn around and reach new people. We never miss what we give away for the kingdom of God.”

Heights has church planting in its DNA, as it began as a mission of First Baptist Church in Alvin in 1965. Having been the church’s pastor since 2017, Peoples noticed Heights wasn’t living out its history. It wasn’t planting churches.

The congregation of about 500 began praying for opportunities, and with help from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, gained momentum. The church helped plant The Way of Life Church in Pearland by sending one Sunday school class per week to be present and help in whatever ways were needed.

“Every church reaches different people, and I think we need all kinds of different churches for reaching different types of folks.”

—Lee Peoples Tweet

Heights also helped start Kingdom Harvest Church in Pearland, as one of their members went to be the pastor and they sent some people on a launch team. Through the North American Mission Board, Heights is the supporting church for an Hispanic plant 45 minutes away in Brazoria.

With the Alvin area growing rapidly as young families in particular look for affordable housing while commuting to Houston, Heights began praying a year ago about how to reach the south side of town.

“We have the belief that new churches often reach new people,” Peoples said. “Every church reaches different people, and I think we need all kinds of different churches for reaching different types of folks.”

This year, Heights started Living Oaks Church with Cary Perrin as pastor. He said it speaks loudly to the community that a church would work to reach people not in its immediate area “just for the sake of Christianity being available to people who live on that side of town.”

Perrin sees value in having the backing of an established church. It’s “very much like having your big brother in the room with you just to help out,” he said. It also gives credibility in the community.

“Thankfully, Heights Baptist has a good reputation, and for the community to see that’s our big sister goes a long way and helps ease some fears of people in the community,” Perrin said.

Even so, Living Oaks realizes a lot of younger people have had negative experiences with churches that keep them from attending. Such people are among those Living Oaks is trying to reach.

“We are trying to meet you where you are, and we don’t have that expectation of you to just glide right in and feel happy about it,” he said.

Living Oaks, particularly by meeting in some classrooms at Alvin Community College, has an eye toward people impacted by suicide, which is alarmingly prevalent today—hitting younger generations especially hard.

As Peoples urges other churches to look for ways to help start a new church, he thinks one of the biggest challenges is fear. Churches may fear what will happen if they send out members, commit to give money, or try something that doesn’t work, he said.

“One of our commitments as a church is we didn’t put a limit on how many people could be on the core team,” Peoples said. “Whenever we get a chance to do a launch team, we say, ‘If God puts this on your heart, we want you to go do it.’

“That’s scary because it may be you lose some key volunteers and you lose some key families, but what we’ve learned over the process is that gives the opportunity for the body of Christ to be the body of Christ,” Peoples said.

Heights also is starting an Hispanic church on its campus, first by having a church planting resident with NAMB working to reach the 48% of Alvin that is Hispanic and the 30% of that figure for whom English is not their first language.

To plant the Hispanic church, Heights is starting with an ESL ministry, then a small group Bible study for Spanish speakers, and eventually a Spanish service once a core team is established. By Easter, they hope to have Spanish translation of their English services.

“I encourage every church to find a way to be involved in church planting,” Peoples said.

Finish with joy

The Empower Conference in February was fantastic. The biblical teaching, worship, and fellowship were outstanding. We had people from our church attend, but next year I want to get the word out and invite more to come and be blessed by this annual evangelism conference. What a blessing to be one of the 2,812 churches in the SBTC!

One of my favorite scenes in the book of Acts is when the apostle Paul meets with the Ephesian elders in Miletus while wrapping up his third missionary journey. Luke records Paul’s message to these elders in Acts 20:18-35. The verse I want to highlight for your contemplation is v.24: “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

Notice that Paul was:

Focused (“None of these things move me”)

He would not be distracted by trials. They would not cause him to lose his focus to preach Christ. Let me encourage you to have this same laser focus that Paul had. Do not let things move you to quit when God is not finished with you.

Humble (“nor do I count my life dear to myself”)

Paul was humble and he had real JOY (Jesus, Others, Yourself). This is convicting to me on many levels. I often count my life way more dearly than I should. It is a valid temptation for all of us to evaluate everything through the lens of how it will affect us instead of saying, “It does not matter what happens to me.” What is most important is fulfilling God’s call on my life to make much of Jesus.

Determined (“finish my race … and ministry”)

Our races or ministries will look different because God calls us to serve in various ways and places. But the goal is the same for each pastor and minister of the gospel—to finish well. I encourage you to develop disciplines and rhythms in your life that will help you finish well, including personal prayer time, reading God’s Word for your soul, rest, balance, and not neglecting your family.

Joyful (“with joy”)

Paul did not want to finish like many do, with a spirit of grouchiness, anger, or bitterness. God wants us to enjoy ministry and not be burdened with sadness, which is not good for you or the people you serve.

Clear (“to testify to the gospel of the grace of God”)

Luke uses the word diamarturomai. It means to testify with earnestness. This is one of Luke’s favorite words. There is no other gospel. I charge you, my brothers and sisters in Christ and fellow laborers in the ministry, to always be faithful in preaching this gospel.

I love this verse. It has so much passion in it, and it is such a motivation for us today to complete our race for Christ no matter what and finish with joy.

Hundreds of thousands in ‘Space Belt’ within reach of the gospel thanks to CP giving

Astronomical impact

The church plant Kade Pierce is leading is in its infancy, but already he knows the value of the collective support behind him—and it’s something Southern Baptists across the generations also have realized.

“Truthfully, the Cooperative Program is helping me make this happen,” Pierce, pastor of Eastside Community Church in Dickinson, said. “The Cooperative Program is allowing me to live out God’s call on my life.”

Pierce was trained at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and God used Matthew 9:37-38 to propel him to 10 years of student ministry leadership at Bay Area Church in League City, which is in Galveston County.

When that church’s lead pastor, Brian Haynes, approached Pierce about planting a church, “It was a long process of me coming around to God warming my heart to that work,” Pierce said.

Again, the Cooperative Program, Southern Baptists’ 100-year-old unified giving plan for national and international missions and ministries, came into play. Through the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the North American Mission Board’s Send Network, Pierce was assessed and confirmed as a planter.

“The assessment process was actually a pretty integral part of my affirmation to plant,” Pierce said. “That wouldn’t even be available, I would assume, without the Cooperative Program. It’s all been a gift to me.”

“I describe it a lot like astronauts meet Duck Dynasty. That’s kind of the culture.”

—Bryan Haynes Tweet

‘Momentum through CP’

Pierce stepped out as a church planter last fall, and Eastside Community Church receives support from Bay Area Church, the SBTC, and NAMB as it looks to reach a growing area of 600,000 people known as the Space Belt.

“I describe it a lot like astronauts meet Duck Dynasty. That’s kind of the culture,” Haynes said. “NASA is right here, and we have all of that and lots of business owners, educators, police officers, plant workers, and oil and gas people. It’s an interesting conglomerate, but it’s a fruitful field.”

As Pierce seeks to lead a church plant to reach that ripe field, CP has his back.

“It certainly does calm an anxious heart to know a measure of the stress of planting is kind of muted or taken care of because of the partnership of North American Mission Board or SBTC or even another Southern Baptist church in our sending church,” Pierce said. “That generosity has been a big help to us.”

Haynes said Bay Area Church, one of the oldest Southern Baptist works in the region, traditionally has been a strong supporter of the Cooperative Program, consistently forwarding 8% of its undesignated receipts in recent years.

“It certainly does calm an anxious heart to know a measure of the stress of planting is kind of muted or taken care of because of the partnership of North American Mission Board or SBTC.”

—Kade Pierce Tweet

The church values kingdom partnerships, Haynes said, and CP is a tried-and-true way to partner in accomplishing the Great Commission.

“We think the strategy is impactful when you collectively bring money from lots of churches, not just one church,” he said. “You make a solid global difference because you have momentum in cooperation that wouldn’t come by just one church doing one thing.

“… We see a lot of momentum for the kingdom through the Cooperative Program, and that’s why we continue to give.”

Bay Area, with about 1,200 in attendance on Sundays, recognizes the importance of investing in the next generation through CP-supported seminaries, as well as in missions in Texas, North America, and globally, Haynes said. “Church planting is a big deal for us, too.”

Just as the CP-supported assessment process was key to Pierce following God to plant a church, it was something God used to give the sending church confidence.

“I was grateful as a pastor for the assessment process, because it assured us of his and his wife’s fitness for planting,” Haynes said.

Bay Area continues with strong CP support even as God has opened up a significant new opportunity in the form of a counseling ministry. Through more than 20 trained biblical counselors on campus, the church helps restore individuals and families.

The church also partners with another church in a community-facing counseling center that logged 5,000 sessions last year.

“That place where the gospel meets mental and emotional health has been a real mission field for us,” Haynes said. “The overarching theme of the Bible is that Jesus is the one who is bringing shalom to chaos. He’s the one who’s working the restoration of all things.

“I think the uptick in depression and anxiety that we see in our culture is evidence of the chaos that’s caused by sin and the impact of other people’s sin on our lives, and we have the answers for that. We know the Prince of Peace, the one who brokers peace.”

Someone in search of peace may not show up at Bay Area Church, Haynes said, but he may show up at the counseling center.

Said Haynes: “We as churches really need to engage in the area where people are struggling mentally and emotionally.”

Is your heart too cluttered?

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from Mark Dance’s book, Start to Finish. Used with permission from the author.

In Luke 8:14, Jesus said, “As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.”

When God’s Word competes with our wills, it will expose a cluttered, selfish heart. There are three common culprits of a cluttered heart: worry, wealth, and wants.

Worry

As thorns can choke out healthy plants, so can worries choke out our healthy faith. I’m not talking about losing your faith; rather I’m talking about losing your joy with a slowly eroding faith.

One close friend who is a pastor once lamented to me, “Sometimes I wonder if my walk with God would be easier if I weren’t in the ministry.” Yes, even church work can choke out our spiritual growth. Every pastor I know wants their spiritual growth to outpace their ministry growth, but it doesn’t always work out that way.

The origin of the English word for worry comes from the German word wurgen, which means “to choke.” If worry is suffocating your faith, stop now and prayerfully meditate on this passage. Ask God to guard your heart and mind with His peace.

We must intentionally and consistently check our own spiritual pulse. Additionally, we need to ask a couple of mature believers to help us assess the condition of our heart.

Wealth

I was 13 years old when I heard the news that Elvis died by essentially choking on his wealth. Elvis has sold the most solo albums in history and was nominated 14 times for Grammys. I have seen his fancy cars and his gold-plated grand piano in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, as well as Graceland in Memphis. All of his awards, toys, records, fame, and money are a sad reminder of “the deceitfulness of riches” that led to his destructive end.

None of us is immune to the false sense of security and worth that comes with wealth. Even pastors get caught in the trap. “If my salary was more …” and “If the church budget was bigger …” are statements that show that our trust is more in riches than in [Jesus]. Someday all our stuff will end up in the dump, in storage, or in our kid’s garage.

Wants

In the book This Is Our Time, Trevin Wax wrote that the biggest myth we surrender to is the pursuit of happiness. A Barna Research project found that 84% of Americans believe “the highest goal for life is to enjoy it as much as possible.” Sadder still was the fact that 66% of churchgoing Christians bought into the same lie!

As you well know, hedonism and materialism are alive and well in today’s culture and are an ominous threat to our churches and pulpits. Sports, school activities, work, and hobbies often have a stranglehold on our lives. Our obsession with achieving and acquiring leaves our hearts barren, exhausted and empty.

As pastors, we are tempted to focus on the measurements of ministry success rather than on Jesus. Our egos sometimes crave bigger crowds and more attention, yet our primary motivation should be the love for Christ that drew us to our ministry call in the first place.

Parents find purpose, ministry opportunity through young son’s health struggles

‘This is your why’

When Grant Falls was born in 2022, his parents, Laura and Seth, had a traumatic start to life with their son. His condition was far worse than they expected when the doctors noticed he had a heart problem in utero.

After he was born, Laura actually couldn’t see him until the day after his birth because of the immediate need to treat his heart defect. Seth took her in a wheelchair to the ICU.

“I was seeing double still,” she remembers, “and I got there, and I was like, ‘OK, so when are we going to a room?’ And they were like, ‘No, this is your room.’ The ICU. That picture was, like, 15 pumps of IVs hooked up to a little baby.”

Things intensified over the next two months as Grant had open-heart surgery, intubation, and was listed for a heart transplant.

“I struggled so much at the beginning wondering why,” she relates, “‘Why us? Why my baby?’ The movies aren’t like this. You just have the perfect birth, go home, and be with your baby and your family. That didn’t happen.”

But Laura also noticed other mothers going through similar situations. Her own experience had made her a bit of a veteran in the ICU.

“I think it was probably not even a month after we had already been there—our room was the very first room in the ICU,” she explained. “So, whoever came in, I would see coming in. I remember seeing the broken moms. At that point, I was a month or two months in. So, I started having a routine of what I was doing every day. I was able to function.

“[The hospital] has everything for kids. They don’t have anything for parents. And if I could bring an ounce of comfort to any of that, that’s what I would like to do.”

—Laura Falls Tweet

“But these people are coming in, and they’re also first-time moms, or are moms whose lives are flipped upside down. So, you’re just a zombie, and you’re learning the new medical language. Nothing makes sense anymore.”

That was the beginning of “Mom Bags,” a collection of toiletries, snacks, and helpful resources intended to make a terrible situation a little more bearable. The first distribution was pretty simple.

“[The hospital] has everything for kids. They don’t have anything for parents. And if I could bring an ounce of comfort to any of that, that’s what I would like to do.”

That first small outreach happened in the midst of Grant’s yearlong ordeal in the hospital. After months of gaining strength, Grant finally had a 12-hour heart transplant surgery. There were struggles in his recovery, including a cardiac arrest as his body adapted to working without a machine helping to pump his blood. The doctors had decided to put him back on a heart machine, called an ECMO, to assist his new heart.

“They hadn’t closed [his heart],” she recalls, “So, [resuscitating him] was extremely fast, not even 10 minutes before the surgeon came and told us the heart looks great. He just needs to rest.”

Seth and Laura—members at Inglewood Baptist Church in Grand Prairie—went home with Grant after a year. Grant was growing stronger, facing a variety of effects from his stay in the hospital but recovering. But early last year, doctors discovered a cancerous mass on Grant’s liver. Over the next nine months, doctors attempted unsuccessfully to remove the mass surgically, and then consulted with clinics around the country to know how to treat the little boy.

“So, he did … three or four rounds of chemo,” Laura remembers, “and then his numbers were coming down, but we still needed to get the mass out because it would still spread to his lungs and then to his brain.

“In September, we went to Houston because they were confident that they could just get it … they literally didn’t even have to open him up” she said. “They stuck a needle into his liver and microwaved it for two minutes and it was gone. We got to go back to the hotel the same day.”

Although Grant continues to see his doctors and faces some relatively minor procedures to clean up the aftereffects of his treatments, he’s a growing and happy little boy. Laura credits God for all the amazing things her family has come through.

“There’s no other way we would have gotten through this without God,” she says. “There’s no way. We have seen so many miracles performed because of God. And He did it multiple times. We would sit there in these crazy situations, whether he was having a cardiac arrest or going for surgery or having a transplant. We just prayed, and then we asked others to come together and pray for him and for us. And honestly … I could feel the stress come off when I know that God is going to help us get through all of it.”

Even though the Falls are spending less time in the hospital these days, Laura’s ministry among mothers has continued—even grown.

“There’s no other way we would have gotten through this without God. There’s no way.”

—Laura Falls Tweet

“Social work messaged me last week and said the [most recent] 15 bags that I brought were already given out,” she said, “and several of the mothers were just moved to tears and so incredibly grateful.

“I got a message from someone’s relative who received one, about how thankful they were that they had this. Because you can’t think of anything. You don’t want to eat, you don’t want to leave the room.

“And I have tons of friends now …. [Sometimes] our old nurse reaches out to say, ‘Hey, can you talk to this mom?’ Or I’m on these groups on Facebook that I’ve met parents through. I’ve been to the parent group they hold on Wednesdays. When we have appointments, sometimes I’ll stop in and I’ll talk to parents that are [in ICU] currently and give them hope.”

Laura is seeing God use their experience with Grant’s first two years in ways she couldn’t have seen in 2022, in her own life and in the lives of others.

“My relationship with God has strengthened so much throughout all of this,” she said. “I was talking with one of [Grant’s] previous nurses yesterday about the Mom Bags. And she was like, ‘Remember when you were inpatient and you kept saying, ‘Why? Why us? Why is this happening?’ She’s like, ‘This is your why.’”

Iglesia en Port Arthur acoge a los marginados de la comunidad

Para David quizás era usual que la gente se aleje de él, en lugar de acercarse.

Descrito como un hombre cubierto de tatuajes y con un aspecto “aterrador”, David se presentó en la iglesia Port Arthur City el primer día que se inauguró como nueva congregación.

Julian Martínez, el pastor de la iglesia, lo recuerda bien: David apareció con su madre y, después de que terminara el servicio esa mañana, se acercó a Martínez de forma agresiva.

“Parecía estar drogado”, recuerda Martínez.

Sin embargo, David regresó a la iglesia, visitando todas las semanas y, finalmente, entregando su vida a Jesucristo. Sí, ese mismo David, el hombre “aterrador”, vendedor de drogas y adicto a las drogas, había sido transformado y hecho nuevo. Ese mismo David, que apenas había puesto un pie en una iglesia, ahora sirve mano a mano con su pastor apuntando a otros hacia Cristo junto a una iglesia que lo acogió y amó desde el primer día.

“Cuando llegué a esta iglesia, encontré la paz que necesitaba”, dijo David. “[Esta es] una congregación de personas que no me juzgaron, sino que me aceptaron y oraron por mí y mi familia”.

“Ha sido una historia increíble verlo levantar las manos en adoración y ver su pasión por el Señor y cómo Dios ha cambiado literalmente quién es Él en tan sólo un año”, dijo Martínez.

Gente como David es la razón por la que Martínez y su familia respondieron al llamado de Dios para fundar la Iglesia Port Arthur City—para llevar esperanza a los perdidos, a aquellos que se refugian en los rincones oscuros de una cultura en dónde muchos no se atreven a entrar.

Martínez conoce muy bien de esos rincones.

Lo viejo hecho nuevo

Martínez se mezcló con malas compañías a los 12 años. Empezó a consumir drogas y a llevar una vida desenfrenada. A los 15 años, su novia, Melissa, que ahora es su esposa, quedó embarazada. En su búsqueda por proveer a su familia, hizo otra mala elección, convertirse en un “coyote”, una persona que ayuda a introducir ilegalmente a otras personas en el país. A los 17 años, el ahora padre de dos hijos casi fue atrapado, lo que lo llevó a intentar cambiar su vida. Se mudó a San Angelo, pero al poco tiempo, volvió a sumergirse en la cultura de fiestas y el consumo de drogas.

Después de vivir ese estilo de vida durante varios años, Martínez dijo que comenzó a sentir que Dios lo atraía hacia Él. Algo cambió después de que él y Melissa asistieran a la iglesia el Domingo de Resurrección en el 2001. El pecado que una vez dominó su vida ya no lo dejaba satisfecho.

Una tía, durante una visita, comenzó a sentir que el Señor estaba obrando y comenzó a compartir el mensaje de Cristo con Julián y Melissa. Finalmente, ambos le dieron su vida a Cristo y, al poco tiempo, Martínez dijo que comenzó a sentir que Dios lo llamaba a predicar.

Él pasó la próxima etapa de su vida estudiando teología y apologética, y más tarde, el Señor le abrió una puerta para servir primero como pastor de alabanza y luego guiando a parejas jóvenes casadas en una iglesia en Nederland, una ciudad del sureste de Texas ubicada a unas 10 millas al norte de Port Arthur. La iglesia en Nederland le brindó la oportunidad de servir eventualmente como pastor interino y luego como pastor asociado. Él permaneció allí durante ocho años, hasta que el Señor lo llamó para fundar la Iglesia Port Arthur City.

“Un día, mientras comía tacos en un pequeño pueblo cercano al otro lado de las vías llamado Port Arthur, el Señor me llamó a plantar una iglesia”, dijo Martínez.

Aunque está enclavado entre un grupo de pueblos rurales más pequeños, Port Arthur es muy urbano y culturalmente diverso, dijo Martínez. Una vez que Dios llamó a Martínez a plantar, dijo que se dio cuenta de inmediato de la gran necesidad que había allí de escuchar el Evangelio. La ciudad, de casi 60,000 habitantes, sólo tiene un puñado de iglesias bautistas del sur.

“Un día, mientras comía tacos en un pequeño pueblo cercano al otro lado de las vías llamado Port Arthur, el Señor me llamó a plantar una iglesia.”

—Julian Martínez Tweet

‘Gente como yo’

La Iglesia Port Arthur City abrió sus puertas el Domingo de Resurrección en el 2024. Su misión es clara: llegar a la comunidad con el evangelio de Jesucristo y hacer discípulos. La iglesia logra esto a través de esfuerzos intencionales para conectarse con las personas, repartiendo comida o camisetas junto a escuelas y negocios en eventos comunitarios. La iglesia también tiene una fuerte presencia en las redes sociales, que es como David y su familia supieron sobre la iglesia. Martínez dijo que constantemente responde mensajes en las redes sociales de personas que piden oración.

Martínez dijo que no lo ha hecho solo. Él comparte cómo su propio pastor, Daniel Ward, quiso apoyarlo desde el principio en la plantación de una iglesia. Ward es quien puso a Martínez en contacto con Julio Arriola, director de Send Network SBTC, que trabaja con la Junta de Misiones Norteamericanas para plantar iglesias en todo Texas. Una vez conectar con Send Network SBTC, Martínez pasó por un proceso formal de evaluación y capacitación antes de lanzar la iglesia.

Ubicada en una de las calles más transitadas de Port Arthur, City Church recibe alrededor de 75 personas cada domingo, con nuevos visitantes cada semana, dijo Martínez, y señaló: “La gente sabe quiénes somos”. Él recuerda una ocasión en la que un hombre sin hogar se le acercó y le dijo: “He oído hablar de ustedes y nos alegra que estén aquí. Escuché que están tratando de llegar a personas como yo que necesitan esperanza y aliento”.

“Por eso”, le dijo Martínez al hombre, “exactamente es que hemos venido”.

Port Arthur church plant is embracing those on the fringes of the community

Kindness and acceptance were not things David usually experienced in his interactions with other people.

Despite being described as covered in tattoos and looking “scary,” that’s what was shown to him when he attended Port Arthur City Church on the first day it launched as a church plant last year.

Julian Martínez, the church’s pastor, remembers it well: David showed up with his mother, and after the service ended that morning, he approached Martínez in an aggressive manner.

“He seemed to be high,” Martínez recalled.

Nevertheless, David returned to the church, visiting every week and eventually giving his life to Jesus Christ. Yes, that David—the drug-selling, drug-addicted, “scary” man—had been transformed and made new. That David, who had hardly set foot in a church, was now serving hand in hand with his pastor and pointing others to Christ alongside church members who welcomed him and loved him from day one.

“When I arrived at this church, I found the peace I needed,” David said. “[This is] a congregation of people who did not judge me, but who accepted me and prayed for me and my family.”

“It has been an incredible story to see him raise his hands in worship and see his passion for the Lord and how God has literally changed who he is in just one year,” Martínez said.

People like David are why Martínez and his family answered God’s call to plant Port Arthur City Church—to bring hope to the lost ones, those who find comfort in the dark corners of culture where many dare not tread.

Martínez knows those corners all too well.

“It has been an incredible story to see him raise his hands in worship and see his passion for the Lord and how God has literally changed who he is in just one year.”

—Julian Martínez, pastor of Port Arthur City Church, speaking of church member David, pictured above Tweet

The old made new

Martínez got mixed up with a bad crowd by age 12. He began taking drugs and living a reckless life. By age 15, his girlfriend, Melissa—who is now his wife—became pregnant. In his quest to provide for his family, he made yet another bad choice, becoming a “coyote,” a person who helps smuggle other people into the country illegally. At age 17, the father of two nearly got caught, leading him to try to change his life. He moved to San Angelo, but before long, he was once again immersed in the culture of partying and drug use.

After living that lifestyle for several years, Martínez said he began to sense God drawing him toward Him. Something changed after he and Melissa attended church on Easter in 2001. The sin that once dominated his life no longer left him feeling satisfied.

Sensing the Lord at work during a visit, an aunt began sharing the message of Christ with Julian and Melissa. Eventually, both gave their lives to Jesus and, before long, Martínez said he began feeling called by God to preach.

Martínez spent the next season of life studying theology and apologetics, and later, the Lord opened the door for him to serve first as a worship pastor and then leading young married couples at a church in Nederland, a Southeast Texas town located about 10 miles north of Port Arthur. The church in Nederland afforded him the opportunity to eventually serve as a pastoral intern and then as an associate pastor. He remained there for eight years, until the Lord called him to plant Port Arthur City Church.

“It was one day when I was eating tacos in a small town nearby on the other side of the tracks called Port Arthur that the Lord called me to plant a church,” Martínez said.

Though it’s nestled among a cluster of smaller rural towns, Port Arthur is very urban and culturally diverse, Martínez said. Once God called Martínez to plant, he said he was immediately aware of the great need for the gospel there. The city of nearly 60,000 people has only a handful of Southern Baptist churches.

“It was one day when I was eating tacos in a small town nearby on the other side of the tracks called Port Arthur that the Lord called me to plant a church.”

—Julian Martínez Tweet

‘People like me’

Port Arthur City Church opened its doors on Easter Sunday 2024. Its mission is clear: to reach the community with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to make disciples. The church accomplishes this through intentional efforts to connect with people, handing out food or T-shirts alongside schools and businesses at community events. The church also has a strong presence on social media—which is how David and his family found out about the church. Martínez said he is constantly answering messages on social media from people asking for prayer.

Martínez said he has not done it alone. He shares how his own pastor, Daniel Ward, wanted to support him from the beginning in planting a church. Ward put Martínez in touch with Julio Arriola, director of Send Network SBTC, which works with the North American Mission Board to plant churches across Texas. Once connected with Send Network SBTC, Martínez went through a formal process of assessment and training before launching the church.

Located on one of the busiest streets in Port Arthur, City Church welcomes around 75 people every Sunday, with new visitors every week, Martínez said, noting, “People know who we are.” He recalls one occasion when a homeless man came up to him and told him, “I’ve heard about you and we’re glad you are here. I heard that you are trying to reach out to people like me who need hope and encouragement.”

“That,” Martinez told the man, “is exactly why we have come.”