In 1993, my salary was well above the poverty threshhold for a family of 3, which was about $12,000 per year. But we had no savings, and without the graciously discounted rent, reduced-price school lunches for my kids, and a car that was paid for, we would not have been able to make it from month to month.

The government guidelines that establish what makes a family "poor" and the actual income needed for a family to have the necessities it needs for a financially-secure lifestyle are two completely different things. The Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) is doing great work defining exactly what income is needed for a family to get by in the Dallas/Plano/Irving area of North Texas. A single working parent with two children, for example, needs an hourly wage of $19.24, or $38,472 per year, just to provide his or her family with housing, food, childcare, health insurance, and transportation. CPPP calculates that a family with two working parents and children in childcare needs a combined hourly wage of $23.71 or $47,412 per year (try out their family budget calculator). In contrast, the federal poverty guidelines for 2013 are an annual income of $19,530 for a family of three and $23,550 for a family of four.

What does this mean?  First, only the poorest of the poor receive entitlement benefits that people commonly think of as welfare: SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid, and TANFF. These programs use the federal poverty guidelines to establish eligibility. Second, if churches are identifying the poverty in their communities using these same federal guidelines, they are overlooking thousands of their neighbors who are "asset poor."  More families are struggling to make ends meet than we realize. They are one paycheck away from disaster.

What can we do? Many families living at or below the federal poverty threshholds do not know that they are eligible for benefits that can bridge them through tough times. Churches can become Community Partners to help families apply for the benefits for which they qualify.  For the signficant number of families in your church and community who have annual incomes above the federal poverty line but are still struggling, pray about providing scholarships for quality childcare, free after-school care, financial literacy classes, savings clubs, job networking groups, computer classes, or adult basic education classes. Does your church own a home? Consider renting it a below-market rate to a mom who is in school or working hard to provide for her family.

God commands us to serve the poor.  And, the poor are not only the families sleeping in the homeless shelters of our city tonight. They are our neighbors next door. Pray about how, not if, God wants you to help.

As a Latino reared by a single mother, poverty is no stranger to me.  In response to an empty stomach, Mom would frequently say, “Wait until the first of the month, mijo.”  Unfortunately, this situation is far too common.  We as Latinos are the poorest minority. Our future does not look any brighter, as our children have the highest school dropout rates and the highest teen birth rates. Teens who drop out of school to care for their new family often have children who drop out. And we continue in this vicious cycle of low education, low-end jobs, low pay, and poverty. 

I have developed a live, one-hour presentation to empower Latino young people to break this vicious cycle. Students will see the disastrous effects of premarital sex and dropping out of school. They will also understand how saving sex for marriage increases their chances of graduating from high school and moving on to college, thus earning them higher-paying jobs and leadership positions. Students will learn they have the potential to make this great nation even greater as they become Latinos Logrando Lo Mejor!  

For more information:  Aim For Success (972) 422-2322 Ext 223    www.aimforsuccess.org

Preview available at:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-xAM8xRwCw

Every pastor values his library as essential tools of ministry.  Unfortunately, Pastor Cedric’s library was lost as well.   However, we are thankful that there was no loss of life or injury from the fire.  The church family of Graceland is just as strong today as before the fire.  I am also thankful that Pastor Cedric and his church maintained proper insurance.  There will be many ways that we can help them in the weeks and months to come, but I want to affirm the importance of doing what Graceland has done in being adequately insured. 

Does your church have insurance?  Here are some of the kinds of insurance that you should have.  If you have any questions, please let us know.

Property and Liability

• Property insurance covers your buildings, property and belongings. If your ministry is damaged, destroyed or the victim of theft, this policy can help lessen financial burdens resulting from a loss.
• Liability insurance can help protect your ministry, employees, leaders and volunteers from lawsuits, liabilities and losses.
• Excess liability insurance acts as an umbrella over your general liability coverage for above and beyond protection

Worker’s Compensation

• Employee Benefits – If an employee suffers a work-related injury or illness, employee benefits under workers’ compensation help pay for medical, disability, rehabilitation and death expenses.
• Employers' liability coverage offers protection from financial loss if an employee files suit for a work-related injury or illness.

Commercial Auto

• Commercial auto insurance covers people's injuries and your ministry’s vehicles in the event of an accident. A commercial auto policy can also protect your ministry against: vehicle liabilities, collisions, uninsured/underinsured motorists, vehicle medical payments, personal injury, and vehicle physical damage.

Foreign Mission and Travel

• Group coverage for international missions is travel insurance and assistance services for ministries traveling abroad.  If you send missionaries overseas or take short-term mission trips, this coverage may be right for you.

John Bisagno and Bob Dean

Dr. John Bisagno is pastor emeritus of FBC Houston. In 1968, First Baptist Houston had a 2,300 seat auditorium with 2,000 empty seats, a $350,000 budget and no baptisms in fourteen months. During the next thirty years, the church planted 67 missions, baptized 15,000 and grew to an annual budget of $8 million. Today, under Pastor Gregg Matte, the church continues to grow exponentially.John shared 15 things that a growing church needs:  vision, prayer, hard work, Biblical conservatism, opportunistic leadership, expository preaching, Sunday morning Bible Study, integrity, celebrative worship, a loving spirit, unity, state of the art buildings (the inside of the building is more important than the outside), reaching the children will reach the parents, passion, and a give yourself away mentality.

He also exemplified his message.  In the question and answer time, one of the pastors asked John how he maintained such a passion for the Lord’s work.  He said that spending time in God’s Word has been the main reason that he is just as strong in his passion as when he was a younger man.

Does your church love babies, families, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Consider joining One by One to help families families during the mom's pregnancy and through the first year of the baby's life. Every child is worth our best!

One by One is thrilled that Dallas Baptist Association was one of the first organizations to partner with One by One North Texas. DBA's commitment to serving families and making disciples of Jesus Christ is well known in this community. I pray all churches will recognize this glorious, practical ministry as a powerful example of the light He allows the church to be in the world.

Churches joining One by One will partner with a local pregnancy care center to mentor expectant and new moms. One by One will provide the training and materials needed for your mentors. This training is simple. First, mentors participate in a one-hour online evangelism class to learn how to share the Gospel clearly and naturally. Then, mentors attend a one-day training on a Saturday where they receive all materials and information they need to be confident and equipped.

One by One mentors witness remarkable growth in the spiritual, emotional, and family-related health of their participant families. Christy, a One by One mentor, shares, "With One by One, we are taking mothers where they are, in a time of life where they are ready and far more willing to make changes because of their baby. Parenting is a huge responsibility that requires a network that teaches as it reaches. I find this ministry challenging and encouraging. It helps me grow in my walk with the Lord."

The need is great.

Open our hearts, Lord. Open our churches to new families!

Open our hearts for this ministry of grace. May we be useful in Your plan.

Amen.

For more information on how your church can partner with One by One, please contact Laurie Connell, regional minsitry director, at lconnell@onebyoneusa.org or Jana Jackson at janajackson@dba.net.

Have you heard the story about the Jewish father teaching his son about the Passover and preparing their unblemished lamb?   The father and son chose and raised a lamb together for the Passover Feast.   They took great care as a family because the lamb would be their sacrificial gift to The Lord.   For months the father told his son about God's faithfulness and love.    He shared the purpose of the lamb as a symbol of forgiveness and their worship of God.   The Passover Feast finally arrived.   It was their time as a family to honor God and to follow the Jewish law and customs.  They waited for a long time in line with other families in order to present their well groomed and unblemished lamb to the priest.  The young boy waited expectantly because of the great preparation which he and his father had made for the Passover Feast.  By the time they got to the front of the line and to the altar, the priest had been working for hours; his clothes were red from the blood of the other lambs.   The priest had grown tired and weary from the long day and the heat from the fire of the altar.  He became indifferent, treating each lamb as just another task, just another job that he had to get accomplished. The priest grabbed the lamb from the little boy’s hands, slit the Lamb's throat, and threw it onto the altar.   Then the priest yelled out, “Next.”  Have we as ministers grown callous from handling the holy things of God?  Are our days filled with the tasks of the Lord and have we grown weary of the endless calls, counseling sessions, meetings, and sermon prep times? Are we yelling out, “Next?”

Remember the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10?    Jesus visits the home of Mary and Martha and the two sisters make very different choices about how to respond to Jesus’ presence. One of them, Mary, sits down at his feet and listens to his teaching. The other, Martha, apparently goes off to do some work.

Then Martha comes back to the room where Mary and Jesus are, and complains that her sister has left her to do all the work. She asks for Jesus’ support in this little tiff with her sister: “Don’t you care that she’s left me to do all the work?” But Jesus doesn’t appear to! In fact, he says that it is Mary who has “chosen the better part.”¹

Do we make the best choice as a minister?   Do we faithfully and endlessly work for the Lord and complete the many tasks of ministry or do we take time to BE with God?  Do we value the tasks of the Lord more highly than the relationship with the Lord? 

John 15 speaks of remaining or abiding in Him just as the vine abides in the branch.   Our strength comes from abiding in Him!   In verse 5 John states that “apart from me you can do nothing.”   What makes us think we can do all the work and tasks of ministry and not abide in Him?   I believe the Lord might describe these accomplishments as hay and stubble^.2   However, verse 5 contrasts with verse 7 where Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”  We must abide in Him.

Our relationship with the Lord is our best choice.  Just as Mary, let’s be sure we begin each day at the feet of Jesus with a new pattern of ministry by abiding in His presence and choosing the better!!  Let’s show our love and adoration by seeking our Heavenly Father first.

posted by  Dr. R. W. Bobby Martin

Dallas Baptist Association exists to assist our churches individually and cooperatively in fulfilling the Great Commission of making disciples of all nations

1.   http://ssje.org/ssje/2012/10/09/mary-and-martha-of-bethany-br-geoffrey-tristram/
2.  I Corinthians 3:8-15

This month, a new statue has been placed on the campus. The Called to Pray Statue is of a man kneeling in prayer before a rocking chair with his hand on the Bible. The plaque states that this statue is in honor of Dr. Cook “for his servant leadership and his commitment to faithful prayer.”

The statue was first unveiled at a banquet Ellen and I attended for Trustees and other special guests in honor of Dr. Cook’s 25th Anniversary as President. In so many ways, God has done more than anyone could have asked or imagined during these last 25 years through the leadership of Gary and Sheila Cook. I commend those who developed the plans and the family who gave the money for it to be made. It will be an on-going testimony to the importance of prayer on a campus that has seen many wonderful things happen as a direct result of prayer.

Those of us who have had an opportunity to watch closely Dr. Cook’s leadership would all affirm that prayer really is important to him. The banquet did the best job I have seen of keeping the proper balance of recognizing a couple for their faithful servant leadership (giving credit where credit was due), and keeping the focus where it belongs – on what God has done through them (giving all the glory to God).

In fact, there was a scripture verse on the program that Dr. Cook requested. It is Psalm 115:1. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”

Each morning as I pay for my coffee, I recite the verse and pray the verse back to the Lord. As I prepare to pay with the digital gift card on my phone, I am able to see multiple scriptures and be reminded of my redeemer, savior, my awesome God. I am also reminded of the abiding love of Christ throughout the year. At a glance, I saw the summer, fall, winter, spring gift cards. That day I prayed: "God give me a hot heart for YOU. Please don't let my spiritual life to be dry or remain in a desert without you. As I see the changes in the fall of the year, change my heart to show more compassion to people and to be more consecrated to you. When the bleakness of winter arrives warm me with your presence and gently cut the dead wood from my life. Spring is transformational with new life and new colors. Father, transform me, encourage me, and direct me to make a difference in my world because I have been called and empowered by you. Thank you for your abiding love and help me as I live this day for you."

I have enjoyed my morning coffee and scripture together.

posted by  Dr. R. W. Bobby Martin

Dallas Baptist Association exists to assist our churches individually and cooperatively in fulfilling the Great Commission of making disciples of all nations

This week's guest blogger is Stephen Young, a journalism student at the University of North Texas.  Stephen is volunteering as the social media manager for DBA's Dallas Cup hospitality center.

Each spring, soccer players from all over the world descend on the Metroplex for the Dr. Pepper Dallas Cup, the United States’ oldest youth soccer tournament. The Easter week tradition began in 1980 and has hosted teams from 45 states, six continents and more than 100 countries.

Since 1993, Dallas Baptist Association, its churches and their members have operated a hospitality center for the tournament teams. The hospitality center serves hot meals to players, coaches and family members; provides a safe place to relax and have fun; provides chapel services for teams, and generally supports teams in any way it can.

Last year, groups from Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church, Kessler Park Baptist Church, North Irving Baptist Church, New Creation Bible Church, Eastern Hills Baptist Church, Prestonwood Baptist Church of Prosper and Mt. Lebanon Baptist Encampment help serve 1413 people at the hospitality center– including squads from Japan, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. Of those 1413, 560 attended a chapel service, 473 were given a New Testament and 96 accepted Christ.

This year, the Dallas Cup, and the hospitality center, are moving. The tournament’s new main stadium is the Cotton Bowl and other games will be played at the University of Texas at Dallas and Richland College. First Baptist Richardson is the hospitality center’s new host church. We are excited to begin this new era and look forward to meeting this year’s squads and volunteers! Please pray for the center and drop by to visit: March 25-29, 2013 (10 a.m. – 7 p.m.) at First Baptist Church, Richardson.

1. DFW MSA grew by 131,879
2. Houston MSA grew by 125,185
3. Los Angeles MSA grew by 107,781
4. New York City MSA grew by 101,928
5. Washington DC MSA grew by 89,129

Notice that Texas had the two fastest-growing MSAs.  Dr. Lloyd Potter, the state’s demographer, said that the majority of the Texas population lives in and around the triangle formed by Interstates 35, 45, and 10.  He explained that the population growth in Dallas County and Harris County is due not only to the migration of population to the cities, but also because in these two counties, “you see a lot of young people of child-bearing age who are in the family-forming stage of life.”

The prayer guide for March from A Prayed 4 City (www.ap4c.org) gives the following statistics concerning the DFW metro area.

• Half of the unreached, unengaged people groups (peoples that do not have any missionaries or churches attempting to reach them) have come to the US.
• 240 unique languages are spoken in the Metroplex.
• 44% of DFW residents were either born in other countries or are children of 1st-generation immigrants.
• 16,000 college students are in DFW from all over the world. Though these young people will likely return to be leaders in their home countries, most will never enter an American home. This is a big missed opportunity.
• 7 cities in DFW are over 11% Asian-born.
• DFW is the largest recipient of refugees in the country.
• Around 200,000 total Muslims immigrants are here—many from Iran and Pakistan. 100,000 Buddhists are here mainly from Vietnam and Thailand. And 111,000 Hindu call DFW home.
• Since September 11, more Muslims have converted to Christianity than over the previous 1,400 years combined!!

How should we respond to this fact that God has brought so many from all over the world to our mission field?

In Athens, Paul announced, “From one man he made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27)