This Week on the Hill: “Ministry Now” launches, Student shares gospel online
“This Week on the Hill” is a weekly roundup of campus news, announcements, and events from Southwestern Seminary and Scarborough College.
Ministry Now: Leading from the Second Chair with Terri Stovall
How do you lead through change, when you’re not the one in charge?
Last week on Ministry Now, we met with Dr. Terri Stovall (SWBTS Dean of Women) to discuss leading “from the second chair.” It’s a concept familiar to those in the corporate and organizational world, but it also describes the situation of many men and women in ministry.
Ministry Now is a resource from Southwestern Seminary, helping you live your calling in an ever-changing ministry landscape. Episodes air at 10am CT on Facebook and YouTube Premiere.
This week, we’ll be interviewing veteran pastor and Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Ministry Chris Osborne, discussing church reopenings in the wake of COVID-19.
Announcements
Summer Classes
There’s still time to register for the second 8-week term of Summer 2020!
Summer “B” classes begin June 29, so get registered today.
On-Campus Jobs Available
Employment opportunities are available now with Support Staff and General Maintenance. These positions are temporary, with fluctuating hours, beginning May 26 through the end of July. These positions will require heavy lifting and physical labor.
If interested, please apply immediately.
Campus News
The Neighborhood, the State, the Nation, the World: The concentric reach of one South Texas church making disciples who make disciples
“We’re from West Conroe Baptist Church. We’d like to pay for your groceries today.”
Stop at any grocery store in Conroe, Texas, and you may hear this refrain from members of West Conroe Baptist Church. People from the congregation are known throughout the community for such “random acts of kindness,” and a number of citizens have had their groceries paid for by such generous, servant-minded individuals.
Other members of the Greater Houston community have done their laundry for free because a kind-hearted congregant from West Conroe handed out quarters at the laundromat. People in foster care as well as the homeless have received socks, water, and snacks via “blessing bags” from the church’s sewing team. People are being clothed, stomachs are being filled, needs are being met, and prayers are being uplifted for the people of Conroe by West Conroe Baptist Church.
Read more here.
HOW-TO: Teach a New Song to a Congregation
One hurdle that contemporary churches have in teaching new songs to their congregations is the lack of a musical score from which church members can read (i.e., a hymnal). Because of this, song leaders have to be creative in effectively teaching new songs to the congregation.
When teaching a new song, here are three principles to consider.
Read more here.
Dark Shadows & Bright Promises: The ‘missionary vision and passion’ planted in Brazil by the ‘first Southwesterner’ continues to grow
“I think this verse characterizes my grandparents’ journey to and ministry in Brazil,” AnneLu Bagby remarked. She held up an unused children’s coloring book page she had translated into Portuguese as she spoke to a group of more than 200 women gathered for tea. The church in which they assembled, First Baptist Church Goainia (Primera Igreja Batista em Goiania), was her childhood church home and one pastored by her father, T.C. Bagby. The text, accompanied by a hand-drawn wooden ship on the black-and-white page, taken from Psalm 139:9-10, read, “If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me.”
AnneLu’s grandparents, William “Buck” and Anne Luther Bagby, departed from the United States on Jan. 13, 1881, bound by ship for Brazil, trusting that the Lord’s hand would guide them. The two eager Texans, commissioned by the Foreign Mission Board and supported by the giants of Texas Baptist life at the end of the 19th century, would be instrumental in starting Southern Baptist work in Brazil. The providential hand of God guided them and others with whom they partnered to fulfill a great calling with tremendous effort. More than 100 years after her grandparents first set foot in Brazil, AnneLu, now 86, was invited to participate in the 113th annual gathering of the Brazilian Baptist Convention as an honored guest.
Read more here.
HOW-TO: Know whether God has called you to be a missionary
God has called all believers without exception to engage the Great Commission, making disciples of all nations. But is there a special calling for some to become missionaries in the vocational sense of the word? Absolutely!
God calls men and women to uproot their lives, prepare for service through theological education, and launch into cross-cultural environments to learn the language and culture of a specific people and give their lives to reach them with the Gospel of Christ.
So, how do you know if you’re called? Consider these three things.
Read more here.
