Free Lunches at Adventure Week?

            During the “Radical: Invitation to Extreme Living” sermon series, I preached a sermon titled, “How Much is Enough?”  I spoke about how the Scriptures challenge us in regard to financial prosperity and the poor.  In fact, I made a case for the idea that our treatment of the poor and the needy is evidence of our relationship with God.  The more we love God, the more we will care about and minister to the poor and the needy.

            On that same Sunday, at the conclusion of the service, I announced that during Calvary’s Adventure Week we would be offering free breakfast and lunch for the children that attended.  I also mentioned that the McAllen ISD was the provider of such a service.  There has been concern expressed about the appropriateness of our church offering food that has been provided by a government agency.  There was also a question raised about whether or not offering “school meals” to the children of our church contradicted my message to the congregation that we as Christians should help the poor.

            Given that concern, I think it would be important that I explain our decision to allow the McAllen ISD to serve meals at Calvary during Adventure Week.  It is my hope that this explanation would clarify matters for some of you.

As I discussed plans for Adventure Week with Pastor Susan this spring, we decided that we would schedule it during the day in order to reach more children from the community.  We thought that such a schedule would be helpful for children of single moms or other latchkey children who are not in day care or other day summer programs.  (Sound like the history of the beginning of Sunday School in 18^th century London?).  After we had made that determination, we were told about the opportunity of having McAllen ISD serve free breakfast and lunch to the children who attended.  We agreed to this because we thought it would be a ministry to the children in our community who would come.  The qualification of the program is not based on the individual children who come but on the area where the church is located.  In order, not to make the food distribution cumbersome, the meal program does not require that individual children “apply” or “qualify.”  Any child who shows up and desires a meal, can get one.

The food comes from the USDA Summer Food Service Program.  It is designed to “fill the nutrition gap and make sure children can get the nutritious meals they need” (http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/summer/).  This program usually involves the collaboration of schools, non-profits, businesses, volunteers and government to get the food to the children.  In our case, we felt it was a good way to facilitate the delivery of meals to children in our community/church and to show our care for them as we involved them in Adventure Week.  The Summer Food Service Program did not put any restrictions on what we do for Adventure Week or require anything from us.  In other words, there were no strings attached.

            As Baptists, we believe in the separation of church and state.  Calvary is not seeking or counting on government to support its ministries.  However, we understand that community transformation requires partnership and collaboration with non-profits, with business, with the education sector, the medical sector, and sometimes with government, as long as it does not compromise our convictions or limit our freedom.  When we agree on needs to be met with others, we can partner with them to meet those needs.

I know there are diverse views about this subject among our members.  I recognize that there are some who feel that it is not the job of government to feed people but rather the job of the church and non-profits.  I respect that position.

            The conviction that we should, in the name of Christ, minister to the needs of the poor is a biblical one.  We count on the church to provide resources for this purpose.  We also want to help people have access to other existing resources in the community.

            That is the reason behind our decision to serve the meals during Adventure Week.  I apologize if I offended anyone.  It was not my intention.  We are also willing to revisit this action for the future if it is deemed contrary to our church principles.

            May God bless us as we continue to find ways to make his glory and love known in our community, throughout the Valley and around the world.

Restarting Church in Sullivan City (Another way to Love God and Love People)

For several years now, Calvary McAllen has sponsored what came to be known as Primera Iglesia Bautista, Sullivan City.  During the fall of 2010 our pastors tasked with mission mobilization and our missions committee evaluated the work at Primera Sullivan.  At one point, consideration was given to closing down the church and selling the property.  However, as the committee prayed and as a transition plan was put in place, we felt God indicating to us that we should restart this church again.

Mission Committee’s Decision

Under the leadership of Pastor Rolando Aguirre (tasked with oversight of Calvary’s local and Northern Mexico missions) and Victor Valenzuela (missions committee chairman) the missions committee has approved the restarting of a church in Sullivan City with the following provisions:

•                     Raul San Martin will serve at that location as our missionary church planting pastor with the able help of his wife, Alba.  (The official title may be different but this will be the role);

•                     Raul San Martin will receive monthly financial support from our missions budget (funds have already been allocated for this purpose);

•                     The missionary church planting couple will live in the parsonage at Sullivan City.  This provides a housing benefit for them and protection to Calvary’s property, which might otherwise be vacant and subject to vandalism.

•                     Raul with the help of his wife will be taking care of the church and parsonage property, conducting Bible studies during the week in the summer, offering guitar and sewing lessons, visiting in the homes of the community, and participating in monthly outreach events such as Vacation Bible School, Back-to-school party, etc

•                     Raul San Martin will report to Pastor Rolando Aguirre, while Elizabeth Zamora, Community Ministries Associate will also provide support and volunteer mobilization.

•                     Sunday services will be restarted once school starts in August.

•                     We will seek the participation of Calvary people in Sullivan City at various levels, including Sunday attendance, event participation, project support, etc

•                     We will seek to work in collaboration with Buckner’s Community Transformation Center at Peñitas.

We are grateful for this opportunity that the Lord has re-opened for us.  As we have prayed for direction, God has answered.  We now pray that we will respond in obedience as we love God and love people.  As a church that believes in being a multiplying community and in ministering “to the least of these,” this is a great opportunity.

Background of Calvary’s Work in Sullivan City

As the pastors tasked with missions mobilization and the missions committee evaluated Calvary’s investment in Sullivan City, they discovered several things.  Although Calvary was providing the site property for the church building and parsonage, and monthly financial support for several years, the congregation had dwindled to a handful of people.  The missions committee decided to end the financial support by the summer of 2011.  In January of this year, Pastor David Garcia, who had been in charge of the church in Sullivan City, resigned.  It was recommended that the Sunday services cease until a decision was made about what to do next. 

Ron Corbett, member of the missions committee, immediately went out to Sullivan City to assess the condition of the property and to determine options for dealing with the property.  Making several trips and investing much of his time and personal resources, he became instrumental in informing our staff about what administrative matters needed to be taken care of and in mobilizing volunteers to go and clean up the property.

Although the idea of closing down the church and selling the property was considered seriously, Ron, Rolando and the rest of the committee came under the conviction that much more could be done to help a church start succeed in that location.  While Calvary had provided a site, monthly support and the participation of instrumentalists for worship services, we had failed to provide greater participation from our volunteers, prayer and moral support.

During that time Raul and Alba San Martin made themselves available to move into the property so that it would not be vacant and so that it would be cared for.  The missions committee approved this option, allowing them to probe the community for interest in ministry.  Furthermore, the committee asked that an assessment be conducted to determine what should be done at Sullivan City.  The assessment was to be conducted by Pastor Rolando with the assistance of Elizabeth Zamora.

A Transition Plan Bears Fruit

While we continued to pray for God’s direction, the San Martin couple moved in.  Soon the couple began to establish rapport with the children who came to play soccer on the church’s playground.  A Bible study was started that has grown to an average attendance of 22 adults and youth.  Raul has offered guitar lessons and Alba sewing lessons.  They also opened the church for prayer on Monday mornings.  ABF’s and other volunteers from Calvary made several trips to Sullivan City to clean the property, to conduct a medical outreach and to support the “Día del Niño” block party.

Soon, a ministry started to bloom in a community that some were convinced would never respond to a church in that location.   People from the community have come to Mother’s Day celebrations, Easter Sunday, and the other outreaches.  They continue to ask for Sunday services, some of them even showing up on Sundays and knocking on the door hoping there will be services.

The fruit borne by the presence of the San Martin’s, the participation of Calvary volunteers, and the prayers of many at Calvary over the last couple of months have led the committee to the conviction that a greater investment of financial, human and spiritual resources in Sullivan City should be made.  We are believing that God can raise a strong and vibrant church in the midst of that community.

Conclusion

There is much drug and human trafficking that takes place in Sullivan City.  There is much poverty also.  Some demographic statistics can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sullivan_City,_Texas.  The need for hope is great!  We are convinced that God loves this place and wants to redeem the lives of children, youth, men and women there.  Let us pray for this church restart to succeed with the power of God’s Spirit.  Let us personally invest in its success.  May we be found faithful in this and may the Lord give us other opportunities to multiply as a church.

We are grateful for the leadership of Rolando Aguirre, Victor Valenzuela and Ron Corbett.  We are blessed by the lives of Raul and Alba San Martin.  We thank all the volunteers who have responded to the needs.  And we are happy that Calvary’s financial investment has not been in vain.

This summer we look forward to commissioning the San Martin’s for this task and enlisting the commitment of volunteers and prayer partners.  Pray about your role in this and that of your Bible Fellowship.  Our student ministry is committing to make this their summer missions project, perhaps spilling over into the fall.  As a missional church, it takes all of us mobilizing to carry out God's mission.

We are loving God and loving people.