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Hillcrest On Mission
by Tom Goodman
October 7, 2010

Your church staff is committed to engaging Hillcrest in mission opportunities in every age level of our church.  Here are a few of the activities, by staff member:

Tom Goodman

  • You were kind to enable me to go to Zambia for five weeks and teach in the Baptist Seminary in Lusaka.  Since that trip, our Missions Committee and several members have committed to sponsoring five seminary students through their 3-year program.  I plan to return with a group of educators in 2011, God willing.
     
  • While I was in Zambia, I helped distribute home health-care kits from the seminary campus.  These kits are part of a project organized by Baptist Global Response (BGR).  This past summer, I led our church to pack home health-care kits for BGR, and you packed 85, at a cost of about $100 each!
     
  • In a few weeks my Common Ground group will decorate the Angel Tree for our auditorium.  By participating in Prison Fellowship's Angel Tree, you strengthen families by helping parents who are in prison provide Christmas presents for their kids.  We've made this a part of our Christmas tradition at Hillcrest for several years.  We partner with Friendship Church (a church we helped start).

Herb Ingram, Minister of Education

  • One of the "minimum standards" Herb leads our adult small groups to observe is to have at least one mission/service project each year.  This has resulted in service in the soup kitchen, or renovation of Skyview Ministry Center, or relief to a family flooded out, to name a few.
     
  • One of the biggest new missions projects for our church has just begun:  Herb has mobilized a team of volunteers to start an ESL program here (English as a Second Language).  This will help us connect with local international families.
     
  • I still remember Herb's "Can Hunger" project from a few summers back:  Watch for a new effort in 2011 to develop "mission points" within our ministry bullseye.

Karen Raulie, Minister to Children

  • Of course, Upward Basketball and Hillcrest Hoops is a major service to our community, as is the Summer Camp; and many of the craft projects are turned into ways to give to/help others.  Also, UPWARD concession proceeds go to A Cup of Kindness (a senior citizen ministry that Lisa Livingston is involved with).
     
  • The Sunday morning Hillcrest Kids ministry packed two of the home health-care kits this summer.
     
  • The Hillcrest Kids ministry participates in Angel Tree at Christmas with their own gift tree in the children's area and Mother's Day Out.
     
  • Through Mission Friends (our spring Sunday night preschool program) and Children in Action (our Wednesday night children's program) our kids get informed on the missions mandate and how our church is involved in global missions work.
     
  • Kids look forward to visits to the Texas Baptist Children's Home and the "Ring the Bell" challenge at the Highland Lakes camp program.
     
  • During the "Mega Sleepover," kids partner with 30-Hour Famine and donate canned goods for the food bank.

Student Ministry

Jim Siegel has moved to First Baptist Church of Temple, but during his tenure he led our teens in the following mission-related activities:

  • 30 Hour Famine, which raised money for hunger relief.
     
  • Our annual Spring Break trip to Acuna, where Juniors and Seniors build a home for a family in need.
     
  • The youth headed to Tuscon to help Revolution Church with a Vacation Bible School.  Our church's missions budget financially supports Paul Ingram, one of the pastors in charge of the worship music for Revolution Church.
     
  • They youth have made several visits to the soup kitchen and participated in packing BGR home health-care kits this summer.
     
  • Our church is the host site for the Anderson High School chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and for the Murchison Middle School and Anderson High School chapters of Young Life.
     
  • Of course, we were blessed to hear the end-of-summer report on all the international places our youth served this summer.
     
  • Senior adults periodically take all the fixin's for a free lunch to the Baptist Student Ministry building at the UT campus.
     
  • Annually, we host a "Welcome Back" Lunch for the school staffs of Hill Elementary, Murchison Middle, and Anderson High.  We decorate the tables in school colors and hold drawings for prizes.  It's always well-received.  I'm mentioning it in the youth pastor's area, though every staff member participates.

Gene Chappell, Minister of Music and Administration

  • In addition to handling music and administration, Gene is tasked with developing our Second Half ministries.  They have led projects at the Down Home Ranch and Skyview Ministry Center, and they will be working at the Community Center on Saturday, November 6 (E-mail Sheila Evaslage at sreveslage@yahoo.com, or phone her at 343-1318).
     
  • Gene has led a mission trip to Vermont to support work our missions Committee provides funding for.  Gene is now in talks about what help we can provide a church planter in Aurora/Parker, Colorado.

Of course, this is only a partial list of the missions and ministries we support in Austin, in the U.S., and around the world.  And it doesn't include all the things you support through the missions portion of our church budget.  But it's good to occasionally review all the ways our entire staff tries to mobilize "every member on mission!"

--Tom

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