Mission Successful: 138 Come Forward to Christ in Hispanic Community Outreach Initiative

By Pauline J. Chang, Christian Post Reporter Monday, December 06, 2004

It’s not often that a church brings a hundred members of the surrounding community into Christ in one year, as recent statistics released by Christian demographers revealed. However, at the First Baptist Church in Colleyville, some 138 people came to Christ in one day - with the help of its neighboring churches.

Entitled, “Mission Colleyville,” the annual December 4 outreach, began with church members going out to the community to serve hot meals and pass out groceries to needy families. According to the Baptist Press, the scene was “reminiscent of the disciples’ distribution of the five loaves and two fishes in Matthew 14.”

After the free gifts of physical food, the 2,800 members of the Hispanic community in Colleyville were given a chance to freely hear the message of the gospel at the First Baptist sanctuary.

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During the gospel presentation, the Rev. Pastor Frank Harber reminded those present of the best gift that can be received without cost: Christ Jesus.

“At the end of the service tonight we are going to give you good gifts. Your money is no good here. We are not taking up an offering and we will not accept donations,” Harber said. “The gift of eternal life is just like that. It is free and you would offend God if you tried to buy it.”

Some 138 people came forward to accept this call, revealing once again the miracles that can occur when the church acts with true compassion in their hearts.

“Compassion without action is nothing. True mercy is compassion with action,” said Ron Cogburn, deacon chairman of First Church who were among the first members to think up the outreach three years ago. “We are not only telling the people here that Jesus loves them; we are showing them. Where else could they get a meal, groceries and toys for their children? This makes a lot of difference in their lives.”

According to Cogburn, attendance at the outreach events has doubled in three years, and many more volunteers from other churches have been partaking in the community event. This year, more than 400 volunteers helped pass out the groceries and meals.

Eric Vaughan, associate pastor at First Church, agreed that the Mission Colleyville outreach has been a success.

“Each year we have an increase in the number of Hispanics involved in this outreach. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ. As our population grows, we will need to partner with Hispanics to reach into their communities to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them,” Vaughan said.

“We have a heart and a passion to reach out to our Jerusalem or northeast Tarrant County. It all boils down to the fact that this church body at its core, at its heart, is evangelistic.”

According to the Baptist Press, Vaughan and other ministers baptized eight who had come forward during the evangelistic service, at the close of the outreach event.