At Compassion, we highly value our relationships with local churches in the countries where we work. They minister on the front lines to the children we serve. They also minister to us.

As Compassion Latin America and Caribbean regional vice president Edouard Lassegue writes,

“Though these congregations may be under-resourced financially, often they are spiritually rich and vibrant and able to contribute in an authentic two-way relationship.”

Much of the Christian Church today has been blessed with significant resources, financial and otherwise. Other parts of the global body of believers struggle with tremendous limitations of resources yet have incredible opportunities for ministry.

Partnering between the resource-rich part of the Church and the resource-poor part of the Church is not something particularly new or noble. It is just what we should do. It is simply what Paul asked the early Church to do.

It is only right and practical for churches in various parts of the world to partner together to care for each other and to advance the gospel and the kingdom of God.

When the Body of Christ comes together in partnership, we honor and obey Jesus’ mandate that His followers act as one. But it takes time to develop a partnership — especially the relational aspects of partnership.

Relationship is central to partnership. In the countries where we work, partnerships are perceived as being primarily relational. But often in North America and many of our sponsoring countries, partnerships tend to be contractual in nature.

True partnership requires the ability to set aside tasks and agendas long enough for the partners to listen to each other, identify their common mission and understand what each partner can contribute.

Edouard Lassegue says:

“Many times we rush through the process of partnership without taking the time to recognize and put in place the necessary building blocks of partnership. We jump into action without developing the foundation of true partnership — solid relationship.

“On one hand, lack of relationship causes a church in [a developing country] to see its relationship with a parachurch organization or congregation [in a developed nation] as a funding mechanism and not as true partnership that demonstrates equality in Christ, mutual benefits, and sharing resources and lessons together.

“On the other hand, lack of relationship causes the church or parachurch organization from [the developed nation] to want to solve problems for the local church in a paternalistic way, treating that church as a child needing direction, provision and supervision. … True partnership is based on solid relationship.”

At Compassion, we seek healthy relationships in spite of these potential obstacles. We intentionally hire national staff in every country in which we serve. Our front-line relationship manager with every church partner (the partnership facilitator) is selected as one who is as close to the partner’s culture as possible to encourage relationship and communication.

We must walk together, talk together, and have tea together before we will be effective in working together. Real partnership is an ongoing journey, and it takes time.

Courtesy of Compassion International: http://blog.compassion.com/a-strong-partnership-is-about-relationships/#ixzz1lc2BZSZt

If you are interested in participating in this program as a host, please go to the International Student Services website at http://international.tamu.edu/iss and fill out the application. The application can be found under the “Events” section. Once the application is submitted you will receive a confirmation email with further information and instructions.

If you have any additional questions regarding this program, please contact the ISS office, by telephone (979)845-1824, fax (979)862-4633, or e-mail at iss@tamu.edu and put Dinner in a US Home in the subject line.  You may also contact Adrea Dottavio directly at adottavio@tamu.edu.

Date: February 19th, 2012

What: Church-Wide Missions Lunch,  Free Meal

When: right after the morning Service

Place: the Gathering

For yearly Missions Lunch Schedule please click here.

Being people of God we are always caught in the Struggle for the lost. Through the saving Grace of Christ we have been given the power to call on the name of Christ to work in the lives of the lost. What has come to to excite me daily is that this is God’s yearning for the world. He wants all of man-kind to  know and praise him for all of time.  To share and learn  a missionary from the field is welcoming people to his family’s home to come and call out with one voice and intercede for the lost throughout the world. Join us every Sunday night at 9 to pray for the advance of the gospel throughout the Earth.

For more information about Central’s Missions Trips, please click here.

If you have any questions, please contact Mark at mstraznicky@cbcbryan.org!

January 23-April 30, 2012

Mondays from 7:00pm-10:00pm

First Baptist Church Bryan

3100 Cambridge Drive

Bryan, Texas 77803

(979) 776-1400

Why Perspectives
Perspectives helps believers from all walks of life see how they can get threaded into God’s story of redeeming people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to Himself. From Genesis to the prophets, Jesus Christ to the early church, and Constantine to today, you will see how God has been moving, how the global Church has responded, and what the greatest needs in world evangelization remain today. It isn’t a class about missions, but a course on how every believer can be intimately woven into the story of God using His people to be a blessing to all the peoples of the earth.

Curriculum
The Perspectives Reader is a collection of the best articles by a wide variety of Biblical scholars, historians, missiologists, and practicioners. The Perspectives Study Guide helps students navigate through the Reader and ushers students through the study of God’s mission and character through the Bible, Christian history, culture, and the task remaining in world evangelization. Class activities and our unique instructor format bring the class alive to explore what God is doing in the world today.

15 Instructors
The most unique aspect of the course is the diversity and quality of our instructors. Generally, every class schedules a lineup of Biblical scholars, missionaries, pastors, professors, and mobilizers who bring a wealth of experience and passion to each lesson. Some are flown in and some are local. You just may meet a businessman who’s using his company to bless an impoverished African country, a pastor from a local church, or a missionary fresh back from the field.

How to sign up online

http://tinyurl.com/bcs-perspectives

Baptist Global Response

CIA World Factbook on Haiti

Livesay Blog

Real Hope for Haiti

I did a Google search for “seeking God’s will for my life,” and it turned up 315,000 listings. Three hundred thousand voices offering up a way, a plan, an idea on how you can find God’s purpose in your life. How many books have been written, songs sung, and Bible studies led in an attempt to answer this question?

Is it possible that all these voices have missed the simple truth? Has the answer been right in front of us the whole time? “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27, NIV).

The simple call to practice pure and undefiled religion is to serve “the least of these,” and in doing so, we are dead-center in God’s call for our lives.

Isn’t it just like God to provide selflessness as the path toward fulfillment? No 10-step plan, no skills inventory, no talent assessment. At its most basic, we can practice true religion and live out our calling as Christ followers when we pour ourselves into others.

Why is the care of the vulnerable seen as “pure religion”? Because we are never more like Jesus than when we express His sacrificial love and care for “the least of these.” It is simply the continuation of a cycle that God has started in us.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. — James 1:27, NIV

Prayer: Father, we desire to follow You, to serve You. Forgive us when our self-centeredness blocks our view of the beautiful calling You have placed in our lives. Help us to serve others and in doing so, serve You.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kurt Birky is the branding director at the Global Ministry Center in Colorado Springs.

Courtesy of Compassion International: http://blog.compassion.com/orphans-and-widows-god%e2%80%99s-will-for-us/#ixzz1kJ19ZlrQ

If you are interested in helping out with this ministry, there are a few options for you to consider:

First, throughout the month of November, church members can select an individual child and purchase about $75 worth of gifts for them. You can pick up an information packet for each specific child at the Welcome Center in the Main Foyer after each Sunday morning service.

Second, we will be inviting all of the Angel Tree families to Central on Saturday, December 10 from 5-7 PM. We will have some crafts and photo booths set up, followed by a Christmas Dinner and evening entertainment. We need many volunteers to help make this event a success, so if you are interested in helping to decorate, serve food, host, or sit with the families, there is a place for you.

Finally, we will be delivering gifts directly to the family’s homes who are not able to attend the dinner. This will be on Saturday, December 17, and we need people who are willing to make a few stops to deliver these gifts.

If you are interested in volunteering for the Christmas Dinner or delivering gifts, fill out our online sign up form.

If you have any questions, please contact Mark at mstraznicky@cbcbryan.org.

Would you like to join a team of CBC members that “Serves Christ in Crisis” by responding to natural disasters and witnessing to people in their time of greatest need? The Southern Baptist Texas Convention will be leading series of training sessions on safely rigging, climbing and cutting trees in disaster areas. In the past year, our local CBC disaster relief unit has deployed to Tuscaloosa to help with the tornado response, Grimes County to assist with the wildfire relief and Vermont to assist with the flooding cleanup. Many people come to know Christ each year through this ministry and team members are blessed abundantly through their experiences and the people they are able to help. If you would like to join this team please contact Derek Dictson at 979-575-4496 or ddictson@gmail.com.

Spring 2012 Training Dates: 

February 4, 2012 – Corpus Christi, TX – Phase 1

February 13-17, 2012 – Port Author, TX

Feb. 13-14 — Advanced Chainsaw Training

Feb. 15 — Advanced Rigging Training

Feb. 16-17 — Climbing and Technical Rigging Training

March 10, 2012 – Borger, TX – Phase 1

April 27, 2012 – Euless, TX – Phase 1

April 30 – May 5 – Larue, TX – Phase 2

May 19, 2012 – Atlanta, TX – Phase 1

June 2, 2012 – Pflugerville, TX – Phase 1