LETTER
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“I believe that the church discovers her true nature only as she hen John McCullough, our founding moves from one human world to another, when she crosses pastor, saw San Antonio for the first frontiers, whether these are geographical, cultural, ethnic, time, He described it as... “A dilapidated, miserable linguistic, or sociological.” - David Bosch, A Spirituality of the Road 1 looking place, affording ocular demonstration of desolating war and semi-barbarism.”2 San Antonio was a town of gamblers, desperadoes, houses move all the way from the mountains of North Carolina to of ill-repute, saloons—everything you want in a wild west serve a downtown church in San Antonio, Texas. He told movie! The ruins and wounds from the battle of the Alamo the reporter “Because there are still people in this city and were still fresh. And yet, something moved in McCullough. God still loves them.” With that conviction, FPC entered As a friend put it, McCullough’s“righteous soul was vexed a new season of ministry to our neighborhood and the over much.” Rather than turn away, “John McCullough nations. Under Dr. Zbinden’s leadership, FPC forged would see in this uncertain scene of desolation an oppor- partnerships that made this church a leader in mission and ministry around the world. tunity to serve God.”3 This account reminds me of the story of Matthew chapter 9:35-36:
“...Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” The word translated as compassion is the Greek word splagchnizomai. It means that Jesus literally got a stomachache over the things he saw. It made him sick and brokenhearted. He had to do something. John McCullough felt that same compassion. He could not “un-see” the moral, spiritual and living conditions of the people he met. He had to do something so he “became the first resident protestant minister in that outpost of civilization, preaching the gospel of truth and righteousness to a town of outlaws.”4 John McCullough established this church in San Antonio, but his vision was bigger. He knew that teaching the Gospel in San Antonio would influence not only Texas, but also all of Mexico. For 125 years, the people of First Presbyterian leveraged their position in the center of the city and on the cultural frontier to make that vision a solid reality.
God has a universe—sized Mission, and FPC is part of that cosmic plan. Philippians 2:10-11 reads, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” When we think about God’s design for this church, we must think big. The goal of God, the vision of the creator of the universe, is for every created thing—not just on earth but in heaven, on earth, and even in hell—to know His greatness, glory, power and love. Jesus Christ came to turn people away from brokenness, confusion, fear, temptation and isolation, toward the life-restoring, worldrestoring glory of God. To celebrate God’s work through FPC, a team of congregational leaders and communication staff have produced a beautiful new publication called Heritage in Mission. The purpose of this project is to capture and share stories of God’s compassion and His Glory. Heritage in Mission is not just a record of our ministry, it is an exercise in thanksgiving to our Lord and for the faithful FPC saints who have gone before us. Our hope is that by sharing this heritage, together we will all embrace a broader vision of God’s mission for the church in our own generation. We pray that you will be inspired to become a boundary-crosser and embrace the ministry of Jesus Christ for the sake of God’s glory.
In 1971, another Presbyterian minister came to San Antonio, and a reporter asked the brand new pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Louis Zbinden, why he would
1 2
David Bosch, A Spirituality of the Road, p.58 Donald E. Everett, Adobe Walls to Stone Edifice, p.3
SOLI DEO GLORIA, - REV. DR. BOB FULLER 3
Donald E. Everett, Adobe Walls to Stone Edifice, p.8 Donald E. Everett, Adobe Walls to Stone Edifice, p.15
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CONTENTS 02 SENIOR PASTOR’S LETTER by Rev. Dr. Bob Fuller
SECTION 1
04 06 08
The First Pioneer Pastor Missionaries: McCulloughs and the Monsalvatges
Adversity & Perseverance: The Roots of a Church Plant
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A Heritage of Loving Community: A Myriad of Good Works
Louis H. Zbinden: Care for Those Without Voice or Power
The Great Good of Prayer: A Lifeline for Our Congregation
SECTION 2
14 16 18 20 22 24
Mission Road - Yesterday & Today: How Could We Not?
Loving Children: Young Lives, STAFO, and Malawi Child Sponsorship
Healing and Hope: Launching NAMI
A Family Called to Many Missions: Glorify God by Serving Others
Prison Missionary: Beyond the Comfort Zone
Go to the Cities and Villages: Reflecting the Love of Jesus
26 28 30 32 34 35
Changing Lives and Culture: Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the World Loving Our Community: Relationship & Partnership
A True Texas Story: To the Ends of the Earth
Global Missions Partnerships and Participation: Loving the Nations Throughout Generations Concluding Letter from Associate Pastor, Rev. A. Mitchell Moore
Mission Statement and Special Thanks
HERITAGE IN MISSION
The First
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1521 - 1849
McCulloughs and Monsalvatges
TRAIN YOURSELF FOR GODLINESS … [WITH] HOPE SET ON THE LIVING GOD, WHO IS THE SAVIOR … SET THE BELIEVERS AN EXAMPLE IN SPEECH, IN CONDUCT, IN LOVE, IN FAITH, IN PURITY … DEVOTE YOURSELF TO THE PUBLIC READING OF SCRIPTURE, TO EXHORTATION, TO TEACHING … PERSIST IN THIS. ** In the vast central and southern continent governed by the Spanish from 1521 through 1821, few schools existed for the common people, and fewer churches preached or taught the Bible in Spanish (Espanol) or indigenous languages. The notable exception was Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagun’s ministry in Southern Mexico. Curtailed by the Mexican Inquisition, the priest’s work ceased after his death in 1590.
DID YOU
KNOW?
FPC was founded as a mission, a church plant, over 170 years ago!
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Independence from Mexico opened the door for change in Texas. John McCullough, 38, served as Chaplain in the Third Congress of Texas in 1838, then developed churches in Galveston and Columbia, Texas. In Spring 1846,
McCullough and his new bride, Lorena, along with her family, petitioned their Presbytery to plant the first church in San Antonio. Their mission was to attend to members’ spiritual formation and care, to serve the 2000 Mexicans in the city, and develop the church through Bible distribution and instruction “as a suitable station for introducing the Gospel into Mexico.” Then, war broke out between the United States and Mexico as they arrived. McCullough performed a funeral almost daily for the military and led two worship services on the Sabbath. Reverend McCullough “preached the truth, fully and fearlessly, boldly and
**Excerpts from 1 Timothy 4: 7-16 (ESV) surrounding verse 8, which was the text chosen for the April 1844 worship service at the County Clerk’s office on Commerce St., led by Methodist Pastor John Wesley Devilbiss and John McCullough.
HERITAGE IN MISSION
directly,” denouncing the “crimes and enormous lawlessness” in San Antonio. Despite threats and violent assault, including an assassination attempt at his home that left bullet holes through his clothing, he persisted. Church membership included about a dozen white citizens and enslaved African servants. McCullough reported, “The females of our church had a regular weekly prayer meeting which has been productive of great good.” Lorena helped establish a Sabbath school for 35 children, and a “day school [of] about 50, two-thirds of whom are Mexicans.” Lorena put a deposit on land where they built The Old Adobe, the first house of worship for Protestants. Local Methodists assisted with construction. McCullough appealed for a Spanish speaking teacher to help form a free school to serve up to 500 Mexican children. The Bible Society of New York sent Ramon Monsalvatge, a brilliant reformed Spanish monk, and his wife. Their school sparked an eager rivalry of Protestant and Catholic education and opened
the way for universal education benefitting all the citizens in the city. In 1849, tragedy and setbacks struck both the city and its evangelical churches. The wives of both FPC pastors died, and McCullough was weakened by illness. Enticed by the discovery of gold in California, key members of the church went west with the Forty Niners. Unable to manage alone, the young ministers moved away and eventually remarried. Protestant worship services continued sporadically at The Old Adobe, led by Methodists and visiting Presbyterian clergy. The church was reorganized twice during the next decade.
Mission 709 Update Prayerfully, the FPC church planting committee has worked to call a church planting pastor in Boerne, and is considering plans for planting in South Texas and the borderlands, while discerning opportunity for church planting on the East side of San Antonio. God continues growing and multiplying our FPC family!
What happened to the Founders? Monsalvatge married a member of FPC and moved to the Brownsville/ Matamoros area where he opened a school and led the area’s first Protestant worship services. Later, the couple embarked on a ship in 1855 that wrecked near Cartagena, Colombia, where he is cited as a key figure in helping start that nation’s first permanent Bible, church, and education movement. Afterwards, they served in Africa before retiring to the Valley of Texas in 1884. REV. JOHN McCULLOUGH
McCullough started a college in Galveston that served 90 or more students annually until yellow fever devastated the island in 1854. He remarried, pastored a church in Ohio, and eventually settled between Austin and San Antonio. Some of McCullough’s descendants returned to First Presbyterian www.readmorehere.com Church and remain active in lay leadership.
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
ROOTS OF A CHURCH 1847 - 1901
DID YOU KNOW? Over our 173 year history, families have been faithful in participating in FPC for generations.
FRANCIS “FRANK” MCCARTY NEWTON
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espite his relatively short tenure in the long history of this congregation, John McCullough’s brave efforts to plant First Presbyterian Church provided the opportunity for one of the Church’s early congregant families, the Newtons, to plant deep roots in San Antonio and serve the Church for generations to come. Born in Woodbridge, Connecticut, in 1792, Reverend Samuel Newton accepted the call of the United Foreign Missionary Society of New York in 1821. Newton left the comforts of New England to serve as a missionary to the Osage Indian Nation in present day Missouri. By 1840, he had moved his family to Arkansas where one of his sons, Francis “Frank” McCarty Newton, began various business apprenticeships. One business venture introduced the family to San Antonio. In 1847, Frank Newton delivered a wagonload of Arkansas apples to San Antonio and sold them for a dollar a dozen. Impressed with the success of the business trip, Frank convinced his father and family to move to San Antonio. Far from the bustling city it
“I BELIEVE THAT MY EARLY RELIGIOUS TRAINING AND MY FIRM BELIEF IN THE TRUTHS OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION HAVE SAVED ME MANY TIMES...” is today, San Antonio in the days the Newton family arrived was a town of a few thousand people and, according to family tradition, “there was but one house with a shingle roof, and but one with a board floor.” In May of 1848, Rev. Samuel was received by letter into the initial First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio. This first congregation dissolved in 1849 with the departure of Rev. McCullough to Galveston, Texas, while Rev. Samuel and Frank joined the rush to California in 1849 in search of gold. Samuel returned to San Antonio in 1850, followed by Frank in 1851. Back in Texas, Rev. Samuel and Frank took part in the organization of the second and third iterations of First Presbyterian Church San Antonio. In October 1851, Rev. Samuel Newton was elected a ruling elder for the second First Presbyterian Church, a role he retained until his death in 1865. Unfortunately, this second First Presbyterian Church quickly fell into
HERITAGE IN MISSION
MISSION 709 UPDATE
disorder and could not successfully attract a full-time pastor. The Church went largely dormant until 1856 when the third Church was organized under the leadership of Rev. Robert Bunting. Despite growth from 22 members in 1856 to more than 100 members in 1860, this period in the history of First Presbyterian Church was marked by challenges including immoral behavior of members, disorders involving a saloon next door, and difficulty funding the pastor’s salary. Although the cornerstone of a new church building was laid in 1860, the onset of the Civil War delayed completion until 1879. During the 1860s and 1870s, the congregation met in the flood-ravaged Old Adobe, and later assembled in “one corner of the new building floored and canvassed over and around, the worshippers carrying their own lanterns and stools.” Amidst many trials, the Newton family’s dedication to serving the congregation proved constant while additional families settled in to collectively ensure the church
FPC sees families as the future for our church and a primary and essential component for mission participation toward the transformation of our city. This year, FPC hosted the San Antonio Marriage Initiative (SAMI) citywide marriage conference with over 700 participants. Beginning January 2020, FPC will play a key role in San Antonio’s Decade of the Family.
plant’s long-term survival to serve San Antonio and beyond. Upon his return from the Civil War in 1866, Frank Newton became the ninth ruling elder of First Presbyterian Church since 1846. In 1872, Frank became Clerk of the Session and served in that position for 29 consecutive years until 1901. Reflecting on his life in 1897, Frank wrote, “I have been Clerk of the Session of the Church since 1872. I believe that my early religious training and my firm belief in the truths of the Christian religion have saved me many times from temptations with which I have been
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
unavoidably surrounded during my eventful life, and I would earnestly advise all with whom I may have any influence to accept Christ as a personal savior while young.” Frank Newton’s testimony and service to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is as relevant today as it was in 1897. Following the example of Rev. Samuel and Frank Newton, many of their descendants are members and leaders of FPC today. They serve as ushers, deacons, and elders, and the youngest descendent is in the toddlers Sunday school class. By the grace of God and the service of many more committed individuals and multi-generational families like the Newtons, this church plant not only survived, but continues to be an example of the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
Prayer at T FAR BE IT FROM ME THAT I SHOULD SIN AGAINST THE LORD BY FAILING TO PRAY FOR YOU
DID YOU KNOW? FPC HAS A RICH LEGACY OF PRAYER AND INTERCESSION.
SISSY ORSINGER SISSY AND CHARLES ORSINGER
REV. LOUIS ZBINDEN AND REV. ED WALTHALL PRAYING AT A WEDDING.
he power of prayer has united and sustained the mission of First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio for nearly 175 years, through early uncertainty and the long-reaching impact of Civil War. The congregation prayed through the Financial Panic of 1893, when widespread financial losses dealt a blow to wheat and flour producers in Texas, unemployment levels in Texas reached nearly 18 percent. Facing a huge mission need in agrarian South Texas, Clerk Frank Newton wrote in Session minutes of January 1894, “Even in the midst of financial depression, and without a pastor we may, by united effort and prayers to God for His help and guidance, soon place our beloved church in a position to do a great work for God and humanity in this community.”
SANCTUARY DOORS DEDICATED TO THE GLORY OF GOD IN HONOR OF ‘GEORGE MAUZE’ D. D. MINISTER 1949-1969. GIVEN BY MR. & MRS. W. PAT CAMP.
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
First Presbyterian Church A LIFELINE FOR OUR CONGREGATION
1846 - ONGOING
REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS; AGAIN I WILL SAY, REJOICE. LET YOUR REASONABLENESS BE KNOWN TO EVERYONE. THE LORD IS AT HAND; DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERYTHING BY PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING LET YOUR REQUESTS BE MADE KNOWN TO GOD. AND THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING, WILL GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR MINDS IN CHRIST JESUS. - PHILIPPIANS 4: 4-7 Prayer continued to be a lifeline for our congregation in the 20th century, spanning a mission field including world wars and the devastating financial depression. The ministries of Rev P. B. Hill, the Rev. Dr. George Mauze, and Rev. Dr. Louis H. Zbinden were founded and built on the connecting power of prayer. In his 1971 call to ministry acceptance letter, Zbinden wrote, “I recognize that this is an office to which no man can aspire to fulfill of and by himself. Yet because I do have confidence in Him who hears and answers prayers, I do trust that He has led me.” Under Zbinden’s leadership, prayer vigils were held for children of the church who faced monumental surgeries, and to seek God’s blessings for numerous missions. In accord with James 5, healing services were established, and the pastor and elders were called to anoint with oil and pray at the bedside of those whose lives were in peril. Associate Pastor Ed Walthall, whose family’s involvement at FPC had begun a century earlier, published two books of beautiful congregational prayers that are still read by members and at the beginning of meetings. Congregants Sandy
Sturch and Sissy Orsinger led the congregation, meeting in the Griffith Chapel, to pray for those attending services. They prayed many people would accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior while people worshipped in the sanctuary. In December 2007, Sissy Orsinger established an endowment to build the Prayer Ministry of First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio. In her letter to the church, she referenced Charles Spurgeon who took people to see the prayer room in the basement of Metropolitan Tabernacle where people were always on their knees interceding for the church. Spurgeon declared, “Here is the powerhouse of this church.” Building upon Orsinger’s vision, FPC embraces the ministry of prayer through Stephen Ministries, prayer support groups, care and concern prayer lines, and special days of prayer. Sissy’s endowment letter closed with 1 Samuel 12:23a to model and encourage daily prayer for the church, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.”
MISSION 709 UPDATE
This year our FPC family hosted two days of prayer and fasting for mission, strategically prayed at schools where our students attend, and expanded targeted prayer for outreach and missionaries. At 8:30 every Sunday morning, faithful prayer warriors gather in the Prayer Shawl Room to pray for the pastors, congregation, church ministries, the city, and the nation. Three times a week many from our FPC family receive the Mission 9:38 prayer update.
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
1846 - ONGOING
A HERITAGE OF A MYRIAD OF GOOD WORKS
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hroughout its history, First Presbyterian Church San Antonio members have loved Jesus, loved each other, loved our city, and loved those beyond our borders. We began by worshipping God with our Methodist neighbors in our Old Adobe church. Over time, FPC members responded to God’s grace through dedicating themselves to a myriad of good works.
One of the oldest global ministries is the Women’s Circle that rolled bandages. Made during wars, these bandages have been sent to developing countries throughout the world. A Sewing Circle of talented women made bibs and pajamas for children and adults who live and learn at Mission Road Developmental Center. Currently, members of the Prayer Shawl Ministry provide beautifully knitted shawls for FPC partners and friends who are ill or grieving. A cross is woven into each shawl, and every recipient is prayed over. Those who receive the prayer shawls and the prayer card that accompanies the shawl frequently respond with gratitude for the immeasurable comfort provided by this ministry.
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THE OLD ADOBE We began by sharing worship in our Old Adobe church with our Methodist neighbors to the glory of God and his Kingdom.
SEWING CIRCLE MEMBERS 2019
FPC has a strong history of consistently identifying and meeting needs. More than 100 years ago, the House of Neighborly Service began its ministry to people living on the near west side of San Antonio. The YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) offered a place to sleep and the hope of employment. During the Great Depression, the church dispensed food and assistance to the community.
FIRST PRES WOMEN’S AUXILIARY MEMBERS CUTTING WOOL CLIPS FOR THE WWII EFFORT. SOURCE: OCTOBER 4, 1942, SAN ANTONIO LIGHT.
Living in Military City USA, FPC members served those who serve our country. The USO and Military
HERITAGE IN MISSION
MISSION 709 UPDATE With the goal to share the compassion of Christ with our neighbors, this year FPC opened the Kingdom Restoration Lab, a collaborative effort to holistically and faithfully love and serve our neighbors, neighborhood, and city.
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YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. MATTHEW 22:39
Canteens were part of community outreach. Sharing the gospel message on the streets was a regular activity of Rev. Dr. P. B. Hill, a Texas Ranger and Chaplain. Dr. Hill was known to keep a can of water on his desk at the church, so he was always prepared to baptize a contrite sinner. As San Antonio grew and suburbs developed, FPC planted church congregations. During the 20-year tenure of Rev. Dr. George Mauze, seven new Presbyterian congregations were established. With a heart for God and compassion for his people, George Mauze visited the patients and medical care teams of downtown hospitals at all hours of the day and night. Pastors, deacons, and Care Clusters continue FPC’s hallmark tradition of extending God’s grace and
support. In 1971, Rev. Louis H. Zbinden was called to pastor FPC San Antonio. San Antonio’s historic downtown church was struggling to maintain membership as potential members located to the suburbs, Loop 410, and beyond. Zbinden preached a lifestyle of caring for the lost, the last, and the least, and people came to Fourth and Alamo to hear the message. The loving community had deep historical roots, and Zbinden challenged the congregation to have the wit and the will to live God’s plan for FPC San Antonio.
DID YOU KNOW?
HOMELESS NEIGHBORS AWAITING FOOD AND LODGING ASSISTANCE.
REV. ZBINDEN AND CITY LEADERS PREPARE TO GIVE OUT SANDWICHES AND MATS FOR THE UNDER-RESOURCED IN DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO.
FPC HAS FAITHFULLY AND FRUITFULLY LIVED OUR CURRENT MOTTO THROUGHOUT OUR HISTORY? WE HAVE BEEN SEWN TOGETHER WITH THE LOVE AND WORK OF CHRIST AS WE HAVE LOVED OUR CITY.
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
H. Z
1971 - 2003: TENURE
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CHRISTIAN ASSISTANCE MINISTRIES Christian Assistance Ministries, better know as CAM, was founded in 1977 under the leadership of FPC minister Louis Zbinden and with the assistance and efforts of many devoted volunteers from our church. Still located just down the street from First Pres on McCullough Ave., CAM now serves over 50,000 people annually — providing groceries, sack lunches, clothing, financial assistance for prescriptions, utility assistance, ID recovery, and bus passes for work and medical appointments.
Mission 709 Update: Many CAM clients are referred to the Christian Hope Resource Center, located in FPC’s Kingdom Restoration Lab, for mentoring and assistance developing transformational life skills.
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
Care for Those Without Voice or Power In 1971, a young and energetic Louis Zbinden, with his wife, Kip, and young family, arrived at First Presbyterian Church to become the Senior Pastor. He served as the leader of our historic congregation at the corner of Fourth and Alamo streets for 33 years. Under his leadership, the congregation worked to compassionately care for those without voice or power. In 1977, the Family Service Center, housed in FPC’s basement, united with downtown churches to provide emergency aid for the homeless to form Christian Assistance Ministries (CAM). Located down the street from First Presbyterian Church, CAM serves over 50,000 people annually. CAM’s devoted volunteers from FPC and other churches dispense bus passes for work and medical appointments, clothing, food, financial assistance for prescriptions, identification recovery, and utility assistance. Morning Bible study and prayers are held, and Bibles given out, fulfilling CAM’s mission, “To share the love of Christ by providing immediate assistance and encouragement to people in crisis.” One cold December morning in 1981, Dr. Zbinden found the body of a homeless man who had died in the bushes near the church steps. Zbinden realized the Christian community could no longer ignore the growing number homeless in San Antonio. Soon afterward, Zbinden was instrumental in founding San Antonio Metropolitan Ministries in the Memorial Service Building of First Presbyterian Church. SAMM is now a widely recognized interfaith social services agency, providing services, shelter, and support to those in need to avoid future homelessness.
San Antonio, Nutrition Center for Senior Citizens, San Antonio Literacy Council, Habitat for Humanity, Korean Presbyterian Church, and San Antonio Urban Ministries. Zbinden personally served on 14 community boards including Mission Road Ministries, Morningside Ministries, Hospice San Antonio, San Antonio Christian Dental Clinic, and The Children’s Bereavement Center. These agencies have flourished and met community needs. Zbinden retired from FPC in 2003. He served on numerous university and Presbyterian foundation boards, and on seminary faculty, locally, nationally, and internationally, including several terms in Zambia. Church leaders honored Zbinden through the establishment of the Louis H. Zbinden and Katherine S. Zbinden Chair of Pastoral Ministry and Leadership at Austin Seminary, enabling distinguished pastors to instruct and influence new generations of young ministers. Zbinden closed his sermons with, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever,” (Isaiah 40:8 ESV). Another favorite scripture Zbinden used reflected Heritage in Mission, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me,” (Matthew 25:40 ESV).
FPC also established Samaritan Counseling Center during Zbinden’s tenure, as well as Loaves and Fishes, which monthly offers a free meal at the church to the needy downtown. The list of organizations originally housed at First Presbyterian Church include Victoria Courts Childcare Center, Respite Care of
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
1947 - ONGOING: YESTERDAY AND TODAY
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miracle of care for the neediest began in January of 1976. The ruling elders of FPC, with encouragement from reverends Louis Zbinden and Bill Wood, assumed control of the Board of Directors of Mission Road Developmental Center. In 1947, Cliff and Adele Bledsoe founded Mission Road Foundation and School for people like their son, Craig, diagnosed with severe intellectual developmental disabilities. Over the next decade, the Foundation assumed the care of other children like Craig. In 1954, the Foundation was chartered by the State of Texas as a nonprofit rehabilitation center for exceptional children and licensed by the State Department of Public Welfare. Over the next 20 years, Mission Road took in more children with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) and a number of adults with IDD whose families were unable to care for them.
DID YOU KNOW? FPC seeks to respond to God’s grace by generously stewarding financial resources, influence, time, talents, and leadership for the restoration and renewal of our neighbors and neighborhoods in San Antonio.
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“THE KING WILL REPLY, ‘TRULY I TELL YOU, WHATEVER YOU DID FOR ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF MINE, YOU DID FOR ME.’” - MATTHEW 25:40
Stewardship
The Board of Directors, though capable and dedicated, had difficulty managing a residential community serving severely disabled children and adults. Expenses began to exceed revenue, and many children experienced health issues. As challenges increased, the Board sought a partner who could assume the substantial responsibility and financial risk. Mission Road needed a miracle. The Bledsoes, along with board members Colonel Donald Peacock and Colonel Wesley Peacock, reached out to wealthy San Antonio businessmen, ranchers, and
He was a pitiful figure, afraid, alone, and dejected. Profoundly disabled, slumped in a wheelchair, hair matted and unruly, he was unable to walk or speak. Mentally, he was without hope, and didn’t trust anyone to touch him. The child of an alcoholic mother who beat and left him in his bed to wallow in his own excrement, no one had taught him to talk, eat, or go to the bathroom. No one had held him, kissed his cheek, or told him he was valued and loved until child welfare workers brought Jeremiah to Mission Road Developmental Center. There he met Eddie, a compassionate caregiver with loving eyes and gentle touch. On that day, Jeremiah encountered in Eddie the love of Jesus Christ, and Jeremiah’s life was forever changed.
HERITAGE IN MISSION
Mission Road philanthropists Harry and Joe Freeman. The Freemans discussed the situation with their attorney, John R. Shaw, and accountant, Ken Finch – each servant leaders of First Presbyterian Church. Would FPC take a substantial role in the life of Mission Road? The reality of the situation led FPC leaders to ask, “How can we do it? The place is a mess.” Simultaneously, the decision makers saw the enormous opportunity to make a significant difference in the lives of people who desperately needed care and protection. “How can we not?” The Session agreed to step out in faith, believing God could and would use them to preserve and grow Mission Road. In January 1976, after much prayer and due diligence, the pastors and ruling elders voted to “assume the control of the Board of Directors of Mission Road Foundation Rehabilitation Center.” At that time, Mission Road’s residents consisted of 88 infants, children, and adults. Funding came from parents who could afford to pay, and from modest amounts obtained from the city, county, state, and charitable donations.
Now, 43 years later, Mission Road Ministries, as it is known, serves 850 adults and children daily. The facility owns and operates a 22-acre campus that includes seven homes, as well as classrooms, offices, gym, specially-equipped swimming pool, playgrounds, multipurpose pavilion, activity centers for adults, commercial kitchen and laundry, three apartment complexes, a vocational training center, and a fleet of 45 vehicles. With an operating budget of $20 million, the ministry’s 227 employees are supported by 1,735 volunteers. In the last four decades, the Lord has worked mightily through the members and pastors of FPC and their friends, families, businesses, government, and charitable entities, to make a good life for young and old served by Mission Road. Children and adults are celebrated and honored for their accomplishments, and many have jobs in San Antonio. At Mission Road, people with special needs know that they are loved and valued by God.
MISSION 709 UPDATE
OLIVE ORCHARD MEMORIAL & HARVEST FPC member, Virginia Munroe, planted an olive tree at Mission Road Ministries as a memorial to Brandon Smith, a resident at MRM who worshipped with us every Sunday for 56 years. To honor Virginia and her late husband Clark, an FPC member donated an olive orchard to MRM, and many FPC members helped plant the trees. This year marked the first olive harvest. Pressed
at Sandy Oaks Farm, the oil is sold with labels that identifies the product from the MRM orchard.
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
DID YOU KNOW? FPC has been sharing the love of Christ in San Antonio with children for over 150 years?
“I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ORPHANS; I WILL COME TO YOU” - JOHN 14:18
YoungLives
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or generations, First Presbyterian Church has come to the aid, comfort, and care of mothers, children, and families. YoungLives was founded in 2006 as a ministry to care for pregnant teens and their babies. YoungLives continues to work with FPC members in partnership with YoungLife/YoungLives San Antonio Central, Healy-Murphy Center, and Seaton Home. Through Bible studies, life classes, and retreats, YoungLives guides these women to reach their full potential in Christ while raising their child. The young mothers are supported by mentors throughout the process. Through shared events and experiences, lasting relationships are built and celebrated for mothers, babies, and mentors. Healthy babies and restored young mothers learn to live by faith in Jesus Christ and in community.
THE STORY OF STAFO
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he FPC local mission commitment to children and families continues with the recently founded South Texas Alliance for Orphans, or STAFO.
In 2016, Jennifer Smith, a physical therapist, noticed an everwidening gap between the government foster/orphan care system and the number of children underserved, poorly served, or not served at all. She enlisted the help of churches to stand in the gap. First Presbyterian became a major contributor to launch the effort. STAFO facilitates church support for families who foster or adopt children. In the first few years, more than 500 children in foster care have been served. STAFO trains churches to equip families to provide help and support to foster families in areas including babysitting and transportation. This includes our newly-started L.O.V.E. Initiative (Loving Orphans Via Everyone). Caring for children and families is a Biblical call. Forty churches and more than 200 families have already begun the process of being trained and equipped to help solve the foster/adoption system overload. Supporting crisis pregnancy programs for aging out youth is an emerging challenge. Sharing God’s love in tangible ways, encourages families in need and impacts our world now and for the future.
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2006 - ONGOING
Loving Children
YoungLives, STAFO & Malawi Child Sponsorship MALAWI, AFRICA
B
eginning in 2013, across an ocean and far from Fourth and Alamo, FPC members made a significant investment in World Vision’s child sponsorship program in Malawi, Africa. Initially there was concern that not all the children would get a sponsor, but by noon on sponsorship challenge day, 280 children from four villages had a new family at FPC. Pledging money, prayers, and hearts to these children, support from FPC members supplied education, medical needs, food, clean water and spiritual guidance. Some members traveled to Malawi on a mission trip to meet and hug their sponsored child. God’s love of children, mothers, and families is a constant theme in the Bible, and we are blessed to participate in God’s mission to love the children of his world in Christ-centered, holistic ways. May God’s love overflow the church to touch children and families around the globe.
YOUNGLIVES This year, FPC added a momto-mom mentoring partnership with One by One Ministries, led by Ann Scates and Jennie Brooks, and Any Woman Can in the KRL.
STAFO As part of our L.O.V.E. Initiative, FPC members began a GrandFamilies Ministry to support grandparents raising and fostering grandkids without government support. In August 2019, we provided school supplies to more than 175 GrandFamilies. Throughout the year, teams provide needed home repairs.
ONE FPC FAMILY’S EXPERIENCE : The Wernli family sponsors four children in Malawi; three boys and one girl: Landwell 10, Catherine 11, Adam 13 and Jostard 15. Landwell was 4 when the first photo was sent - they have all grown up so much. Their photos dot the refrigerator, along with those of the Wernli grandchildren. Their names and needs are listed in all of the prayers raised to Heaven for God’s children near and far.
MALAWI The FPC partnership with World Vision has been so successful that the community has graduated in 2019 and is now self-sufficient!
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Healing & Hope MAY THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE AS YOU TRUST IN HIM, SO THAT YOU MAY OVERFLOW WITH HOPE BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. - ROMANS 15:13 2008 - ONGOING
LAUNCHING NAMI
T
en years ago, when a family faced the prospect that one of their members had a mental health disorder, they turned to a pastor at First
Presbyterian Church. Doug and Barbie Beach shared how they had found great help through NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Soon, the Beaches found themselves teaching NAMI classes to families from FPC and across San Antonio. Next, they led a faith-based family support group, followed by the organization of an annual city-wide ecumenical EACH YEAR FPC SPONSORS A TEAM FOR THE NAMIWALKS 5K EVENT AT MORGAN’S WONDERLAND.
worship service for families and individuals affected by mental illness. FPC opened its doors to monthly meetings of the Mental Health Task Force, and people from across the city came to help identify the gaps in the mental
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
DID YOU KNOW? FPC PROVIDED SEED MONEY FOR PATHWAYS TO HOPE: SAN ANTONIO MENTAL HEALTH CONFERENCE. PATHWAYS TO HOPE HAS BECOME THE NATIONAL STANDARD FOR SIMILAR EVENTS.
health care system. In 2016, the Local Missions Committee made a bold commitment to help fund a new conference in San Antonio. Today, Pathways to Hope activates and engages faith communities throughout the city to begin their own mental health ministries. To date, hundreds of families and individuals have attended one of the NAMI classes at FPC, and thousands have attended the
MISSION 709 UPDATE This year, FPC hosted NAMI classes, the annual NAMI fundraiser, a Sunday school class focused on loving friends and family towards mental health, begun a mental health ministry team, and partnered with NAMI to integrate mental health into the work of the KRL.
Pathways conference held at the Tobin Center.
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hen we began, we asked for the chance to share our story, to find others who needed comfort, and to minister to them. We have been blessed beyond measure and “... overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Doug & Barbie Beach 19
HERITAGE IN MISSION
A FAMILY CALLED TO MANY MISSIONS 1988 - ONGOING
GLORIFY GOD BY SERVING OTHERS
THIS IS MY COMMANDMENT, THAT YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU. - JOHN 15:12
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fter college, a young couple returned to First Presbyterian Church. Viewing themselves as consumers, they looked for what the church offered to them. Where did they fit? Was the message relevant? Was this a good place to worship on Sunday? Craving for more Before long, Becka and Bobby Byrd wanted to become more involved in church community. The couple visited a Sunday school class and accepted an invitation to dinner at the home of another FPC family. Dinner led to friendships with their hosts and other new class members. The circle of friends formed a small group. As part of the group, the couple participated in service projects including volunteering at Mission Road and Loaves and Fishes. Drawn into mission 20
opportunities, they sought ways to show the love of Jesus Christ to others as a nursery angel and participating in Children’s Ministry. When someone asked if they would join the Godly Play teaching groups for 4-yearolds to 7-year-olds, they eagerly committed. For more than a decade, they invested in the
lives of children as they grew and developed into adults. FPC Children’s Center As their own three children progressed through the FPC Children’s Center, the parents became aware of the financial struggles of the ministry and the unease involved with leadership changes. They volunteered
LOAVES & FISHES
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on the Advisory Board and brainstormed fundraising for this vital non-profit entity of the church, spearheading the initial Spring Fling annual event until the FPC Children’s Center became operationally sustainable.
Mission is using your talents and abilities to glorify God by serving others. Serving others opens the door for relationship and opportunity to demonstrate love as Christ loves us. We come to church, not only to receive, but also to give. Your mission is where Christ leads you, who he
Talents and callings According to their different skills, one spouse participated on the contemporary worship team and the Youth Committee, while the other served on finance and property committees. One focused on international missions involving children, traveling to Russia and with a medical mission to Mexico. The other traveled to Haiti with the youth construction mission trip. Today, this couple is involved in outreach to the city and assists weekly with FPC youth groups.
WARSAW MISSION TRIP
places in your path, and what he puts in your hand to do.
- Becka & Bobby Byrd
MEXICO MEDICAL MISSION TRIP
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
EARLY 1980s - 1990s
A MISSIONARY BEYOND THE COMFORT ZONE
JESUS SAID TO THEM, “THOSE WHO ARE WELL HAVE NO NEED OF A PHYSICIAN, BUT THOSE WHO ARE SICK,” - MARK 2:17
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hen people think of Sandy Sturch, they think of an instructor who taught the Adult Bible Class with excellence. They think of an elegant lady with perfectly coiffed hair wearing a Saint John dress. They probably don’t think of a woman who’s spent a decade in jail. In the early 1980s, while reading her Bible, Sandy was struck by the words in Matthew 25:36-46, particularly the emphasis on those who are incarcerated, “I was in prison and you came to me,” (Matthew 25:36b ESV). Sandy was thinking about that verse, and aware that FPC did not 22
have an outreach to prisoners, as she walked by a room where the Local Mission Committee was meeting. They invited her in and when the discussion turned to prison ministry, the committee asked Sandy to go to the San Antonio jail and see how First Presbyterian Church could help those in the prison system. During her first visit, after waiting nearly three hours, Sandy was unable to meet with the chaplain. Returning the next day, she met Sister Margaret Carrew who welcomed the church’s involvement with the inmates. Despite only being there to gather information, Sandy agreed to start a weekly Bible study that she continued for ten years. Each week, inmates gathered in a
HERITAGE IN MISSION
large cell where Sandy taught, prayed for them, and reminded each one that Jesus loved her. Many of the women she met had effectively been discarded by society. They knew they needed a Savior. The message of Christ’s love and forgiveness fell like water on their parched souls and many lives were changed. Sandy developed relationships with many prisoners, one of whom was released but had no place to stay while she waited for her father to drive to San Antonio to pick her up. Sandy invited the woman to her home for those four days. Looking back, Sandy laughed. “I woke in the middle of the night
and thought, ‘What am I doing?’ I’ve got a drug dealer sharing a room with my daughter.” Sandy never felt fearful when she heard the doors lock behind her during her weekly time inside the jail. Finding herself in a conversation where she didn’t know how to respond, she was amazed at the words God gave in the moment to share. She saw grace soften hearts and the good news of Christ change lives. When Sandy had to be away for three weeks, she coaxed Anne Smith into covering for her at the jail. Sandy laughingly referred to Anne as “Miss Charity Ball” as she recalled how out of her
comfort zone prison ministry would be for Anne. When Sandy returned from her travels, she told Anne she was ready to go back to teaching the Bible studies at the jail. Anne replied, ”You’re not getting your class back.” Anne carried on with the jail ministry for the next ten years. Is God calling you to serve in a ministry outside your comfort zone? Would you be willing to follow him if he did? Is there a need that could be filled? Is there a baton you can take from another so you may bring fresh vision to a ministry that needs to continue?
MISSION 709 UPDATE
FPC has Mission 9:38 prayer text updates sharing prayer for our ministry partners, mission participation,
and for the Lord to raise up laborers for the harvest. 9:38 is taken from Matthew 9:38, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few...” May the Lord raise up more laborers from our FPC family!
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1994 - ONGOING
GO TO THE CITIES AND VILLAGES M 2010 Earthquake In 2010, a 7.0 earthquake occurred near the hospital where Dr. Wilkins first helped, resulting in an estimated death toll from 200,000 to 300,000. Dr. Wilkins was fortunate to have participated in an emergency medical assistance team serving the survivors.
REFLECTING THE LOVE OF JESUS: DR. KAYE WILKINS
uch of FPC congregational service around the world takes the form of specialized individual efforts. Encouraged through preaching, teaching, and fellowship, members of the church are invited to respond directly with vision and action to needs God reveals. Many projects are often beyond the ministries that church committees and staff are able to direct, but are no less integral to FPC’s purpose. The inspiring work of Dr. Kaye Wilkins, a pediatric orthopedic specialist, represents many such individual efforts. In addition to teaching at the medical university level in Texas and Mexico, Dr. Wilkins carries on a remarkable ministry in Haiti, where he systematically trains
One of the early fellowship-trained pediatric orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Wilkins and his cohort of colleagues developed the nation’s first pediatric orthopedic society in the 1970’s. “By 1994,” Dr. Wilkins explained, “I began to feel that because I had been so blessed by the Lord with a good career in pediatric orthopedics, God was telling me that it was time to share the gifts he had provided me. I started to investigate places to be of service. The next year, I began to realize that the development of pediatric orthopedics was either nonexistent or in just the infant stages in countries with limited resources.”
Challenging conditions include severe bowing due to rickets, neglected clubfeet, and untreated bilateral clubfeet. These are unseen in developed countries.
Procedure modifications such as stabilization of a tibia fracture with wires and small boards, and surgery using a sterile towel covering a hardware store drill, with a simple office desk lamp as the light source.
Faculty teaching in the initial continuing education. Orthopedic surgeons from the Dominican Republic were invited.
Orthopedic wing of HUEH
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and mentors medical faculty and a corps of lay medical practitioners.
HERITAGE IN MISSIONS As a member of the Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Medical Benevolence Foundation (MBF), then an arm of Mission Services of the Presbyterian Church USA, Dr. Wilkins learned of Hôpital St. Croix, which became his first location of service in the area. Eventually, he established a relationship with the Orthopedic Department of the State University Hospital (Hôpital Université d’État d’Haïti, or HUEH.) At the request of the orthopedic faculty of HUEH, Dr. Wilkins initially provided lectures on pediatric orthopedics to the orthopedic residents. In these teaching sessions he reviewed pediatric cases using PowerPoint presentations to explain each condition, followed by an investigative and adaptive discussion, covering accepted orthopedic management and exploration of complications if
Dr. Kaye Wilkins teaching a technician the clubfoot casting technique, and the technician now teaching another new technician the technique.
the condition was not treated appropriately. To Dr. Wilkin’s surprise, many of the conditions presented at the clinics were in an untreated or neglected state. While in North America, appropriate treatment is initiated in the early stages of the condition, many patients in Haiti required altered treatment from standard procedures used in San Antonio. Modifications were designed to bridge the lack of specialized equipment. In each case, Dr. Wilkins enabled the residents to perform the surgical procedure, while he assisted, to assure they would have the ability and confidence to perform similar surgeries after his departure.
Continuing Education As Dr. Wilkins became acquainted with the staff and residents and orthopedic surgeons in private practice, it became obvious that they had no opportunities for continuing education. He turned to his North American colleagues to help organize
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. - Matthew 9:35 ESV
the first orthopedic continuing education courses in Haiti, with outreach to doctors in the adjacent Dominican Republic as well. Dr. Wilkins and his colleagues arranged to bring Haitian residents and graduate orthopedic surgeons to the UTHSCSA medical school and Santa Rosa hospital. These professionals participated in orthopedic teaching conferences and observed clinics and surgery.
The Clubfoot Program The Clubfoot Program developed by Dr. Wilkins is perhaps his most successful project with the greatest lasting effect on many children. In Haiti, many children are born with a physical deformity of the foot described as clubfoot. Existing treatment in Haiti involved labor intensive major surgery with limited success that paid little, causing local orthopedic surgeons to avoid the undertaking. Dr. Wilkins introduced an adaptation
of a successful US method, training ordinary individuals to become dedicated technicians. Dr. Wilkins mentored medical laymen to carry out a progressive, weekly stretching and casting technique that achieved and maintained successive transformational corrections. The key to the process was conducting training sessions to establish clubfoot treatment centers. With the support of CURE International, supplier of the cast material, the Clubfoot Project established ten treatment centers serving almost all parts of Haiti.
Faith through Difficulties Dr. Wilkins and his US and Haitian partners navigated hurricanes, earthquakes, political instability, and acute poverty to bring hope and healing to the people of Haiti. The depth of faith Dr. Wilkins observed in his Haitian friends as they endured difficult times was a constant source of inspiration. While his work was not overtly evangelical, wherever he has gone, Dr. Wilkins equipped others with encouragement, skills, and example to serve their community in a way reflecting the love of Jesus.
Clubfoot Treatments Clubfoot treatments include a 12-year-old with bilateral clubfeet requiring a surgical correction, and infants with their newly applied casts.
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
2000 - ONGOING
ANGELA POLANCO, ONE OF EVERLUZ’S ORIGINAL AMO STUDENTS, WITH HER CLASS.
ANGELA POLANCO IN 2015, TEACHING HER OWN CLASSROOM OF STUDENTS IN LA MESETA.
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Christian Education and Discipleship
F “GO THEREFORE AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU. AND BEHOLD, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE END OF THE AGE.” - MATTHEW 28:19-20
DILIGENT SENIOR HIGHS PARTICIPATE IN WORKCAMP IN VALLADOLID, YUCATAN.
Liv
rom 2000 to 2010, FPC mission teams served often in Latin America: on the Mexico border with Proyecto Amistad and other organizations; in Southern Mexico with Yucatan Peninsula Missions (YPM); and in the Dominican Republic (DR) with Food for the Hungry (FH). Some teams helped with desperate medical needs, others with sanitation or water projects, and others provided Vacation Bible School (VBS) or basic education in poor communities. Each engaged in worship and fellowship with local church members at every opportunity. Over time, FPC members fostered sustainable gospel transformation by equipping local church members for leadership in Christian education and discipleship. A key resource considered by FPC members was the AMO® Program created by Chrysalis International. AMO training and curriculum enables parents and church educators to disciple children in Christian character and imagination using the Bible, classic literature, and providential history. In 2004, some FPC member families teamed with FH and the Latin America leadership development ministry, Semilla, Inc. to prepare the first Spanish translation of AMO. The program was intended for use at a school in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila in Mexico where FPCconnected families fostered accredited education for children who had no school. In 2007, a group of FPC adults and teens visited the village, La Meseta, in the Elias Piña province of the DR. The visitors were surprised to learn that the 200 children in the village, located along the Haitian border, had not attended school for several months because the lone public school teacher had left. Local churches were unprepared to step in to teach their children. Discussions in San Antonio among the FPC teen members and their families, the Global Missions Committee, and FH’s DR Country Director, Luis Sena, led to training local FH workers in early 2008 so they could pilot AMO in La Meseta and two other villages. Everluz Urbaez, a native of Elias Piña serving with FH and assisting FPC, reported the AMO training helped her
HERITAGE IN MISSION
ves & Culture in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the World learn to “think, reason, relate, and discover” Biblically, joyfully transforming her life and ministry. After the first six weeks of Everluz’s AMO class in La Meseta in 2008, the FPC teens returned to see dramatic improvements in the hope, vision, and behavior of the 100 children enrolled. The transformation story spread rapidly and another AMO training in the DR was quickly arranged. Particularly impacted in that second training was Cristina Inchaustegui, whose experience and testimony soon contributed to fast growth in the DR. In 2009, FPC members shared the DR story with FPC’s Mexico Border partner. Proyecto Amistad asked Global Missions to help launch AMO at the small church, Iglesia Victoria en Jesuscristo, in a suburb of Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas. Even as the neighborhood was ravaged by criminal syndicates, assassins, and armed street battles, stories spread of incredible restoration in participating church families. Soon, AMO trainers Jacqi Gough and Cristina Inchaustegui were invited by FPC members to help disciple Mexican parents and pastors in the biblical calling to teach children. FPC member Vija McDill accompanied and facilitated for the trainers. In time, FPC missionary, Chris McReynolds, who guided these efforts in Nuevo Laredo, and
Cristina Inchaustegui, were joined by Francelia McReynolds. They expanded AMO training nationally in Mexico. Cristina and Everluz helped introduce AMO throughout the DR and in numerous Latin American nations, and developed a growing network of trainers and teachers. By 2019, AMO’s Spanish language outreach, fostered by FPC and others, served 9000 children in the DR, 3000 in Mexico, and more than 30,000 in other nations. As seminaries in Mexico and mission organizations cooperate in the effort, the ministry has expanded to include a focus on marriage and impacting families and culture more broadly through biblical worldview. Still, one of the most inspiring stories continues to develop back in Elias Piña. Three of Everluz’s original AMO students – Angela Polanco, Ana María Alcántara, and Daury Rosario – became the first students from La Meseta to enroll in college. By 2015, these young leaders were able to help teach AMO in La Meseta and expand outreach into other villages.
Another of FPC’s Latin American ministries has also blossomed into educational outreach. FPC’s work in Yucatan with YPM, led to participation in the building and opening of a technical college in the rural Leona Vicario area in 2016. Previously, there was no local higher education for job training available for the region’s more than 30,000 residents. Just as he did 175 years ago, God continues to give FPC many Christian education and discipleship opportunities locally and internationally to strengthen individuals, families, regions, and nations.
MISSION 709 UPDATE FPC partnership, participation, and support of God’s work through AMO and YPM continues to grow!
This growing outreach - with the assistance of Cristina, FPC teens (now adults), FPC church leaders and FPC Global Missions - now serves hundreds of students in Elias Piña. The transformational impact on the children has inspired public schools in the area to request help to train and equip volunteer teachers to use AMO too.
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THE ENTRANCE TO A FREE CHILDREN’S CLINIC HOUSED IN THE BASEMENT OF FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BEGUN IN 1924.
RELATIONSHI
A
THE SAME ENTRANCE AND AREA USED AS A FREE CHILDREN’S CLINIC IS NOW THE AREA HOUSING A COLLABORATION OF MINISTRIES. THEY MINISTER TO EXPECTANT MOTHERS AND OUR HOMELESS AND UNDER-RESOURCED NEIGHBORS.
s populations shifted to the suburbs and the makeup of our downtown neighborhood changed over many generations, First Presbyterian Church found itself uniquely located by God’s design to love our neighbors near and far. As our international missions evolved to encompass more transformational and discipling relationships, so too have the local ministries of the Church. In 2018 and 2019, our vision for ministering to our downtown homeless and under-resourced neighbors took new form through an evolving array of collaborative ministries. These resources served the community and invited neighbors into our church building to be cared for, loved, and given the hope of the gospel. Loaves and Fishes, a long-time feeding ministry providing a special meal within the church was reimagined. New ministry partners, Pastor Terrell
LOAVES AND FISHES TRANSFORMED FROM SERVING A BUFFET TO SERVING OUR GUESTS AT THE TABLES AND SITTING WITH THEM TO FORM RELATIONSHIPS.
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Jackson and his Faith Based Institute/ Church in the Streets (F.B.I.), work alongside us at our monthly Loaves and Fishes, modeling and teaching how to serve and care for our homeless neighbors. Volunteers’ ministry changed from serving a buffet to serving our guests seated at tables, and then sitting with them to form relationships. Hospitality includes providing showers, fresh clothes, and haircuts prior to the meal. Through these services, our members and Pastor Jackson build relationships with our neighbors and feed their souls, not just their stomachs, by our extending an invitation to Monday night Bible study on our church campus for our homeless neighbors. What once involved a handful of members has grown to include more than 40 volunteers monthly with more than 200 members participating. However, as we better understood our neighbors, it became clear we could not take
EXAM ROOM AND SONOGRAM MACHINE RUN BY OUR PARTNER ANY WOMAN CAN, LOCATED RIGHT BENEATH OUR SANCTUARY.
HERITAGE IN MISSION
HIP & PARTNERSHIP 1924 - ONGOING
BEING SO AFFECTIONATELY DESIROUS OF YOU (OUR NEIGHBORS), WE WERE READY TO SHARE NOT ONLY THE GOSPEL OF GOD BUT ALSO OUR OWN SELVES, BECAUSE YOU HAVE BECOME SO DEAR TO US. - 1 THESSALONIANS 2:8 care of their abundant needs on our own. We needed help; we needed collaboration. Out of this awareness came our partnership with San Antonio Christian Hope Resource Center (SACHRC). Their social workers addressed the myriad needs our neighbors experienced. This nonprofit mentored individuals and families experiencing crisis and poverty on the west side and needed a downtown location to reach more of our neighbors. Where better to house them than an underutilized portion of our own church campus? The basement beneath the sanctuary became the Kingdom Restoration Lab, an evolving collaboration of various Christ-centered ministries bringing redemptive restoration to our community. In addition to SACHRC, CAM, and F.B.I., Any Woman Can came onboard, bringing free counseling and medical services including sonograms to downtown women in crisis. One by One Ministries provided mentors to educate and build relationships with new moms. These last two partners greatly benefit our Young Lives teen moms from Healy Murphy High School. Mental health services will soon be added with help from our partner, National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). Seeing God
form these partnerships, we can only imagine what wonderful future collaborations God has planned for the KRL. This concept of collaboration and efficient use of church facilities was utilized for that very same church basement back in 1924. For a number of years, our church and the newly formed Junior League provided much-needed medical services for children whose parents could not afford proper care. A free children’s clinic, with services provided by professionals assisted by League volunteers, was financed, equipped, and housed by the church. From the beginning, it has been in our DNA at First Presbyterian Church to serve and love our community. That heritage of service to the community is continuously being reimagined and transformed through insightful collaboration with ministry partners and a creative use of our church campus. As a result, our homeless and under-resourced neighbors are being served and exposed to the love of Jesus. The heart of our congregation is being softened and transformed as more and more of our covenant partners become personally involved in new ministries and find that in serving others it is we who are being changed.
KRL OPENING 2019
A SOFT LAUNCH OF THE KINGDOM RESTORATION LAB BEGAN ON JANUARY 6, 2019.
THE OFFICIAL RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY FOR THE KINGDOM RESTORATION LAB WAS HELD ON AUGUST 30, 2019.
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To
the Ends of the Earth 1846 - ONGOING
CARRYING THE GOSPEL TO POLAND, MEXICO...
f
irst Presbyterian Church’s story is a true Texas story, and it is also a missional, tothe-ends-of-the-Earth story.
Throughout FPC’s history, members have answered God’s call to missions, leaving the comforts of home to serve in unfamiliar, often inhospitable, places. In our more recent history, we remember Beth Allen in Bolivia, the Mickler family in Uganda, the Blaines in Cambodia, the Harpers in the Philippines, and the Allens in China. Beyond these who
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FOR SO THE LORD HAS COMMANDED US, SAYING, “I HAVE MADE YOU A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.” - ACTS 13:47
have worked in permanent posts, there are hundreds of others who have served short-term missions in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Warsaw, Russia, and various other countries. FPC is renewing its commitment to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to Mexico and Latin America. We support multiple mission partners in Mexico: Roberto Medina on the border, Chris and Francelia McReynolds, and Wilian and Erly Cen (who are building a college in the Yucatan). Like John McCullough, these mission
HERITAGE IN MISSION
... LATIN AMERICA, BOLIVIA, UGANDA. CAMBODIA, PHILIPPINES, CHINA...
WE LABOR ON FOR THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
FPC YOUNG ADULTS PRAY WITH JUAN AS HE TRUSTED JESUS CHRIST FOR THE FIRST TIME.
FPC YOUNG ADULTS WORK WITH YPM MINISTRY PARTNERS TO LOVE CHILDREN IN THE YUCATAN!
LEADERS FROM THE PFC AND FROM RUSSIAN SPEAKING CHURCHES IN WARSAW CELEBRATE OUR NEW PARTNERSHIP.
Mission 709 Update
partners sometimes face real risks and violent opposition. The Director of YPM addressed a crowd of 500 shortly after a local cartel assassination, calling for prayer for unity against lawlessness. Roberto Medina has been threatened and robbed by a warring criminal gang while taking border youth to an AMO class. Yet, Roberto labors on for the one who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Undergirding partners like these long-term and temporary missionaries are countless others who devote financial and prayer support to our global mission efforts. Praise be to God for our heritage in missions and the opportunities God sets before us.
IN TOWN MISSION TRIP TO THE EAST SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LA LUZ EN EL BARRIO.
FPC is loving our southern neighbors who have moved north. Many refugees and asylum seekers live on the East side and through our partner, La Iglesia La Luz en El Barrio (The Light in the Neighborhood Church), we are reaching, discipling, and developing new believers. In July, 2019 FPC members participated in an in-town mission trip. We are also helping Proyecto Amistad assist Latin Americans who have been returned to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, as they assimilate in Mexico or await hearings.
YPM LEADERS WILIAN AND ERLY CEN AND THE INSTITUTO UNIVERSITARIO YUCATÁN PENINSULA MISIÓN.
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Partners DID YOU KNOW? FPC HAS HISTORICALLY HAD RICH AND RECIPROCAL MINISTRY PARTNERS IN AND THROUGH OUR DENOMINATION.
S
ince its partnership with the New York Evangelical Society and the Bible Society in its earliest years, succeeding generations at First Presbyterian Church have responded to God’s call to love the nations through carefully selected partnerships with experienced mission agencies. In the early 1990s, FPC sent short-term mission teams to India and Kenya, and deployed numerous members as full-time missionaries to Africa and the Dominican Republic to help with severe human crises. Later, hundreds of FPC members teamed with FH and World Vision on numerous mission trips. Over the years, we built relationships, dug dozens of latrines, hosted vacation Bible schools, prayed, provided freshwater wells, and assisted hundreds of children through child sponsorship. FPC helped pioneer model Christian education programs like the AMO program, aided seminaries, and developed professional colleges like YPM University. The health of villages has noticeably improved economically, physically, and spiritually. Through strategic partnerships, FPC has been involved in gospel-driven water projects in Latin America, constructed a Christian college in the Yucatán, reformed Church partnerships in Haiti and Poland, trained pastors in Indonesia and the Philippines, worked with the International Justice
IRAQ, 2015 BAKERY WINDOW
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KENYA, 1993
Mission to combat sex trafficking of children in the Dominican Republic, and supported missionaries, each with unique means of sharing the gospel, in such faraway places as North Africa, Moscow, Cambodia, Hungary, and Mexico. While First Presbyterian Church has always valued and utilized experienced global ministry partners in responding to God’s call to love the nations. When we moved to our new denomination, a Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO), that model of global mission through experienced gospel-driven partners became the norm for our church and for our entire denomination. Instead of building a denominational mission bureaucracy, ECO forges strong relationships with experienced and wellrespected mission agencies who share our core values. These organizations are eager to help ECO congregations like First Presbyterian Church San Antonio develop global partnerships, make missionary connections, send our members into the world through full-time mission work or shortterm trips, and participate in disaster response and long-term development. First Presbyterian Church works with these principal partners of ECO:
The Outreach Foundation (TOF) engages Presbyterians and global partners in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. TOF
HERITAGE IN MISSION
& Participation 1846 - ONGOING
LOVING THE NATIONS THROUGHOUT GENERATIONS DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 2007
helps congregations catch a vision and partner with the life-changing work God is doing around the world. Through TOF, representatives of our church visited Iraq several times since 2015. Stories from our partnership encouraged our church to help fund the small, struggling Presbyterian churches in that country as they ministered to tens of thousands of Christians and Yazidis brutalized and displaced by ISIS. These congregations later served their Muslim neighbors through the very Presbyterian methodology of establishing and maintaining the best schools for young children in their respective communities in Iraq.
Frontier Fellowship works with IRAQ, 2015
congregations to establish indigenous churches among unreached people groups and find new places to be involved in frontier mission. A resource to help churches create or enhance their vision for taking the gospel to all people groups in the world, Frontier Fellowship and ECO introduced FPC to PARS Theological Centre in London. PARS trains young leaders of the underground house churches in Iran, where God is powerfully orchestrating the greatest turning
of Muslims to Christ in the past 1400 years. FPC recently sponsored a PARS Formation Conference in Turkey for students brought out of Iran, and successfully challenged larger ECO churches to do the same. In October 2019, we welcomed leaders of PARS to FPC to learn from them and work alongside to share the gospel globally.
The Antioch Partners (TAP) is a missionary sending agency, partnering with local Presbyterian churches in the US. Followers of Jesus participate in long-term, cross-cultural ministry and are engaged in evangelism, social justice, discipleship, supporting churchplanting movements, leadership development, and business as mission. FPC has had a longterm relationship with TAP, helping send and sustain missionaries across the globe through administration, training, and spiritual and personal development planning. TAP and its missionaries likewise equip FPC ministries and members for effective mission through consultation, correspondence, and teaching.
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irthed as an outpost to reach a neighboring nation with the gospel, First Presbyterian Church has responded to God’s call to love the nations throughout the succeeding generations. Collaborating with a variety of proven, gospel-focused ministry partners, FPC’s efforts have been multiplied through these working relationships. The churches in our new denomination, our own covenant partners, and you have unlimited opportunities to serve Christ. Together, we are taking the gospel to the people and places the small band of Christ followers worshiping under Rev. McCullough dreamed to reach.
IN 2019, COVENANT PARTNERS FROM FPC WORKED WITH TOF, FRONTIER FELLOWSHIP, AND TAP TO FAITHFULLY AND FRUITFULLY TAKE THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST TO PEOPLE AND PLACES AROUND THE WORLD. WE HOPE YOU WILL JOIN US AS WE CONTINUE TO DEEPEN THESE PARTNERSHIPS AND GROW IN FAITHFULNESS IN PARTICIPATION IN GOD’S MISSION OF REDEMPTIVE RESTORATION!
MISSION 709 UPDATE
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HERITAGE IN MISSION
WE JOIN THE STORY
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e celebrate God’s faithfulness through the heritage of mission participation at FPC. With appreciation for those who came before, we move forward in hope. The missional roots of our congregation sink deeply into the Word and work of God. By God’s grace, as He continues to work in and through our FPC family, we pray you find your highest and best role for participation in God’s mission of redemptive restoration of our neighborhoods and the nations. As you do, remember the focus and fuel of mission – the gospel of Jesus Christ. The people of God are first recipients of the mission of God before we are participants. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life,” (John 3:16 ESV). “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” (Romans 5:8 ESV). God’s mission has reached us through Christ and by His Spirit we seek to respond to His grace through faithful and fruitful participation in His mission, His-story moving forward. By God’s grace we participate in what he is already doing in our neighborhoods and among the nations. Too often, I identify with the priest and Levite in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:2537). Too busy, too full of excuses, with too many righteous reasons to show compassion to my
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COME AND SEE WHAT GOD HAS DONE: HE IS AWESOME IN HIS DEEDS TOWARD THE CHILDREN OF MAN. - PSALM 66:5 neighbors in need. With gospel-empowered mission I am free to turn from my selfrighteousness to the unconditional love of Christ where I find forgiveness. The grace of God is for the Samaritan, and also for the self-focused, selfjustifying, and self-righteous religious folks who pass by those in need. People like me. The Word and work of God highlights the grace of God. Everyone in our FPC body is gifted in different ways, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace,” (1 Peter 4:10 ESV). As each member of our FPC family discovers, develops, and deploys our gifts in relationship with one of our ministry partners, we participate in God’s mission of redemptive restoration. We want to love every neighbor in every neighborhood of our city as we take the gospel to every nation. God has given rich partnerships, a rich heritage, and an even richer grace. May we learn to more faithfully and more fruitfully love our neighbors, neighborhoods, and the nations as he loves us. MORE MERCY - REV. A. MITCHELL MOORE
HERITAGE IN MISSION
LOVING CHRIST. LOVING ONE ANOTHER. LOVING THE CITY.
Special Thanks: We would like to especially thank Rick Lane, Barbara Anne Stephens, Doug & Barbie Beach, Becka & Bobby Byrd, Mike Charlton, Jobe Jackson, Suzanne Letch, Ben & Teresa McCaleb, Diana Morehouse, Mike Munroe, Janet Wernli, Dr. Kaye Wilkins, Holly & David Youngquist, Lindsay Selli, Hank Cherry, Dorothy Hecimovich, Ross Brown, and the countless men and women who have taken the Word and work of God more seriously than their reputations, personal agendas, self-righteousness and comfort, to participate in God’s mission of redemptive restoration. Their sacrificial work has made this piece a reality. May the Lord, who has brought to life our Heritage In Misson, continue to bear fruit for his Kingdom. - Rev. A. Mitchell Moore
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