The Bridge Magazine - Spring/Summer 2022

Contents W M U O F T E X A S B E L I E V E S I N I N T E N T I O N A L LY M A K I N G D I S C I P L E S B Y C R E AT I V E LY E N G A G I N G I N L O C A L M I S S I O N S , E S TA B L I S H I N G PA R T N E R S H I P S FOR MISSIONS, AND EMPOWERING LEADERS FOR WORLDWIDE MISSIONS.

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Remembering God's Love in the New Year

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Broken and (to) Building

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A Journey to SALT – Meet Kristi Moore

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Women's Build Project A Women-Led Home Build Ministry

Setting Captives Free

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Plan Ahead: 5 Things You Can Do Now

Building relationships. Sharing the love of Jesus. Offering hope. Learning. Teaching.

Loving. All of these things describe the WMU of Texas Women’s Build. The first house was built in 2011 and we have been honored to build a home for a family every year since.

Join us on October 16-25, 2022 as we build our 12th home in South Texas.

DETAILS: wmutx.org/womensbuild

T H E B R I D G E P U B L I C AT I O N T E A M Tamiko Jones, Executive-Director Treasurer Brandi Jones, Marketing Specialist Teri Ussery, Copy Editor & Age-Level Strategist London Sharay Design, Graphic Designer THE BRIDGE Published bi-annually by WMU of Texas (214) 828–5150 10325 Brockwood Rd. Dallas, Texas 75238 WMUT X.ORG I AMT E XASMI SSI ON S.ORG @WMUOFTEX AS

YOU ARE RECEIVING A FREE COPY OF THE BRIDGE MAGAZINE BECAUSE OF YOUR GENEROUS D O N AT I O N S T O T H E M A R Y H I L L DAV I S O F F E R I N G ® F O R T E X A S M I S S I O N S . T O S U B S C R I B E O R U P DAT E YO U R S U B S C R I P T I O N , C O N TAC T U S AT 2 1 4 . 8 2 8 . 5 1 5 0 O R E M A I L W M U T X @ T E X A S B A P T I S T S . O R G .

Remembering God's Love in the New Year STORY BY R UTH MEN D OZ A

2022 HAS BEGUN AND MANY MAY BE FEELING the stress of challenges we have already experienced.

Perhaps there is stress dealing with illness or changes at work. Fellow believers, before becoming consumed by it all, stop and remember the very reason we are still standing: God’s unending mercy and love.

As uncertainties of the new year unfold, remember the words of Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Allow God’s love to motivate us to work diligently. Allow His love to direct our plans. Allow His love to move us to compassion for the lost. Allow His love to be the force that pushes us to spread the gospel and to teach others

E L N U E VO A Ñ O 2 0 2 2 H A C O M E N Z A D O Y muchos de nosotros estamos sintiendo la tensión y el estrés de los desafíos y adversidades que ya dio a relucir.

Este año definitivamente ya está mostrándose difícil.

Estimados creyentes, antes de que nos consumamos por todo, detengámonos y recordemos la razón por la que todavía estamos de pie: la misericordia y el amor interminable de Dios. Así que mientras este nuevo año revela todas sus incertidumbres, recordemos las palabras escritas en Romanos 8:38-39, “Porque estoy convencido de que ni la muerte ni la vida, ni los ángeles ni los demonios, ni el presente ni el futuro, ni ningún poder, ni la altura ni la profundidad, ni nada más en toda la creación, podrán separarnos del amor de Dios que es en Cristo Jesús nuestro Señor".

Permitamos que el amor de Dios nos motive a trabajar diligentemente. Dejemos que Su amor dirija nuestros planes. Permitamos que Su amor nos mueva a compasión por los perdidos. Permitamos que Su amor sea la fuerza que nos empuje a difundir el Evangelio y a enseñar a otros a guardar Sus mandamientos. Permitamos que el 4

to keep His commandments. Allow God’s love to reign in our home and life by sharing Christ Jesus our Lord.

For WMU of Texas Hispanic Ministries, God’s love will be the driving force behind the work ahead. We have established a council eager to work alongside WMU of Texas Hispanic Ministries and churches. We have motivated Hispanic churches to give to the Mary Hill Davis Offering® and will continue to do so throughout the year. As churches are gathering in person again, we are implementing missions discipleship through women’s small group meetings.

Will you help us pray? Pray for God to put His vision and plan for this ministry in our hearts. Pray that He continues to direct our path. Pray that He opens our eyes to the needs of the churches and that He guides us as we walk alongside them. Pray that we find strength in the joy of God’s love.

amor de Dios reine en nuestro hogar y en nuestra vida compartiendo a Cristo Jesús nuestro Señor.

Para WMU of TX Ministerios Hispanos, el amor de Dios será la fuerza impulsora detrás del trabajo que está por delante. Hemos establecido un consejo que está ansioso por trabajar junto con los ministerios e iglesias hispanas de WMU de Texas. Hemos motivado a las iglesias hispanas a donar a la Ofrenda® de Mary Hill Davis y planeamos continuar haciéndolo durante todo el año. A medida que las iglesias se reúnen en persona nuevamente, estamos trabajando en la implementación de la educación de discipulado de las misiones a través de reuniones de grupos pequeños de mujeres. ¿Nos ayudas a orar? Oren para que Dios ponga Su visión y plan para este ministerio en nuestros corazones. Oren para que Él continúe dirigiendo nuestro camino. Oren para que Él nos abra los ojos a las necesidades de las iglesias y nos guíe mientras caminamos junto a ellas.

Oren para que encontremos fortaleza en el gozo del amor de Dios.

A TO meet Kristi Moore STORY BY T E R I U S S E RY What happens when the rich church history of WMU and a former national Acteens panelist collide? The result is SALT. Meet Kristi Moore, a young woman who grew up watching the deep missions discipleship commitment of First Baptist, Amarillo. Kristi, a 2008 national Acteens panelist, is now a wife and mom returning to the church who raised her.

Initially, Kristi’s church didn’t have a group where young adults could connect with missions. Fueled by the memories of her grandmother’s commitment to WMU and her own journey growing up in Acteens, she found a creative avenue for connecting her peers with missions. In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus exhorted His followers to be the salt and light in a lost and dying world. Kristi took that same message to her friends and began SALT, a place to share the needs in their community and invite other young women to join the journey to proclaim Christ.

Once a month, SALT meets in the evening. One month they gather for a light meal, missionary speaker, and prayer for missionaries. The next month they gather to put feet to what they’ve learned. Whether it’s feeding at the homeless shelter or helping at a local after-school-program, Kristi and her friends are on mission, sharing the love of Jesus.

Oftentimes, their families join in, making community missions a family experience.

What encouragement does Kristi have for churches who want to start a young adult group?

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also want to find ways to be missionaries with our families to our neighbors, and engage young women who want to

“Find a way to make the group hands-on. We want to invest

make a difference in their community. Our goal is to help

our time in what is purposeful, meaningful, and relevant. We

young women see how easy it is to live a missions lifestyle.”

CO NTAC T TERI U SSERY AT TER I.WMU TX@ T X B . O RG TO START A YO U N G AD U LT G RO U P AT YO U R CH UR C H .

WMU OF TEXAS

Board of Directors Board members are ready to serve across our state. They serve as a liaison between the state office, associations, and local churches.

Find the board member located nearest you and introduce yourself!

PRESIDENT

VICE PRESIDENT

Eli Salazar Crystal City, TX mseli2@aol.com

Susan Morgan Houston, TX susan.morgan@sbcglobal.net

PA N H A N D L E

PA N H A N D L E

WEST TEXAS

Earl Ann Bumpus Graham, TX earlann@rocketmail.com

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R E C O R D I N G S E C R E TA R Y

Brenda Bourgeois (2018-2022) Lubbock, TX brendabou@aol.com

Amanda Gay (2020-2024) Amarillo, TX ace_gay@sbcglobal.net

Kay Kolb (2018-2022) Midland, TX kkolb351@gmail.com

WEST TEXAS

R I O G R A N D E VA L L E Y

R I O G R A N D E VA L L E Y

Mary Martinez (2020-2024) El Paso, TX marymartinez79936@yahoo.com

Norma Powell (2019-2023) Los Fresnos, TX norjoepow@gmail.com

Vanessa Quintanilla-Lerma (2020-2024) McAllen, TX rgv.riverministry@gmail.com

SAN ANTONIO AREA

SAN ANTONIO AREA

HOUSTON AREA

Ruth Hiner (2018-2022) San Antonio, TX hinerry@me.com

Georgia Hobbins (2019-2023) Boling, TX gghobbins@gmail.com

Belva Bowers (2019-2023) Texas City, TX belva.bowers@gmail.com