Christian Life Commission launches pilot program in El Paso; pastors hear from ISAAC Ministry, River Ministry and Hunger Offering

Sam Bunnell, pastor of First Baptist Church Henrietta, said he wishes “everybody could take [this] trip” to learn about different Texas Baptists ministries. 

“It was a very moving, impactful trip, and I hope everybody gets to go down and be exposed [to Texas Baptists’ ministries along the border],” said Bunnell. 

Oct. 2-3, the Christian Life Commission (CLC) hosted a trip to El Paso for six pastors to learn about Texas Baptists’ ISAAC Ministry, River Ministry and the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering. This trip served as a launch for a pilot program that gives “an immersive experience for pastors to come alongside the work the CLC is doing and hear for themselves from the ministers and people serving on the ground.” 

Katie Frugé, director of the CLC and the Center of Cultural Engagement at Texas Baptists, said “several months ago” she began to “imagine and explore ways we could connect the work of the CLC with local pastors.”

“Our ministry assignment is unique in the Convention and often takes us to exciting places,” said Frugé. “I wanted to invite pastors to come and see the work that is being done across the state so they could have confidence knowing that, even if their local church was hundreds of miles away, [they are] having an impact because of our Texas Baptists partnerships.” 

Frugé said the CLC chose El Paso for the “first of several immersive opportunities we're planning throughout the [next] year” because it is a “convergence point for several vital [Texas Baptists] ministries.” 

She said the CLC has several goals for the pilot program: first, to provide experiential learning rather than just reports; second, to help pastors witness ministry needs along the border firsthand by hearing from ministry leaders and border agents in El Paso, and understanding how the faith community can effectively support them; third, to showcase what Texas Baptists are already accomplishing in critical ministry locations like El Paso; and lastly, to create space for pastors to pray intentionally with those serving on the front lines of these ministries. 

“My prayer is that these pastors left [El Paso] with a stronger connection to the Kingdom-building work we're doing together and a clearer vision of how their congregations can participate,” said Frugé.

Being a “stakeholder in God's mission” 

Bunnell said upon receiving an invitation from Frugé, “it seemed like a no brainer” to join the CLC in El Paso. He said getting to learn about the work that ISAAC Ministry, River Ministry and the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering are doing on the border “and the opportunities [to serve] there and the needs there was very valuable.” 

“Seeing very grassroots ministries that are actually trying to step into that gap and meet that need was very moving and very powerful and sparked a lot of thought in my mind on what our church could do and what we could help support convention-wide,” said Bunnell. 

Bunnell said, “it's not that the church has a mission, it's that the mission of God has a church.” He said it is “absolutely crucial” to get his church involved in mission opportunities. 

“There's these mission opportunities and, granted, our church is nowhere near the border, but we could still have an active role in meeting these ministries, one just through our contributions to Texas Baptists, but I would [also] love to now see them be more of a stakeholder in God's mission by saying, ‘These are real felt needs in Texas and the organization that we love and are a part of, Texas Baptists, is taking an active role in meeting these needs, and we can do that [too],” said Bunnell. 

Bunnell said he was impacted by the testimony of a volunteer who serves with the Hunger Offering in El Paso. 

“[The Hunger Offering has] the restaurant and they grow their produce and they feed people [free meals throughout the week],” explained Bunnell. “We met one lady who was reached by that ministry. She was someone that somebody said, ‘She's probably having a hard time… Why don't you just come to this place and get a free meal?’... Fast forward years later, she volunteers there every week.” 

Bunnell said hearing about how this woman’s “life has turned around because of that ministry,” he would encourage churches with this: “How can we look outside our day-to-day realities and notice those who maybe we weren't noticing before?” 

“That translates to any community anywhere, whether you're on the border or not. We've all got people like that, that we're just kind of walking by every day, and those are the kind of people that Jesus stopped for. So I think we can definitely learn a lot from exploring these ministries and then actively supporting them and being involved,” said Bunnell. 

Joining the “collective work” along the border

Josh King, pastor of Valley Ridge Baptist Church in Lewisville, said hearing from River Ministry leaders on the trip was impactful. 

“It was encouraging to see how much work Texas Baptists are doing in what we would normally think of as confusing and dark spaces, but they're not dark; we're already there. We're already doing work. That was very encouraging,” said King.

King said it’s important for his church to be involved in these ministries by learning how to “be solid and strong here [in Lewisville]” to join the “collective work that no church can do by itself.” 

“The churches in El Paso are under-resourced to accomplish what they need to accomplish,” said King. “[But] we have resources, they have skill and collectively we can put that stuff together to accomplish the vision together.” 

King said trips like this one “pull back that curtain a little bit and to see that we are part of a really big [ministry] that's doing really important work.”

“The CLC strives to be a resource to Texas Baptists churches as they intentionally engage their communities and practice the Great Commandment of loving their neighbors well,” said Frugé. “Through experiences like this, I'm praying that churches and ministry leaders feel both confident and inspired by the work the CLC is doing. I also hope these visits open doors for the CLC to serve churches in new and innovative ways we haven't yet imagined.”

Click the links to learn more about the Christian Life Commission, Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, ISAAC and River Ministry.