WITNESS: November 1, 2011

pcpc Vol. XXII, No. 3 • Park Cities Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America) • NOVEMBER 201 1

Field of dreams

”The Lord your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you

by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17

PCPC family celebrates at football stadium

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very ten years or so we figure out a way to get most of us together in one place at one time. For our twentieth anniversary celebration, about 2,500 of us huddled up on the football field at Gerald R. Ford Stadium at SMU.

First weddings at PCPC

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Students challenged to be phenomenal

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Trekking to find a new sister in Christ 4 Going in reverse for training and fellowship 5 Those to whom we went now going

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Equipping the minority to help the majority

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Faces from From the 20

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Missionaries to modernday Samaria 10 Affirming life for the unborn hits home

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Giving and getting at Voice of Hope

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Showing up to give nothing but Jesus

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Overtons heed call to come home

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New ministry builds bridges to adulthood 15

Above, three generations of the Hargrave family Right, Caroline Conser in a bounce house

The scene on entering the stadium from street level was a sea of color below splashed over giant inflatable games for kids, brightly covered tables ready for diners of great Tex-Mex, bold blue-and-white striped tents offering shade for seniors and families, guys and gals of all ages trying to kick field goals, a large stage with musicians playing away, and, of course, the Jumbotron video screen bringing live and artfully created

videos throughout the evening. Roaming reporters conducted interviews and covered the field goal competition—which revealed how hard that kick really is!

The highlight of a glorious time together was worshiping after dinner and watching three powerful videos: a collage of the rich preaching PCPC has experienced over the last 20 years, a story of rescue, and a look at the Thao Project. Fireworks brought the event to a close as the Jumbotron summed up the evening—and the last twenty years: TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

see more photos on pages 8, 9

Mark prays with Nancy and David Burgher

Joy and Russ Miller November 16, 1991

Joy and Russ with sons Blake and Asher

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wenty years ago, as PCPC was just getting started, some of our members had marriage on their minds! The U.S. divorce rate was soaring in 1991, but these two couples shared characteristics that experts today report as possible reasons the divorce rate is showing a slight decline: 1) They were older, and 2) they had experienced careers outside the home. But more importantly, each had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Millers

Joy and Russ Miller worked in the same building but had never met.

Friends encouraged Russ to stop by D Magazine to meet Joy. Their attraction was immediate, but they were initially hesitant to commit to a new relationship because of past disappointments; however, they soon discovered they shared similar backgrounds, experiences, and even advice as to what to look for in a marriage partner—someone who loved the Lord, loved you for yourself, and had a life centered around Christ.

One conflict still resonates with them—who would continue in a career and who would stay home?

Joy agreed she would stay home, but it was not an easy transition.

She remembers leaving the house after a heated discussion, wondering whether marriage was right for her.

When she returned, both admitted they were wrong, and with God’s help, they could work through any future problems together. God has continued to use that story of rescue in their marriage as a tool of encouragement to them and other couples experiencing struggles.

In addition to maintaining a weekly date night with Joy, Russ helped launch the Sunday prayer ministry and serves as a deacon and usher.

The Phillips

It was a second marriage for Jeanne and Andy Phillips. Jeanne was single and good friends with Andy and his wife through their sorority. After Andy’s wife died, he invited Jeanne to dinner at Amore’s. They were seated at table #5, which became their special table and where Andy said he first fell in love with Jeanne.

While the Millers were the first couple to marry at PCPC, the Phillips were the first couple to have their reception at PCPC. There was a fellowship Andy and Jeanne hall below Phillips the church, May 9, 1992 in desperate need of repair, organization and resources. Jeanne laughs now, but it was challenging then and she wished her mother had been around to help.

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Because they had known each other 25 years, shared many interests including music (she played piano, he played violin), Jeanne said their marriage transition was easy; they didn’t sweat the small stuff. Jeanne does remember, however, making a suggestion to Andy that he replace his short violin bow for a long bow; he did and began sounding more like a classical violinist. On Sunday mornings, Andy could often be found strolling the nursery halls, serenading the children on his violin.

Jeanne and Andy enjoyed 13 years together. Andy died in 2005.

Though PCPC has experienced many changes, its core values have remained the same: for every engaged couple to have a personal relationship with Christ and to be equipped to develop a strong Christian marriage. Today PCPC offers a weekend marriage class (the Knot) required for all engaged couples.

Did they keep their wedding clothes and do they still fit? Joy said she still has her gown and hopes to put it on again for Russ on their anniversary. Jeanne has also kept her pale pink suit and says it definitely fits (well, it’s a little snug).

—Candie Carver

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What’s in a name?

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hen the name of the fall retreat is Phenomenal, there is a lot to live up to. Like most fall retreats, a slew of activities filled the weekend. With never a dull moment, each day consisted of all the games you would expect from a middle school getaway. Zip lines, dodge ball, and shaving cream wars are a given. And eggs getting smashed on each other’s heads, of course. Land blobbing and football have their place, too. We even played glow-in-the-dark capture the flag.

But this retreat was more than about having phenomenal fun. It was about how to be a phenomenal Christian.

Each day we discussed how to move beyond being merely a nominal believer and become a phenomenal Christian. In our world today, it is all too common to see people claim to follow Christ but have no true relationship with him. They are Christians in name only because they do not know Jesus. Even as true believers, we sometimes live as if we do not truly know Christ.

At the fall retreat this year, I wanted to call the students, leaders, and myself to leave the nominal life and pursue a phenomenal one. I took the description of a phenomenal Christian from the summary Jesus gave of the greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). The phenomenal Christian life consists of knowing and loving God, and knowing and loving other people. Knowing and being known.

There were two highlights of the trip for me. The first occurred during one of the small-group times with the seventhand eighth-grade guys. Led by the high school students who went on the trip, the guys discussed the difficulty of living for Christ in their schools. Each guy around the circle shared his own experiences and struggles with knowing and loving God. One young man in

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particular shared that the camp high that most kids experience is just a sign that they are not truly knowing and following Jesus. It was so encouraging to see these guys open up and examine their own hearts to see if they really know God. The second highlight occurred during Sunday morning devotional time. With the peaceful lake in the background and the sun just coming over the trees, I looked at all the guys and girls spending time reading their Bibles and praying for their morning devotional. It was such a beautiful sight, these students spending time growing in their relationship with Christ. It was such a great weekend.

My prayer for these guys and girls is that they would continue to grow in their love for God. Stay phenomenal, my friends.

—Mike Haberkorn Middle School Ministry Leader

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The Lord is in your midst

World Missions her home and was staying with her.

She was not a believer, but had shown interest in God and church, and was asking questions. I looked at her and she looked back at me, smiling.

I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray for her salvation. During the group prayer time, I asked God to draw her to Himself, prayerfully requesting that this might be the very day. I found myself repeating that prayer more than once. I felt that God might be doing something, but what?

A Mighty One who will save He is Lord of all

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ast August, I went to an unbelievably hot, rainy and grimy place called Dallah, situated outside of Yangon (Burmese for End of Strife), a misnamed former capital of the Southeast Asian war-ridden country known today as Myanmar (formerly Burma).

Myanmar is a country full of natural resources, yet—ruled by military junta—it is considered to be one of the least developed countries in the world, where government corruption, child labor, and human trafficking are rampant. Accompanying me were David Franklin, PCPC elder and World Missions team chair, and two other members of the South East Asia Partnership of which PCPC is a part, Robin Lee and Lloyd Kim. After a rickety taxi ride, a ferry ride (the kind you see on CNN where 300 people drown after the ferry sinks in some less-than-modern place), another bumpy taxi ride through the boonies, then a trek through 6-12 inches of mud, and finally traversing pole ramps over mud and water, we reached a house church, where—unmistakably—God was present!

As we walked in, approximately thirty people, crammed into a space the size of a small American dining room, were singing praises to their God and

King. We don’t know how long they had waited for us. (It could have been hours, since transportation is not a small problem in Myanmar and one can rarely make it to an appointment on time. On the previous day, another house church in a different village had waited for us for five hours.) With the rain and sweltering temperatures of the rainy season, the crowded room felt like a sauna, as we, drenched and exhausted, joined the locals in worship.

Shamed by their conditions and by their bold and unfading faith, when it came time for me to greet them and bring a message of encouragement, I struggled for words. I read from Zephaniah 3:17: The LORD your God is in your midst, A Mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.

I choked up several times and finally had to stop, or I would have started crying. Thankfully, it was hard to distinguish tears from sweat. Then David spoke and Robin spoke. Next, we had a time of prayer for those who made requests. There were several of them, but one quickly got my attention. A lady asked prayer for her younger sister, who was sitting on the muddy floor next to her. The sister had lost

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When it was time to leave, we took pictures of everyone, and once again I saw this lady. She smiled at me again.

I felt a strong, unmistakable urge to talk with her, so I asked the pastor’s wife to translate for us. As we began talking, others watched and listened attentively. I asked her if she could sense that God was present in the room. She said, “Yes.” I asked if she could feel God talking to her. She said, “Yes.” I asked her if she realized that we all do things wrong—that we all sin—that she has sinned. She said, “Yes.” I asked if she wanted to know the love of an all-powerful and allloving God. She said, “Yes.” Looking straight into her eyes while I held her hand, dripping sweat on her, I asked if she would like to pray to receive Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. She said, “Yes!” We prayed a prayer of salvation and after we had finished, I took her face in my hands and told her how thrilled I was that she had become my sister in Christ and that we were now in the same family as God’s children through the love of Christ. Her sister and many were still taking it all in. We were all teary-eyed but very happy.

I am ashamed to say that I do not even know her name. I was so affected by what had happened—which was clearly directed by the Holy Spirit— that I had forgotten to ask. But God knows! And her name is now written in the Book of Life.

—Curt Dobbs

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Women’s Ministries

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Reverse mission trip gathering points

ast month, Women’s Ministries had the unique opportunity to host 14 women and a few men from Monterrey, Mexico, for a reverse mission trip. Due to violence in Mexico, instead of our women going to Monterrey as they had before, we had our friends from Monterrey come here. It was a week packed with ministry training and worship, but some of the most meaningful times came in our gathering points!

Wonderful fellowship often happens when believers come together for a meal. A welcome luncheon at church kicked off the week with a joyful reunion. Our guests also attended the missionary luncheon

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midweek. One night we all had dinner at my house. Despite the language barrier, there was a lot of laughter and interaction. What a blessing to host these dear brothers and sisters from a different culture, and for us all to enjoy one another

in the unity of Christ! Another opportunity to show them hospitality was at the farewell dinner at D’Ann and Rex Moxley’s home where, with hugs and tears, we said goodbye to our friends, with whom we had formed a deep bond and affection.

My take away from the week was the joy of fellowship in Christ that transcends culture and language.

As we gathered together for meals, either at church or in homes, I couldn’t help but think this was a taste of what heaven will be like, feasting with sisters and brothers of every tongue and from every nation, rejoicing together in the Lord!

—Lori Turpin

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ver 12 years ago, PCPC began church planting overseas with two World 50 projects in Asia: Thailand, Laos and the Philippines. The Batangas Project (the Philippines) now includes nine churches as well as work with Mission to the World’s Street Ministry. PCPC had sponsored several trips to this location. The THAO Project (Thailand and Laos) involves 11 churches, Providence School in the capital city, Laos, Vientiane, The Way of Peace radio ministry, a medical clinic, and children’s ministries.

Last summer, these two projects teamed up in Nong Khai in northeast Thailand. A group of two pastors,

a pastor’s wife, a dance teacher, a church worker, and a few others, led

by Pastor Marcelo Ramirez, PCPC’s key national leader in the Philippines, came to work with their Thai brothers and sisters. The Filipinos raised their own support and flew to Nong Khai. It was their seventh mission trip, which is amazing considering the poverty of their country. Christians there do not have much, yet they are eager to share whatever they can.

I worked with both the Thao and the Philippines teams to prepare for the trip and helped facilitate the work.

All of this happened while Kannika Mokchai, the wife of the Pastor of

Gennesaret Church, fell ill. (See the box below.) The schedule had to be adjusted several times because of that, but they still were able to be an amazing blessing to their brothers and sisters in Christ.

The team led women’s and men’s Bible studies, youth meetings, two services at the Gennesaret Church as well as ministry in two schools in Thailand (with about 750 children) and Providence School in Vientiane. They preached the gospel, sang hymns, showed cultural dances from the Philippines, and shared their testimonies.

—Curt Dobbs,

In August, Kannika, wife of Sumran Mokchai (pastor of Gennesaret Church in Nong Khai, Thailand, and leader of PCPC’s THAO Project) received a diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma (a bile duct cancer, a rare type of cancer in the Western world, but the number one cancer in Northeast Thailand and Laos). The cancer was deemed incurable and was spreading rapidly. This amazing woman of God was involved in the work of the Gennesaret and other ministries for years. Kannika was also the voice of The Way of Peace, a radio ministry that is heard in unreached areas of Laos and Thailand. She was a wonderful servant of God and key part of Pastor Sumran’s ministry. Our sister, Kannika, went to be with the Lord on October 1, 2011. We are deeply saddened by this news.

Please pray that God will give Achan Sumran and their two sons peace, courage, strength, wisdom, and direction.

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Strategic equipping for service

he Counseling Ministry at PCPC made significant investments this summer by participating in two short-term mission trips in Asia.

In our first trip, we sent one of our network counselors, Dr. Shannan Crawford (below, middle), to join the team assembled by the PCPC World Missions Ministry. Shannan had recently moved to the Dallas area and was looking for ways to use her counseling expertise in the context of world missions. She, along with team leaders David Miller and Keeley Chorn, went to Indonesia in July and were able to provide training and care for a team of church planters and their families in Medan. From there, the team moved to Banda Aceh, a city which lost a third of its population in the tsunami of late 2004, to provide training to the staff of Banda Counseling Center and to provide training to a group of public school teachers in counseling adolescents.

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After the trip, Shannan stated, “It was a powerfully moving and incredibly humbling experience to get to strategically serve and equip such an onfire community of believers who are living the gospel as minorities with complete awareness that this life is not their home and that to be a martyr would be an honor. I will be forever changed by the beauty of the Indonesian church as they are surrendered in their love for Jesus. I pray for more opportunities to serve and be served by the whole body of Christ.” Shannan has been a great addition to our local network of Christian counselors and has also made an impact on the other side of the world.

Singapore outreach

The Counseling Ministry made another short-term trip this summer to Singapore where we partnered with Singapore Bible College for the purpose of providing training in couples

counseling for students seeking a counseling degree. As counseling becomes more widespread in the Asian churches, more counseling training is becoming available for pastors and for lay people who want to specialize in that type of ministry. Singapore Bible College has a relatively new master’s program in counseling and invited me to lead a class in counseling couples.

Over 60 students were a part of this training, and there were also multiple opportunities for fellowshipping with the students and encouraging them in the development of their counseling skills and their counseling ministries.

The Counseling Ministry looks forward to future ministry opportunities in both Singapore and Indonesia and is excited to see how God may use PCPC in the process of establishing counseling ministry in the Asian church.

—Jeff White

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From the 20 September 25, 2011

SMU Gerald R. Ford Stadium

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Urban Ministries

Called to the innermost parts of the city

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n the good providence of God, PCPC commissioned its first home church urban missionaries on October 23—William “Trey” and Melissa Hill, Annie Roberson, and Reid and Ellen Porter. Thanks to those who served so honorably during the Katrina years, Urban Missions has been given a platform on which our body can more vigorously minister to extend God’s Kingdom to the Metroplex.

As part of a broader plan of discipleship, the Lord has been using Urban Missions to provide opportunities for our members to identify, strengthen, and use their spiritual gifts in meeting the felt needs of others in our city. We hope simply to raise the awareness of opportunities of mutually transformative service opportunities and pray our members would become more involved in our mission—taking personal initiatives in serving the lost, the least, and the lonely among us.

Reid, Ellen with (l to r) Silas, Bennett, Caleb

Urban Missions sought the advice of World Missions and has developed a similar guide for our urban missionaries.

Together, we identified key criteria: each urban missionary must have a sense of God’s call to the city and must have

Three years ago, Urban Missions developed and presented its Five-Year Plan, with its primary aim being to significantly increase our member participation throughout Back, (l to r) Dea, Melissa, Darius, Trey Front, Olivia, Graham, Tee, Sadie Dallas. Our vision is twofold: lead our worked very closely with PCPC congregation in serving the poor in aunching their calls. A home and needy of Dallas while expechurch urban missionary is similar riencing Christ’s transforming presence as it becomes His hands to the traditional missionary in many respects, except that they and feet to our community.

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have been called to “Samaria” rather than the “uttermost parts of the earth.” As urban missionaries, these brothers and sisters have been called to a geographically close, but culturally distant place.

The Hill family

Trey Hill was on staff at PCPC serving in urban outreach, and through the guidance of our Session and World Missions team, moved his wife Melissa and family to live and work in West Dallas.

During the crucial development phase of his ministry, and at the urging of several of our elders, Mrs. Annie Roberson sensed her call to co-labor with Trey. Annie left her ministry at the Turner Apartments in the Bonton area, and moved to West Dallas to help the Hills launch Mercy Street.

The Porter family

Reid Porter admitted that he had initially sensed a call to serve overseas through an international justice ministry. He prayerfully sought counsel from PCPC, and through our World Missions ministry, began to actively pursue this call. As doors began to close, Reid’s sense of call did not diminish, and after many meetings and much prayer, he and Ellen became convinced that the Lord had called them to the city of Dallas.

He has founded Advocates for Community Transformation (ACT), an inner-city justice ministry seeking to extend the transforming presence of Jesus Christ into Dallas communities and establish safe environments free from injustice and oppression.

—Julian Russell

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Urban Ministries

Full circle at DPRC

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ach time I volunteer at Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center (DPRC), I see clients being served with the love of Christ, receiving truth, and finding answers in the midst of difficulty and confusion. Without fail, I will catch a glimpse of a woman and her family that takes me back to the day our family walked into DPRC with my daughter who was in an unplanned pregnancy.

Seventeen years after my husband Tony and I adopted two daughters and I gave birth to another daughter through in vitro fertilization, one of our precious girls revealed she was pregnant. I was at a loss, and I did not know where to turn. God’s grace directed us to DPRC, a ministry our church supported. We were all anxious as we arrived for the appointment, but a loving advocate discussed options with our daughter and Nurse Kay Morton performed the sonogram that

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It should have been no surprise that God tugged on my heart years later to invest in life-affirming ministries like DPRC. In 2009, I began serving at DPRC as an administrative volunteer helping staff at the Jupiter Center complete projects, organize and prepare for events. As a DPRC Life Alliance board member, I have the privilege of assisting with the planning and execution of fundraising events.

Sharing our story and talking about the life-saving work of DPRC with friends and strangers gives us the opportunity to share the truth about life. God’s faithfulness has ushered me through every season of life. He continually shows me through joyous times and challenges what He values and what He can Cathy Sisk redeem. In this season, He has called me to give of my time as a volunteer. I hope you will consider how He is asking you to use your time to serve Him in a mighty way.

—Cathy Sisk

allowed me to see my grandchild.

Our daughter knew she would have her baby, but she also knew she could not take care of a baby. After several months of carefully considering her options, she decided to place her baby for adoption. Tony and I supported her decision, and we were grateful our sweet grandchild would be raised by a loving family.

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Urban M inistries: V oice

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Re-gifting the gift you get to keep

ne Sunday over 26 years ago, before the days of PCPC, we listened in our Sunday School class as a young woman presented her vision for a new ministry in West Dallas. We were intrigued by the simplicity of this vision.

It was based on the idea of engaging children in the West Dallas neighborhood in after-school and weekend sports games using open fields in the neighborhood and then, after the games, presenting the Good News of the gospel to them.

anniversary of the church’s founding.

The gift was a congregational partnering with the neighborhood of West Dallas. The purpose was to join with the various ministries in West Dallas and assist them in presenting the transforming presence of Jesus Christ.

By this time, Kathy, the Voice of Hope founder, had moved on to other ministry, but she left behind faithful workers. Soon, PCPC became acquainted with those godly leaders who were working to transform the neighborhood, such as Arrvel Wilson and Norman Henry. For the partnership of PCPC with West Dallas, the goal was to listen to those running the ministries and become a trusted advisor, or a source of funding, or the working hands, or whatever was needed. We and other PCPC members chose to begin our West Dallas partnership in earnest with Voice of Hope.

“Yes, we’ve seen transformational growth in West Dallas through the work of Voice of Hope. But we have been the recipients of a greater process of change personally, in our hearts and minds.”

We, like others in our class, wanted to be a part of this ministry in some way, so we began participating in yearly events and giving financial support to this fledgling ministry. The ministry grew by God’s blessing. It began to minister to children not just on the soccer field on Saturday mornings, but with after-school tutoring, summer day camps, and family events. It was a haven of peace in an unsettled world for many of these children. But the ministry was not without its struggles during the early years.

God assigns a new role In 2001, our involvement with Voice of Hope changed dramatically. That year the Session and congregation of PCPC determined to give a gift to the city of Dallas in honor of the tenth NOVEMBER 2011

minds. We have become sold out to the transforming work of Christ in the West Dallas neighborhood and the world.

Because of the diligent and patient work of Ed Franklin, the director of Voice of Hope, and the wonderful VOH staff, we’ve seen young children become models for their community, families benefiting from the life skills that are taught, and a neighborhood being transformed for God’s glory.

The partnership that was begun 10 years ago with PCPC and Voice of Hope has grown from prayerful days of listening to their needs and hopes to an exchange of ideas, obtaining resources, providing guidance, and growing a thriving ministry. PCPC members have become a part of the

“Speak up, judge righteously, and plead the case of the poor and needy.”

—Proverbs 31:9

Sold out Here’s the interesting thing: Yes, we’ve seen transformational growth in West Dallas through the work of Voice of Hope. But we have been the recipients of a greater process of change personally, in our hearts and 12

VOH family through their service as tutors, board members, and event coordinators. What began as a gift from PCPC members to the ministries of West Dallas, and in our case, to Voice of Hope, has come back as a great gift of God’s faithfulness when His people are willing to join together to follow His command: “Speak up, judge righteously, and plead the case of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:9).

—Debbie Dunlap

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Same needs, same Savior

ebster’s Dictionary defines the word impact as “the effect or influence of one person, thing, or action, on another.”

Few words could be more important to make us pause and consider its implications. When I was the Middle School Director at PCPC, I would take time to reflect on the effect that I was hopefully making, by God’s grace, on the students in our ministry. However, during these times, I would often be amazed at the impact that those whom I was attempting to serve were actually having on my life.

For the past four and a half years we have been taking PCPC middle and high school students to our Urban Ministry partner, Voice of Hope, to help serve the students who attend the after-school and summer programs offered there. It was not always easy to get our students, or

even leaders, to want to go, because it was tiring, time consuming, and often chaotic. There were many times when I would be standing in the middle of the gym at Voice of Hope with multiple kids pulling on multiple limbs, and I would think to myself, What am I doing here?

However, recently, I had a conversation with Debbie Solis, Director of Family and Community Services at Voice of Hope, and I asked her: “What good are we doing by just coming and showing up?” Her answer was very impactful, and it was a wonderful reminder of why we love Voice of Hope. She said, “When you just show up, the only thing that you can give the students is Jesus, and that is all that matters!”

Debbie’s answer shows the heart behind Voice of Hope. It is also why

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I love going there and serving with the students from PCPC. There is not a person on earth, whether black or white, rich or poor, who does not need Jesus! Every time I go to Voice of Hope, I am reminded of this. When I look in the eyes of the students there, it is so easy to see that we have the same needs and are in need of the same Savior!

By God’s grace, Voice of Hope is making an impact. Whether it is through the Saturday morning reading program, led by Christiana Russell, wife of PCPC’s Urban Ministries pastor, Julian Russell, or their one-on-one mentoring initiative called Champions 4 Change, God is using Voice of Hope in many lives. I encourage you to come and see with your own eyes the effect and influence that it is making, but be prepared to be impacted!

—Ben Leonard

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Called back home Overtons return for ministry at PCPC

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verything in my entire life has prepared me to come to PCPC” is how our new assistant pastor Tommy Overton described it. Having served as associate pastor at First Presbyterian in Rome, Georgia, for eleven years, Tommy and his wife Priscilla recognized God was drawing them to minister to families here at PCPC. So upon being called to PCPC by a search committee, they loaded up their car with their four kids, Austin (14), Elli (12), Lily (11), and Judson (9), and headed west on I-20.

Having arrived in Dallas amidst a blistering heat wave, Tommy knew it was definitely God who moved them here to shepherd, equip, and disciple PCPC families! Tommy and Priscilla recognized something special about PCPC—that we prioritized prayer, humility, and collaboration among ministry leaders. They also respected how we sought to abide

in Christ—and not rely on our own strength. These are just two of the many reasons confirming why Tommy and Priscilla felt called to PCPC.

tire, some Christians shared the gospel with him—allowing Christ to mend his broken heart and set a new direction for his life.

Tommy reports, “I am overwhelmed that God called me to return to Dallas to serve the Lord in and with the PCPC church family. As an assistant pastor, I will be shepherding souls with the outstanding pastors, leaders, and elders here through a variety of ways.

One of the main areas of leadership will be serving ministries that reach families with an emphasis on thriving marriages and equipping men.”

Years later, in the 90s, Tommy found himself serving in youth ministry at Highland Park Presbyterian Church alongside another youth worker—Priscilla. The two fell in love and married.

They just celebrated their sixteenth wedding anniversary. “It is a joy to do ministry with Priscilla,” Tommy recently said. “Although her primary calling is to be a mom, Priscilla also has a passion for discipling younger women.”

Being prepared all along Life has not always been smooth traveling for Tommy. His parents divorced when he was young and his mother raised him in a single-family home. At age 17, Tommy remembers driving down Northwest Highway when his car tire blew—causing him to veer into Northwest Bible Church’s parking lot. After mending his

When asked about when he knew he was called to ministry, Tommy replied, “The Lord revealed His call on my life to be a pastor in the early 90s after several wonderful opportunities in student ministry. Today, after two decades of ministry, I am more excited and honored about God’s call on my life (and my family’s) than ever. I am passionate about shepherding through gospel-centered discipleship and spiritual formation. My heart is overjoyed when discipleship grows into evangelism and outreach. Furthermore, I love to see people (especially families) changed through gospel-driven missions and outreach.

Tommy and Priscilla, we thank God for you both and appreciate your heart to minister to our families throughout the years to come.

—Matt Rodriguez NOVEMBER 2011 2011

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How’s college?

An update on PCPC’s College Ministry

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ow’s college?” I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that question during my undergraduate years. I was never really sure how to answer. “It’s great.” “It’s fun.” “It’s hard.” With everything that happens in college, I always struggled to capture it all. I don’t think I ever answered the question to my parents’ satisfaction!

We know students who grew up at PCPC and are attending various schools in Dallas. We are building a community with these students, helping them con-

Lately I’ve been getting the question again as people ask me about the College Ministry at PCPC. “How’s college?” I know I can’t adequately describe all that the Lord is doing, but I hope you’re encouraged as you hear a brief update.

New vision

The Higginbottoms recently took a trip to College Station to check in Part of our vision for the College Ministry involves with students. Above, (l to r) Madeleine Kilgore, Ann Higginbottom, building a bridge from our Youth Ministry to our Adrienne Fleck, and Lauren Addington.

Young Adult Ministry at PCPC. The church pours nect with the body of Christ at PCPC, and equipping a lot into our young people before they go to college them to serve the Lord in the church and on their and after they graduate. During their college years, campuses. Ann and I host a college small group on however, students have struggled to connect to the Wednesday nights. We have been so encouraged to body at PCPC. We have a long way to go, but I am watch the Lord bring together students from UTD, Unihopeful that we are beginning to shepherd college versity of Dallas, Richland, Brookhaven, and Northlake. students in such a way that they stay connected to Our group is open to any college student, so we are Christ, to his church, and to one another. hopeful that the diversity of the group will make it a safe place for students to bring their friends, no matter To build this kind of bridge, I am primarily focused on college students, but I am also strategically involved what they think about Jesus or Christianity. with high school students and with young adults. We We also know students who grew up at PCPC and want to know high school students before they go to have gone away for college. We hope to stay in college, and we want to know some young adults touch with these students, encourage them from a well enough to connect them with our college gradudistance, and see them when they come home. We ates if and when they return to Dallas. are planning college visits to check in with students on their campuses, and we have organized a mission trip New and old relationships to Zambia that will reunite a number of them as they College ministry has given us an opportunity to build serve the Lord in Africa. new relationships and to continue old ones. Along with my wife Ann and a great group of young adult volunteers, we have several different groups of stuWe also know students who are involved in RUF at dents to pursue. In addition to the students we already SMU. A number of young adults from PCPC are getting involved in RUF. We have enjoyed jumping into a know, the Lord is connecting us with new students all the time. continued on next page

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How’s college?

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ministry that already exists instead of creating a new ministry on campus. As we get to know students at SMU, we are excited to be a blessing to RUF. We also know that SMU students are more likely to attend PCPC if they have a relationship with someone from the church.

New partnerships

We would never be able to shepherd all these students without help. Through relationships with churches and campus ministries around the country, we hope to connect PCPC students with gospel-centered communities wherever they go to school. Beyond our new partnership with SMU RUF, we have a growing sense of co-laboring with RUF chapters all over the country. We are eager for our students to connect with RUF or other campus ministries, and campus pastors are always excited to know the names of students who are coming their way.

I have a great seat to witness all that the Lord is doing to make disciples across different age groups in our church. We have college students connecting with the broader body of Christ as they worship in the sanctuary, attend adult Sunday school classes, and serve in the high school and middle school ministries. Young adults meet with college students. College students are volunteer leaders in youth Bible studies. With all of these partnerships, PCPC people have the opportunity to bless college students, and college students have the opportunity to be a blessing to our church and to their schools.

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Vol. XXII, No. 4 • NOVEMBER 2011 Park Cities Presbyterian Church 4124 Oak Lawn Avenue Dallas, Texas 75219 www.pcpc.org

New opportunities

As we press on with this ministry, I am grateful for your prayers. Those of us who spend time with college students need God’s wisdom to know how to do it. We need the Lord’s courage to pursue them with the loving boldness of Christ. And we need the Holy Spirit to bless our

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excited to host college students for a lunch or dinner in your home.

You might be willing to share your lake house or ranch for a fellowship event. Or you might have an idea that I have never considered.

Whatever it is, I would love to talk with you about it. With all of the people and resources at PCPC, we look forward to serving the Lord together as He leads us forward.

College can be great, fun, and hard—all in the same day. We love college students and are grateful that the Lord has given us the privilege to walk with them through such a significant season in their lives. The world and the camRobby Higginbottom met up with pus throw all kinds of John David Newman at A&M. things at young people, but I think of John’s reminder: work if it is going to be of any last“He who is in you is greater than he ing significance. When you think who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). of all the college students around The Lord is more glorious, powerful, Dallas and around the country, we and satisfying than everything else hope that you’ll pray that the Lord that calls to these college students. would be exalted in their lives.

They are the future of the church, and by God’s grace, they will go If the Lord has given you a heart on to maturity in Christ. for college students, we would be excited to talk with you. You might So how’s college? For us—and want to get involved in shepherdhopefully for the students—it’s a ing students directly. You might God-centered adventure. be interested in praying regularly —Robby Higginbottom for college students. You might be