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• The Houston Metro leads the way with an excess of 6 million people.
Do You Have Only One Blessing, Father?
• San Antonio Metro has nearly 2.5 million people. • Austin Metro has about 2 million people. • The three metropolitan zones along the Rio Grande border (McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Laredo, and Brownsville-Harlingen) are also approaching a combined 2 million people. • Corpus Christi Metro has about a halfmillion people.
by Ken Gurley South Texas District Superintendent
God has granted our request and given us more opportunity and more souls!
Such was Esau’s plea to Isaac after he discovered Jacob had swindled him of his blessing. In itself, it is one of the most piteous cries in the entire Bible. Isaac was deceived into giving the firstborn blessing to the second-born Jacob, and although he musters another prayer for Esau, his reservoir of blessing has largely been depleted. Not so with our Heavenly Father. His arm is not short. His capacity to bless is far beyond our ability to conceive or imagine. As James aptly put it, “God gives more…” (James 4:6). Unlike Isaac, our God has limitless resources. The entire Earth with all of its finite resources belongs to the Lord (Psalm 24:1). Our God’s sufficiency is not limited however to a sole planet, but His might is on display in the entire cosmos that emerged at His spoken Word. As Solomon said, “The heaven
• Victoria has in excess of 100,000 people.
and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him” (II Chronicles 2:6). So we approach God this year with a simple, single-word prayer: “More!” What an earthly father would do for his child, our Heavenly Father can do far more (Matthew 17:11). To the degree that we have the ability and capacity to receive, our God can still do more (Ephesians 3:20). If we come to Him with expectation and emptiness, He can exceed our wildest imaginations.
The Population of South Texas South Texas continues to grow. Our district is home to eight official metropolitan zones.
All told, South Texas has 95% of its population living in metropolitan areas—a figure roughly compatible with California in terms of the rate urban dwellers. And our cities continue to grow…. Austin leads the way in terms of growth for the largest major cities in the United States. For the fourth year in a row, Austin has ranked as “America’s Fastest Growing Major City” on Forbes list, and is close to becoming the tenth largest city in the United States. Two smaller cities near Austin—San Marcos (#1) and Cedar Park (#3)—are also considered the fastest growing small cities in the United States. What is happening in Austin is happening to a lesser degree to our other major cities. (Source: US Census Bureau.) The population of South Texas is also increasingly racially and is ethnically diverse. Houston is a case in point. In the decade between 2000 and 2010, the Houston metro area added 1.2 million people. The growth has resulted in a city where every racial/ethnic
group is now a demographic minority. The city has now passed New York City in terms of diversity. (Source: Kinder Institute, Rice University, Analysis of censuses for 1990, 2000 and 2010.) God has granted our request and given us more opportunity and more souls. May we in turn do more to reach these fields ready for harvest! The Eagle Ford Shale In 2013, 35% of the United States’ oil production came from Texas. By the end of 2014, Texas’ oil production could exceed that of every country in the world except Saudi Arabia. (Source: Houston Chronicle, April 22, 2014.) Where is this oil coming from? Much of it originates from the crescent-shaped area sweeping south of San Antonio northeastward into Central Texas known as the Eagle Ford Shale. The oil and gas products are being transported via pipelines to refineries and export facilities—a new natural gas shipping facility is being built in Freeport. More importantly for us, the leastpopulated area of South Texas is now seeing infrastructures built to support the increasing number of people moving into this area. Tens of thousands of people have started filtering into the towns and mancamps in this region. This affords our district the once-in-alifetime opportunity to reach into these areas and establish preaching points, daughter works, and churches. God has already moved on the hearts of people to begin ministering to people in these areas. We anticipate more.
The Need of the Hour We can ask God for more, and that’s exactly what He gives us—more understanding of Him, more of His character, more growth, and more revival. Yet, the crying need of the hour is not more of God, but more from us. Both the apostate and the apostolic will mark the Last days. Some will fall away from this precious truth and believe a lie. Others, however, will rise up and do exploits. The message for the former will be “Less”—less love for the truth, less holiness, and less burden and compassion for the lost. The message for the latter will be “More”—more of God, more of His ways, and more of His wayward children redeemed. God will not ask more of the apathetic; He will ask more of the sympathetic. Those who have a heart after God’s own heart will find their hearts moved in greater measure for the lost sheep in our area. God will ask for more passion, more tears, and more sacrifices. He is asking more of us. It should be our prayer as well for more laborers. The harvest is truly great, but the laborers are few. Little in Esau’s character captures divine recognition—but this prayer did. Esau desired a blessing from his father and asked for it. May each of us come boldly before the throne of grace and ask God for more gifts and influence, greater compassion and anointing, and deeper devotion and insights. Our Heavenly Father has a blessing for you. Ask Him!
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district conference report by Danny Johnson South Texas District Secretary As in the years past, the South Texas ministers and wives gathered for a great District Revival Conference in April. The Embassy Suites in San Marcos has been the site for our conferences over the past several years. The ballroom, which hosts numerous other events throughout each year, is converted to a place where we can both conduct business and have worship and preaching. My, what a time we had there this past conference! On Wednesday evening, we heard the great preaching of our District Superintendent, Brother Gurley, as he challenged us to check and see, “Is the Fire Still Burning?” After a time of recommitment to God, we ordained the following ministers at the end of the service:
• Jeremy Cecil
• DeMarlon Nixon
• Jason Curi
• Francisco Resendez
• Johnny Flores
• Myron Smith
• Jimmie Hughes
• Ricardo Trevino, Sr.
• Jose Jiminez
• Tyler Walea
• Jon Paul McDaniel
On Thursday night, Brother Carlton Coon, our UPCI North American Missions Director, complimented the South Texas District regarding its growth over the past 10 years. However, in his message entitled, “Answering the Forgotten Question,” he challenged us to continue in the same pattern—our world needs more churches. Friday afternoon, was the 11th Annual District Conference, where the conference elected the following district officials to serve a two-year term: • Danny Johnson, District Secretary-Treasurer • Kerry Hammer, Children’s Ministry Secretary • Cassie Huslage, Ladies Ministry Secretary • Tracy Richardson, North American Missions Director • Jimmie Hughes, North American Missions Secretary • Jorge Mendizabal, Spanish Ministries Secretary • Charlie Moore, Youth Ministry Secretary-Treasurer • Wayne McClain, Ministers Appeal Council Nominee • Dennis Chavez, CTM Board appointee
May God grant great success to every elected or appointed official in his or her particular position!
During the business session, Brother David Caruthers, co-chairman along with Rene Moreno of the 10-Year Evaluation Committee, presented highlights of the findings of this committee. There were over 40 recommendations made to the district board—some minor and some major—that will be implemented or considered. A few of these include: • Over 100 of the surveyed ministers plan to begin a church plant or a daughter work in the next 3-5 years. • A strong majority of our ministers see our presbyters not merely possessing an administrative role, but that of a mentor and visionary leader as well. • A majority of our ministers see the need to extend operations of the district to a regional level. • Most ministers also see the need for additional sections, especially in the higher-growth areas. The committee also saw the need for thresholds to be established in the areas for automatically triggering the process of adding an additional section. Following this presentation, Brother Gurley explained that the 10year Evaluation Committee had recommended examining the sections, and to modify them as needed prior to the formation of regions. Brother Gurley summarized the steps the District was taking to address the need of additional sections in the high-growth areas: • The ministers of the three Houston sections met last month and were
unanimous in their desire to add an additional section. After considering several options, the ministers decided upon a plan that would, in effect, erase the three existing sections and form four new sections in their place— creating sections called Houston Metro North, Houston Metro South, Houston Metro East, and Houston Metro West. • The ministers of the Austin-Hill Country and Southwest sections met during the Revival Conference to discuss their areas. After some discussion, various plans were put forward to accomplish the addition of a section. The plan settled upon would dissolve the existing AustinHill Country and Southwest sections to form at least one new section—a mid-cities section extending east and west between Austin and San Antonio. Additional thought is being given to form a “home missions” section that would comprise many of our unchurched counties within the Eagle Ford Shale oil find. • More work remains to be done. The district board considered this in its May board meeting, which may be presented at a ministers meeting during the Family Camp in June. The section plan should be largely completed at the Fall Planning Session. The Friday night service was bi-lingual, where Brother Elias Limones ministered to the audience in a powerful message to every preacher and wife involved in the last day revival. Certainly, his message entitled, “When God Crosses His Hands,” was timely for how God is directing the South Texas District in restructuring for growth. The plans to
expand by dividing into more sections and into 3 regions of fellowship will certainly facilitate this tremendous growth. At the present, we stand at approximately 480 ministers and over 300 churches, daughter works, and preaching points. We expect that number to exponentially increase over the next 10 years, and the result will be more churches to minister to and reach more people for God. Our collective prayer is that God continues to give us direction in our quest to grow both numerically and spiritually in the wonderful South Texas District! Let’s put our hand to the plow and see what God will give us in the harvest.
Let’s put our hand to the plow and see what God will give us in the harvest.
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Centro Teológico Ministerial
Men’s Ministry Update by Roger Blackburn
by Samuel Mendizabal, M. Ed.
South Texas Men’s Director
CTM President
It is hard to believe another South Texas Men’s Conference is in the books and what a conference it was! Men from across the District met again in the beautiful city of San Antonio, Texas, and every one of them left blessed, lifted and changed. Each minister’s message flowed with the unique unity of the Spirit of God. Every man there felt the deep calling as the Spirit moved dealing with us to live FULL THROTTLE 4 HIS GLORY. We were challenged to live life as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. At times our men stood weeping, while at others times, they worshiped with exuberance. The music, the choir and worship team of Hope Center delivered us into an atmosphere of absorbing worship. Over and over again we were urged by the drawing of God’s Spirit, moved by the ministering of the Word and addressed to move fully into God’s purpose for this hour! Hope Center again opened their hearts and doors to the men of our District. Pastor Nathan Scoggins and his good wife were so gracious; let me again say a big “Thank You,” for your kindness and the kindness of Hope Center Church. What a blessing! Our men were privileged to have our District Superintendent, Reverend Ken Gurley ministering to the men of this District. He left us with a message that would forever alter our life.
Friday, Reverend Brain Kinsey opened our hearts and prepared us for an invading of the Spirit. On Saturday, he closed it with a message that spoke one more time to our hearts. This is the day chosen of God in which we must live our lives “FULL THROTTLE 4 HIS GLORY.” Let me urge you to go to Hope Center Church website and order the CDs. I promise you this; you’ll be touched, challenged and changed! Friday night nearly every seat in the Church was filled, showing once again that Men’s Ministry in South Texas District is growing. Saturday, we were blessed with another great representation of men. God is doing great things as He moves this ministry forward for His glory. We are approaching a perfect opportunity to continue the growth of South Texas District Men’s Ministry. I hope each of you will join us in allowing your men and Churches to give in our upcoming drive. This is a month of giving for Men’s Ministry. Father’s Day afforded each an opportunity to honor someone through giving. Why not take the time to honor your
together we can continue the growth of men’s ministry! father or grandfather; or some other that has been a father figure in your life by giving a gift in their name. We need every man to give! We need every man to be FULL THROTTLE 4 HIS GLORY! The success of this ministry depends on YOU and YOUR GIFT. Together, we can continue the growth by providing a venue that will lift and release men to God’s purpose and will! Join me as we press the accelerator and move “FULL THROTTLE 4 HIS GLORY!” Centro Teológico Ministerial
Education has no barriers when it comes to language. Located in the South Texas District, Centro Teologico Ministerial is the first Spanish Bible College endorsed by the United Pentecostal Church International. With extensions in Atlanta, Georgia and Queens, New York, God has blessed CTM with a growing number of students. In April 2014, 29 students graduated in Atlanta, Georgia. In May 2014, we had a beautiful graduation in Long Island, New York, where 112 students graduated and our speaker for the graduation was Bro. Dan Batchelor, Superintendent of the Division of Education in St. Louis. In our fall classes here in Houston, 29 students also graduated, making it a total of 170 students who have graduated this year. Praise God! We are excited about what God is doing in CTM and look forward to more successful years to come!
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remember your mother’s memorial offering!!!
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YOUTH CAMP 2014 update
SETH SIMMONS
YOUTH PRESIDENT Summer time is almost here, which means exciting times for South Texas District Youth Ministry! South Texas Youth Camp 2014 This year STX Youth Camp will be July 28 - Aug 1 in Kerrville, TX at Hill Country Camp and Conference Center (www.hillcountrycamp.cc). Registration forms and instructions are in the mail and will soon be made available at www. stxupci.com. Online registration opens June 1. Camper registration is $150 by July 14, and $175 afterward. Camp worker registration is $100 for workers twenty years of age and older. Our theme this year is “BE” - “Let no man despise thy youth; but BE thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12 ). We want students to grow in their knowledge and in their obedience to the word of God. To live out the Word of God in their daily lives. Be holy. Be courageous. Be separate. Be salt. Be Light. Be what God has called has called them to be! Our evening speaker is Brandon Shanks, renown youth minister and NAYC speaker, and our day speaker is Nate Rios, the youth president of Mississippi. Reason for the Change Some people may be wondering why we have changed camp locations, so please allow me to take a moment and explain the reason for the change. After extensive discussion and deliberation, our District Superintendent, District SecretaryTreasurer, District Board, Spanish Ministry Director and key leaders, as well as our District Youth Ministry team have unanimously agreed that it would be in the best interest of the South Texas District to move our youth camp to the camp in Kerrville where our Children’s Ministry camp is held.
In making this decision we carefully considered the following major areas of concern: How will this effect us financially? Country Camp in Columbus required a 700 camper (or $92,000) minimum commitment. There was also an additional cost of at least $7,000 incurred for hotel expenses due to no rooming facilities being available on the campsite. Hill Country Camp and Conference Center, on the other hand, requires only a 200 (or $26,000) minimum. Our staff and speakers can also stay onsite, so there are no additional hotel expenses. Being consciousness of our financial investment enables us to invest in additional ministries such as the Youth Worker Seminars held in San Antonio and Houston, and the new Hyphen Young Adult Retreat in Kerrville August 21-23, 2014. Will this help us with our limited Dorm Space and provide better facilities for Spanish Ministry? At Country Camp we were reaching capacity in the dorms with the Junior High, Senior High, and Spanish campers together. Also, our Spanish campers were not able to use the nice sanctuary for their service even though they paid the same camp fee. At Hill Country Camp and Conference Center we are able to split the camps up. This year our Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters will have an exclusive week of camp with full access to the entire facility. And, although our Junior High and Senior High are combined this year, we now have the option to have separate age-based camps in the future. Will the new location be a challenge since it is not centrally located?
Country Camp is centrally located, which was the biggest benefit of this campus site. Hill Country Camp and Conference Center is closer for many in our District (San Antonio, the Valley), but it is farther for our Houston area churchs. However, I spoke with our Houston-area leaders at length about this, and none of them felt that this would be a deterrent because 1) we have our District Children’s Camp there, and 2) the youth will go wherever the church van and leaders take them. ☺ Are the amenities comparable? Country Camp offered exceptional amenities and worship space (for English campers). However, the food and dorms were less than satisfactory. We also had to abide by an 11pm curfew that was nonnegotiable. Hill Country Camp and Conference Center has a state-of-the-art worship space and offers comparable amenities (65ft waterslide, swimming pool, lake activities, and sporting activities). The dorms are also much nicer, and the food menu is exceptional. Plus, we set our own curfew. After taking these factors into consideration, hopefully you can see why it was necessary for us to make this change. All things considered, we are anticipating the best youth camp ever, and we cannot wait to see what Jesus Christ will do! As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, by the grace of Jesus Christ, we will work to build on our successes, learn from our mistakes, and steadily pursue excellence in ministry and service to our youth, young adults, youth leaders, pastors and churches. Together, let’s press forward with faith and see the apostolic mission of Christ fulfilled through the youth and young adults of South Texas. Let the future BEgin!