We had the pleasure of sitting down to hear from Ben Ellis, church planter and pastor of Cornerstone Church Ministries in Pasadena. He tells of his call to be a church planter, how Cornerstone came to be, and just a bit of how God has sustained them through the joys and struggles of ministry. As newer members of UBA, Ben expresses his vision for Cornerstone as a sending church and his desire to help other churches catch the same vision.
My husband and I recently visited Shipshewanna, Indiana, to experience an Amish community. The calmer pace of life and the cooler weather were a respite for us from our life in Houston with its frantic pace and hot, humid weather. Their pace of life, value of simplicity, and commitment to living our their faith in a countercultural way really made me think about how we might better live out our beliefs among our community. Here's a bit of what I learned.
‘Tis the season that no one wants to talk about: hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—pronounced “Noah,” ironically enough—issued its 2019 major storm forecast, calling for an average year. That means 2-4 major hurricanes. Of course, we’re praying that none of those of major storms make landfall in our beloved Houston area, but if they do, we want to capitalize on some of the lessons we learned from Harvey. And we're asking all our churches to join us.
Estados Unidos es quizás el país con más libertad para predicar el evangelio. Tenemos canales de tv, radio estaciones, iglesias, seminarios, ministerios, y publicaciones que inundan el país con el mensaje. ¿Estará, de veras, llegando al corazón de la gente y dando fruto?
America is perhaps the freest country in which to preach the gospel. We have tv channels, radio stations, churches, seminaries, ministries, and publications which flood the country with the message. But will it reach people's hearts and bear fruit?
Every month, we feature people, events, and ministries we want our people to pray for. So, join us as we pray to and praise God for what He's done, because we're always better together.
If you have any requests or just want to let us know you’re praying with us, feel free to tag us on Facebook or Twitter, and join the conversation. #UBAPraysTogether
Statistics may or may not be your thing, but they can tell us a lot about the area in which we live—its population growth, diversity, and whether or not we can have bragging rights over Dallas. With that in mind, we have compiled some helpful statistics as a starting point for understanding the greater Houston area. How might understanding the growth of our city and its underlying issues help us better reach our communities as they are?
Being the executive director of UBA provided me with a platform to do ministry on so many levels—working with the churches of UBA, working with associations, state and national conventions in the US and abroad, working with our two primary mission agencies (NAMB and IMB)—opportunities I might never have had as a pastor. Meredith Cook interviews Tom Billings (DMin) about his leadership in Union Baptist Association. [photo credit: Tom Billings]
