Omar C. Garcia - Kingsland Baptist Church

In 1976, Alex Haley published “Roots, The Saga
of an American Family.” Haley’s novel tells the
story of his family’s journey to America, starting
with an ancestor named Kunta Kinte who came
to Maryland aboard a slave ship in 1767. “Roots”
resonated with millions of Americans and made
us curious about our own history.
There is a continuing interest these days in
learning about our roots. Online services like
Ancestry.com make it easier than ever before
to make discoveries about those who came
before us. Knowing something about our roots
is important because it gives context to our
existence and reminds us that we are here
because of those who came before us.
Churches also have roots. Many years ago, the
people of Baptist Temple in Houston had a
vision to plant a new church to reach Houston’s
westward expanding population. As a result, they
started Tallowood. After a few years, Tallowood
planted a church called Kingsland to reach the
people living even farther west of their campus.
Thirteen years ago, Kingsland planted River
Bend to reach folks living in the Fulshear area.
Kingsland also helped start Crossings Community
Church. And one year ago, we launched a third
daughter church called Bethel. In addition to that,
our missions ministry has financially supported
several other new church plants.
Perhaps the most encouraging part of this
story is how each of the churches we have
helped to start or supported also have a vision
to plant churches. I was so encouraged when
the people of Bethel set aside their very first
offering to start a church-planting fund. The
story started decades ago by the people of
Baptist Temple continues.
Planting churches is a strategic component
of reaching Houston for Christ. Every week,
2
On the Cover Left to Right:
John Crowe River Bend
Matt Powell Crossings Community Church
Paul Cockrell Bethel Bible Fellowship
2,300 new people move into the greater Houston
area. And, more than one-million people who call
Houston home were born outside of the United
States, represent more than 300 people groups,
and speak more than 200 languages. The nations
have come to Houston.
In order to reach the six-million people who
live in the greater Houston area, we need more
churches that will reach and love their way into
every sector of our community. We need churchplanting churches. I’m glad that Kingsland has
embraced our mission statement that states, in
part, “As a church that participates in the Great
Commission we will continue to birth daughter
churches as quickly as the Lord provides the
people and resources.”
Thank you Kingsland for continuing the story
started by Baptist Temple and Tallowood so many
years ago. And thanks for supporting our own
church-planting initiatives. We have great roots
and are leaving a great legacy!
Last month over
100 church planters
and church planting
leaders gathered
together at Kingsland
to dream together
and strategize what
it would look like
for a movement of
new churches to
be planted across
Greater Houston.
This group is known
as the Houston
Church Planting
Network (HCPN).
As you may know, the Houston
area continues to grow at a
rapid rate with close to 2300
people moving into the region
every week. In addition, Houston is now considered
the most diverse city in the country with over 300
people groups and over 1,000,000 people who were
born outside of the United States. God is bringing the
nations to Houston and many of these people coming
from all over the world have never heard the gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Our current reality, though, is that the general
population is accelerating faster than the size of
the Church. There is a need for churches to reorient
themselves around a missional posture that sends
their people as missionaries into the community and
raises others up to plant new churches.
We believe God is awakening His church in Houston
to both that missional mindset and a multiplication
mentality that calls for the planting of many models
of new churches. Denominations are reorienting
themselves towards a posture of extension. New
networks committed to
church planting continue
to emerge here in Houston.
Church Planters are moving to
different parts of the city, taking
responsibility for their section
of the city, and owning the
lostness and brokenness in their
communities. It’s a time of great
opportunity here in Houston
and it’s exciting to see the
church respond! It is out of this
growing sense that God is at
work that the Houston Church
Planting Network (HCPN) began
a few years ago.
Our mission with HCPN is to be a network of networks
that is committed to strengthening church planters to
multiply churches that reach every man, woman and
child in greater Houston.
Thus far HCPN has identified over 30 different groups
(denominations/networks) that have an active
church planting presence in Houston and over half
of those are now engaged with HCPN at some level.
In addition, we have connected with scores of both
new and established churches, and have a growing
number of leaders and churches coming together to
collaborate for the planting of new churches across
the city.
Our hope is to see multiple movements of new
churches that are centered in
the person of Jesus, anchored in a common vision,
connected through relationships, unified around our
God-given purpose and decentralized to every level of
geography and people group in our city.
We do monthly gatherings where we focus on church
planters, pray for the city, and collaborate together.
It was a joy for us to be hosted by Kingsland for last
month’s gathering and see first-hand the heart that
Kingsland has to plant churches right here in Houston.
We need more churches like Kingsland across our city!
Thank you for the commitment you are making to be a
church planting church.
If you’d like to learn more about HCPN you can visit
www.hcpn.org.
Chad Clarkson
Houston Church Planting Network
3
small groups that meet in homes
all over the Katy area for the
purpose of building and fostering
gospel-centered relationships and
challenging one another to live on
mission.
What’s Happening at Bethel?
It’s hard to believe, but we stand
on the brink of celebrating our
first full year as a new church in
the Katy area! I can remember
like it was yesterday the pounding
in my heart as Pastor Alex shared
with the KBC pastors the vision
of growing the kingdom of God in
Katy/West Houston through church
planting efforts. As the plans for
this new work called Bethel started
to unfold, the Lord began showing
His faithfulness to this vision as He
mobilized a small army of mission
minded people to begin pouring
their lives in to this new work. After
one year’s time here are some
highpoints worth celebrating…
• In Bethel’s very first worship
service, we collected an offering
that is specifically designated for
future church planting efforts.
• In December 2012, Bethel installed
its first group of elders to serve as
the leadership for this new work.
• In January 2013, Bethel enlisted a
volunteer team to begin the search
process of Bethel’s future location.
• In May 2013, Bethel mobilized
a small team to go on mission to
West Africa to share the gospel in
the streets among a predominately
Muslim people.
• In June 2013, Bethel launched
Missional Communities which are
4
There is a great line in the movie
“We Bought a Zoo” where the
daughter asks her dad, “Why don’t
you tell stories anymore?” and he
responds with, “We are living the
story!” Bethel is living the story
and there is still much to be written
as we endeavor to make the name
of Jesus famous in Katy/West
Houston.
Land
“Where is Bethel going to be
located?” “Has Bethel found
land?” “Is Bethel looking for raw
land or an existing structure?”
These and many other questions
like them are the most frequently
asked questions regarding Bethel’s
future. Back in January 2013,
we assembled a team of people
from Bethel to serve on our Site
Analysis Team to begin the difficult
task of trying to answer these
very important questions. They
have worked diligently over the
last seven months researching
the growth patterns of Katy/West
Houston and the demographics in
the area. This team has committed
to pray regularly for this process
and to be thinking about Bethel’s
future location with some key
thoughts in mind…
• Leadership of the Holy Spirit
guiding this search process.
• Where in Katy/West Houston is a
need for a gospel work.
• A footprint that would allow
Bethel to grow and mature into a
church-planting church.
The Holy Spirit has aligned our
team to focus on one particular
area of Katy to further investigate.
Please keep this team in your
prayers as they focus their
attention on this area and begin
conversations with landowners.
Site Analysis Team: Dan Braz,
Keith Howell, Gary Thompson, Troy
Fogarty, Manuel Reyna, Bill Price,
Michelle Duty, Malcolm McMullen
(KBC member and representative
from Kingsland’s Mission Council)
The earth is the Lord’s…
The Site Analysis Team has been
assessing possible financial
scenarios for the list of items
we have been looking at since
January 2013. In light of this, the
elders propose that Bethel begin
raising capital for the purpose of
purchasing land and phase 1 of a
building campaign. Our goal is
to raise $3MM by June 1, 2014 to
cover the cost of both the land
and building. We have built 2
benchmarks in an effort to reach
this goal. The first benchmark is to
raise $2MM for the purchase of land
by December 31, 2013. The second
benchmark is to raise $1MM for the
phase 1 building by June 1, 2014.
This is an approximate amount
based on limited conversation
regarding this phase. There are
many variables that drive this
amount such as location, building
codes, etc. Currently, Bethel has
money designated for this purpose
in the amount of $886,762.57.
We realize this is a monumental
task, but we trusting God to make
provision as we collectively work
toward this goal.
“The earth is the Lord’s and the
fullness thereof, the world and
those who dwell in it.” Psalm 24:1
Missional Living - Globally
In July of 2012, we held our very first worship service in the Loft at Kingsland. It
was during this service that God birthed the vision in us to become a church
planting church. At the conclusion of the service we collected an offering
specifically designated to financially aid future church plants in Katy/West
Houston and around the world. We have partnered with a young man named
Michael Emadi who is leaving the U.S. soon
with this family to help a new church plant in
Ireland. We have also begun a partnership
in West Africa in conjunction with KBC to
literally launch people into an environment
to share the gospel through storying God’s
Word. In the near future, as God provides
the people and resources, we will help them
with church planting efforts as they begin to
disciple the new believers. We are preparing
to lead 2 teams from Bethel back there this
next year. We also have a family that is
leaving very soon for Southwest Asia with
IMB that we are committed to pray for in the
days ahead. There is potential for us to be
engaged in trips in this area of the world in
the next year or two.
Missional Living – Locally
We know that we cannot limit our people
only to live on mission globally. We must
consistently mobilize our people to live on
mission right here in our city. Over the past
year, people from Bethel have
served in inner city Houston
cooking lunch and breakfast for
the children of Generation One
Academy. This has provided
us a great opportunity to
interact with children who may
not have a Christian influence
in their homes. We are in the
process now of mobilizing
more teams to serve in these
areas. In addition, we have had
people serve as volunteers at
different community events in
Katy like Just Run for a Just
Cause through KBC and the
Gingerbread Jog for the Katy
Pregnancy Help Center. During
the fall of this year, we are
hosting a carnival in Southwest
Houston to connect our people
to refugee families who now call
Houston home.
5
My view of God has never been as big as it is today. Thinking back on the
great God story of Crossings Community Church swells an emotional collision of both
great humility and awe. In September of 2006 there were eight adults sitting in a
living room nestled in a neighborhood off FM 1093 who believed God
wanted something new in Katy. From a living room to the Loft of
Kingsland Baptist Church on Sunday evenings, then to the first
public worship gathering on December 24, 2006, a humble
foundation was laid.
In seven years of ministry amidst this great
community, we have sent two teams to the
Philippines, one team to Cuba, and have
another team preparing to depart in the
coming days. We have partnered to see
churches planted on the other side of the
world, while also physically building a home
for a pastor and his family. God has used
the faithful and obedient hearts of a few to
impact His great world. Global impact is a
deeply ingrained aspect of our vision,but
that is only a tiny part of what God is doing
in and through Crossings Community.
6
We are a community of faith who deeply desires to
engage, equip, and empower homes amidst the Katy
community for gospel transformation.
God has created an environment where families
come and find authentic relationships and begin
seeing refreshing spiritual growth.
Sunday is a great celebration day of journeying
through the scriptures together. We have traveled
through the books of Acts, Ruth, Jonah, Nehemiah,
Habakuk, Philippians, Ephesians, 1 & 2 Timothy,
Hebrews, and Romans from start to finish amidst
many other smaller studies along the way. We have
seen God radically transform lives through the
preaching and teaching of His Word.
Not only on Sunday mornings, but through small
groups as well. We have over 90% participation
in our small groups where the Bible is taught and
digested amidst the real relationships that are built
throughout the week. God has forged relationships
through small groups which embody the beautiful
characteristics of a Biblical church.
I often get asked by people, “How are things going
at Crossings Community?” I answer today with a
confident reply indicating that God is doing amazing
things in the homes of His church. He is healing
marriages, equipping parents to disciple and lead,
and sending out missionaries to neighborhoods and
office buildings throughout this city and across the
globe.
God has proved himself faithful, as He always does,
in His perfect timing. Our first five to six years were
fairly difficult as we endured with the vision God had
given, but did not see the fruit we had expected.
God taught us a lot as leaders during that season as
we came to redefine success. Then He decided it was
time... maybe He felt our hearts were ready.
Over the past year we have seen great growth in
both depth and breadth without changing a single
thing about who we are or what we do. We are still
a church that boldly proclaims the gospel of Jesus
Christ through His Word every single Sunday and
throughout the week. We are still a church that
pushes people uncomfortably into real and authentic
gospel-informed relationships.
The Elders of Crossings Community Church regularly
agree that we are seeing God answer years of
prayers during this season. Yet, we still have more
prayers and we haven’t completed the vision that He
has given to His church, Crossings Community. We
are humbled in our opportunity to rejoice over the
way God is using us to engage, equip, and empower
homes for gospel transformation.
7
Can I describe River Bend in
a nutshell? I don’t think so, but I
can give you a pretty good idea of
who we are and what is happening
out here in Fulshear by describing
a recent Sunday to you.
We started the service by showing
a short video clip. It was good,
but because it was different than
our usual beginning, all the folks
who came in late were still talking
to their friends as they moved to
their seats. When they noticed we
had already started, they quickly
sat down. It made me chuckle and
thank God that we have the kind
of church where people like to
chat with each other.
8
That Sunday morning I did not
preach; instead Luke and Maudie
Watson were with us. Luke is a
student at Southwestern Seminary
where he and Maudie are enrolled
in the 2x2 program. They are
preparing to go into international
missions as career missionaries.
Maudie grew up at River Bend,
which seems strange to say
since we are only 13 years old.
Maudie always wanted to marry
a preacher. We want to create a
relationship with them now, so as
they travel across the world telling
people about Jesus they will have
a church family back home who
knows them and will pray for
them.
As I talk to people who visit
River Bend one of the first things
they say to me is how warm and
friendly we are. That’s intentional.
Years ago as we started, we
made a point of declaring that
friendliness and warmth would
be nonnegotiable characteristics
of River Bend. We believe this is
one way of living out what Jesus
meant when He said, “They will
know you by your love one for
another.”
Missions is important to us, not
just giving but going as well. We
have ongoing mission relationships
with ministries and missionaries
in India, Africa and Belize. We
started a church in Belize, and
we are sponsoring a new work in
Brookshire. God has assembled a
group of people who believe the
gospel message is for everyone
and do all they can to get it there.
As worship continued, Todd
Melton, our worship minister, led
us in an inspirational blend of
some great hymns paired with
contemporary worship songs. Then
Todd and the praise team sang a
very worshipful song that blew us
away, as they always seem to do.
At the end of Luke’s powerful
message, Cody came forward.
He had asked Jesus into his life
at children’s camp and wanted
the church to know. Rebecca
and Katie, two of our youth girls
who prayed to receive Jesus
into their hearts because of our
Youth Ministry,
also came
forward. As
the invitation
continued, I
looked out into
the crowd and saw three families
who have all told me they will join
soon.
The Fulshear area is rapidly
growing and our prayer is that
God will allow us to become the
type of church that will make
a difference in the lives of the
people moving to this part of the
world. He has, and He is, and we
pray He will continue to do so.
The worship service came to an
end, but we still had more to do.
That night we were helping with
a Back-to-School Bash which our
mission church outreach team,
Hip Hop Hope, was putting on in
Brookshire. Our job was to man
the bounce house and water slide.
It was fun, but we all got soaked.
It’s hard to believe this work has
already been going on for over a
year! It is making a real difference
in Brookshire.
There you have it, in one day a
snapshot of who River Bend is —
missional, Bible-centered, friendly,
involved in the community,
growing, worshipping and excited
about our future. And just in case
you didn’t know, in the last year
and a half we have raised just
over $660,000 to build a youth
building; we only have about
$250,000 to go. Who knows
where God is going to take us?
We are just excited to be
on the journey!
With tears
streaming down
her face she
confessed, “Yes,
I have been
putting poison
in your family’s
food.” That’s
how Andrew and
Esther Mukasa
discovered they
were targets of
the latest round
of persecution
sweeping across
the southeastern African country
of Tanzania. It was only going to
get worse with poisonous snakes
being tossed into their home and
an attempt on their daughter’s life
— all of which forced them to leave
their home in Dar es Salaam and
flee to Uganda for safety.
The next three months found
Andrew sneaking back into
Tanzania to meet with church
leaders, help plan more gospel
outreaches, and record his
radio messages, each broadcast
reaching more than 8 million
people. Because of growing
persecution and the uncertainty of
when it might end, the leadership
decided to move the church to a
location 30 miles outside of town,
hoping it would be safer and not
so influenced by the politics of Dar
es Salaam and the radical Imams
there.
“It’s beautiful!” exclaimed one
of the leaders. “It’s just what we
need!” declared another. With
those words and others like them,
Andrew and the whole church
made the decision to move to
Boco, a little village just 30 miles
north of Dar es Salaam which they
hoped would be far enough to give
them some relief from the troubles
they had been enduring.
Convinced that God was leading
them there to work this harvest
field, Andrew and his church
located to a 3-acre piece of ground
that seemed ideal for them. The
property had a $20,000 price tag
and for a little church in Tanzania
relocating because of persecution,
it might as well have been $200
million. To some the price seemed
unattainable; but recognizing that
our God makes the impossible
possible, the congregation, with
praying and fasting, placed their
request before His throne of grace.
Church. River Bend warmly
welcomed them and God moved
the hearts of many to invest in
His work in Tanzania. Andrew and
Esther returned home with the
knowledge that the rest of the
money they needed would be
waiting for them at their bank. In
only 5 days, through His people at
River Bend, God provided a total
of $43,000 for Andrew’s work.
In a short time, two incredible
things happened. First, the church
raised $3,000 earnest money and
told the owner they would have
the rest of the money by October
Of course, Andrew and Esther
were speechless. How tenderly
He must have looked on this little
flock as they prayed and fasted
and cried out to Him for help; and
how delighted He must have been
to see their joyful astonishment at
the bounty of His answer. In fact,
when Andrew and Esther shared
this amazing news with their
church, 6 ladies fainted, overcome
with joy!
15, not knowing from where the
remaining sum would come. Next,
Andrew received a call from a
friend offering him two airline
tickets to America. Andrew and the
church were elated. Maybe God
was going to work through this trip
to raise the rest of the purchase
price. But who did they know in
America who could give them so
much money? Again, they prayed
and then sent Esther and Andrew
to America.
Now Andrew’s church can not
only buy the property, they can
also begin building. They can
purchase necessary supplies for
the preschools they run, and they
can pay for more airtime on the
radio. Truly, with God all things are
possible!
God is great and greatly to be
praised!
Their first stop was in Dallas
where Andrew and Esther
have some Tanzanian friends.
They stayed there almost
two weeks and raised a small
amount of money. Then they
came to Houston where they
spoke at a couple of meetings.
A little money was raised, but
they were still a long way from
the $17,000 they needed.
With 6 days left before
returning home, Andrew and
Esther went out to Fulshear
where they spoke several
times at River Bend Baptist
9
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10
History
Repeats Itself
by Jim Dry
In the summer of 1978, my parents
were lead by the Lord to leave
the comfort of Tallowood Baptist
Church in Spring Branch, and move
our family to the new community
of Katy. As members of Tallowood,
I guess it was a forgone decision
that we would also join the small
group of members starting up
Tallowood Mission in this area. As
fate would have it, we moved into
a house four doors down from
the pastor, Hollie Atkinson. We’ve
always joked that it is hard to skip
church when the pastor has to
drive by your house every Sunday!
Although I was only 9 at the time,
I came to see a group of believers
who decided that church was
more than a building — church is
an organism, a body that reaches
others for His glory. Our new
little church moved from a day
care building to an elementary
school and finally to a building on
Kingsland Boulevard.
During Kingsland’s early years, I
also saw community built within
the church — everyone jumped
in to do whatever was needed to
have “church” on a regular basis.
I tagged along with my older
brother and the pastor’s son as
they set up the elementary school
every Saturday night. After our new
building was complete, my brother
and I become the first maintenance
crew and cut the grass every
Saturday.
Fast-forward 22 years: my wife
Kristin and I are plugged in at
Kingsland. We both grew up at
Kingsland and we both came to
salvation at Kingsland. We had
the privilege of serving in the
preschool department. In the late
nineties, Kristin served as the
girls’ minister with the KSM staff.
Kingsland was an important part of
our lives, especially during this time
as newlyweds.
As for history repeating itself, in
2000, Kingsland decided to plant
a church a little further west in
Fulshear. Once again the Lord lead
my parents to be a part of that
church plant, twenty-two years
after they had joined Tallowood’s
church plant called Kingsland.
Although Kristin and I did not go
immediately, God began to prick
our hearts for that area. He made it
clear to us in 2001 that He wanted
us to spread our wings and serve at
the church plant.
Going to River Bend was much like
our family’s early days at Kingsland.
We met in an elementary school,
which meant setting up and taking
down our chairs and equipment
every week. Kristin and I feel
honored and blessed that
God chose to use our entire
family to help start another new
church. Even our four-year-old son
Parker helped set out the chairs
for Sunday School and worship
service.
The day that River Bend broke
ground, our family was there. Our
three- year-old daughter Grace had
a pink hard hat with her shovel. At
a very early age, our children have
experienced first hand what “Go
Beyond” looks like. We are excited
to see how God will send and use
them on His journey. We have
since moved back to our “roots” at
Kingsland and enjoyed seeing the
birth of Bethel, another daughter
church. We continue to have open
hearts willing to serve where He
leads.
To add another chapter to this
history book, River Bend supports
a ministry in Belize headed by
Pastor Bob Farley. Sitting in his
office is a very large wooden desk
that at one time was the pastor’s
desk at Heights First Baptist
Church and was given to our family.
That’s six generations from Heights
First, Baptist Temple, Tallowood
Baptist, Kingsland Baptist, River
Bend Baptist and now on the
mission field in Belize.
God never ceases to amaze me
how He allows us to be part of His
story and how He uses tangible
items like a desk to help us see His
scarlet thread through years of His
work. Our God truly is sovereign
and mighty. How humbling it is to
be on His team.
11
A Personal Word about
Three Good Men
One of the best things about what I
do is getting to know and work with
really good people. In this issue, you
will read about the good work that the
three men who pastor churches started
by Kingsland are doing to reach our
community for Christ. For those who
do not know these men, here is a
little something personal about each
of them that I hope will help you to
appreciate them.
John Crowe has a sense of adventure.
A year ago John contacted me to
talk about, of all things, canoeing! He
had read my blog posts about my
canoeing adventures with my son
Jonathan and decided he wanted
to start canoeing with his son. John
and his son have since competed in
the Neches River Wilderness Canoe
Race, billed as the toughest little
canoe race in the Republic of Texas.
Jonathan and I enjoyed seeing them
on the Neches and hope to share more
adventures with them on our beautiful
Texas Rivers. I love the fact that John
continues to look for ways to stretch
and grow in and out of the pulpit.
Matt Powell is a deep thinker and
a really good writer. His Suburbia
Uncovered blog is one of my favorites
— it is a much-needed missional voice
to suburbia. Matt shares great insights
about life in the suburbs and how to
meaningfully connect with those who
live in our suburban land of plenty.
Matt understands the challenges of
parenting in our media-saturated age,
offers practical wisdom for raising
godly kids, and tackles an assortment
of issues facing families today. I
encourage you to bookmark Matt’s
blog and to read his posts often.
Paul Cockrell is a great
dad. I love seeing Paul with
his three boys in tow. He
loves them and they love
him. I can envision the
day when his boys will be
grown and will thank him
and Marisa for teaching
them what it means to love
God and love people. I also
wonder about how their
experiences growing up
in a household of church
planting parents will shape
their own decisions in the
future about stepping out in faith and
doing hard things. Just as Paul and
Marisa continue Kingsland’s legacy
of church planting, perhaps one day
Paul’s boys will become another
generation of church planters.
I hope you enjoy reading more in this
issue about how God is using John,
Matt, and Paul. And I also hope that
you will pray for and encourage these
men as they lead their respective
churches to love God and love people.
Omar C. Garcia