Bro. Eddie Marsh, president of the Texas Baptist Home for Children has returned home following a heart catherization Wednesday at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler. He is doing well and is expected to return to work on Monday.

The BMA of Texas Department of Resource and Ministry Development announces the postponement of the Music Ministry 101 Workshop that was scheduled to be held at First, Livingston Saturday, May 17th. The event will be rescheduled at a later date.

The culmination of the BMAA Missions Department's 50 Days of Prayer and Giving Campaign was World Missions Sunday, February 24. As of May 1, 2008, $1,562,527.99 has been recieved for the BMAA Missions General Fund, along with a designated gift of $1,000,000 to be used for special projects.

Get a copy of the May 7th issue of Baptist Progress for a summary of actions taken and reports given at the annual BMA of America Meeting in Waco.

Last fall, the State Association approved the first expansion of the ministry of Texas Baptist Home. On March 27, a team from TBH met with pastors who represented churches in Henderson, Anderson, Cherokee, and Van Zandt counties. The response was very favorable. Highland Hills Baptist Church in Athens offered office space to TBH and it was accepted. On April 14, 2008 the office was officially opened. DeRhonda Phillips, a Tyler pastor's wife, who is highly qualified with many years of experience in foster care, was chosen to manage the office. TBH President Eddie Marsh has requested that BMA and SBTC churches in the area invite Mrs. Phillips to speak in their churches and share her vision for this ministry while allowing your people to get involved in this exciting outreach to abused and neglected children. The number at the office is 903-670-3276.

Saturday, April 26th, the Anthony Pennington and Steve Hoggard families, after several months of planning, had a block party in the Trade Winds subdivision in southeast Amarillo Saturday, April 26. About 75 to 100 people attended. Also, Sunday, April 27, Kyle Sears and the mission in Hutto had their first service after many months of building presence in the community and building a team. Even though it was rainy, windy and cold, about 60 people attended. Finally, Cody Montandon launched regular services at the Community Center in Justin. They had about 35 in attendance. Pray for these to reach many people for Christ and to see lives changed. Also pray for the other five church plants because something new occurs among them all the time.

For years, June has been DoubleUp Month for Baptist Progress. During DoubleUp Month, churches on the Church Plan mail us a “double” monthly payment for the subscriptions they provide for their members. However, due to increased costs, Baptist Progress asks churches to take one more step this year. On Sunday, June 8th, every BMA of Texas church is asked to take a special offering for Baptist Progress. If the offering your church receives is greater than two Church Plan payments, great! Send it in! If it is not, have your church guarantee the amount Baptist Progress receives from you be at least equal to two Church Plan payments.

The Bloomery Getaway will be held at Calvary, Fairfield, Saturday, May 17 from 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Cost for person is $20. See the April 16th issue of Baptist Progress for more details.

In partnership with the BMA of Texas Department of Resource and Ministry Development, Leaders Summit is offering two day leadership workshops for leaders of the adolescent generation will be September 29-30 and December 15-16. More details are available at www.leaderssummityouth.org.

The BMA Seminary is revising several of its graduate degree programs for the fall semester 2008. The Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Church Ministries, and Master of Arts (Religion) will be the degrees available to incoming students for the fall. The Master of Divinity degree is a 90 semester hour program of studies and includes courses in Bible, Theological-Historical, Church Ministry and Christian Education fields. Biblical studies include 15 hours of biblical language and Church Ministry studies include a supervised ministry component. The degree allows a student to prepare for several ministerial opportunities. The Master of Arts in Church Ministries is a 60 semester hour program of studies and includes courses in Bible, Theological-Historical, Church Ministry and Christian Education fields. It includes a supervised ministry education component and allows a student to prepare for a variety of ministries in a church or church related institution or to focus elective studies in a particular area of church ministry. The Master of Arts (Religion) is a 48 semester hour program of studies and includes courses in Bible, Theological-Historical and Church Ministry fields. The purpose of the degree is to lead students in a basic understanding of theological disciplines for further study or general educational purposes.

2008 Volunteer Student Missions Bootcamp will be June 10-13 at Daniel Springs Camp, Gary, Texas. The camp is for anyone age 14-college. Register by phone at 469-762-4017 or at studentmissions@aol.com.

SOAR 2008 is quickly approaching and it promises to be an exciting conference! SOAR has five base themes that it rotates over a five year period. Those themes are Discipleship, Service, Missions, Evangelism and this year’s base theme Worship. More information is available in the February 6th issue of Baptist Progress or online at www.discipleguide.com or www.bma-dcm.org. Make your reservations at the Hyatt by June 8 at 800-233-1234 or direct at 210-224-1234.

David Pittman, director of the Department of Resource and Ministry Development has announced that Music Ministry Workshops will be conducted across Texas at First, Livingston May 17, 2008; and west Texas, TBA. See the December 5th issue of Baptist Progress for more details.