By Elket Rodríguez Imagine your parents decided to immigrate to another country when you were a kid. They immigrated to protect you. It was a choice made out of love. The circumstances in your country of origin were so desperate your parents decided it wasn’t unreasonable to risk the travel to come to the United … Continue reading
By Marv Knox An intriguing and disconcerting message popped up on my telephone screen late last week. “I just got out from the meeting in Juarez … talking about the MPP changes,” wrote Rosalio Sosa, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Tierra de Oro in El Paso and leader of Fellowship Southwest’s efforts to minister to asylum … Continue reading
By Fellowship Southwest Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Advocacy, CBF Global Missions and Fellowship Southwest are collaborating to place Elket Rodríguez, an attorney with extensive experience in immigration law, on their team on the U.S.-Mexico border. Rodríguez, a native of Puerto Rico who lives and practices law in Harlingen, Texas, will become CBF’s immigrant and refugee specialist … Continue reading
By Marv Knox BROWNSVILLE, Texas—Construction of an immigrant respite center at Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville is moving forward, thanks to a Christmas miracle of generosity. IB West Brownsville ministers to refugees who pass through Matamoros, Mexico, as they seek asylum in the United States. The U.S. immigration policy requires asylum seekers to “wait in place” … Continue reading
By Marv Knox Joy and gladness radiated from the desert about 100 miles west of Juarez, Mexico, Feb. 3. A shelter for refugees opened in Palomas, Chihuahua—thanks to a coalition that includes the village of Palomas, the state of Chihuahua, Red de Albergues Migrantes (the Migrant Shelter Network), regional nonprofits and Fellowship Southwest. Although Palomas … Continue reading
By Marv Knox As winter’s frigid blast buffeted the U.S.-Mexico border this week, pastors pleaded for blankets to comfort immigrants seeking asylum in the United States. “Very cold today; 37 degrees,” Carlos Navarro, pastor of Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville wrote in a text on Tuesday. Later, in a phone call, he said churches that provide … Continue reading
By Marv Knox Refugees all along the Mexico-U.S. border feel the love of Jesus, thanks to you. This week, Fellowship Southwest sent more than $10,000 in aid to six ministries serving immigrants from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. FSW’s Immigrant Relief Ministry supports border congregations that provide food, shelter and gospel hope … Continue reading
By Fellowship Southwest Greg Long wants to save Navajo language and culture—one Hebrew word at a time. As a child, Long heard all about Navajo folklore from his paternal grandmother. That’s how he learned to say he’s “of the Deer Water People, born for the Yucca Fruit People,” the traditional Navajo introduction by way of … Continue reading
By Fellowship Southwest Imagine what attending a new Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church must be like in the Southwest. Be prepared for a kaleidoscope of thoughts, because young CBF congregations are as varied as the region. If you attended a CBF church start here, you might: Study the Bible under a carport in one of the nation’s poorest counties, … Continue reading
By Fellowship Southwest The American West offers the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship tremendous opportunities for expansion, reported Glen Foster, coordinator of CBF West. The region covers 13 states, from New Mexico to Alaska and Hawaii. It encompasses one-third of the U.S. population. And it includes about 20 CBF congregations spread across half the nation’s land mass. … Continue reading