Local church, the neighborhood social center

By Zach Mayer

A small church with a big heart strives to make an impact in the neighborhood of Redwood. 

Residences of Redwood deal with many problems, most of them resulting from poverty. In their trouble, some of these residences come together in community for help and provision.

“Our church is kind of the social center of the community,” Senior Pastor Jim Lanning said. Pastor Lanning is from the Redwood Baptist Church. Lanning said that the common denominator is of everything they do is community based on their spiritual beliefs. One such belief is that all people should be included within a community.

Redwood Baptist Church after service. Photo taken by Zach Mayer. 

“That is the challenge of America today,” Lanning said. “The most segregated hour in America today is 11 o’clock on Sunday morning. Our idea was to truly minister to all people.”

There have been 85 to 90 people who attend church service on Sunday. Lanning said that is good for these days. These 90 people make up a multi-ethnic community. This includes Hispanics, African Americans, and Whites. There is also socio-economic diversity. Lanning said that there 15 people from San Marcos and Lockhart who live in group homes. The church drives them from their shelter to the church on Sunday. The church also bring homeless people to the church for service as well as taking care of some of their needs.

Pastor Jim Lanning (Brother Jim) preaching to the diverse congregation Sunday morning.  Photo taken by Zach Mayer. 

            “Our church does not have a majority,” Lanning said. “Not one group has over fifty percent, and that has to be very, very intentional.”

The sermons and music are in English and Spanish. Each group has a representative preacher. Each representative preacher has a voice in the church so that no group of people is over looked.

“There’s several others that dub-tell into it,” Lanning said. “One of those is called the Redwood Community Center, and there’s also the Cotton Wood Association, they’re also social benevolent things.”

The church started as a mission. The church was reorganized in 1989, from being a first Baptist church into a regular Baptist church under the leadership of Jim Lanning. There are out reach programs that the church organizes in Redwood and in other cities, including San Antonio and Austin. 

“You have to have out reach,” Lanning said. Lanning said the church works in both the local community and else where because it is their belief that was what Jesus did. One of theirs core beliefs of the ministry is that God helps people in their troubles. This ministry hopes that belief can be manifested in what they do as a community and in their outreach.

This ministry’s outreach in San Antonio is going to the Baptist Child and Family Service Center (BCFS). Several people and Pastors from the church go to the BCFS facility for fellowship and worship with the youth there. They come every third Tuesday of every month. Senior Pastor Erasmo Del Bosque said the facility has homeless teenagers that are illegal immigrants from Latin America. They were apprehended and brought to shelter in San Antonio. Erasmo said that their ministry has been coming to the BCFS facility for three years.

“If you’re from Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, South America, Latin America, and you come across the river illegal, and you’re apprehended, there’s a detention center in San Antonio and that’s where you go,” Lanning said. “It’s extremely powerful.”

Another pastor who goes the BCFS is Robert Rodriguez. He goes to the Austin soup kitchen outreach. Every first Wednesday of the month the ministry goes and feeds about 300 people each time.

“We’ve been doing that for fifteen years,” Lanning said.

The Redwood ministry helps residences that are struggling with poverty, by helping them get food, medical check ups, receiving identification cards and papers, school supplies, clothes, and other services.  

Pastor Erasmo Del Bosque. He preaches some sunday mornings, at the BCFS, and sunday evenings. Photo taken by Zach Mayer. 

"If somebody needs medical check ups, you'll have some of the vouchers provide for the physicals,” Rodriguez said. The vouchers bring people to the Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos. Lanning said that the church pays $6000 in a ten-week period. Erasmo said that annually physicians come to church during the week and give medical check ups to people who need it.Usually they check people for diabetes, high cholesterol, and other circulatory system problems. 
 Lanning said that there are residents that are unaware that they even have diabetes. He knows of cases where residents will believe that it is pointless to get diagnosis, because they don’t see how they could possibly afford treatment for the disease.

“One of our ministries to them helps them gets I.D. cards and birth certificates, which is very, very difficult,” Lanning said. “It would even occur to you to operate with an I.D. card. That’s a major problem.”

Living without an I.D. is hard, after 9/11 it became harder. Without an I.D. it is almost impossible to work and get paid. Lanning said there are many Redwood residents that he knows who don’t have an I.D.  Jim and his wife help people obtain an I.D. and a birth certificate, which is very difficult.

Rodriguez said the Redwood ministry has classes where some of the homeless in the neighborhood learn how to manage a budget, build a resume, and find a job. He said that many of the homeless are women and come to these classes.

“We have a food bank at our church and then we also have a clothes ministry,” Lanning said. The cloths are placed outside for people who can’t afford them. Lanning said other ministries with clothing ministries are restrictive. He said his church is open for anyone at any time. The intention is to build trust and mutual respect in the community.

“During thanksgiving, some of the families there, they have turkey boxes they send to (other) families that live in that neighborhood,” Rodriguez said. This thanksgiving turkey give away is part of the food ministry of the church. The main part of food bank is a program for youth in the summer. 

“We do the summer program for three months,” Rodriguez said. This program is called Good Neighbors.

Public schools provide food for kids during the school year, but in the summer they don’t. The church provides lunch for kids in the summer. Lanning said there are hundred of thousands of out of school Texas kids who don’t get the food provision n. He said 3293 meals were given away last summer to kids from the church’s ministry. Rodriguez said the summer lunches have optional bible studies and reading programs for the kids. He said out reach to the Redwood youth is essential for out reach to the community.

            “The way to any community’s heart is through their children,” Lanning said.

By reaching the youth it gains respect and trust of parents. Lanning said making a real impact in the life of a young person is important, especially when there are 100 young people impacted.

“I’m talking about hard cut ministry,” Lanning said. Erasmo said that the church hopes to raise more awareness of their ministries and programs to further connect with the neighbor and continue to build community.