How Would YOU Like to go to Prison?

by Linda Green


What a question! Of course not, right?

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 25:36 “...I was in prison and you visited me.” Do you picture Paul and Silas or Peter when you read this verse, like I once imagined? Because I didn’t know anyone unjustly imprisoned, especially for their faith, I felt like I was off the hook on this one. Those called to evangelize could visit if they felt the pull of the Spirit, but the rest of us could set this project on the shelf. Or so I felt before.

Pastor Bruce sent out an invitation to the WBC family and beyond to join him on a trip to the Venus prison to serve with a chaplain who loves the Lord and shares that love with prisoners. Gaylord Hanes and others had spoken of the privilege of bringing the good news of forgiveness and freedom through Jesus to inmates. Their stories were intriguing and inspiring, and I was glad God had called them. But I never planned to go!

How glad I am that I stepped out of my prison of fear and onto the bus bound for the Venus prison. Going through the locking steel doors after the requisite security checks was a little unnerving, but as we walked down the concrete walled halls, I was surprised by the light colors and artwork on the walls. This particular prison seems to be attempting to create positive surroundings for the men whose lives have been plunged into darkness. I felt a little more of the weight of fear lifting from my insides.

As we entered the cafeteria, several inmates in white prison suits were preparing the room for our worship service. Except for their uniforms, they appeared much like men in any church; busy setting up chairs and the sound system, doing whatever was needed with a positive spirit. I watched them with interest, while wondering if any others would come to the service.

Slowly, the men began to trickle in, many carrying worn Bibles with them. Awkwardly I stood back and watched others in our group greet them, and the positive response of the inmates. I began to imagine myself in their place, and how I would appreciate a friendly face, a handshake, and a smile. The Holy Spirit seemed to give me a little inward push, and I joined the line of greeters. Very quickly my attitude of fear and self focus changed to marveling that these men were here because the same Spirit of the living God had drawn them.

More and more came, until the room was full. And we began to praise the Lord together. If you have a hard time worshiping because of all the distractions of the world, come to a prison worship service. True praise comes from a thankful heart for the Savior that is bigger than our sin. Deep thankfulness was written on the faces of many of the men there that night.

Fellow church members then shared their testimonies of God’s grace that saved them and preached from the Word of God. What a joy to see men eagerly turning the pages of their Bibles to find a scripture passage!

Was I a great evangelist that night? No, but God asked me to go, be friendly, and to pray like crazy for the work of the Spirit in the hearts of prisoners.

So, back to Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:39-40, when He says the righteous will ask the King, “When did we see you sick, or in prison, and go to visit You? The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

So now I believe that Jesus tells us to visit those in prison that have come to be brothers through shared faith in our Savior. Maybe the evangelism can be the work of others, but as the Body of Christ we are called to visit the brothers of Jesus behind bars.

Will you go?


For more information, contact Jerry Weiler at 254.582.8889.

Vacation Bible School 2014: After the Escape!

by Jeff Knowles


June 16th - 20th turned out to be one of the wildest and best Vacation Bible Schools Waxahachie Bible Church has seen in a long time! 350 children came through our doors throughout the week! Each day, we showed the kids a new truth from the Bible on how they can trust God: by knowing that He is always with us, knowing that He will provide for us, knowing that He gives us strength, knowing that He saves us and knowing that He guides us.

Just like every activity the WBC Kidnation children’s ministry puts on, there was a purpose behind each snack, each craft, each activity and each song that pointed children towards having and strengthening a personal relationship with Christ. This year was no exception, and we also taught kids to know that God has made each one of them unique and has a special purpose for them.

For the first time ever, WBC VBS had EWE-Pet petting zoo out on Wednesday morning, which was a huge hit for the younger kids and even for the youth and adult volunteers! They brought out everything from piglets to ducks and even a tortoise and a yak! After asking a lot of kids, their favorites were by far the guinea pigs and the yak.

Thank you for all your help with VBS this year: from overflowing donations, amazing volunteers, to constant prayer support! It could not have happened without your help. God used over 75 volunteers this year to step up and help out. A huge thank you to over half of the Fuse student ministry for stepping up and out of their comfort zones to help out this year!

With all the terrific things that God did that week, it is important and necessary to state there was a sad note to add to this year’s Vacation Bible School. We had to start turning down kids because we did not have enough volunteers to help. My prayer for next year’s Vacation Bible School is that God would continue to move in the community and send even more kids, AND that Waxahachie Bible Church would step up in an even greater way in 2015. After all, you don’t always have to travel far for a mission trip - VBS is a mission that happens in your own backyard!

Ministry Partner of the Month - Axis

Prayer Requests:

1. Praise! God has allow Axis to speak at 380+ locations to 100,000 people since 2007.

2. Pray that God would provide a new Team Director to lead our third team.

3. Pray for Jeremiah as he shares the vision of Axis with schools and churches every week. Pray that he is able to book many many places for us to minister.

4. Pray for the Axis staff as we research and improve our presentations over the summer.

5. Praise! We just did an event for Easter that was digital. 47 schools, and over 60 families participated. One senior student in CA committed to following Jesus after he saw it.

6. Pray that our administrative team would be creative and efficient: Gary Alan, Jon Jon, David, Amy, Melanie, Jeremiah and Nicholas.

7. Pray for all the students that will hear the Gospel starting in August because of Axis. 

8. Pray that God would continue to provide for the financial needs of Axis. 

9. Praise! We have a new office. God provided it for us at a 60% discount. 

10. Pray that the Axis marriages continue to grow and become strong.

11. Pray that we would find two more board couples to round out our board of directors.

12. Pray for our traveling teams that they will serve humbly: Colin, Patrick, New Team Director, and 9 new team members.

13. Pray that many parents will come to our parent meetings.

14. Pray that we will find favor in the eyes of people who partner financially with Axis.

15. Pray for the right mentorship and wisdom as we continue to grow.

16. Praise that God allows us to do a job that is so needed and that we love to do!

Mission Trip to Show Low, AZ

We are headed back to American Indian Christian Mission (AICM). The local students we worked with had a great experience last year, and many of them have already indicated they are looking forward to coming again.

Our primary goal is to lead these teenagers to faith in Jesus Christ and to help them grow as His disciples. We do this through teaching times, interacting and activities with the teens, but mostly by living out the gospel of Jesus Christ in tangible ways while running a summer camp for these students. These junior high or high schoolers are watching us constantly as we are living letters of Jesus Christ being read by all of them (II Cor 3:3). By living with the students during the camp week, we get to know them, and they get to know us... building relationships that will have eternal impact.

Another goal is to lead children not at the camp into a new knowledge of Jesus Christ by organizing and holding Back Yard Bible Club style gatherings daily in the area surrounding the AICM camp for teenagers.

A third goal is to form work teams who will do various projects for the camp and for residents and organizations in the ACIM camp area.

AICM is located in the white mountains of Arizona. It is cool and beautiful there. We are on the grounds of AICM, which is a boarding school during the school year. There are dormitories, a cafeteria, gymnasium, swimming pool, chapel and classrooms.  

We need people like you who will listen to people, learn from them, love them, live out the life of a disciple, and lead them to Jesus. We will interact with each teenager/child or adult on their walk with the Lord in a personal way.

Dates:  July 11-19

Trip Staff and Elder Support:

• Bruce Zimmerman  - Trip Coordinator and Work 

  Project Coordinator 

• Jeff Knowles - Children’s Ministry Coordinator

• Lee Coleman - Co-Camp Coordinator/Camp 

  Speaker

What can you do to support this trip?

First, be in prayer for the team members as they prepare for and head out on this short-term mission trip. Second, each team member is responsible for raising financial support for the trip. If you would like to contribute in this way, please contact the church office.

Top 10 Reasons YOUR Kids Should Come to WBC's Wilderness Escape VBS 2014

10. Your children’s thumbs could fall off from too much video gaming this summer!

9. It’s waaaaay cheaper than Disney World. I mean, have you SEEN their prices lately? Plus, you don’t have to wait in a long line next to any smelly tourists!

8. Your ex-babysitter posted the names of your kids all over the social media sites with the tags: #pureevilkids and #neverbabysittingever

7. You can’t afford for your home insurance premium to double again like it did last year after the “kids home alone incident of 2013.”

6. Because your kids enthusiastically asked you, “when the next VBS is...” walking out of last year’s VBS.

5. Our wacky and zany WBC stage crew is returning this year with new, exciting characters! Who knows what kind of surprises are in store!!

4. There will be a petting zoo!

3. Your kids will get to spend the whole week with their friends. (If they invite their friends to go too, of course!) In all cases: they will make new friendships with our awesome leaders!  

2. Every activity, song, game, craft, and snack has a purpose behind it, supporting a Biblical truth!

1. They will hear the Gospel preached and have an amazing opportunity to grow in a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Get ready for the biggest event of the year: Wilderness Escape! 

Pack your satchel and get ready to go on an adventure like never before! Each day will be filled with exciting and amazing new things for your child to learn about and be involved in! From stories about God’s faithfulness in the desert with the Israelites to wonderful, fun activities centered on the truths of God’s Word, each day is new and fun-filled. Travel back in time each day with our amazing and silly skit crew! Walk through the Red Sea on dry ground during story time, just like the Israelites did! Enjoy tasty snacks each day from our awesome kitchen! Weave baskets during craft time just like the Israelites would have made! Run and play fun, challenging and exciting games with your tribe during game time! Learn new dance moves to some super cool songs about how God constantly provides for us!

Each day your kid will be led by an amazing Tribe leader who is devoted to showing the love of Christ! Don’t worry parents, you get to have a part in the awesomeness too! Join us Friday for our family day and enjoy quality and fun time spent with your kids in this exciting Wilderness Escape and see how God provides! There will be plenty of new surprises along with the amazing opportunity for kids daily to get to see who God is and come in contact with the Gospel of Jesus! 

WBC is preparing for over 300 kids at this year’s VBS...will you be there?

This Month's Focus - June 2014

This month we will continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ as we worship around Jesus in the “Heaven” worship series. On June 4, we will begin the month by praying together at our monthly church meal and prayer gathering. We will also collect the last of the Firstlook “Change For Life” bottles on Father’s Day. Vacation Bible School will meet on June 16-20 followed by Fuse Youth Camp on June 22-26.

Ministry Partner of the Month - June 2014

North Ellis County Outreach

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray that God’s direction is clear as we continue to grow.

2. Ability to pay off remaining debt by December 2014.

3. Wisdom regarding usage of our current facilities and whether we should sell old building and build another facility at present location.

4. That our clients continue to grow through the classes that they are taking.

5. That we would know how best to mentor the families we are interacting with.

6. That our Victory Garden would grow abundantly this year.

7. That more opportunities to provide healthier food choices would be available.

8. Wisdom and discernment and the love of the Lord would be evident in all our ways.

9. Strength to continue doing all that we do.

10. That more volunteers would come give their precious time.

11. That God would provide part-time people to help in our Thrift Store that have a love for working with people and serving Him.

12. That God would provide a new van for use in picking up and hauling supplies as well as donations.

13. For new Board Members to come be a part.

14. For continued opportunities to help other ministries.