God is truly the God of redemption. He is in the restoration and redeeming business. My experience shows that He does not go to work uninvited, but when we turn to Him in our brokenness, He is there. One of the most humbling aspects of grace is that no matter how many miles we wander away from a close relationship with Jesus, it only takes one step toward Him and He is there. The Psalmist described this beautiful idea in Psalm 139:7-12.

Where can I flee from your presence? What a powerful image of grace that should bring relief, peace and hope. God is always near – even when we don’t realize it. And He is always ready to bring about restoration and redemption when we ask.

Scripture reminds us that we are dead in our shortcomings and sin, but because of His great mercy, we are offered a new life – a restored life – a redeemed life in Christ. Jesus came, died and rose again to offer us that redemption. All we have to do is trust Him.

No matter how broken you may feel or how far you have wandered, turn to Jesus for His redemption and restoration. He is ready to create something beautiful from the pieces of your brokenness.

Just my musings about life as a Christ follower honestly and humbly seeking to be molded into what Christ wants me to be as a husband, father, minister and person. Read my blog here: https://clayinthehands.com/

AUGUST 2023

What a wonderful time to be part of First Corpus! God is at work and we are privileged to be along for the ride. As we have just wrapped up a series on the Focus of Worship, I pray you have taken to heart that worship is not a church service or a style of music. True worship is a bowing of ourselves, our wills and our desires to the holy Lord and the loving Savior. When we are able to focus our attention on Jesus – who He is and what He has done – we are able to humble ourselves and surrender fully to Him. That is worship.

As we look to the future, we will kick off our Sunday Night Discipleship ministry on August 6. This will be a time of fellowship gathered around dinner tables. It will also be a time to hear about the classes being offered this fall (beginning August 13).

But there is something else that will happen that night. We will be sharing some very important changes coming to the life of our church. It will be a time of information but also a time for discussion around the direction God is leading our church family. I hope you will make plans to be in attendance on August 6th for this important time.
So often, we can look back and see how God has moved in our lives. Occasionally, we are humbled to catch a glimpse of His movement as it is happening. I believe fully that we are living in such a time.  You do not want to miss the opportunity to be part of what God is doing!

Stay tuned and stay plugged in!
Brian

These are exciting days to be part of First Baptist Church! God is on the move, and each of us get to be part of it. I have referenced Isaiah 43:18-19, more than once over the past several months: 
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

We must not take for granted the faithfulness of those who have paved the way of our church over the past 145 years, but we must not dwell in the past. We move forward together; discerning what God is doing now. We have seen God move in the hearts of our people with many joining our church family and many being baptized into this journey over the last couple of months.

We now find ourselves worshipping together in one service – one family, bound together in love through one and the same Spirit. What a blessing to come together in the spirit of unity with one common purpose – to glorify Jesus in all we do.

Another exciting thing to consider is that we are approaching the one-year mark in our vision process. In October of 2022, we began this journey to become the family where believers can flourish in faith becoming rooted in Christ and deeply connected to one another to produce kingdom fruit. We launched the Million Moment Challenge at that time, and it has been inspiring to hear the stories of how many of our family members make moments regularly – moments of strengthening faith, moments of building community, moments of growing and serving.

As I said, God is on the move!

Don’t miss out! Stay connected, stay engaged and let’s see what God is going to do!
Brian

Summer is here – ready or not! June is going to be a full month. Youth camp, VBS and our mission trip to the Dominican Republic all happen in June. I challenge each of us to be part of what happens this month. Commit to pray for our students that will be heading to Marshall, Texas for a week of transformation. Pray that they will set aside distractions and focus on drawing closer to Jesus. The experience of camp is often used by Holy Spirit to be a life-changing week in the life of young people.  Pray that will be the case for our students.

Vacation Bible School also happens in June! This is one of the most significant outreach efforts our church has throughout the year.We typically have 200 – 300 kids in our building during the week – many who may not make it through the doors of a church at any other time. We as believers are commanded to make disciples as we are going. During the week of VBS, we don’t have to go anywhere – the opportunity comes to us!! We need all hands on deck for this glorious week of loving on kids and showing them what it means to follow Jesus.

Commit to pray of course, but this is one of those opportunities that we need you to do more than pray. Sign up to volunteer. A few hours per day for 5 days can have an eternal impact in the lives of the kids that attend – and it will do your soul good as well.

At the end of June, we will be taking a group of 12 people to the Dominican Republic to do VBS, Bible studies, sewing, and construction. 2019 was our last trip and so we are looking forward to being back with our brothers and sisters there. Commit to pray for our team. Pray for safety. And pray that each team member will be sensitive to God’s leadership during that week. Mission trips are about being flexible and ready to be used by God in any way He chooses to use us.

There are so many ways to be part of what God is doing in and through our family. Find ways to plug in living lives of praise and worship to Jesus!

Be a blessing!
Brian

This letter from Dr. Brian Hill first appeared in the June 2023 Shoreliner.

What a wonderful April we have had. Our Holy Week services and Easter celebration were so moving. I am extremely grateful to all who worked so hard to make the services meaningful. Our choir, orchestra and instrumentalists put in many hours in preparation – as did our media team. And of course, Johnny worked tirelessly to pull it all together. We are truly blessed as a family to have such talent in our church. Each of our staff work hard to make sure we are fulfilling the calling God has placed on our church. When you see them, be sure and let them know you appreciate them and what they do for the Kingdom.

God truly is on the move in our church. There are so many things planned for the summer. Be sure and check out the calendar and listing of activities here in the Shoreliner and on our website. Another important announcement is the revival of a pastoral position.

I am told that many years ago, we had a part-time staff member dedicated to pastoral care – particularly with our seniors. We are bringing that position back. One of the areas of ministry that needs attention is the area of pastoral care. So, this position will address that important need. Be watching for more information and announcements about this position.

God is good and He has called us to be alert and make the most of every moment. As we focus our moments on time with Him in His word and in prayer, moments of serving and community, moments of giving and sharing, we will continue to see God do amazing things.

Take a minute to make a moment today.
Blessings,
Brian

This letter from Dr. Brian Hill first appeared in the May 2023 Shoreliner.

As April begins, we focus our attention on Easter.  Our tendency is to do as the disciples did that resurrection morning when the ladies returned from the empty tomb and reported the news.  The disciples raced to the empty tomb to see for themselves.  Don’t we have a natural tendency to do the same?  When we think about Easter, our minds go directly to the resurrection and an empty tomb – and they should.

But always remember that there would be no empty tomb apart from the terrible cross.  As we move toward Easter and the celebration of the resurrection, may we pass by the cross on the way and pause.  May we take in the weight of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
That is the opportunity that the Holy Week services afford.  On Thursday night, April 6th, we will gather for a reflective time of worship and intentional consideration of the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  This service takes on the atmosphere of the upper room on that last night before Jesus went to the cross.  As he gathered his disciples in that room, he prepared them for what was to come and then he took the very familiar Seder meal to illustrate that he would be the Pascal lamb and the sacrifice for the sins of all.  On Maundy Thursday we too will observe communion together as a means of remembrance.

I have been asked numerous times why we call Friday before Easter, Good Friday.  That is the day we remember Jesus’ torturous death on the cross.  The one and only son of God died for us on that day.  What is good about that?  The answer . . . his death brings life to us.  All the love God shows us came to full fruition on that cross.  In that way, it is very good for us.
On that day, we will observe a musical presentation of Jesus’ seven last words from the cross.  Traditionally, a service on Good Friday is called a Tenebrae service.  This will be a very somber service as we reflect on the death of Jesus and the moment, he breathed his last on the cross.  This service will end in silence and darkness as we exit the building remembering Jesus’ body being placed in the borrowed tomb.

Easter Sunday, then, will be a celebration of the resurrection.  We will gather on Easter morning to share in the excitement of the disciples when they learned the Savior had risen.  The message that day will be titled, “Come and See.”  I encourage you to bring family and friends to worship as we celebrate the forgiveness and salvation Jesus offers us through his death and resurrection.

As we move past Easter, remember that resurrection does not just affect one Sunday out of the year.  Resurrection should impact our every day!  We who were dead in our transgressions and sin have been made alive in Christ Jesus through his resurrection.  May each of us strive to live resurrected lives each day!

                    

God speaks to us through His Word, so take some time each day this month to write down the following Scripture. If you have time, you might want to also write a prayer that the Scripture leads you to pray, or your reflections as you write.

This resource made available through Bible Study Tools.
More tools like this are available at BibleStudyTools.com.

Download printable PDF file.

Through the month of January, we focused on making each moment count. We will continue to focus on moments – moments in God’s word, moments in prayer, moments in community and discipleship, moments in giving, and moments inviting.

While grand gestures are sometimes warranted, the real growth in becoming more like Jesus – more like the person you were created to be – comes most profoundly in the small, consistent moments with Jesus.

It is paramount that we become more intentional in making the most of each and every moment.

Through the month of February, we will work, verse by verse, through the second chapter of Ephesians. The title of the sermon series is Life In Christ.

I encourage you to be part of this important series as we look deeper into what a life lived in Christ looks like in this day and time.

My prayer is for this series to give us a vivid picture of how our moments link together to form a life lived with and in Jesus. He really does make all things new. Live into that newness as you make the most of the moments of life.

Blessings,
Dr. Brian Hill

This letter from Dr. Brian Hill first appeared in the February 2023 Shoreliner. 

Here we are at the beginning of a new year. While January 1st, is a day that is hardly different than any other day in most ways, it is a time we look to for new beginnings. We stand on the  crest of a new landscape. We have 365 days before us of marked time to try new things, to face new challenges and to grow. I, for one, am excited to see what God will do over the next twelve months in the life of our church.

We spent each Sunday this past October describing the vision for our church moving forward. In 2028, we will celebrate 150 years as a church in Corpus Christi. The plan we have presented encompasses the time between now and 2028. Since rolling out what we believe to be God’s dream for our church, I have been asked by a number of people to explain the vision in a more
refined way.

Here are four short words to serve as an anchor to what God wants to do in and through our church over the next season of ministry. Ready?

At the heart of the vision for our church is life change, beginning with heart change. And the only way heart change comes about is by being intentional about growing in faith through Bible study, prayer, service, discipleship and giving. I say regularly that spiritual growth does not happen in years but in moments.

How are you making moments? Are you intentionally focused on making every moment matter?

Between now and 2028, we are striving to experience 1,000,000 moments as a family. Join the challenge and look for every opportunity in 2023 to make every moment count.

It’s about the moments!
Dr. Brian Hill

This letter from Dr. Brian Hill first appeared in the January 2023 Shoreliner. 

Emmanuel, God with us! What a life altering realization! Aren’t you glad God is with us?

The focus of our Advent season this year is the presence of Jesus. That presence is real, and it brings peace and hope. His presence reminds us that we are loved.

This time of year is the season we celebrate His coming. The definition of advent is “coming” or “arrival.” Advent is a reminder of the blessing of God’s presence in our lives and a celebration of His coming in the form of a human baby over 2,000 years ago.

The promised Messiah came to earth and lived a human life, in a common country, among common people. But there was nothing common about Him.

Fully God and fully human, he lived a sinless life of love and compassion, walking daily with His disciples.

When His time on earth was drawing to a close, He gathered His followers and made them a promise.

He said that He would soon be leaving but another would come after Him – the Comforter. His Spirit would not only come and be with His followers but would actually live within them.
This promise still holds true today! As believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us.

He is ALWAYS near!

Merry Christmas!
Dr. Brian Hill

You can also view/download the PDF version of the December 2022 Shoreliner.

God speaks to us through His Word, so take some time each day this month to write down the following Scripture. If you have time, you might want to also write a prayer that the Scripture leads you to pray, or your reflections as you write.

This resource made available through Bible Study Tools.
More tools like this are available at BibleStudyTools.com.

Download printable PDF file.

Original Post (11/16/2022):
The Thanksgiving holiday is only 8 days away – can you believe it? We have some important things happening at First Corpus this week and wanted to share some more details with you.

We hope you will join us in blessing our community through our Food Pantry and celebrating together on Sunday at our Agape Meal.

Tonight, we will meet at 5:30 pm in Room 151 to pack boxes for our Food Pantry's Thanksgiving distribution. Dinner will be provided - bring the whole family!

If you can, please bring an item to donate. See below for details.

To donate *frozen* turkeys or hams:

• Bring frozen turkeys/hams to Room 151 on Wednesday night (5:30pm) or Friday morning (before 9am)

To donate non-perishable food items:

• Bring TONIGHT at 5:30pm for the Missions Night to pack boxes for Friday distribution.

Items needed:

• Canned - corn, sweet potatoes, fruit, cranberry products
• Instant potatoes

Thank you for your faithfulness to support families who rely on our Food Pantry!

Our annual church Thanksgiving celebration, our Agape Meal, will happen THIS SUNDAY at 5:30pm in the Recreation Center.

The church will provide turkey, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls and drinks.

• Last names A-M bring potatoes or green beans.
• Last names N-Z bring desserts.

Here are some important details:

• Please bring your dish to the Recreation Center at 5:15pm.
• Food lines will “open” at 5:30pm.
• We recommend bringing your dish in a disposable container.
• The church will provide serving utensils for ALL dishes – you do not need to bring a serving utensil!

We look forward to sharing this special time of fellowship with you as well as a time to be encouraged by a word of testimony from Joe and Mary McComb!

God speaks to us through His Word, so take some time each day this month to write down the following Scripture. If you have time, you might want to also write a prayer that the Scripture leads you to pray, or your reflections as you write.

This resource made available through Bible Study Tools.
More tools like this are available at BibleStudyTools.com.

Download printable PDF file.

Mission support has and will always be the heartbeat and driving force of FBC Corpus Christi. Our Annual Mission Offering is our time to give above and in support of our Ministry Funding Plan. Starting November 6 through December 31, 2022, this offering will be received.

50% of these monies will go to impact our partner mission agencies:

• 25% - Lottie Moon: International Missions and missionaries
• 15% - Mary Hill Davis: Texas mission projects
• 10% - Annie Armstrong: NAMB—supports ministry and church starts in cities

The other 50% of the monies goes to support and provide for our local ministries:

• 15% -Food Pantry
• 10% -Mission trips
• 8% -Street Ministry
• 7% -Benevolence
• 5% -Hammer Slammers
• 5% -Texas-Mexico Missions

Beginning November 6, we will have envelopes set outside the Worship Center numbered $1 to $309. The purpose is to get the whole family involved in giving to missions. Children, youth, and adults are encouraged to help reach our goal of $48,000. Church family, you are not limited to only the amount listed on the envelope. Let’s do our best to have all the envelopes taken and returned by December 31.

Thank you for praying, serving, and giving.

November brings a real focus to gratitude. While we should be grateful each day, Thanksgiving offers us a reminder to pause and be grateful. I am grateful for the long and rich legacy that First Corpus enjoys and I am grateful that I have the opportunity to be part of it. We sit in the middle – the moment – between the legacy we inherit and the future we shape. What an exciting time to be part of this family!

Over the past several weeks, we have shared the vision for the next six years. It is a God-sized vision for growth and going deep as the Spirit develops our roots. When we are rooted in a vibrant relationship with Jesus, we grow and produce fruit. When each member of our family is growing and producing fruit it will change our community.

But the vision is more than a flowered statement of aspiration. The God-sized part of the dream centers on moments – over a million moments to be exact. We cannot change the past and the future is not yet, but we can (and must) live in the now and be present in the moment. The next six years will be filled with faith moments, growth moments, discipleship moments – God moments. The power of the vision comes in stringing moments together!

I am calling each of us to step into the challenge to make every moment matter. God began a good work in us on August 17, 1878, and He has been faithful to continue to bring that good work to completion to this day. And He is not done! He is faithful to continue to bring that good work to completion all the way up to the return of Christ.  

Will we be faithful to do our part? Make every moment count!

Dr. Brian Hill

In just under six years, our church will celebrate 150 years of life-changing presence in Corpus Christi. The rich heritage of our church is known well, not only in Corpus Christi but across our state.

A thoughtful stroll through the foyer of our chapel tells a story of this heritage as well, beginning from the early days when J.M. Carroll was one of our first pastors. He came from a strong family of Baptist leaders in our state. His brother, B.H. Carroll was instrumental in the early years of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and, in fact, has a seminary named in his honor today here in Texas. The impact of our church has been immeasurable throughout our long history.

Through the years of our wonderful past, our church family has been influential in our city and state, being a beacon of faith to all who would look for guidance in living the life Jesus created them to live. We truly have a meaningful heritage. We must never forget the long-standing ministry our church has had and all those who sacrificed to make it so. We stand on their shoulders today.

While we realize this heritage and the impact our church has had all these years, we cannot live in the past. God calls us ever forward to be His church for the world in which we live. We must continue to be the beacon in our community and world that shares Jesus and gives guidance and direction for those who would seek to grow in relationship with Him.

I firmly believe that God’s dream for our church is to be the place in our community that people know they can come and be part of a thriving family of believers - a family that loves Jesus and is growing in faith together.

There are so many wonderful churches in our area, but God has called us to be a multi-generational family where people know they can find a home where they will grow deeper in faith and relationship with Jesus and each other.

May we live into this dream. May we start today!

Dr. Brian Hill

The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world. Through this project, Samaritan’s Purse partners with the local church worldwide to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Every year, October kicks off our Operation Christmas Child shoebox drive. Families are encouraged to fill shoeboxes for children of different ages with a variety of toiletries, gifts, school supplies, and toys. This year, we will come together to fellowship and pack the boxes on October 19 as a way of blessing the children and families who will receive the boxes.

This year, our committee has worked to ensure that everyone can participate in this important ministry. There are three ways to participate.

Do it all on your own and at your own pace! Once your shoebox is complete, add your $10 donation and drop it off at the church before Monday, Oct 31.

Attend our Shoebox Packing Party – Join our church family on Wednesday, Oct 19 to help fill and pray over our shoeboxes. Donations to help cover the $10 per box fee are greatly appreciated.

Unable to shop and pack a physical box? With just a few clicks, you can pack an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift online. Simply select toys and other fun items you’d like to include from our collection, and personalize your gift with your own letter and photo. We’ll pack the gift for you and send it on its way for a suggested donation of just $25.

A donation of $10 per shoebox gift is critical for Operation Christmas Child. It provides for:

• Collection - After shoebox gifts are dropped off at nearly 5,000 locations around the United States, trucks transport the precious cargo to eight different processing centers.
• Processing - Eight processing center warehouses are secured so that thousands of volunteers can inspect the shoebox gifts and prepare them for international shipment.
• Shipping to Over 100 Countries - Ships, trucks, and airplanes transport millions of shoeboxes to the countries where they will be distributed. Once there, local churches use many modes of transportation to get them to children in need as a tangible expression of God's love.
• Gospel Materials - Your $10 donation helps us train and equip local churches to use our Ministry Partner Guide. This resource shows churches how to share the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ in a child-friendly way. Your donation also provides The Greatest Gift Gospel Booklets, which are written in the children's language and distributed along with shoebox gifts.

Read more about why we support Operation Christmas Child.

First Baptist will be hosting the 29th Texas Regional Carillon Conference on October 14 and 15. Carillonneurs will be performing on our Glasscock Memorial Carillon during the conference.

Recitals to be performed:
Friday, October 14

• 4:30pm by Jesse Ratcliffe of Abilene, Tex
• 5:15pm by Dr. Andrea McCrady of Ottawa, Canada

Saturday, October 15

• 11am by Wylie Crawford of Chicago, Ill
• 1pm is the Members’ Recital

The church family is invited to hear these recitalists play on our 51-bell carillon near Ocean Drive. Bring lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy the beautiful bell music with a bay view.

This is the first time in many years for First Baptist to host a Texas Regional Carillon Conference. Spread the word and invite your friends to support these talented musicians who have taken time out of their busy schedules to perform here.

The 51 bells were cast in the Netherlands by the Royal Eijsbouts Bell Foundry and shipped by barge to the Port of Corpus Christi in 1976. The tower was also built by Eijsbouts and assembled on the grounds in front of the church by three technicians from Eijsbouts and one technician from Schulmerich in Pennsylvania.

The dedication of the original tower and carillon was played by Lowell Smith, University Carillonneur at The University of California at Riverside, on November 21, 1976. Church member Lucille Glasscock donated the funds for the original tower and bells in memory of her late husband, oilman Charles “Gus” Glasscock.

Loyd Lott, Organist and Carillonneur at First Baptist Church, played the carillon after church services, weddings, and funerals, and hosted a summer recital series until 2002, when one bell fell onto the playing cabin roof. Upon inspection, the frame holding the bells had so much corrosion from the salt atmosphere that the bells had to be taken down and stored. Eventually, the tower had to be removed completely for safety concerns in November 2015.

The church began a campaign to raise the funds needed to rebuild the tower and refurbish the bells. With the help of the Corpus Christi Bell Tower Foundation, enough funds were raised to have the Verdin Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio, build the new stainless-steel tower and reinstall the original bells.

The tower is now singing again after 19 years. The playing cabin has an easy-to-play new clavier, electric adjustable bench, electric remote hatch opener, remote-controlled HVAC system, and a controller for the Westminster quarters and hour strike. 

We were delighted to welcome five new members via baptism this month, including a father and his two sons. Celebrate with us in their profession of faith, and welcome them to our church family as you see them around campus.

• Dan, Luke & Andrew Feimster
• Jacob Garcia
• Courtney Hackler

This month, our monthly missions night activity included yard and clean up work for our  property neighbors, the Koinonia Apartments. Dozens of members of all ages came out in service. Thank you to all who participated!

Our next Monthly Missions night will be Oct. 19 - we will be packing Shoeboxes for Operation
Christmas Child. You won't want to miss it!

Missions Here & Now hosted its first luncheon speaker of the year - and we nearly ran out of chairs! Bea Hanson of the Coastal Bend Food Bank shared the organization's mission and vision for supporting those in need in our community.

This month, we will be going to support the Coastal Bend Food Bank on Tuesday, October 11. We will meet at the church and travel to the food bank together to volunteer. Interested in
joining us? Contact the church office to sign up.

We have nine different local missions teams at First Corpus, including:

• Koinonia Homes Incorporated (Board of Directors)
• Menger Elementary School Support Team
• Homebound Team
• Hammer Slammers Team
• Sewing Ministry
• First Baptist Food Pantry
• Body of Christ Street Ministry
• Missions Here & Now
• Campus Meals Team

The purpose of this mission is to provide reasonable housing for senior adults. This team strives to create a safe, secure resident with a Christian atmosphere for the residents of Koinonia.
The Board of Directors is made up of members of FBC who meet once a month.

The purpose of this mission is to support our closest elementary school. Volunteers have read to students, collected needed items for them in August, and provided prizes for students for achievement. Our church feeds the staff before Christmas break and for Teachers Appreciation Week in May.

The Homebound missions team got started when members Glenda Bailey, and Janet  Henderson began to miss so many who had once been active in our church. It became their desire to let them know that the church had not forgotten them and to help them stay connected, even if they could no longer physically attend and fellowship.

The team visits members in their homes or in the facilities where they live to keep in touch with them and take them messages from the church (Shoreliner, Senior letters, bulletins). They try to remember each birthday with balloons, cards. They try to make two visits a month to each member.
It is a year-round ministry and immensely fun to see old friends and make new ones. If our church family has someone they want visited or contacted, this team can do that. If you'd like to recommend someone to be visited or would like to volunteer, please contact the office to get in touch with the team.

This team focuses on meeting physical needs in our community. Some activities include Annual Christmas Stockings for Camargo Orphanage, making Angel gowns for Hunter’s Hope of Midland Texas, blankets for local CPS, and blankets for local Pregnancy Center.

This ministry primarily supports orphans, single moms, and pregnant women. Anyone who sews is welcome to join! They meet on Thursdays from 10am-12pm in the Rec Center.

This team focuses on meeting the needs of church members and individuals and ministries outside our church through light construction projects - giving individuals in our church with construction skills the opportunity to put those skills to use in serving others. Activities include hurricane preparedness, access ramps, framing and drywall as well as other light construction.

This ministry serves church members as well as others in our area. We also have done projects for area ministries as well. Volunteers should be have some construction experience or want to learn and are physically able to do construction. Most projects have been one day, Saturday projects although a few have stretched into multiple Saturdays. The team works as needs arise.

Our team's purpose is to produce and deliver basic sustenance to the homeless population in Corpus Christi. Along with providing for material needs, we share the Good News of hope and salvation found in Jesus Christ.

We meet and make meals every week. We load the meals, clothing, blankets and other needed items on the food truck. We greet and pray with our homeless brothers and sisters and often help those in need find a path to Christ.

We make at least two stops in the north Staples Street area near City Hall. We serve men and women and sometimes families with children.

We rely on volunteers to make sandwiches and bag meals. Our budget covers food and operation of the food truck. HEB generously provides the bread.

We welcome all Christians to join us every Thursday evening at 5:30pm to make meals. We usually begin loading the truck around 6:30pm and head out at 7pm.

Our mission goes out all year every Thursday. We particularly need lightly used or new men’s clothing, shoes, backpacks, socks and small water containers. In the winter, there is a great need for jackets and coats.

Donations can be dropped off in the clothing container opposite the elevators at FBC. To get involved, contact Jeff Chilcoat at (361) 944-8952.

The First Baptist Food Pantry seeks to share Christ’s love with the needy of our community by providing emergency food resources, extending a blessing in Jesus’s name, offering prayer when requested, distributing Bibles and tracts, and assisting visitors in finding additional means of assistance.

Volunteers have opportunities to serve on Monday mornings or Friday mornings, or both. On Mondays, we unload and shelve grocery stock received from the Coastal Bend Food Bank, with whom we partner, and pack groceries into boxes to be distributed on the following Friday. The Monday work usually is completed between 8:15-10:30am.

On Fridays, the packed boxes are distributed to pantry visitors from 9-11am. Volunteers work from about 8:30-11:30am interviewing visitors and completing records, loading food boxes into visitors’ vehicles, packing additional boxes as needed, and other tasks.

The pantry operates during most of the weeks of the year. Volunteers who have contact with visitors must complete annual training.

Some volunteers will need to be able to carry boxes of food weighing 25-40 pounds; other positions require minimal or no heavy lifting.

Anyone interested in serving with the pantry is welcome to visit and observe our work on Monday or Friday mornings in room 151.

Contact Mary Jo or Ed Cooke for more information: (361) 549-7036 or edwincooke@grandecom.net.

The purpose of Missions Here & Now is sharing Christ love in our community through our actions. This is a great opportunity to get to know and serve a variety of different community organizations here in the Coastal Bend.

As our emphasis is Hope in Christ, our mission is to reach out in the community and be the feet of Jesus. So each month, we will have a speaker come and share about their program; and the next month we, as a missions group, will volunteer at that program.

We hope you will make plans to attend our luncheons and service opportunities this year. The luncheon requires a reservation be made by noon the day before. Reservations can be made through the church office. The cost is $8.00, and everyone is invited (even students, working people, and men)!

This team visits our local college campuses at Del Mar College, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Stark College & Seminary once per semester.

Volunteers transport and serve the food, interact with students, clean up, and return supplies.
It's about a 4 hour commitment each time we serve. We will serve each location once in the fall and once in the spring.

Learn more about our other Missions Ministries.

Each summer, our Dominican Missions team travels to the Dominican Republic to partner with South Texas Children's Home (STCH) and Iglesia Bautista Quisqueyana (IBQ) for ministry and
mission opportunities.

During our week on site, we have served in a number of ways including sewing needs, helping with VBS, helping with a sports camp, construction, teacher training, food delivery, furniture building and delivery, and traveling to the orphanages to have a day of ministry to love on the kids and the staff and medical missions.

We like to match our trip ministry opportunities to those members who participate. For example, if we have medical personnel then we can target medical missions. If we have teachers going, then we can provide teacher training.

Anyone who feels called to go on the trip is welcome. We recommend that anyone younger than 10th grade be accompanied by an adult/guardian.

Typically the trip is one week long in July, and we have a few meetings leading up to the trip to get organized and make sure we have all the supplies lined out that we need for the week.

Submit the form below to receive information on planned missions trips to the Dominican Republic.

The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world. Through this project, Samaritan’s Purse partners with the local church worldwide to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and make disciples of the nations.

Our desire at First Corpus is to bring joy to a child's life by providing a box with gifts and to share the love of Christ. "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14). Since 1993, more than 198 million children in more than 170 countries and territories have received an Operation  Christmas

Child shoebox. The project delivers not only the joy of what, for many kids, is their first gift ever, but also gives them a tangible expression of God’s love. Our whole church is encouraged to participate in this annual ministry, usually in the month of October. Families are encouraged to fill shoeboxes for children of different ages with a variety of toiletries, gifts, school supplies, and toys. Many years, we will come together to fellowship and pack the boxes as a way of blessing the children and families who will receive the boxes.

Individuals can also help set up displays and distribution centers throughout the church and
other areas for accessibility.

More information will be shared soon about the Shoebox efforts for this fall. Stay tuned!

Casa Hogar is an orphanage managed by Pastor Luna from Primera Iglesia Bautista in Rio Grande, Texas. They take in children who are abandoned or when their parents have died or are incarcerated without other family to take them in.

We have provided all their needed school supplies for several years. During COVID when they weren't able to attend school, we provided laptops for each school-aged child to be able to continue virtual learning. Beyond school supplies, we also provide Christmas gifts each December so that each child is blessed during the holiday season.

A small team travels to Casa Hogar to share the supplies and gifts. Many who have gone to meet the children and the workers can share how profound the experience has been to them.
The trips to the orphanage are not possible without the support of each member who provided supplies and gifts each August and December.

To get involved, contact Alta Garcia.