From Such Simple Beginnings

One of the joys of aging is to see a program/ministry develop over a long span of years.  Such is Beach Reach.  In the past few weeks, during spring break, thousands of university students were trained, motivated and equipped to spend their spring break on Padre Island, serving God and ministering to others.  As a result, they recorded 10,014 spiritual conversations, prayed with 7,750, saw the recommitments of 86 and the conversions of 246, baptizing 87.  All from such simple beginnings.  Six decades ago, my friend Jerry Johnson, who was the Director of Missions for the Lower Valley Baptist Association and I (when I was the Baptist Student Minister at Pan American University), arranged to have the Texas Baptist Mobile Medical Clinic on Padre Island during  spring break.  I recruited several dozen Pan American students to serve in and around that clinic.  We treated a lot of sunburn and jellyfish stings, as well as a few cuts and bruises, and in the process, shared the Good News with hundreds of university students.  In the years that followed, other universities and ministries came to the Island.  Multiple services  began from free food distribution to free van rides, and each year the numbers increased.  Thanks to those who have taken the torch and over the years, “run with endurance the race  . . .set before us” (Hebrews 12:1) — from such simple beginnings to God be the glory.