 by
Dr. Albert Reyes, President
 Pastors
Are Key to BUA Enrollment
When the time
came for me to pursue my education I turned to my pastor, Dr.
Rudy Sanchez, for guidance. I was eighteen years old and
ready to head straight for seminary but my pastor recommended I
attend college first. I did not know any better and did not
realize I needed to go to college before seminary.
This is the case
for many Hispanic youth who finish high school and are not sure
what is next. In fact, Edwin Hernandez, author of
Reconstructing the Sacred Tower, suggests that the single
most influential person in a Hispanic community is the local
pastor. The pastor usually has the most education of anyone in
the congregation and serves as a role model for the youth in the
congregation. In the fall of 2005 BUA received sixty-two new
students. When asked how they heard about BUA, almost 90% said
their pastor recommended they enroll here. Pastors have
significant influence over the lives of the youth in their
churches.
The Local Pastor
is Vital
Given that 50-60% of Hispanic youth in Texas do not complete
high school, the influence of the local pastor is extremely
vital. One example of the influence of a pastor can be seen in
the life of John Castillo of San Antonio, a former trustee of
BUA. John’s pastor was Rugiero Izaguirre; pastor of Iglesia
Bautista Jerusalem of Pharr, Texas encouraged John to continue
his education. Pastor Izaguire shared his educational experience
at Hispanic Baptist Theological Seminary in the 1970’s and
encouraged John to stay in school and get his education. John
took his pastor’s advice, stayed in school, and earned a BA
Degree in Economics in 1990 and a Doctor of Jurisprudence in
1993 from the University of Texas at Austin. John is an attorney
at law with Stumpf Craddock
Massey & Farrimond Law Firm in San Antonio.
Unless We Act,
Only 720 of Our 10,000 Baptist Youth Will Earn a Degree
Hispanic Baptist congregations in Texas related to the Baptist
General Convention of Texas number about 1200 with approximately
10,000 youth and singles. The average number of youth in each
congregation is eight. If the average of high school completion
in Texas holds true in our congregations, only 4,000 of our
youth will obtain a high school diploma. That means only three
of the eight youth in each congregation will graduate from high
school.
Eighty-two percent
(3,280) of those who graduate from high school will enroll in
college by age 26.
Only 18% of these high school graduates (720) will graduate from
college by age 26. That means only 720 of our 10,000 youth will
earn a college degree by age 26. Pastors, you can make a
difference in the future of our youth by encouraging them to
finish high school and go to college.
Together, BUA and
You Can Make a Difference
BUA’s
purpose is to form your students into cross-cultural Christian
leaders. Will you recommend a student to enroll at BUA for the
fall of this year? Together, we can make a difference!
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Arial View of Los Dos
Campuses
This
exciting view of both BUA's current and future campuses comes
courtesy of Terry Cleveland of San Antonio's Development Council
who recently piloted his plane "under the radar" to get this
great shot. Infrastructure development continues in preparation
for groundbreaking
on the Piper Village student apartments in Phase 1.
This
historic effort is being funded through
Crossing Over Together
a comprehensive campaign to raise a
total of $ 9 million dollars in capital
and operating funds for the next three years.
If you
would like to learn more about
Crossing Over Together
or giving opportunities contact
Arnie Adkison, Vice President of Advancement.
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 by
Sandee Elizondo, Director of Student Programs
The Man Who
Will Graduate
“In the ninth grade Coach
walked up behind me on the
football field and kicked me; I fell to the ground. I
remember him screaming: ‘Work, you’re stupid! You will never
amount to anything!’ Teachers were telling me I was
stupid back in the seventh grade.” John Work is now 43 years
old. He will receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from BUA May
13, 2006. His grade point average as of the fall 2005 was
3.92.
John
Work standing tall
(photo
by student Liliana Perez)
John came to visit BUA in 2001 believing what he had been
told for so long; what he found was faculty and staff who
encouraged and accepted him. He came with two fears. 1)
Would he pass? 2) What about the half English and half
Spanish? He didn’t speak Spanish. During that first trip to
BUA John spoke with Dr. Javier Elizondo, Vice President of
Academic Affairs. “I left with peace,” John remembers. “I
felt a part of the school already even though I didn’t speak
Spanish.”
“I remember that
day in my office with John,” says Dr. Elizondo. “I knew he could
make it, and I told him that.”
Since John has
been at BUA, he has been licensed to preach and ordained to the
ministry. He helped plant a church and has been pastoring
Whitsett Baptist Church for three years in his hometown of
Jourdanton.
This cowboy has
impacted BUA. Taller than most of the other students and one of
the few Anglos in 2001, John stuck out at first. The 10-gallon
cowboy hat, cowboy shoes, and Texas drawl added to his persona.
His lack of Spanish has not limited him in making friends in
both languages; wherever there was a group of students gathered,
John was in the middle laughing and having a good
time—definitely an extrovert. For four years, he has been a
favorite to all of his professors. He sat close to the front,
was always respectful, paid attention, worked hard—and made A’s.
John leaves BUA
with these words: “Our school is about the student, always about
the student and our success. Even Dr. Reyes stops in the hall
and talks to us. So much has changed since I have been here, but
the care has not changed.”
Following
graduation, John plans to continue pastoring and pursue a
master’s degree.
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 by
Arnie Adkison, Vice President Advancement
Local
Churches Go "Over and Above" with BUA
Have you
ever wondered how your church can get involved with BUA?
Here’s how a few Texas Baptist congregations are going “over
and above”
their Cooperative Program giving to BUA:
-
FBC Kaufman
helped BUA launch our
Barnabas Project,
a joint partnership where the church provides funding,
mentorship and ministry opportunity to BUA and a few
student leaders. Those students then spend their break
times in Kaufman doing the “hands on” ministry in
partnership with the church.
-
Highlands Baptist in La Marque
raises and sends their entire Easter Offering to BUA as
an extra gift.
-
FBC Lamesa,
in preparation for a revival where Dr. Reyes was
speaking, providing funding and opportunity for a group
of BUA students to come during spring break as an
“advance team” preparing for the revival.
-
Memorial Baptist in Taylor,
where Pastor Dudley Marx has already led his church to
support BUA monthly, recently sent an “extra” $10,000
gift even above that!
And the
list could go on. BUA is here to serve the local church in
developing cross-cultural leaders for ministry, and we are
grateful to the hundreds of churches that partner with us to
fulfill that purpose. If you’re interested in a BUA
partnership, give us a call.
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