WARREN, Ar – The Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) Missions Team recently partnered with Grace Cowboy Church in Warren to host a Medical-Dental Clinic on July 13. A total of 145 patients registered to see a physician or to have teeth cleaned or extracted. Each patient first met with a pastor for a one-on-one conversation, where the Gospel is shared and many prayer needs discovered. As a result of these conversations, 16 people made professions of faith, while many were encouraged in their spiritual journey.
Grace Cowboy also offered school sports physicals at the clinic, with 24 patients taking advantage of this opportunity.
“Grace Cowboy Church is a great partner in this ministry. The addition of physicals was due to the church seeing a need in the community, and they had the medical personnel to offer a service to meet the need. It is a great example of knowing needs in your community, then using the people in the church to meet the need,” said Clint Ritchie, Community Missions Strategist for the ABSC Missions Team.
Approximately 80 volunteers served at the clinic, with the majority being part of Grace Cowboy Church. The large Hispanic community in Warren presented a linguistic barrier, until a group of young adults from Iglesia Bautista Nueva Jerusalen in Little Rock attended the clinic to serve as translators. They assisted in one-on-one conversations helping the medical professionals effectively communicate with patients.
Chris Barnes, pastor of Grace Cowboy, noted that some of the clinic patients have attended worship services over the two Sundays since the clinic. He also observed the impact upon the church, saying, “The church is always healthier, stronger, and more focused after one of these missions. I compare it to a hungry man sitting and eating a great lunch. When he is done, he is ready to go back to work.”
According to the medical professionals who assisted, approximately $50,000 of medical and dental care was provided to the patients.
“This is only possible through the faithful giving of Arkansas Baptists to the Dixie Jackson Offering,” said Ritchie. “Being able to step back and watch the local pastor and his volunteers work with other volunteers from across the state is a great picture of the cooperation that exists among Arkansas Baptists.”
The 2024 Dixie Jackson Arkansas Missions Offering and Week of Prayer is Sept. 8-15. This year’s theme is Compassion in Action with an emphasis on medical and dental clinics. For more information, visit absc.org/dj.