News & Stories

An EF-3 tornado ripped through Mineral Wells at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday evening, April 28. Texans on Mission volunteers responded promptly, deploying the next day with a chainsaw team, a box team, and quickly setting up a shower and laundry unit to support the Red Cross unit at First Baptist Church, Mineral Wells. 

A sea of yellow-capped volunteers crowded into Texans on Mission headquarters in Dallas on Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2 for the first Yellow Cap Gathering, an event hosted to celebrate Yellow Caps and familiarize new volunteers with the deployment process.

At Texans on Mission, chaplains are individuals who go out into worksites and disaster sites to provide spiritual and emotional support to survivors by sharing the love of Christ.

“Our role is to help [survivors] get emotionally and spiritually balanced,” chaplain Melanie Howington said. “Our main goal is to get them to where they have hope.” 

Though, how that mission takes shape is unique for everyone, Howington said.

In the northern Ugandan district of Omoro, a spiritual transformation is taking root. New churches are being planted, and through Texans on Mission, the Water Impact team is building something lasting: a mission network of pastors who are well trained and fully equipped for ministry. 

For Mikey Osborne, Texans On Mission (TXM) discipleship and outreach coordinator, the significance of Disciple Now (DNow) weekends goes far beyond a packed schedule of Bible studies and recreational activities. What stands out most to him is what happens when students take ownership of their faith — often in ways that surprise even seasoned ministry leaders.

A series of powerful tornadoes tore through parts of Illinois and northwestern Indiana on the evening of March 10, leaving behind widespread destruction and communities in need of urgent relief. 

In the days that followed, Texans on Mission disaster relief teams deployed to the area to assist residents with cleanup and recovery efforts.

March 28 marked Texans on Mission's final day of service work in Montego Bay following Hurricane Melissa, capping five months of recovery work that brought rebuilding efforts and renewed hope to families and children’s homes.

Over spring break, the Camp Builders team partnered with Royal Ambassadors from First Baptist Church in Hempstead to rebuild dormitories at Lakeview Baptist Assembly, which along with hundreds of trees, were damaged by a tornado last April. 

According to Builder Coordinator Larry Quinn, the groups made for a dynamic duo.
 

Throughout mid-March, Texas Lions Camp hosted groups from Oak Ridge Baptist Church, Northside Baptist Church, First Baptist Church Amarillo, First Methodist Mansfield, Redeemer Church and South Texas Children’s Home Ministries as they volunteered with Texans on Mission to help rebuild homes in Kerr County. 

Homeowner Brian Olsen was nearing 12 years in Ingram, Texas, when last July’s flash flood upended the life he had built along the river. In that time, Olsen had started a dog boarding business, built a home and seven short-term vacation rentals, and planted nearly 100 blackberry bushes that were set to bear fruit — before the flood swept through.

Instead of staying home or vacationing for spring break, more than 50 middle and high school students from First Baptist Church Bryan, First Baptist Church Hearne and Holy Cross Christian Academy in Burleson traveled to Kerr County to assist with Texans on Mission Rebuild efforts following July’s flash floods. A week later, students from Hurst and Ardmore, Oklahoma, spent their spring break in San Marcos with Revive San Marcos, serving at a halfway house and leading after-school programs for neighborhood children.

The gathering is part of God working across Northern Uganda and South Sudan. In the last 12 months, Texans on Mission has started 267 weekly community Bible studies in rural villages at every water well they have repaired or drilled. More than 19,000 people participate in them, often encompassing nearly everyone in the community.

They eagerly testify to how God changed their lives.