2023 marks an exciting development in Fellowship Southwest's immigration ministry with the ability to provide low cost legal services to immigrants in San Antonio. ELIM, which stands for Educational and Legal Immigration Ministries, currently operates out of Trinity Baptist Church in central San Antonio. Last week, Woodland Baptist Church in North Central San Antonio hosted an open house to celebrate an additional future location for ELIM's operations later this spring.

Mientras reflexiono en este año, estoy agradecida por todas las oportunidades que Dios ha puesto frente a mí. Trabajar junto con FSW facilitando capacitaciones de Trabajo Social 101 para pastores y líderes de habla hispana es una de esas oportunidades. He viajado a diferentes áreas de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México y he conocido a pastores y líderes increíbles que tienen sus corazones comprometidos con sus comunidades. Pero como todos sabemos, hay límites en cuanto a lo que podemos hacer, límites a la cantidad de lugares que podemos visitar y a la cantidad de personas que podemos conocer en un período de tiempo. Por eso, hoy estoy agradecida por la tecnología y las puertas que ha abierto.

What are you looking for? Jesus asks this profound question of two disciples of John. They reply with a question of their own: “Where are you staying?” Here at the beginning of the gospel, John articulates a search at the heart of the human condition— the search for home or belonging. John’s gospel is a search for the place to abide. Not just a new home, but, a new household.

Fellowship Southwest is pleased to announce the addition of a new program to the organization. Educational and Legal Immigration Ministries (ELIM) will be providing low cost immigration counseling, legal services, and immigration training to churches and individuals. Jesús and Elsa Romero have led a similar ministry with ISAAC, which stands for Immigration Service and Aid Center, housed at the Christian Life Commission (CLC) at the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT), since 2010. 

By Rick McClatchy

I am filled with hope as I announce my retirement effective at the end of 2023. My twenty years of service to CBF TX and eight years of service with CBF OK have allowed me to work with some of the best people in Baptist life and for that I am very grateful and joyful.  

As the year ends it is appropriate to reflect on where Fellowship Southwest has been and what we’ve accomplished thanks to your support and our numerous partners. I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity to lead this organization, proud of the work we’ve done, and believe our best is yet to come.

This week Anyra Cano, director of programs and outreach, had the opportunity to interview a young man from South America who was recently released from an immigration detention center. To protect his identity, we will refer to him as “PR”.

On Nov. 30th, more than 600 migrants who are stranded in Matamoros, Mexico - just across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas - were given an orientation on U.S. immigration processes by Elket Rodriguez, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship U.S.-Mexico border field personnel, with the coordination of Pastor Eleuterio Gonzalez of Valle de Beraca Church.  

Más de 600 migrantes varados en Matamoros, México – justo al otro lado del Río Grande de Brownsville, Texas –fueron orientados el 30 de noviembre sobre los procesos migratorios en los Estados Unidos por el personal de campo del Compañerismo Bautista Cooperativo para la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos, Elket Rodríguez, con la asistencia del pastor Eleuterio González de l iglesia Valle de Beraca.

1,500 migrants crossing en masse in El Paso this week is an act of desperation by folks frustrated with a broken system. The U.S. immigration system is broken and overwhelmed, not unlike so many individuals seeking asylum here.

Fellowship Southwest supporting congregation Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, is doing impactful, courageous, and faithful advocacy we think you should know about. Take a few moments to read this in-depth article from Baptist News Global about Broadway’s Justice Committee and their local advocacy work. The church has been a leader in the city calling for improved conditions and procedures at the Tarrant County Jail and for an independent investigation into why 39 inmates have died since 2019.

We’re at the hanging stuff on the walls phase at our new house in Drippings Springs. Yes, finally. It has been a busy fall. This week I hung a sign above our kitchen table that reads “Gather Here with Grateful Hearts”

Consider this newsletter column a grateful gathering.

FSW Executive Director Stephen Reeves is in Washington, D.C. this week with Elket Rodríguez, Chrissy Tatum Williamson. Elket is a CBF field personnel and immigration specialist in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, and Chrissy is the pastor of Greystone Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC.

Evangelical Immigration Table invited advocates from all over the country to join together in an organized action week for immigration advocacy. They are asking Congress to pass long overdue immigration reforms to provide permanent solutions for Dreamers, TPS recipients, and agricultural workers, and work with administration officials to improve border management.

In Ciudad Juarez, on the banks of the Rio Grande River across El Paso, Texas, over 1,200 Venezuelan migrants are living in makeshift shelters, because of the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to authorize the rapid expulsion of Venezuelan migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Durante los últimos cuatro meses he tenido el privilegio de trabajar junto a Fellowship Southwest y nuestro socio Jorge Zapata, enseñando "Introducción al Trabajo Social" a pastores que tienen ministerios a lo largo de la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos. La idea de este entrenamiento nació por el tipo de labor que los pastores hacen a lo largo de la frontera. Ellos son los trabajadores de primera línea durante las crisis y las emergencias, trabajando con comunidades de escasos recursos e de inmigrantes.

During the past four months I have had the privilege of working alongside Fellowship Southwest and our partner Jorge Zapata, teaching “Social Work 101” to pastors who have ministries along the U.S.-Mexico border. The idea of this training was born because of the type of work the pastors do along the border. They work with very poor and immigrant communities and are the front lines during crises and emergencies.

On October 30, 2022, Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas voted unanimously to call Reverend Victoria Robb Powers as their next senior pastor.

We are extra energized this week after our semi-annual meeting with the Fellowship Southwest Board of Directors. Our tradition is to rotate the location of our meetings around the region, so this time we convened in Norman, Oklahoma.

El presidente Biden convirtió en ley la semana pasada un proyecto de ley de inmigración respaldado por Fellowship Southwest, que brinda esperanza a las decenas de personales de campo o misioneros que trabajan directamente con inmigrantes y refugiados.

An immigration bill supported by Fellowship Southwest was signed this week by President Biden—giving hope to many who welcome and resettle immigrants and refugees.