Micah 6:8 Conference

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 (NIV) 

Opportunity for Small Grants

Proposals Due December 18, 2020

Howard Payne University, in partnership with the Christian Life Commission, is offering (3) $2000 awards for projects that meet community needs in Brown County while involving HPU students as paid interns.  Community-based organizations and faith-based organizations in the area are invited to apply. Click here or below for more details.

2020 Micah 6:8 Conference

The Micah 6:8 Conference is held annually by the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ Christian Life Commission to bring the Old Testament words of Micah 6:8 to life for a new generation. The 2020 conference was held at HPU on Oct. 26-27.

This conference investigated how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected issues of social justice. Speakers explored how the pandemic has impacted access to healthcare and heightened food insecurity, particularly with relation to minorities and women. Individuals, churches and organizations seeking to meet these critical needs during this time of unprecedented challenge are encouraged to attend.

Scroll down to learn more about the featured speakers. Use the link below to view videos of presentations at the conference.

Commissioning Service for Dr. David Sanchez

During the conference opening, a commissioning service was held for Dr. David Sanchez, Ethics and Justice Director for the Christian Life Commission. Click below to watch Dr. Sanchez’s speech and remarks from Dr. Gus Reyes. 

About the Speakers

Rev. Michael A. Evans, Jr.

Rev. Michael A. Evans, Jr., is a Spirit-led preacher who graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Morehouse College. He also graduated with his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. He was licensed to preach and served as an associate minister at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas. 

He is currently serving as the Director of Public Policy for Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission. Most importantly, he loves the Lord and is simply trying to do God’s will. 

Jeremy Everett

Jeremy Everett is the founder and executive director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. The Collaborative integrates research and practice through projects such as the Texas Hunger Initiative, the Research Fellows Program, the Global Hunger and Migration project and the Hunger Data Lab, among others. 

Prior to launching the Collaborative, he founded and served as the executive director of the Texas Hunger Initiative (THI), a capacity-building, anti-hunger project within Baylor University. THI partners with federal and state agencies and numerous faith- and community-based organizations to develop and implement strategies to alleviate hunger through research, policy analysis, education and community organizing. 

He is a Next Generation Fellow of the University of Texas LBJ School’s Strauss Center for International Security and Law, a Senior Fellow with World Hunger Relief, Inc., and was appointed by the U.S. Congress to serve on the National Commission on Hunger. He is the author of I Was Hungry: Cultivating Common Ground to End an American Crisis, a contributing author in Food and Poverty: Food Insecurity and Food Sovereignty Among America’s Poor (Vanderbilt University Press), and The End of Hunger: How Science, Religion, and Politics Can Work Together to Make Possible (InterVarsity Press).  

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Samford University and a Master of Divinity degree from Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Jeremy is married to Amy Miley Everett, with whom he has three sons. 

Kathryn Freeman

Kathryn Freeman is a writer and advocate. She previously served for five years as the Director for Public Policy for the Texas Baptists Christian Life Commission (CLC). Kathryn has worked for several non-profits on public policy issues affecting low-income families. She has also worked as a press secretary for two members of the Texas Legislature. 

She is finishing a Master of Divinity degree at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. She has a degree in English and a minor in political science from Texas A&M University. She also has a Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law. 

In her spare time, she writes about the intersection of faith and pop culture. Her work has appeared in Christianity Today, Christ and Pop Culture and Think Christian.

Dr. Katie Frugé

Katie Frugé is a stomach cancer survivor, special needs parent, amateur baker, professional theologian and human rights advocate. She is married to her college sweetheart, D.L., and they have daughters: Eve, nine years old; Lissy, six years old; and Noelle, 11 months old. Katie has a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology and her primary area of interest is the imago Dei and human dignity. She serves as the Director of Hunger and Care Ministries for the Christian Life Commission. Katie loves a good cup of coffee, a good run and a good musical. 

Mark Grace

Mark Grace, chief of Mission and Ministry for Baylor Scott and White Health (BSWH), has worked for more than 25 years to build a collaborative culture of highly effective spiritual care and humanitarian outreach. Since 2013, he has led the integration of BSWH’s Christian Ministry of Healing as two 100-year-old organizations combined to create one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the United States. His effort has been to create patient care and employee environments that nurture individual faith resources in the service of humane and truly humanitarian health care. BSWH’s Office of Mission and Ministry partners with religious and health organizations around the world and in communities, churches, mosques and temples throughout the BSWH service area to see the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of communities served by the health system. 

He has championed efforts to implement then to study the impact of employee purpose, sense of calling, commitment to altruism and volunteerism upon employee overall well-being and engagement through programs such as Sacred Vocation Program, Second Life Resources, Fred Roach Scholarships for Medical Missions Trip, and Spiritual Care Volunteer Programs. Since coming to BSWH (then BHCS), he has been persistent in creating spiritual care and pastoral education programs that highlight crucial roles of diversity and inclusion, as well as work in underserved communities, through programs such as Geriatrics Chaplaincy, Faith Community Health, and the Office of Mission and Ministry’s partnership with BSWH’s Community Benefit initiatives.

Mark and his wife Linda Wilkerson have ministered bivocationally in west Dallas since 2006. They currently serve as Pastors Emeritus of Iglesia Bill Harrod, a bilingual and multicultural congregation. 

Dr. Gus Reyes

Dr. Gus Reyes serves as the Director of the Christian Life Commission for the Texas Baptists. 

Prior to the current position, Reyes served as the Hispanic Evangelism Consultant, Director of Congregational Relationships and Director of Hispanic Education Initiative/Affinity Ministries for Texas Baptists. 

Before ministry with the Texas Baptists, he served as Youth Ministry Consultant, Department Director for Marketing, Sales and Customer Service at Lifeway Christian Resources in Nashville, Tennessee. Reyes has also served in a variety of local church positions including: pastor, Minister of Education and youth minister. 

Dr. Reyes holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Texas in Austin, and Master of Religious Education and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. While thankful for the opportunity to pursue academia, some of the most transformative faith experiences of life occurred in the United States Marine Corps boot camp and while learning to work as a butcher in his uncle Alex Garcia’s grocery store. 

Gus and his wife Leticia have three adult children including Dr. Andrea Reyes Ramirez, Gus Jr., and Samuel. They are also the proud grandparents of ten children. 

His ministry verse is Micah 6:8. “Do Justice, Love Mercy, and Walk humbly before our God.”