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Through Faithwalking I became aware that my woundedness as a child led me to three vows that made survival possible but undermined my calling as a Christian. I made a vow to be a coward, to be a bully and to be self-righteous (Pharisee). I know that this sounds contradictory, but if we were able to sit down and I could explain in more detail, it would make complete sense. As a result of Faithwalking I was able to turn to God and my fellow Christians for help. I was able to strengthen my relationships with my wife, my three grown sons, and move in areas in my professional life that I would not have previously pursued.
Through Faithwalking I became aware that too many of us Christian leaders are pursuing the American dream rather than the Kingdom of God. A quote from Faithwalking 201 says, “It is the fundamental assertion of Faithwalking that the Christian community in our culture has replaced Jesus’ vision for humanity with a dummied down vision of what it means to be human – a western, materialistic, capitalistic, vision that is driven by fear, ease, and convenience. It is a vision that has its roots in democracy and 51% majorities rather than in a Kingdom where salt and light transform.”
I believe this is one of the major reasons we don’t see the kind of results we would like to see in the church today. Faithwalking is a call to return to the truth of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. It provides a format that incorporates the vital aspects of following Jesus: obedience to Jesus Christ as Lord, commitment to a missional community, and fostering a reflective lifestyle.
I got involved with Faithwalking through my brother, Andy Ramos. Andy is a good friend of Todd McCombs, one of the board members of Mission Houston who helped begin this ministry. It made such a difference in Andy’s life that he recommended it to me. I went and haven’t been the same.
Beginning this fall of 2011, we will be offering Faithwalking as course at the Baptist University of the Americas, San Antonio, Texas. Most of our students are preparing for the “ministry.” I became interested in teaching Faithwalking as a course because of what happened to one of our alumnus. The pressures and the anxieties of being a pastor can be overwhelming. The young graduate took a pastorate after graduation. Four years later he had quit the pastorate and moved out of his house, leaving his wife and three children behind. He eventually divorced his wife. This is someone I personally knew and mentored while he was attending our school. No one anticipated this happening, even his wife. Apparently, there were a number of serious issues that he never talked to me about. I felt badly about graduating a student for the ministry without adequate preparation. My prayer is that Faithwalking will enable ministry students to be healthier people, have a better self-understanding, be more grounded in their relationship with our Lord and their significant others, and be part of a missional community so that, when the stresses and the responsibilities of the ministry come upon them, they will have the resources not only to manage their lives well but also to use those challenges as stepping stones to greater spiritual growth.
I am excited about offering Faithwalking this coming semester and am eager to see what our Lord will do through this wonderful program.
Dr. Mario A. Ramos
Associate Professor
Director of the Christian Service Program
Baptist University of the Americas
San Antonio, TX
I’ve been asked why the Mission Houston Board and Staff decided to offer all of the Faithwalking services for free. The short answer is that it has been a deep work of God in our individual and collective hearts. There is a story behind how that occurred.
Faithwalking was launched in 2007. It is not uncommon in today’s environment for individuals with gifts (like talented musicians) or skills (like gifted preachers) to offer those gifts and skills to people beyond a local church. It is also not uncommon for those individuals to place a value on those gifts and skills and then sell them to the public. Whether it’s in a record album or in a collection of sermons that are placed in a book and sold in the market place, this is a common practice.
So when we launched Faithwalking we stepped into that common practice. We developed a retreat and then a small group follow up experience. We placed a value on it, and we sold it to anyone who would buy.
Along the way two things happened. First, virtually everyone who fully completed the Faithwalking course gave testimony to the deep impact that the experience had in their lives.
Second, a large number of people indicated that they could not participate because the cost was prohibitive. Though we were sympathetic to that, we also needed money to pay the salaries of the people (including me) who led Faithwalking, so we just kept charging a fee.
Then on Saturday morning of our December 2010 Board/Staff retreat we had one of the most courageous, authentic conversations about money . . . about our view of money . . . about our practices of stewardship . . . about our willingness to trust the Lord to provide if we would simply obey Him in every area of our life - especially, in the context of this conversation - regarding our money. Though we didn’t make any decisions that day about the fee for Faithwalking, we looked back at that conversation as one of the most powerful conversations about money in which any of us had participated.
Two weeks later - a week before Christmas - we met for another half day to finish up the planning that we needed to do for the 2011 ministry plan. In an unscripted moment of discussion about the budget, someone, I don’t even remember who, said, “How much income did we get from Faithwalking in 2010?”
Someone else said, “I think it was about $50,000 last year.”
Someone else said, “I think God is calling us to give this stuff away, and I believe we can trust the Lord to provide the income that is lost from charging a fee.”
A flurry of conversation occurred in the next seven to ten minutes and the decision was made. We looked at each other in a kind of stunned silence. What this really what God was calling us to do? It was our unanimous sense that He was.
Then someone realized that one of the Board members had left the meeting about an hour earlier. He was the Chair of the Faithwalking Task Force. We couldn’t make this decision without him. So we called and asked him to step out of a meeting he was in. We told him what had just transpired. He said, “Something in my spirit just thinks this is right.” And the decision was final.
So there is a real sense in which we are giving Faithwalking away as an act of obedience to God’s leading.
Faithwalking is a spiritual formation process that God uses to produces personal transformation in the lives of people who love Him and are eager to be on mission with Him. It is now our privilege to offer all the services of this ministry free of charge. If He is stirring your heart to join us, go to www.Faithwalkingonline.com
Jim Herrington
The purpose of Faithwalking is to create a growing community of Christ-followers who experience on-going personal transformation and who live in the kind of relationships while on mission with others that together they help produce transformation in neighborhoods and workplaces. This decision of the Board of Directors of Mission Houston became effective in January 2011, and reflects the ministry's desire to remove cost as an obstacle to participation in Faithwalking by residents of Houston.
Faithwalking exists both for individuals longing for increased impact in and through their lives, and for the leaders of congregations eager to help produce the kinds of saints who are more effective in their works of service as agents of God in every arena of life. Registration for Faithwalking offerings is required, and there is a $75 deposit that is fully refunded to participants at the conclusion of the training they participate in. For more information, please go to our website: Faithwalking.
We solicit your prayers for us in making this step of faith, and we look forward to being with you on this journey!
On behalf of the Board of Mission Houston,
 Randy Schroeder
Chairman of the Board
Mission Houston
Randy Schroeder, Chairman of the Board of Mission Houston, announces that Faithwalking will be offered for free: "We don't want money to be an issue for anybody taking Faithwalking."
In the Faithwalking ministry we often hear how the call to living missionally represents a great challenge for families with small children. No doubt the demands of raising young children limit some options for those who consider a call to do “ministry” in a sustained way. Brad and Natasha Sollenne provide us an example of a family that has wrestled with this issue, and have chosen a path that has them on mission as a family. We offer you their story, in their words, as an example of what can be.
“Saturday night church was awesome! Hearing what everyone is doing within their missional communities is very motivating (this includes those of you that weren't there and what you are doing in the community)! This is why we moved back to Houston. Brad would tell me about the extraordinary people here and what they were doing and we wanted to raise our kids with such extraordinary people. Recently, as you know, we began feeding homeless people again. Brad and I have had a dialogue going as to what more might be needed. Brad has a more intimate understanding of what someone on the street might need and our conversations have been detailed, substantial, and rewarding. We also agreed that we wanted the kids to be directly involved in whatever we do. Then about a week ago Brad asked Sascha if he could have one wish, what would it be? Without hesitation Sascha said he wished we were rich so we could help the homeless and the hungry and no one would be hungry again. After being stunned about what amazing kids we have, we realized we wanted the kids to understand that we don't have to be rich to make a difference in someone's life.
There's been an awesome opportunity given to me, both to get my life set and to be able to go on and provide for my son and give him an awesome place to call home ...
This story is only part of a bigger story that we call "The Church in the Mobile Park."
More than four years ago Bob Baldwin and his wife, Cathie were “arrested” in their pursuit of a life of comfortable and easy retirement in the suburbs of North Houston. Bob and Kathy were challenged to redefine what they understood about the term “neighbor” and to reexamine what they believed about their purpose and responsibilities in the community in which they were living.
Without a doubt the last decade has seen an immense increase in the number of Islamic peoples among the residents in Houston. Their presence represents both one of the biggest opportunities and exposes one of the biggest fears of the church today. How will we respond to our Muslim neighbors: love and friendship, or judgment and avoidance? Maybe we should consider this question first: How would Jesus respond? I offer the following true story as a way of helping us decide: A mentor once told me, “You will inevitably form opinions about an entire people group based upon a personal relationship you have with an individual from that group.” Unfortunately, my first relationship with a Muslim, albeit a distant one, was through a “most wanted” poster I saw for Osama Bin-Laden days after 9/11. My opinion about 1.5 billion people in the aftermath of that horrible day was shaped by a hastily formed first impression. After 9/11, I hated Muslims … until I really met a Muslim personally. His name was Abu Sayeed, or Son of Happiness! We were introduced to one another on a soccer field in Amman, Jordan and we connected instantly over our shared interests: a passionate pursuit for the best hummus in the city and a mutual desire to follow the will of God. Abu Sayeed and I became fast friends. Over the next 10 months my hatred of Muslims turned into respect, at least for one. Just as my mentor had predicted, I began to see Abu Sayeed’s entire people group through the lens of the relationship we were forming. Not only did I come to love him like a brother, but I desperately wanted him to come to know Jesus.
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