For Grace Cowboy Church Pastor Chris Barnes, compassion is showing Jesus to a world that does not see Him. And he is able to do just that through partnering with the Arkansas Baptist State Missions Team to host medical and dental clinics. 

The clinics, which are funded through the Dixie Jackson Arkansas Missions Offering, serve as an avenue for the local church to meet needs and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Community volunteers, dentists, and other healthcare workers team up to offer various services, including dental cleanings, tooth extractions, health checks, mammograms and more. Additionally, each patient sits down with a volunteer, who shares with them the Word of God. 

Some people who may otherwise never step foot in a church come to the clinics looking to receive something for free not knowing they are coming to get Jesus, too.

“The medical and dental clinics bring people through these doors that we get to love on, that we get to care for, and we get to give them something that is free, and that is what Jesus offers. That’s the root of compassion – it is something for nothing,” Chris said. 

Grace Cowboy Church has so far hosted three medical and dental clinics. Chris said they developed a desire to host a clinic after helping with one at a church in Dermott, where they provided horse rides and witnessed to people. A doctor with Grace Cowboy Church saw the operation and said, “We’ve got to do this.” 

“It’s been so great to watch people’s lives when you share the Gospel with them and for them to get to thinking about their life choices and dying without Christ,” Chris said.

Touting Dixie Jackson, a Christian woman who lived the Gospel and the namesake of the Arkansas missions offering, Barnes said it is incredible to carry on her legacy. A legacy of compassion in action.

“To be a part of that, something that has lasted almost 100 years, is pretty humbling. Most of the time, stuff comes and goes in ministry and to be part of something of this particular magnitude is amazing,” Barnes said. “Dixie Jackson is the hands and feet of Jesus. I know it. I’ve seen it, not just here but all over the state. In a world that is full of unaccountability, this ministry is by far one of the greatest things you could ever give to.”