Baptist Community Services Partners with Spiritual First Aid to Serve Amarillo
By partnering with Spiritual First Aid, Baptist Community Services is empowering its chaplains and staff to provide practical, crisis-ready spiritual care to thousands across the Texas Panhandle.
BCS supports the community by owning and operating nonprofit organizations that provide senior adults with high-quality healthcare and specialized living services.
By Jamie Aten, Ph.D., Kent Annan, M.Div. and Sydni Worley | March 30, 2025 |
2 min read
In the heart of the Texas Panhandle, Baptist Community Services (BCS) operates as what Chaplain Margie Gonzales calls "one of the best-kept secrets in town". For BCS, ministry lives in the hallways of senior living facilities, fitness centers, and the quiet offices where employees seek a helping hand. By partnering with Spiritual First Aid, BCS has empowered its staff and chaplains to provide more effective, practical support to a community in need.
A Foundation for Presence
At the heart of this operation is a team of twelve chaplains. This effort is led by Alan Williamson, who oversees the pastoral care offices and manages the organization's unique "roving chaplain" program. Alan’s team includes eight roving chaplains who service twenty-six different facilities across the community at no cost to those organizations.
This ministry reaches as many as 2,500 to 3,500 people each week, serving many who would otherwise be neglected. Under the leadership of CEO Mark Hotman, the team is encouraged to "spread the aroma of Christ" in every interaction. Hotman introduced this vision to the Pastoral Care team during a weekly meeting, prompting them to integrate Spiritual First Aid into their daily ministry.
Equipped for Crisis
Margie was first drawn to Spiritual First Aid because she needed resources to better equip her to help those who came to her in distress. In her role, she frequently receives calls from individuals at a breaking point, such as people who have lost everything in a fire or are experiencing a total breakdown. Seeking to provide the best spiritual care possible during these moments of crisis, she found that Spiritual First Aid filled a vital gap. "I love that this is more for the lay person," she notes, highlighting how the training makes specialized care accessible to everyone on the team.
In addition, Alan Williamson explains that Spiritual First Aid provides the necessary verbiage for caregiving while offering a way to handle overwhelming situations. By asking better questions and narrowing their focus to a single, immediate need, they help individuals gain the stability required to eventually stand on their own.
Real Stories of Impact
The impact of this approach is visible in daily encounters. Margie recalls a five-year-old girl whose mother was escaping an abusive home. The child asked if the chaplains could help them find a house. By connecting the mother with HUD and local resources, BCS helped secure a new home for the family.
The organization also extends this care inward to its 600 BCS employees. Through the BCS Cares program, staff facing food insecurity can anonymously order groceries. Recently, a single mother of six requested food for ten days because school lunches were ending for the summer. BCS filled the order within twenty-four hours, viewing it as a vital way to show those in need they are valued.
Equipping the Community
The vision for Spiritual First Aid at BCS is expanding beyond their own walls. A recent training session drew interest from clinical professionals and social workers from organizations like the Texas Panhandle Behavioral Centers. Margie was encouraged to see that even the professionals viewed this as the "missing piece" to traditional mental health training by addressing the spiritual dimension of wholeness.
Through new partnerships with innovative groups like Acts Community, BCS hopes to create a ripple effect of care throughout Amarillo. Whether it is helping a resident through a crisis or building a relationship with a skeptical employee, the goal remains to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the messes of everyday life.
For more information about BCS and its impact, head to: https://baptistcommunityservices.org/
