My name is Robert Welch and I grew up in the hills of North Alabama. I knew the Lord as a young man and I believe He put a calling on my life for service in His kingdom. As I got older, I got busy with life and I allowed those distractions to lead me into a lukewarm spiritual state. However, God knew the desires of my heart and took me through a very painful time to chasten me, remove the dross from my life, bring me back to Himself and set me on fire for His kingdom. During this time, He gave me a heart for people in difficult situations, such as homeless, destitute, addicted, and the persecuted church around the world.
The Lord gave me this calling from Isaiah 61:1-2:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to reclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all him mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”
He planted me right here in Bulverde Texas about 15 minutes north of San Antonio. As I have turned my life over to His plan, He is opening doors of opportunity to reach people with the gospel. I work with homeless people in San Antonio, in drug infested areas of the city, to pray for them, bring them off the streets, and disciple them in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the last few years, I have built long term relationships with Floyd, Nina, Maria, John and others through my street ministry. I also have the privilege of taking one evening a week and spending time with about 50 Afghan refugee children. I play soccer with these children and am building relationships to teach them and more importantly, show them our Heavenly Fathers love.
The Lord allowed me to rent a 3000 square-foot building for my shop where I sell reclaimed wood and furniture. Inside we have prayer meetings, Discipleship, and a Friday night fellowship meal where the public is welcome to attend. We eat, spend time in praise and worship, and pray for one another, and let God communicate to us through different teachers He brings our way. We are currently going to be using the shop to hand out food to about 100 families who are needy in our area. We are hoping to build community with these people where they can experience the love of God in a discipleship setting. As I patiently wait on the Lord for restoration in my own personal family, the Lord is taking the little I have to offer Him and multiplying it for His kingdom. He is a merciful God and near to the broken-hearted.
Learning to Live Life According to God's Design
Back in 2019, my friend Mashaun Hirschler and I began a ministry to reach out to young people in the inner city. We would search the streets of San Antonio together looking for homeless people who needed to hear the good news of Christ’s love. The Lord has been faithful in bringing needy people to our attention. One such person was an elderly lady out on the street in bad weather on Christmas Eve, with the temperature plunging into the teens. Two other young men and I brought her to my shop, the Vintage Barn, and made her as comfortable as possible in front of a warm fire. There she endured a rough night battling withdrawals from heroine. We took her to my friend’s house the next day and his wife helped her to get cleaned up. We then took her down to El Corazon Ministries so that she could find food and shelter. As we prayed about how to help these people, the Lord put it on Mashaun’s heart to look for a home where we could bring some of the young men the Lord sent out of difficult situations like drug and alcohol abuse and spending time in prison. Mashaun opened a home for these young men to help them learn how to live life according to God’s design as revealed in the Bible. My current role is to meet together once a week for discipleship training with the young men. We are examining various topics in the Bible, such as the gospel, God’s wisdom versus man’s wisdom, and how to live the abundant life Christ promised to all who would follow Him.
House where the boys live and we hold our discipleship meetings
Mashaun and I joined with a local ministry for a pool party. One young man who was living in the house for boys said that he wanted to be baptized. We had a long talk with Michael, who was new to the house. He shared with us that the Lord has been convicting him for a year and a half about his sin but he could not find anyone to explain what he was supposed to do next. After our conversation Michael committed his life to Jesus right there at the swimming pool. His decision at that moment proved to be very convenient for following the Lord’s example in baptism. We baptized him in the pool. Please pray for Michael that he would remain faithful and that the Lord would give him a hunger and thirst for the Word. We appreciate your prayers for our work. If anyone would like to support this ministry, tax deductible contributions may be made to CR for CW, Christ’s Resources for Christ’s Warriors, 2114 Irving Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75207.
Mashaun and Israel baptizing Michael
Michael standing with me and Israel
Working with the homeless, praying and handing out gospel of John and warm food on a cold rainy day at the corner of Zazamorra and Culebra, a drug-infested neighborhood on the southwest side of San Antonio.
Prayer Retreat
UTSA college students
Afghan kids
Praying with Andres on the street, we asked for God’s help.
UTSA college students Bible Study
This is part of our street ministry. These two men, Josiah, and Matthew, go with me to the most drug infested places in the city. This is Olivia who really loves Jesus, and she has asked us to get her a large print Bible. She lives on the street in her wheelchair.
This is with the Afghan refugee children. Our soccer ball got stuck on the roof! I always take a new soccer ball from Walmart and ask God to show me which kid to give it to. I’m building relationships with these kids, and I’ve come to know them well; Abbas, Esan, Zia, Maboob and Adnan to just name a few.
The Afghan refugee children
This was the Men’s Retreat where we covered conquering lust. Men’s lives were changed as a direct result of our time together. One man shared his testimony about how God set him totally free 14 years ago.
Youth meeting at the Vintage Barn with Prayer for revival, praise and worship, and Discipleship.
Fellowship meeting at the barn. Praying for Rodrigo as he shares his testimony and was baptized outside the barn.
Passover gathering at the barn where we went through the Old Testament story of the Hebrews, leaving Egypt, and how Jesus fulfilled all these things.
Spending time with the migrants in San Antonio who are coming across the Texas border. We take food and clothes and gospel tracts. And when our translator is there, we have a worship service.
Mission trip to Vietnam, where I spoke to about 200 Vietnamese and Chinese business men and women how to use a small business to reach out to the lost and poor in your community.
Praying with some of the police women at the San Francisco Police Department. Praying for protection and a lack of fear as they work in the city of San Francisco serving the people.
Having the Alzheimer dementia patients over from Bella Groves to do a craft and a Bible lesson. They come to the barn twice a month.
Baptizing a young man named Daniel down at the river who came to Christ and wanted to follow the Lord in baptism.
Sharing blankets and clothes and food and the Gospel with migrants in San Antonio, Texas.
Runnin Free Update
Gratitude and Thanks As we step into a new season, we are filled with deep gratitude for…
Help us use Christ’s Resources for Christ’s Warriors and connect with us any way you can. Much like a stone thrown into a pond creates ripples that go out in all directions, we are helping each individual realize their incredible gifts and self-worth so they in turn can be the strength that helps their brothers and sisters. Any resource can become a blessing – from prayer, to work skills and training, to social networking and/or financial support. One gift at a time, no matter how small, exactly mirrors how all astounding events in human history have happened, with one idea or purpose and one person, then the next person and the next, all joining forces until you have an army – an army of Warriors!