Pastor Joshua Gaines asks if anyone would like to say "yes" to following Jesus.
“ My dad drove down Poplar
Street on the west side of
San Antonio. There was a house
being raided for drugs. My dad
looks at me and says, 'I think we
are home!' We have been here
ever since.” — Pastor Joshua Gaines
raided for drugs. My dad looks at me
and says, 'I think we are home!' We
have been here ever since,” Pastor
Joshua says. “By this time, we were
calling ourselves 'Ethnos,' which is
Greek for Nations.”
Ethnos Missions Center was birthed
and anonymously sponsored through a
connection from the Jamaican Mission
Team. They had 22 paid staff and three
community outreaches in the San Juan
Courts, Lincoln Courts and Cassiano
Homes. “We would wear the yellow
shirts that we had from our Jamaican
trip and go knock on doors. We would
let them know, ‘Kids Club!’ The parents
would tell the kids to come outside,”
says Pastor Joshua. “We would have
games, Bible study and snacks for
them in the grass by their apartments.
We pretty much did vacation Bible
school on steroids. We built relationships
with the children.”
One young man they worked with,
Mark Stuart of San Juan Courts, met
Jesus in an amazing way. Mark was
known as the “bad boy” in the community.
“All we heard were negative
reports about Mark from everyone we
talked to,” Tiffany says. “As the oldest
of three siblings while being raised by
their grandmother, he was a little
rough around the edges but we poured
our love and the love of Christ into
him.” Mark started attending Kids Club
and became part of the youth group.
He graduated from high school and
went on to college — something few
children coming from the Courts ever
accomplish.
The enemy does not like it when we
take new ground. Still young and
healthy, Pastor Marty suffered a
massive stroke in 2015 for no medical
reason. Of course, his family and those
he served were devastated. He was not
even supposed to live. But God had
other ideas. Pastor Marty is slowly
recovering from this near fatal attack.
Imogene had to step up as his caregiver
and encourager.
Joshua and his wife Tiffany have
immediately stepped in as the new
executive directors of Ethnos, and kept
the vision alive. There is a profound
new hope and passion as they continue
the work of the ministry as leaders.
Above: Cassiano kids enjoy
Ethnos outreach.
Left: Ethnos Missions Center
west side headquarters are on
the Cassiano Homes' property.
July 2019 www.saBeacon.com 7
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