Meet Them Where They Are | Drusilla Curtis Story

“Jesús te ama.” Jesus Loves You. Drusilla Curtis continued to say to the six-year-old little girl that was sitting at her desk table. During her fifth mission trip to Guatemala with the First Baptist Dallas volunteer team, Drusilla was teaching her and the other children at Vacation Bible School about how God created everything and how He sent His Son for us. With the majority of the population practicing Catholicism, most Guatemalans know the name of Jesus but do not know what it really means.

Drusilla has a special connection with Guatemala – it is where she grew up and spent the majority of her childhood. From a very young age, her parents were strong Christians and very active in their church. Her mother was involved in serving and instilled this in Drusilla. She remembers her saying, “I don’t care how or what, but our jobs are to serve.” Drusilla swept the floors, sang in the choir, and did whatever people asked her. She didn’t know it then, but this was the beginning of her calling to serve.

Once Drusilla had children, she knew she had to get her kids involved in church, just like her mother did with her. Along with going back to church, she knew she needed to begin serving, and Drusilla got involved in the most comfortable and well-known group for her, the choir.

She is still active in our choir and is the current president. “The impact that our First Dallas Choir and Orchestra has on so many people is amazing,” Drusilla said. “We are the first thing that people see and hear when they walk into our Worship Center and when people tune in online. We hear stories from Dr. Brinson about the lives we impact with our music, and that brings me great joy to know that I am serving in a position that is making a difference.”

Not only does Drusilla impact lives by singing, but also through our First Impressions team. She attends our quarterly Dinner With the Pastor and New Member Lunches. Drusilla loves to meet people where they are and spread the gospel. “It is everything to me to meet new people and tell them they have a special spot here at First Dallas.”

“It’s a good Sunday” for Drusilla when she also gets the opportunity to teach children in Sunday School about God’s truth from the Bible. Drusilla remembers Levi, a special needs boy that visited during the Fantastic Fall Sundays. Levi and Drusilla immediately clicked, and his mother was able to attend church and not worry because Levi was in good hands. Levi and his mother continued to come back each week – he attended Sunday School with Drusilla while his mother could worship and listen to Dr. Jeffress. “I love being able to watch our children learn and grow in Christ.” Drusilla said, “I tell them constantly, ‘Jesus loves you. He died for you. He is always with you.’”

When Drusilla first got involved in missions, God had a plan for her that she didn’t even know. During her first
trip to Guatemala with the First Dallas team, she became frustrated with how VBS was working and, honestly, was ready to go back home after the first day. They were not equipped with the right resources. Drusilla said, “Sometimes, our team is allotted four hours to sit with the children and teach them. Sometimes they only have five to 10 minutes to make an impact.”

After that first day, she went back into her room with a very thin mattress and pillow to go to bed, but she could not sleep. “I was so troubled and upset about the day. I felt like we had done a disservice to those children,” she said. “I couldn’t sleep. I felt such a heavy weight.” At about 4am, she could hear a mother cat and baby kittens in her room meowing and a band going up and down the street playing their instruments, and that is when she heard her calling from the Lord. “I’ve always heard Christians talk about when they heard God talking to them, telling them things, but I’ve never had this moment in my life. Then in the middle of the night, I finally heard God saying, ‘I have you exactly where I need and want you. Your job is to serve and teach these children who I am.’”

After the week, Drusilla took the plane to head back to the United States and immediately began preparing for next year’s Vacation Bible School. Each year she looks at how she can make the mission trip better and what curriculum she can bring to help the children understand and learn. Since Drusilla can speak Spanish fluently, it is important to translate each coloring sheet, creation booklet, and song, into their language so she can meet them where they are.

“We don’t have to go to a foreign country to impact the kingdom,” Drusilla said. “We have a million opportunities right in front of us. Spreading the gospel downtown, at a soccer game, or even to our own family members. I text
my twin grandsons constantly, ‘God loves you! Look around what God has created for you!’ There is such a need to serve in all areas at First Dallas. All people have to do is get involved.”

1 Peter 4:10-11 says, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God. Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking actual words of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

“God has called me to serve, and I am not going to sit at home and not listen to what He has called me to do. I am so blessed for the opportunities that First Dallas has presented to me to impact the lives of others – to meet them where they are,” Drusilla said. “And because of First Dallas, my life has been impacted in a multitude of ways.”