Month: August 2024

100 years of ministry, impact beyond measure

AMARILLO

It would be impossible to quantify the impact San Jacinto Baptist Church, which has been known as The Church at Quail Creek since 2004, has had throughout its 100-year history.

But as it prepares to celebrate a century of ministry on Sept. 21-22, it’s clear the church—which began through the vision and heart of a Sunday school class that saw a need to reach the lost in Amarillo—has left its mark on the kingdom of God and on Southern Baptists in Texas.

Stan Coffey, who served as the church’s pastor for more than three decades, faithfully led the church to reach the lost not only in Amarillo but around the world. During his years of service, he helped lead the charge to form the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, serving as its first president from 1998 to 2000.

In 2010, the church’s leadership, along with several other churches, launched the creation of the SBTC’s M3 Camp, which continues to serve churches in reaching students with the gospel of Jesus and commissioning them to live on mission.

After Coffey’s death in 2013, Kyle Clayton was called to serve as the church’s new pastor. Clayton has continued to advance the church’s mission to reach Amarillo through partnerships with local schools and parachurch organizations.

Even in difficult circumstances, the church persevered. It not only survived the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, but thrived, building a new worship facility to house its growing congregation. In June 1960, after losing part of its building to a fire, church members rallied, prayed, and washed the salvageable parts of the facility by hand so they could have a place to worship that Sunday.

Through it all, The Church at Quail Creek has stayed true to its mission of “Loving Jesus and Loving People” by launching countless ministries and seeing thousands come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

A question for us all to consider

I love traveling. There is something about meeting new people and experiencing new cultures that I get excited about. Often, when I travel for work, there is not much time to get out and explore different cities. However, I was able to get away and visit a couple of new places this summer.

One morning my wife and I decided to go visit a museum. This one was fascinating, as it held some of the oldest archives I have ever seen. As we walked through the exhibits, my wife made a statement that stuck with me. She said, “I wonder what kinds of things our generation will be known for in a hundred years?” For some reason that question lingered in my mind.

The more I thought about it, the more I began to think about our network of churches. I began to wonder what future generations will remember our generation for as it pertains to gospel advancement across Texas. Currently, there are almost 31 million people who call Texas home. Our best estimates point to at least 19 million of them being lost. This is today, in our generation.

When I think about the challenge of that reality, I feel a huge sense of responsibility while simultaneously feeling blessed the Lord has placed us here. Think about it: there have never been more people in our state and we have never had more tools for advancing the gospel.

As I continued to ponder that question, I began to hope we would be known in future generations for the following intentional kingdom-advancing things:

First, I hope we will always be known as a network of churches that stands firm on the inerrant and infallible Word of God. One of our core values is that we are biblically based. We want future generations to know we believe the Word of God and unashamedly stand for its truths.
Second, I pray we are always known as a network of churches that is serious about seeing people come to Christ and making disciples. The need is urgent and Jesus is the answer.
Third, I hope we are known for being a network that helps strengthen churches and encourage pastors. I am praying God continues to bless the SBTC to walk closely with churches and pastors so they know they are not alone.
Fourth, I hope we will be known as a network of churches that did everything it could to plant as many new churches in our state as possible. God is bringing the world here and we must plant new churches across Texas. This is a unique time, and we have an unparalleled opportunity.

This is not an exhaustive list of what I pray future generations know about the SBTC. They are just a few things that will create massive kingdom impact as we continue moving forward together.

I am so grateful my wife asked that question. It once again refreshed my heart to seek these things together through this incredible network of churches known as the SBTC. I love you and am honored to serve you.

Clarion call goes out as Dallas prepares to host 2025 SBC Annual Meeting

FORT WORTH—The woman was in her late 80s, living on a fixed income in a modest house in rural East Texas. She wasn’t able to get on a plane and go on mission overseas, and at that stage of her life, even making the three-hour car ride to Houston to help plant a church would have been difficult.

And yet, when Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Director Nathan Lorick thinks of the power of the Cooperative Program, this woman—whom he pastored more than a decade ago—comes to mind.

“She faithfully gave [through the Cooperative Program] because she desperately wanted her life to be an extension of the gospel beyond our city,” Lorick said. “Every month she scraped by and continued to give to the Cooperative Program so that … God would take [her gift] and, through a collective effort, multiply it among 47,000 churches so her life could be multiplied to advance the gospel and the mission of Christ.”

Lorick made his remarks at this year’s Southern Baptist Convention 2025 Annual Meeting kickoff luncheon, hosted by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary on Aug. 22. The luncheon was held in an effort to begin rallying support for next year’s meeting, which will be held in Dallas.

The theme of next June’s meeting will be “Hold Fast,” based on Hebrews 10:23-24: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works ….”

Among the highlights of the annual meeting will be a celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the Cooperative Program—the primary giving model used by Southern Baptists to advance mission in Texas and around the world. The meeting will be preceded by Crossover, an annual outreach aimed at mobilizing churches to join hands, minister, and share the gospel in cities across the area.

Lorick noted Texas has a population of 30 million people, with 19 million of those estimated to be lost and separated from Jesus Christ.

“We need a coalition of people on the streets of Dallas sharing the gospel,” Lorick said.

Bruno Molina, SBTC’s language and interfaith evangelism associate who also serves as executive director of the National Hispanic Baptist Network, said Southern Baptists have a great opportunity to put Jesus’ passion for the lost on display by participating in Crossover.

“This is where our heart is,” Molina said. “By going to the convention, people will see Cooperative Program dollars at work and be inspired to collaborate more … and to be more engaged in gospel coalition.”

All told, organizers said they anticipate needing a volunteer force of more than 700 people to serve at the annual meeting, working as ushers, registration clerks, and more. Many of those volunteers will come from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

“Texas leaders have the greatest potential of impacting the attendance of both the annual meeting and the [pastor’s] conference,” said D.J. Horton, a South Carolina pastor who is president of the 2025 SBC Pastors’ Conference held in conjunction with the annual meeting. “ … There are pastors here in Texas who will make a decision to come because they are invited by you, and I hope you will do that because we have a gospel and a Savior who is worth following.”

East Texas church uses any means necessary to reach its community for Christ

A squirrel was loose in the building at First Baptist Church in Timpson, so the pastor sent out a notice that he needed a trap to catch it. By the end of the day, a squirrel trap was set and a man he had been praying for was a new brother in Christ.

W. Dee Daniel, the pastor, had led a woman to Jesus last year, and when he asked if she would like to be baptized and join the church, she said she wanted to wait for her husband. Daniel told her he would be praying for her husband’s salvation.

It turns out her husband is a squirrel hunter—the man who showed up to set a trap in response to the pastor’s plea. Before he left, the pastor asked if he’d thought about his spiritual condition. When the man said he had, Daniel asked about his salvation experience.

“I’ve never been saved,” the man replied.

The two sat down to talk, and the pastor asked the man what was keeping him from accepting Christ as Savior.

“I guess I just didn’t know how,” he said.

Daniel led the man to the Lord, and the next week the couple’s teenage son went forward during the invitation and was saved, too. Their daughter followed two weeks later. Earlier this summer, the family of four was baptized in a church member’s swimming pool along with 13 other people.

“From what I can tell by looking back, it’s probably double any other baptismal service they’ve had at the church in the 100-plus years the church has existed,” Daniel said. After the hourlong service, the church family had a picnic and played games to celebrate the baptisms.

Finding momentum

First Baptist Timpson had dwindled to around 65 people on Sunday mornings when Daniel arrived as pastor eight years ago. Most of the congregation was over the age of 65, he said, and the church was in need of revitalization.

“COVID kind of knocked the legs out from under the progress we’d made,” Daniel said.

Timpson is a rural East Texas town of about 1,000 people, and the church is well-known in the area, the pastor said. During his tenure, they’ve tried to focus on reaching younger families, knowing that’s necessary for survival.

Debra Smith, Timpson’s mayor, is a longtime member of First Baptist, having married there in 1977.

“It’s like everything else [in] a community. You have ups and downs and growth spells and spells where it seems like things are slowing down, but we have definitely been in a very upbeat, positive swing at the church,” Smith said.

On Wednesday nights, First Baptist offers a meal followed by Bible studies for children, students, and adults. For a low-to-moderate income community, “it’s a helpful thing to get their kids fed and churched,” Smith said.

About 50 children and students attend on Wednesday nights, the pastor said, compared to a sprinkling of children in years past. On Sundays, total attendance has doubled, averaging 120 to 130. “A lot of our growth has come in younger families,” Daniel said.

“They [younger families] need to feel a personal connection, and by discipling them relationally, it allows them to feel a part of something bigger than them.”

—W. Dee Daniel Tweet

It’s about relationships

One of the greatest breakdowns churches experience in passing faith from one generation to the next comes from a lack of relational discipleship, the pastor said.

“What I mean by that is more than programs, more than meeting times, but true discipleship of following Christ, which leads to more than Sunday morning or Wednesday [engagement],” Daniel said. “I think that’s one of the things we see in reaching these younger families. They haven’t been used to that. They haven’t seen it.”

Relational discipleship helps people connect with specific church members, not just to the church as a whole, the pastor said. Younger generations value such belonging, he added.

“They want to feel like what they’re doing is making a difference. The older generation financially was strong. They would put a lot of money into programs. But for the younger generation, it’s more than money,” Daniel said.

“They need to feel a personal connection, and by discipling them relationally, it allows them to feel a part of something bigger than them.”

Such relational discipleship needs to extend to involving children in ways that could keep them involved during the post-high school years when they typically stray from church, Daniel said.

“If we connect them, they have the stronger connection while they’re in church and while they’re younger so when they graduate or go to college, they still have a strong connection that draws them back,” he said. “They’re not gone for 10 to 12 years.”

One way First Baptist involves younger people is through a food bank ministry that began at the church and has since grown to its own community nonprofit housed across the parking lot from the main building.

“We generally give boxes to about 120 families on the third Friday each month, and I don’t know what I’d do without the volunteers from the church coming and helping get the boxes out,” Smith said. “Our church is very involved in the community.”

First Baptist also sends mission teams to Belize, giving church members an opportunity to be personally invested in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.

“If you don’t have young families with kids coming to your church, your church is going to be on a decline,” Smith said. “ … If we’re getting older and not having that kind of fruit, having children, eventually the pews will get emptier and emptier.”

5 minutes with Donald Schmidt

Donald Schmidt is the senior pastor of Lakeland Baptist Church in Lewisville, where he has served since 2014. He holds a Master of Divinity and Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The author of the book Prophetic Patterns in the Passion of Jesus: Typological Uses of Davidic Psalms by John and Luke, Schmidt also serves on the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Board. He has been married to Melody for almost 12 years, and they have three children—Titus, Truett, and Kinsley.

What is something you’re grateful to God for about your church?

I’m grateful our church engages our community monthly in some type of evangelistic outreach. Over the past seven years, God has empowered us to share the gospel with thousands of people through door-to-door evangelism, apartment block parties, local mission trips, and city partnerships, among various outreaches. Encouragingly, we’ve seen our corporate evangelism lead to personal evangelism in the lives of many of our members. At Lakeland, I’m so thankful our people not only believe in praying missionally and giving missionally, but also living missionally.

What do you appreciate most about your current ministry team?

God has privileged me to work with a stellar team of men and women who love Jesus supremely and who are very gifted at what they do. They are such a joy to serve with and advance the gospel alongside. One quality I truly appreciate about our staff is that they do not erect barriers or walls around their ministries. Instead, they willingly and joyfully cross over into each other’s ministries to do whatever is needed to help accomplish the greater mission of the church—to make disciples who make disciples.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned to this point of your ministry you know you’ll never forget?

When I came to Lakeland 10 years ago, I knew God desired our church to be a praying church, but I really didn’t know what it looked like to lead the church to prioritize prayer. As the late Paul Powell [quoting Oswald Chambers] once said, “Prayer does not fit us for greater works; prayer is the greater work.” Through steps we’ve taken to grow in the ministry of prayer, I’ve learned that when we pray, we experience God’s power, presence, and blessings upon our worship, our ministry, and our missional efforts that we would not experience otherwise. It’s imperative, therefore, that lead pastors devote themselves to the ministry of corporate prayer.

What’s one thing you’d like to see God do specifically at Lakeland this year?

One of our church’s most impactful ministries is Lakeland Christian Academy, our church’s private Christian school. We’d love to see God connect many of the unchurched families who are a part of our school with our church this year.

How can other SBTC churches be praying for you?

Pray that God will keep our staff close and clean in our walk that we might finish our races well for Jesus, and pray that God will
keep our church committed to doing whatever it takes to reach
our neighbors and the nations with the gospel.

Un conjunto único de habilidades ayuda a iglesia de Fort Worth a servir a la comunidad y a guiar a otras iglesias a hacer lo mismo

David Escalona, pastor de la Iglesia Bautista Fe (IBF), tiene una convicción fundamental con el potencial de impactar tanto a su congregación como a los miembros de su comunidad:

“Cuando servimos, nuestros corazones se ablandan”.

A veces eso se traduce en pintar, reparar y remodelar casas. En otras ocasiones, puede ser una oportunidad de trabajar junto a iglesias hermanas para suplir necesidades. Cualquiera sea el caso, los miembros de la IBF buscan la forma de alcanzar a las familias para Cristo y darle gloria.

Se trata de un ministerio para transformar hogares––pero también corazones.

“Somos una iglesia donde todos son aceptados y bienvenidos para ser transformados por Dios”, dijo Escalona, “porque Dios no nos deja como nos encuentra”.

La filosofía del ministerio de la IBF nació de algo práctico: Escalona simplemente reconoció que había muchos miembros de su iglesia que eran hábiles en la construcción. ¿Por qué no poner esos talentos y esa experiencia al servicio del Reino? Así, el pastor comenzó a guiar a su gente a trabajar juntos para ayudar a las viudas, madres solteras, ancianos y enfermos en su comunidad que no tienen los recursos para tener la construcción y las reparaciones hechas.

No se imaginaban que su ministerio se ampliaría para incluir la ayuda a otras congregaciones que no tenían recursos ni la mano de obra.

«Hay otras iglesias más pequeñas que la nuestra que lo necesitan, y nosotros hemos dado un paso adelante para servirles», dijo Escalona.

Servir más allá de las paredes de la iglesia

Este ministerio ha tenido un impacto en la iglesia que Escalona y sus miembros nunca imaginaron. No sólo ha ayudado a la IBF a satisfacer necesidades en Fort Worth y más allá, sino que ha inspirado a otras iglesias a empezar a hacer lo mismo para llevar a otros a Cristo. Uno de estos casos ocurrió el año pasado cuando una iglesia hispana del oeste de Texas llamó preguntando por ayuda.

A petición de la iglesia, el grupo de hombres de la IBF ayudó a reparar las casas de dos familias. Durante su visita, Escalona dedicó tiempo a animar a la iglesia para que vieran que ellos también podían utilizar incluso los dones, talentos y recursos más sencillos que Dios les había dado a sus miembros para ser de impacto en su comunidad.

Un mes después, la iglesia del oeste de Texas invitó a la IBF a trabajar con ellos en un proyecto de servicio. La IBF no pudo asistir debido a un viaje misionero programado con anterioridad, pero una vez que el viaje terminó, Escalona volvió a comunicarse con la iglesia del oeste de Texas para ver si todavía necesitaban ayuda.

“No”, el pastor de la iglesia respondió, ya que habían dado un paso adelante en la fe y habían hecho el trabajo ellos mismos, reclutando a hombres de la iglesia y a otros que no asistían para ayudar a restaurar la casa de una familia no creyente. Unos meses más tarde, la iglesia del oeste de Texas informó de que algunas de las personas con las que se habían puesto en contacto en el proyecto, tanto los trabajadores como la familia a la que se había servido habían llegado a la fe en Cristo o habían empezado a asistir a la iglesia.

Escalona dijo que la IBF tiene un grupo de mujeres que también están activas en alcanzar a otros a través del servicio. Los miembros del grupo de mujeres aprendieron a preparar gorros de invierno para llevarlos a los centros oncológicos donde se trata a los pacientes. Mientras están allí, comparten literatura espiritual, esperanza y oran por ellos.

“Es mi oración que Dios continúe dándome la sabiduría para dirigir la iglesia y seguir abriendo puertas para impactar al mundo.”

—David Escalona Tweet

La IBF también utiliza las fiestas en la cuadra para llegar a la comunidad, organizando eventos cada tres meses en distintos lugares de la ciudad. Las fiestas incluyen juegos y actividades para niños y adultos, pero su principal objetivo es compartir el Evangelio con los asistentes. Las fiestas de la cuadra han ayudado mucho a la IBF a conocer gente, invitarla a la iglesia y llevarla a Cristo.

Salir de las paredes de la iglesia se convirtió en parte de la identidad central de la IBF desde el principio. La iglesia comenzó en marzo de 2019 con alrededor de 10 a 12 personas, pero no mucho después, se encontró incapaz de reunirse en su edificio debido a COVID-19. Fue entonces cuando Escalona guió en oración a la IBF a reunirse en diferentes parques de la ciudad.

En poco tiempo, el número de asistentes se duplicó. Ahora, entre 60 y 80 personas acuden cada semana, y la iglesia ya está orando para que Dios les proporcione un lugar más grande donde reunirse, ya que su espacio actual se ha quedado pequeño.

“Es mi oración que Dios continúe dándome la sabiduría para dirigir la iglesia y seguir abriendo puertas para impactar al mundo”, dijo Escalona, “recordando que, si somos el cuerpo de Cristo, debemos ir más allá de las cuatro paredes de nuestra iglesia”.

Unique skill set helps Fort Worth church serve community, lead other churches to do the same

David Escalona, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Fe, has a core conviction that has the potential to impact his congregation as much as it does the members of his community:

“When we serve, our hearts are softened.”

Sometimes that looks like painting, repairing, and remodeling homes. On other occasions, it may be an opportunity to work alongside sister churches to meet needs. Regardless, IBF members look for any ways they can to reach families for Christ and bring Him glory.

Call it a ministry of transformation—of homes, but also of hearts.

“We are a church where everyone is accepted and welcomed to be transformed by God,” Escalona said, “because God does not leave us as He finds us.”

IBF’s ministry philosophy was born out of practicality—Escalona simply recognized there were many members of his church who were skilled in construction. Why not put those talents and experience to use for the kingdom? So, the pastor began leading his people to work together to help widows, single mothers, the elderly, and the sick in their community who do not have the resources to have construction and repairs done.

Little did they know their ministry would expand to include helping other congregations that also didn’t have the resources or manpower.

“There are other churches that are smaller than us that are in need, and we have stepped up to serve them,” Escalona said.

Serving beyond the church walls

The ministry has impacted the church in ways Escalona and his members never imagined. Not only has it helped IBF meet needs in Fort Worth and beyond, but it has inspired other churches to start doing the same to point others to Christ. One instance happened last year when a Hispanic church in West Texas called asking for help.

At the West Texas church’s request, the IBF men’s group helped repair the homes of two families. During their visit, Escalona took time to encourage the church that it, too, could use even the most simple gifts, talents, and resources God had given its members to impact their community.

A month later, the West Texas church invited IBF to work alongside its members on a service project. IBF was unable to attend because of a previously scheduled mission trip, but once that trip was over, Escalona reached back out to the West Texas church to see if it still needed help.

No, the pastor of the church replied, they had already stepped out in faith and done the work themselves—recruiting both men from the church and a few others who did not attend church to help restore the home of a non-believing family. A few months later, the West Texas church reported that some of those they made contact with on the project, both the workers and the family that was served, had come to faith in Christ or started attending church.

Escalona said IBF has a women’s group that is also active in reaching others through service. Members of the women’s group learned to make winter hats to take to cancer centers where patients are being treated. While there, they share spiritual literature, hope, and offer prayer for those they visit.

“It is my prayer that God will continue to give the wisdom to lead the church and continue to open doors to impact the world.”

—David Escalona Tweet

IBF also uses block parties to do community outreach, hosting events every three months at locations around the city. The parties include games and activities for children and adults, but the main purpose of the events is to share the gospel with those who attend. Block parties have been very helpful in helping IBF meet people, invite them to church, and lead them to Christ.

Getting outside the walls of the church became part of IBF’s core identity early on. The church started in March 2019 with about 10 to 12 people, but not long after, it found itself unable to meet in its building due to COVID-19. That’s when Escalona prayerfully led IBF to meet in parks around the city.

Before long, the number of those attending doubled. Now, about 60 to 80 people come each week, and the church is already praying God will provide a larger place to meet as it outgrows its current space.

“It is my prayer that God will continue to give the wisdom to lead the church and continue to open doors to impact the world,” Escalona said, “remembering that if we are the body of Christ, [we must move out beyond our church’s] four walls.”

Prayer: a great time-saver

The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is get a cup of coffee in my hand and the Word of God in my soul. I pray over many requests in my prayer journal and several missionary pictures. I also keep a journal of my life.

I remember two distinct challenges from a couple of seminary professors at Southwestern Seminary. Roy Fish said, “Every great man of God kept a journal.” Bruce Leafblad challenged our class to spend one hour a day in prayer to God.

Sad to say, but at the time I was praying like five minutes a day. To spend an hour a day with God in prayer was the best decision I ever made to help me grow in my relationship with the Lord. Praise God for the privilege of close communion and intimacy with Him. Through prayer, God speaks to my heart, gets my focus off me and on Him, and off my problems and on His sufficiency.

The 27th life principle in Charles Stanley’s series of messages, “30 Life Principles,” is entitled “Prayer—Our Time Saver.” In his typical way, Stanley preached a powerful message on how we must spend time alone with God, talking to Him and listening to what He says to us in His Word. He said he hears people say, “I just do not have time. Where has the day gone?”

We all have problems with time management. James 4:14 reminds us time is fleeting and our days are numbered. “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” God has given us all a segment of time, but we do not know how long it will last.

"We will never regret the times we spend with God in prayer and Bible intake. It is our lifeline in a crazy and troubled world."

Danny Forshee Tweet

I think of President Donald Trump’s near-death experience during the assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pa. It was not his time. Trump admits it was a miracle from the Lord that he was not killed. However, for Corey Comperatore, it was his time. He lost his life as he shielded his daughter from the bullets. From what I have read about him, he was a good and godly man who was ready to meet God in eternity.

The best way to spend our time on earth is prayer. Oswald Chambers famously said, “Prayer does not equip us for greater works; prayer is the greater work.” There are many things we can do after we pray, but there is nothing we can do of eternal significance until we have prayed.

Stanley was right: When we spend time with God in prayer, He empowers us to get so much more done. When you are so busy and feel you do not have time to pray, that is when you need to pray the most. We will never regret the times we spend with God in prayer and Bible intake. It is our lifeline in a crazy and troubled world.

I am looking forward to the prayer meeting we will have on Nov. 11 at Sagemont Church as we meet for our Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Annual Meeting. It is truly amazing how God blesses us when we pray and ask for His favor upon us. Make plans to join us for a great time of fellowship and encouragement.

Lifeway celebrates 100 years of VBS

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.—Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a widely familiar term in our culture, identifiable with both kids and parents as a fun way to learn about God’s Word.

Vacation Bible School traces its roots to New York City where in 1898 Virginia Hawes, concerned with the spiritual formation of school children, rented a beer hall in the city’s East Side to conduct an Everyday Bible School. Hawes envisioned a place where kids could safely spend their summer while learning about the Bible and receiving spiritual nourishment.

In 1901, after three years of Hawes’ effort, the New York City Baptist Mission Society picked up the banner of “Vacation Bible School” and established schools throughout the East Side. By 1921, Vacation Bible School had spread well into the South and was a strong program across many denominations.

In 1924, the Baptist Sunday School Board (now Lifeway) created the Vacation Bible School department led by Georgia pastor Homer Grice and first published VBS manuals for churches. Grice blazed a trail working with the Baptist state conventions to equip and train churches to reach kids in their communities with the gospel.

Today, 100 years later, more than 2.5 million kids engage with Lifeway’s VBS curriculum each summer across more than 25,000 churches. VBS remains one of the largest outreach efforts for Southern Baptist churches, leading to nearly 60,000 salvation decisions each year.

“VBS is a time-tested, successful strategy for reaching kids with the gospel that is still engaging, appealing, strategic and effective today,” said Lifeway President and CEO Ben Mandrell. “We can look back over the past 100 years and celebrate what God has done through Vacation Bible School.”

In Hawes’s time, there was an awareness that kids were not learning about the Bible as much as they used to. And that seems even more true today. VBS has consistently been about assessing the needs of the culture and deciding what timeless truth about Jesus needs to be shared.

“You can’t really separate it from being a Great Commission story,” says Melita Thomas, Lifeway’s VBS specialist. “It’s part of who we are and who we want to be.”

Gospel intentionality

From its beginning, VBS had an evangelistic mission. Each year, a lot of prayer, discernment, and dedication goes into producing evangelistic VBS curriculum and materials. Lifeway’s NextGen team is simultaneously operating the current VBS, preparing the next year’s material, and brainstorming ideas for two years out. Alongside the curriculum, the team provides training for church leaders to introduce them to the new material and teach them how to adapt it to their churches. For every leader trained, it’s estimated there are 1.1 salvation decisions.

The team reminds VBS leaders that every role is important and has a kingdom purpose. Whether leading a group of kids, hosting games or providing snacks, volunteers are engaging in divine opportunities to share the truth of God’s Word with the next generation. They are reminded the same kid who cannot pay attention during small group may be able to listen to the gospel clearly during games. Each leader has just as much responsibility as the next to ensure kids hear about Jesus’s love for them.

Throughout VBS, kids have multiple opportunities to hear the gospel, and Lifeway’s NextGen team is committed to helping churches communicate it clearly. Understanding they serve a God who knows the needs of His people, the team members rest confidently, trusting God will make Himself known.

“The format has changed,” said Rhonda VanCleave, publishing team leader of VBS, “but the heart cry that kids need to hear the gospel hasn’t changed.”

SBTC She Stands conference lands in Africa to encourage, equip women for ministry

When Laura Taylor met Chao Tsuma at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, neither expected that their fast friendship would lead to significant ministry opportunities on another continent.

This summer, Taylor—women’s associate at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention—joined Tsuma in Kenya to lead a women’s leadership conference in Naivasha and a She Stands conference in Malindi, a community that is 90% Muslim.

Tsuma first experienced She Stands when she volunteered at a conference held at First Baptist Mansfield in 2021. She Stands conferences, held regionally throughout the year, aim to encourage and train women in their lives and ministries.

Tsuma felt an immediate connection with Taylor.

“Laura’s vibrant personality and genuine ability to make everyone feel seen and valued left a lasting impression on me,” Tsuma said. “She invited me into the ministry work, emphasizing that it was the Lord’s work and required collective effort.”

Upon the recommendation of Terri Stovall, Southwestern’s dean of women and Tsuma’s mentor, Chao applied for and was accepted to serve as an SBTC women’s ministry intern under Taylor’s direction in 2023. Her role would be threefold: to help amplify the vision for women in the region, to encourage leadership development among women, and to support Taylor and the SBTC women’s ministry through prayer.

Those duties would include helping Taylor expand the scope of SBTC women’s ministry materials into larger conference formats. On one occasion, Tsuma helped Taylor expand written materials used for a pastor-wife conference into a leadership conference.

In August 2023, the SBTC offered a leadership conference in Arlington for some 40 women’s ministry leaders from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This past March, 50 women attended a similar leadership summit in Beaumont.

Guests at the Beaumont conference included four women from Nairobi, Kenya—part of Chao’s network of friends—who flew in to attend.

“One is a doctor; two are in economic development,” Taylor said of the Kenyans. “They are successful, professional women who came to the states to experience this conference.”

As plans were being made for two more leadership summits the next year, one in the Metroplex and one in the Houston area, an intriguing question arose: Why not also in Kenya?

“Chao and her Christian friends and network in Kenya have been praying for years for this kind of opportunity. The fact that the SBTC gets to be involved is phenomenal.”

—Laura Taylor Tweet

Why not Kenya?

Encouraged by the attendance of the four Kenyan women, and with the assurance that there were many Christian women in Kenya hungry for similar instruction, Taylor and Tsuma ramped up their efforts. Tsuma returned to Kenya early this summer to lay the groundwork.

“We worked on both ends,” Taylor said. She and her husband, Wade, pastor of First Baptist Alvarado, left for Kenya at the end of July with a small team from Texas.

Two women’s conferences were held in early August: a leadership summit in Naivasha, and She Stands Kenya in Malindi. Topics included developing a personal walk with the Lord, loving others, and leading other women—all scripturally based.

“In my culture, titles are highly regarded. A woman who leads … is highly regarded. She is a woman of influence. … She has a big platform to influence other women. This is the woman we target,” Tsuma said. “If [that woman] stands in Christ, others will follow. … As she grows, she helps other women. Our vision is to equip this woman with biblical principles for daily living.

“We focus on four pillars for her growth: her relationship and growth in Christ, her relationship with others in her home, her economic growth, and her impact on her community.”

Early response in Kenya has been overwhelmingly positive, Tsuma said.

In addition to the conferences, Taylor, Tsuma, and a crew of Texas and Kenyan helpers attended local worship services, engaged in outreaches including providing potable water to villages, and met with the president of the Kenya Baptist Convention.

Besides the two women’s events, Wade Taylor and Tsuma’s husband, James, taught a pastors’ conference, and Wade—an SBTC Disaster Relief chaplain—also offered basic chaplaincy training.
A planned outreach to school girls on the trip was disrupted due to massive flooding in Kenya.

“People are displaced and distressed because of the flooding,” Laura Taylor said of the need for indigenous chaplains to minister in disasters.

Now that the vision has expanded to Kenya, Tsuma and Taylor hope this is just the beginning of women’s ministry training for that country.

“Chao and her Christian friends and network in Kenya have been praying for years for this kind of opportunity,” Taylor said. “The fact that the SBTC gets to be involved is phenomenal.”