Month: February 2025

EMPOWER 2025: Capacity crowd celebrates century of cooperation at CP luncheon

IRVING—It was a gathering of friends with a purpose: celebrating 100 years of the Cooperative Program, the Southern Baptist Convention’s funding mechanism supported by the generous contributions of its congregations.

Guests filtered into the Grand Ballroom of the Irving Convention Center for the annual CP luncheon on the final day of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Empower Conference on Tuesday, Feb. 25. SBTC Associate Executive Director Joe Lightner reminded the capacity crowd of the importance of investing in the Great Commission, embodied in the SBTC’s mission focus of “mobilizing churches to multiply disciple-making movements in Texas and around the world.” The SBTC accomplishes that mission through resourcing churches, networking leaders, and advancing mission.

The SBTC continues its practice of forwarding 55% of undesignated receipts to the national SBC for CP use while retaining 45% for ministry in Texas, Lightner said. With 2025 marking CP’s 100^th anniversary, he encouraged guests to celebrate that landmark in three ways: by praying for record CP giving, by planning a CP Sunday event at their churches, and by posting about CP on social media using the hashtag #cp100story.

“Help us this year to flood” social media with CP testimonies, Lightner urged.

Three leaders with strong CP connections took the stage to pray. Barry Calhoun, IMB church mobilization strategist, thanked God for what He has done through CP giving. Calhoun related an anecdote about a small congregation of 89 members that set a Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goal of $7,000—only to exceed that by 26%.

Send Network SBTC director Julio Arriola praised God for the hundreds of new churches planted through the North American Mission Board last year, including 65 through the SBTC. He reminded guests that 20 million people remain lost in Texas, so the vital work must continue.

Carl Bradford, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary evangelism professor and dean of Texas Baptist College, expressed thanks for scholarships provided to seminary students by the Cooperative Program.

‘The value of our inheritance’

Byron McWilliams, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Odessa, served as the luncheon’s keynote speaker. “As a fellow Southern Baptist, [I want] to celebrate and encourage you to hang on and keep the faith as we remember some of the shining moments in SBC history,” McWilliams said.

Though challenges will always, McWilliams encouraged Southern Baptists to “lock our arms together and walk through these things,” urging the audience to bear in mind three truths in light of current and future challenges. Drawing from Hebrews 10:32-39, McWilliams cautioned listeners to guard against the perils of forgetfulness.

“Memory is a gift. You can’t live the spiritual life without having a great memory of what God has done,” he said, recalling the “shining moment” when the SBC was formed in May 1845 in Augusta, Ga. The founders never fathomed the movement would grow to include 47,000 churches today, he marveled.

A second shining moment occurred in 1925, when the Cooperative Program was adopted. McWilliams called CP a mechanism that SBC churches can “get their arms around.” Evoking Deuteronomy 6, he urged his audience to take care lest Southern Baptists forget the “spiritual giants” on whose shoulders we stand. Pastors such as W.A. Criswell, Adrian Rogers, and Charles Stanley, McWilliams said, “cut the road before us.”

“We must recall the value of our inheritance,” he said, interspersing exposition of Hebrews 10:32 and Joshua 4:7 with recollections of the Conservative Resurgence of the late 20th century. McWilliams recalled the 1979 SBC Annual Meeting, where Rogers—a conservative pastor and champion of biblical inerrancy—was elected SBC president in Houston on the first ballot.

“It took 20 years to turn the tide … to uproot the liberal professors from our seminaries. Twenty painful years. Was it worth it? Amen,” McWilliams said.

“We stand on the infallible Word of God. I am not going to be part of a convention that does not believe that,” he continued, praising the biblical leadership of Nathan Lorick and Jim Richards, executive director and executive director emeritus and of the SBTC, respectively. “We stand on the Word of God and we will not budge.”

Finally, McWilliams exhorted the crowd to “not shrink back, but stand firm.” Quoting statistics supplied by the International Mission Board, he noted there are 3,572 active IMB missionaries on the field and 1,500 in the pipeline waiting to be sent. These servants of God depend on CP funding.

“I’ll give you 3,572 reasons why [your churches] should not withhold CP funds,” McWilliams said, adding “gospel and kingdom advance do not come easy” and urging, “We must not take our foot off the gas or we will be calling missionaries home.

“Don’t disdain the shining moments of the past,” McWilliams said in closing. “Realize the rich heritage. … [Know] there are more shining moments to come.”

EMPOWER 2025: El récord de asistentes al evento Apoderados lanza el desafío de alcanzar más para Cristo

LEWISVILLE—Si hubiera una palabra para resumir Apoderados, la sesión en español de la conferencia anual Empower de la Convención de los Bautistas del Sur de Texas, sería “más”.

Con poco más de 500 asistentes que representaban a 66 iglesias, Apoderados atrajo a más asistentes que nunca, lo que indica que un número cada vez mayor de iglesias hispanas de la SBTC están deseosas de estar equipadas para cumplir la Gran Comisión.

Asimismo, 150 parejas, más que en cualquier otro año, asistieron a la cena para pastores y esposas que da inicio al evento anual.

Y a lo largo del evento, celebrado del 21 al 22 de febrero en la Iglesia Bautista de Lakeland, los asistentes se enfrentaron al reto de llegar a más personas para Jesucristo.

“No todos tenemos el don de evangelismo, pero todos somos testigos”, dijo Gilberto Corredera, pastor de Prestonwood En Español, quien predicó en el evento. “El plan de salvación sigue en marcha y Dios sigue buscando al pecador. Por eso debemos seguir proclamando el evangelio”.

Además de las sesiones de predicación principales, Apoderados ofreció una sesión para jóvenes y talleres para adultos que abarcaron una amplia gama de temas, desde identificar la sana doctrina y desarrollar evangelistas hasta involucrar a múltiples culturas con el Evangelio y construir ministerios dentro de la iglesia, como el de niños, cuidado, asimilación y seguimiento. Otras sesiones se centraron en aprovechar las redes sociales como herramienta evangelizadora y llegar a la próxima generación.

Uno de los ponentes de los talleres, José Arzate, pastor de la Iglesia Northlake, dijo que la Generación Alfa se convertirá en una de las generaciones con mayor diversidad étnica de la historia. El noventa por ciento se graduará de la escuela secundaria, dijo, y el 65 % de ellos tendrá trabajos que actualmente no existen. Por eso cree que la forma más eficaz de discipular a las próximas generaciones será mediante el desarrollo de relaciones.

La cena de apertura del 21 de febrero contó con Esteban Vázquez, pastor de enseñanza y director de residencia para plantadores de Send Network en la Iglesia Bautista Champion Forest en Houston. A él se unió su esposa, Karina, que sirve en el ministerio de mujeres de la iglesia y en el programa de plantación con las esposas. La pareja compartió algunos de los errores que han cometido en el matrimonio y en el ministerio, esperando dar a la audiencia herramientas para el éxito en sus propias vidas y ministerios.

También hablaron sobre compartir las responsabilidades del hogar y cuidarse el uno al otro. Además, el pastor Vázquez enfatizó a los pastores presentes la importancia de asegurarse de que escribir los sermones cada semana y hacer trabajo ministerial no reemplace su intimidad personal con Dios.

Cuando la conferencia se reanudó el sábado 22 de febrero, Julio Arriola, director de Send Network SBTC (la asociación de plantación de iglesias de la convención con la Junta de Misiones Norteamericanas), recordó a los asistentes que Dios está levantando más trabajadores para plantar y dirigir iglesias en Texas. Aun así, él desafió a las iglesias a seguir enviando plantadores al campo misionero, ya que todavía se necesitan muchos. Arriola también presentó a Arlene Sanabria, una nueva integrante del equipo de SBTC en Español, que dirigirá la parte hispana del ministerio de mujeres de la convención.

Después de un tiempo de adoración dirigido por Diego Manosalva y el grupo La Peska, Corredera compartió un mensaje de Lucas 19:1-10 titulado «Razones para buscar a los perdidos». Él ofreció tres razones:

Porque el plan redentor de Dios sigue en marcha;
Porque el poder de Cristo aún está transformando vidas; y
Porque el propósito de la venida de Cristo nos tiene trabajando.

Más tarde, Annel Robayna, director hispano de la Junta de Misiones Internacionales, predicó sobre Hechos 8:26-39, desafiando al pueblo de Dios a cumplir su misión. Robayna dijo que el llamado de Dios es específico en términos del lugar, el mensaje y las personas a las que Él está llamando a los creyentes para alcanzar. “Señor”, oró Robayna más tarde, “ayúdanos a estar presentes en el lugar específico en el que quieres aprovecharnos para tu misión”.

Honrando a Molina

La sesión final de la conferencia fue una emotiva, ya que Bruno Molina, que ha servido a la SBTC durante 16 años, fue reconocido en su último día de servicio en la convención. Él ahora servirá a tiempo completo como director ejecutivo de la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana.

En su nuevo cargo, Molina seguirá trabajando con la SBTC y otras convenciones para conectar iglesias y proporcionar recursos para alcanzar a las naciones. Jesse Contreras, que sirve en el ministerio en español de la SBTC, compartió amables palabras sobre Molina y le agradeció sus años de servicio a la SBTC.

“Ha sido una alegría y un privilegio de toda una vida haber servido fructíferamente con el equipo de la SBTC durante los últimos 16 años”, dijo Molina. “Pido sus oraciones y colaboración ahora que dirijo la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana para alcanzar y discipular a los aproximadamente 61 millones de hispanos perdidos en EE. UU. y, a través de ellos, multiplicar los movimientos de hacer discípulos en EE. UU. y en todo el mundo. La SBTC siempre tendrá mi sincera gratitud, oraciones y apoyo”.

EMPOWER 2025: Record Apoderados crowd challenged to reach more for Christ

LEWISVILLE—If there was a word to summarize Apoderados—the Spanish session of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s annual Empower Conference—it would be “more.”

With just over 500 attendees representing 66 churches, Apoderados drew more attendees than ever, indicating an increasing number of Hispanic SBTC churches are eager to be equipped to fulfill the Great Commission.

Likewise, 150 couples—more than any other year—attended the dinner for pastors and wives that kicks off the annual event.

And throughout the event, held Feb. 21-22 at Lakeland Baptist Church, attendees were challenged with reaching more people for Jesus Christ.

“Not all of us have the gift of evangelism, but we are all witnesses,” said Gilberto Corredera, pastor of Prestonwood En Español, who preached at Apoderados. “The plan of salvation is still in motion and God is still seeking the sinner. That is why we must continue to proclaim the gospel.”

In addition to the main preaching sessions, Apoderados offered a session for youth and workshops for adults covering a wide range of topics—from identifying sound doctrine and developing evangelists to engaging multiple cultures with the gospel and building ministries within the church such as those for children, discipleship, assimilation, and follow-up. Other sessions focused on using social media as an evangelistic tool and reaching the next generation.

One of the workshop speakers, Jose Arzate—pastor of Northlake Church Español—said Generation Alpha will become one of the most ethnically diverse generations in history. Ninety percent will graduate from high school, he said, and 65% of them will hold jobs that currently do not exist. That’s why he believes the most effective way to disciple the next generation will be through developing relationships.

The kickoff dinner on Feb. 21 featured Esteban Vázquez, teaching pastor and residence director for Send Network planters at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston. He was joined by his wife, Karina, who serves in the church’s women’s ministry and in the wives’ planting program. The couple shared some of the mistakes they’ve made in marriage and ministry, hoping to give the audience tools for success in their own lives and ministries.

They also talked about sharing the responsibilities of the home and caring for one another. Additionally, Pastor Vázquez emphasized to the pastors in the room the importance of ensuring that writing sermons each week and doing ministry work does not replace their personal intimacy with God.

When the conference resumed on Saturday, Feb. 22, Julio Arriola, director of Send Network SBTC—the convention’s church planting partnership with the North American Mission Board—reminded attendees that God is raising up more workers to plant and lead churches in Texas. Even so, he challenged churches to continue to send planters into the mission field, as much need still exists. Arriola also introduced Arlene Sanabria, a new member to the SBTC en Español team, who will lead the Hispanic part of the convention’s women’s ministry.

After a time of worship led by Diego Manosalva and the group La Peska, Corredera shared a message from Luke 19:1-10 titled, “Reasons to seek the lost.” He offered three reasons from the passage:

Because God’s plan of salvation is still in progress;
Because the power of Christ is still transforming lives; and
Because Christ’s coming requires His believers to work.

Later, Annel Robayna, Hispanic director of the International Mission Board, preached from Acts 8:26-39, challenging God’s people to fulfill His mission. Robayna said God’s call is specific in terms of the place, the message, and the people He is calling believers to reach. “Lord,” Robayna later prayed, “help us to be present in the specific place where you want to use us for your mission.”

Molina honored

The final session of the conference was an emotional one, as Bruno Molina—who has served the SBTC for 16 years—was acknowledged on his last day of service to the convention. He will now serve full-time as executive director of the National Hispanic Baptist Network.

In his new role, Molina will continue to work with the SBTC and other conventions to connect churches and provide resources to reach the nations. Jesse Contreras, who serves in the SBTC’s en Español ministry, shared kind words about Molina and thanked him for his years of service to the SBTC.

“It has been a joy and a lifelong privilege to have served fruitfully with the SBTC team for the past 16 years,” Molina said. “I ask for your prayers and partnership as I now lead the National Hispanic Baptist Network to reach and disciple the estimated 61 million lost Hispanics in the U.S. and, through them, multiply disciple-making movements in the U.S. and around the world. The SBTC will always have my sincere gratitude, prayers, and support.”

EMPOWER 2025: Women encouraged to embrace the ‘power of wonder’

IRVING—It began with prayer and ended with prayer.

In between, the 170 women who gathered in the upstairs ballroom at the Irving Convention Center worshipped God and learned to embrace the “power of wonder” during the women’s session of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s annual Empower Conference.

Those expecting speaker and author Marian Jordan Ellis to immediately launch into her keynote topic may have been surprised by her opening request. Ellis, founder of This Redeemed Life and women’s ministry director at Mission City Church in San Antonio, asked the moms of prodigals in the rooms to raise their hands.

“There’s no shame in that … I was [a prodigal],” Ellis said. “We are in a safe room. It’s hard to have a sheep that’s not in the fold.” With her voice cracking with emotion, she then led the room in prayer, asking the Lord to restore the prodigals.

“I am a prodigal. I am a miracle of the grace of God,” she said, beginning her story by showing a photo of her family. Marriage at 38 made her an instant mom with two stepsons; a “little miracle,” the couple’s daughter, was born five years later.

Using Psalm 107 as her text, Ellis interwove exposition with autobiography.

Born and raised in a “typical small East Texas town,” she admitted to running “as hard and far from God as possible.” At age 25, in a bar in Houston, she finally prayed what she called her first real prayer: “God, if you are real, help.”

“My sin had so clouded my vision that I didn’t know what truth was anymore,” she recalled.

But God had not given up on her. She later discovered her mother and friends had been praying for her. A coworker invited her to a large Southern Baptist church where she heard and finally understood the gospel.

David in Psalm 107 reminded the people the Lord delivered them in their distress as they cried out to Him. Likewise, Ellis’s salvation came from the same God who heard her desperate cry.

“The God of redemption restores us to what He originally meant … to be a people who glorify His name,” Ellis said.

Following her salvation, Ellis was discipled by godly women, an experience which reinforced the importance of small group Bible study and the “spiritual surgery” of the transforming power of the Word of God.

“Our identify in Christ is so important,” Ellis said. “Satan has been discipling people a long time. …When we take the Word of God and start discipling people … it transforms their minds,” resulting in a biblical worldview where believers “see the world as God sees it.”

Younger generations today experience crippling anxiety, Ellis said. Scientists are recognizing the importance of focused meditation, she said, noting that 20 minutes a day spent focused and in awe and wonder of God can rewire our minds.

“His Word heals us and delivers us,” she said. “As women, we need to learn the power of wonder … of God.”

‘Hope is a choice’

Ellis opened the afternoon’s second session with a call for women with unmet desires to raise their hands for prayer. She recalled her own days of singleness when, after becoming a Christian at age 25, she longed to meet a godly man to marry. Instead, she “was in more weddings” than she could count.

“Depression isn’t a label any of us wants to wear. Sometimes it can be like a low-grade fever. Your unmet desire is how the enemy can lead you into despair,” she said. “I would have despaired unless I believed.”

Drawing from Psalm 33, which David intended to be read to the people of God on Yom Kippur—an expectant time of the new year—Ellis spoke of faith and hope, two related yet distinct concepts.

“Faith is what happens, the choice, the decision of the will to look back on what God has done,” whereas “hope is faith activated forward,” the “confident expectation of God” based on “His person, promises, and presence,” she said.

The reading of Psalm 33 centered the nation on hope in the Lord, Ellis said.

“Praise is the password into God’s presence,” she said. Worship “drives out our anxieties and calibrates our souls to the frequency of heaven,” aligning the soul with the character of the redeemer.

Focusing on God changes reality, Ellis said, encouraging the audience that “if God has not redeemed your story, He is not done with your story.”

“When God is big, everything else is small,” she reminded the crowd. “Your God and my God is sovereign. He doesn’t say, ‘Oops.’”

“Hope is a choice,” she continued. “It’s the choice to believe what is true about the Lord. It’s the choice to look to Him as your secure one, your provider, your strength.”

Before concluding the women’s session with more prayer, SBTC women’s ministry associate Laura Taylor challenged the crowd that included women from all stages of life—from grandmothers to young mothers with infants in tow—asking, “Do we believe that? God is good. God is faithful because that is His character.”

EMPOWER 2025: As SBTC prepares to mobilize churches to new European opportunity, IMB missionary proclaims ‘now is the time’

IRVING—On Monday night at the 2025 Empower Conference, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Director Nathan Lorick interviewed Jacob Boss, vice president of global engagement for the International Mission Board. They spoke about the SBTC’s Reach Europe partnership with the IMB and an upcoming opportunity for pastors or strategic church leaders to travel to Europe on a vision trip in May. The following is an excerpt of their main stage conversation at Empower.

Nathan Lorick: Tell us about the lostness and the need for churches just like these to come alongside you guys at the IMB in Europe.

Jacob Boss: Europe is about 1.1% evangelical—820 million people. That means, in terms of percentage of evangelicals, it’s the most lost continent on earth.

My son, Philip, he’s 11. He plays football, or what we [Americans] would call soccer. I go to his practices and I talk with some of the dads. And there’s one dad who’s a 42-year-old British guy who works in Central London. He has a great job, drives a nice car, has a good family. If you look at him, he has everything the world would say you need to be happy and successful.

As I was engaging him in conversation, I found that actually he was miserable and beginning to realize that everything he had wasn’t giving him what he really needed. His marriage was falling apart. He felt shame as a dad. So, I just began to talk with him about the gospel and asked him if he had a Bible. He said no. The only experience he’d had with the Bible was when his grandma used to force him to go to mass in Ireland when he would go visit her when he was a kid.

I used this word “gospel” with him several times and he said, “What is the gospel?” This is a 42-year-old British guy who had never heard the gospel even though he drives by a church every day and lives in what used to be a Christian nation. I asked him if he had ever read the gospels. He didn’t know what the gospels were. He literally didn’t know who Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were. So, he downloaded a Bible on his phone and began to engage with the Scriptures for the first time.

That is the state of the gospel, the state of the church in Europe. It is in desperate need of the gospel, and that’s why we’re excited about this partnership.

Lorick: If churches go with us on this vision trip and they decide to partner together in Europe, how can they best serve you guys? What can churches do to help you advance the gospel in Europe?

Boss: The two primary ways are to help us mobilize and to help us catalyze.

There is an existing church in Europe, even though it’s fairly small, and they need to be and want to be mobilized on mission to take the gospel to their people. So as churches come, there’s one pathway to partner and help us equip and train existing European churches to be on mission. That could look like helping us with a marriage conference, with some theological training, some evangelism training, and getting out into the harvest with them.

We also need to catalyze a lot of work. There are way too many places in Europe today that don’t have a church, where there is no Bible-believing church to even give people meaningful access to the gospel. Catalyzing could look like walking alongside one of our missionaries and going places in Europe we’ve identified that do not have a church and beginning to take the gospel to those places to see disciples made who can become a church in that location.

What’s exciting is, while we talk about the lostness in Europe—over the last 20 years it’s been a really hard field—since the war in Ukraine and Russia, since COVID, we’ve seen a new hunger for the gospel. We’ve seen over 10,000 Ukrainians saved since the war and over 200 churches started. Now they’re in Europe because they scattered from Ukraine. We’re seeing a new hunger amongst young people in Western Europe who are saying, “All this education that I was told would solve my problems, they’re not solving my problems.”

That doesn’t mean they’re spiritually hungry for Jesus. We have to help them see that it’s Jesus who will answer their questions. There’s a window for us to get the gospel there. That’s why it’s really important that we mobilize churches from the SBTC and from around the world to help bring the gospel to Europe for this moment in time.

Lorick: What would be your appeal be to these pastors and church leaders out here about engaging in this new ministry opportunity with Europe?

Boss: We have a vision trip coming up May 1-9 where we’re going to be in London first where we will [share] our big vision for Europe and what we’re seeing, and then scatter into seven different places across Europe and the Mediterranean to see what the work looks like in those local places and how these churches can come alongside and serve these local teams. (Editor’s note: The seven cities are Leeds, England; Nantes, France; Copenhagen, Denmark; Budapest, Hungary; Bucharest, Romania; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Athens, Greece.)

I think that would be a great way for [SBTC churches] to come and experience it and see it. But man, Southern Baptists need to come together around mission because the state of the church and the need for the gospel in the nations is critical, and now is the time.

EMPOWER 2025: Students urged to share Jesus ‘anytime, anywhere, with anyone’

IRVING—The third annual Empower Student Rally rocked the fourth floor of the Irving Convention Center Sunday evening, drawing more than 600 students and leaders from nearly 100 churches from across the state.

Students packed the room to hear Christian rap and hip-hop artists Dillon Chase and Zeke Garcia, experience worship led by the Cross City Euless praise band, and to be challenged by Chip Luter, senior associate pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans.

Hip hop and rap with a message

Drawing from his work in Japan with RAGE Ministries (Reaching a Generation Endangered), Chase taught the crowd to say hello in Japanese: “Ohayou,” pronounced like “Ohio.” It was a preview of what was to come, as he later performed an interactive version of his song, “That’s Right,” in Japanese and English, calling on the audience to respond with a Japanese phrase meaning “There is no doubt” at key moments.

Students stood, waved their hands, and danced in the aisles or at their seats as Chase urged them to “make some noise for Jesus … the Savior of the world!” before introducing fellow RAGE artist Garcia.

As the stage lights burned red, Garcia announced that the “Word of God is the power of God,” and began a rousing version of “Not That Guy,” again with heavy audience participation.

“Every song has a message. I want you to hear the message of the song,” Garcia proclaimed, describing his own salvation in which, “The old Zeke who used to exist has died,” referencing, as Chase had done, trials and suffering.

“Following Jesus is not easy. … The reason I struggled so much is that I was not ready to surrender my life,” Garcia said.

Ryan Fontenot, RAGE Ministries founder and lead evangelist, followed Garcia, explaining a simple way to share Jesus using a four-emoji bracelet each guest had received.

“I believe everyone who is a follower of Jesus is a fisher of men,” Fontenot said. “It’s one thing to know you ought to be sharing Jesus, but it’s another thing to do it. You can do this.”

The bracelets students received featured emojis of a heart, a division sign, a cross, and a question mark. Fontenot explained that the heart emoji represents God and His love; the division sign indicates sin; the cross symbolizes Jesus; and the question mark calls for a decision.

“You can learn to share Jesus anytime, anywhere, with anyone,” Fontenot said.

‘I promise He can save you’

Luter preached a message from Acts 9, which traces the life of Saul of Tarsus from being a persecutor of Christians to becoming a Christian himself and being renamed Paul.

“Saul thought he was persecuting Christians,” Luter said. “He was persecuting Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t lose a fight.”

Later in the historical account, Saul becomes a follower of Christ on the Damascus Road—a radical salvation not only because of the transformation in Saul’s life, but because of what Jesus did for everyone when He died on the cross. “Jesus loves us and saves us radically,” Luter said. “No matter what you’ve done, no matter where you’ve been, Jesus saves.”

“You may be thinking, ‘God can’t save me,’” Luter continued, speaking to those in the crowd who had not trusted Christ. “If Christ can save Saul, I promise He can save you. … You’ve got to yield and say yes to Jesus.”

Luter issued an invitation for students to be saved, but also challenged those who had already trusted Jesus. “Tonight it’s not just lost people who have a decision to make, but it’s also the found people,” he said, calling for believers to be “willing to be sent” and “go to the Sauls of the world.”

When prompted, a sprinkling of hands rose across the room signifying those who responded to either the gospel invitation or the opportunity to surrender their lives to God’s plan.

Luter ended with a final challenge: “Even if we can’t see what’s going on, God sees the heart. Don’t just leave it up to [people on] the stage to do the ministry. You know people who need Jesus.”

“Tell somebody,” echoed Grant Byrd, SBTC student ministry associate. “It’s a life-changing decision.”

Chase and Garcia closed the evening by introducing “Do It Scared,” Chase’s new song.

“Even if we have fear,” Chase proclaimed, “we should go all out for Jesus.”

“Our student rally was incredible,” said SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick, who praised Byrd for his leadership of the event. “Students from all over came to lift high the name of Jesus. I am praying God will use this night to spark a revival in this generation. I believe the best days for this generation of students are in front of us.”

It starts with a conversation

Over the years, we’ve highlighted many of the ways God has used the churches of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention to share His good news.

A couple in one church organized an outreach event and invited hundreds of high school football players to hear a Christian sports television personality share his testimony. A group from another church visited local businesses open around Christmas when many others were closed, serving workers donuts and singing carols. In another part of the state, a few brave souls banded together, going door to door to bring the message of Jesus to their neighbors’ doorsteps.

Some were elaborate, some were simple. But in each instance, the gospel was shared and God’s people were faithful to do whatever it took to tell people about Jesus.

In this first issue of 2025, we once again highlight some of the ways God is using His people to grow His kingdom. In the face of challenging circumstances, one church recommitted to making evangelism one of its top priorities and now hears something on Sunday mornings that members hadn’t heard in previous years—the voices of children in the sanctuary. Another church took what many would consider an inconvenience—not having a consistent place to worship one Sunday a month—and used their circumstances for God’s glory, hosting their services in locations throughout their city.

I love that the Texan gets to tell these stories, and based on reader feedback, you do, too. As we publish them, however, I’m always sensitive to the reality that sharing Jesus can happen any number of ways. Sharing the gospel doesn’t require a lot of money, elaborately planned outreaches, or next-level creativity. Those things are great, but we must always remember that sharing Jesus can start with a simple conversation. It can be as easy as asking someone, “Who do you think Jesus is?”

Be intentional about giving God glory when you’re telling others how something went right in your life.

Jayson Larson Tweet

Because we live in a results-driven culture, we can run the risk of letting a scoreboard mentality slip into our faith life. In other words, we can begin to believe that if we’re not leading large numbers of people to Christ, we’re “less-than” Christians. The way I read God’s Word, this isn’t true. We have no control over whether people put their faith in Jesus. That’s between them and the Holy Spirit who draws them in and enlightens them to the truth.

What we can control is being faithful to find ways—simple ways—to tell others about Jesus. Give an account for the hope that is in you. That’s what 1 Peter 3:15 says. Tell someone what Jesus has done for you. Be intentional about giving God glory when you’re telling others how something went right in your life. Point out where God is in your story when things are going wrong. I challenge myself to find ways to slip Jesus’ name into my everyday conversations, believing there is truly power in His name.

This summer, you and your church will have a great opportunity to mobilize and engage people in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with simple-yet-powerful conversations about Jesus during the Crossover evangelism event that will be held in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Dallas. You can find more information about to get involved with Crossover, including several important trainings happening this spring, within this issue’s pages.

May we make much of Jesus in 2025 …

The church has left the building

North Texas congregation sees gospel fruit from practice of holding one service per month outside its walls

Pastor Paul Faseler was driving to a staff meeting when he noticed workers setting up for a county fair. He knew they travel and work every Sunday in a new location, so he thought, “I bet they don’t ever get to worship.”

Faeseler rounded up some volunteers from The Well Baptist Church in Greenville and they headed to the fairgrounds on Sunday morning with 100 breakfast tacos for the workers. Rain was pouring down, but they waded in with raincoats and umbrellas to knock on doors of workers’ trailers.

About 20 workers accepted the invitation to come to a small worship service inside the fairgrounds, and nine of them prayed to receive Christ, Faseler said, adding, “We just wanted to bless them, but God decided to show up that day.”

An impromptu gathering at the local fairgrounds was not a far stretch for the members of The Well because they have been accustomed for years to using the fourth Sunday of each month as a service day outside the walls of their normal worship location.

The practice began out of necessity when the young church plant met at a community center and worked around a car show that was already booked for the fourth Sunday of every month. After a while, the car show moved on but the practice of going outside the walls held.

When they called Faseler as pastor four years ago, church members wanted to make sure he would be on board with the tradition. He thought it was a good fit with his missions and evangelism priorities.

The Well works with FISH, which is the Hunt County Shared Ministries food pantry and other services. Church members fill blessing bags for homeless people, packing tuna, granola bars, fruit snacks, pudding, and water along with a gospel tract.

“We put those together every month. The Salvation Army takes some, a partner church takes some, our members take some,” Faseler said. “I like to keep one in my car at all times.”

Church members have been trained in the Three Circles evangelism method—one time using white paper table cloths so everyone around the table could practice drawing the circles and telling the gospel story. Sometimes on fourth Sundays they practice door to door evangelism.

“We’re always amazed when we do door to door on Sundays how many people are home,” Faseler said, noting that one of the challenges in the community is that so many people have prayed a prayer of salvation at some point but are not walking with Christ.

Recently, during a sermon from the book of Acts, Faseler preached on Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, challenging people to trust God when He provides opportunities for gospel interaction. “We talked about how Philip just went with the question that was asked,” Faseler said.

In addition to the food pantry and door to door evangelism, The Well has partnered with a local pregnancy resource center in Greenville. The church also partners with three schools doing various projects such as landscaping or building bookshelves. They are prayer partners with the teachers at one school.

“We’ve got lots of people who probably would say they’ve never been on a mission trip, but they don’t know that we put them on mission trips every month.”

—Paul Faseler Tweet

“We’ve got lots of people who probably would say they’ve never been on a mission trip, but they don’t know that we put them on mission trips every month,” Faseler said.

The Well has nearly a 100% volunteer rate in terms of how many members serve in some service capacity, the pastor said. “It really has empowered some folks and made them feel like a part of the body and having a purpose.”

One man who had worked a flat top grill at a restaurant for years told Faseler, “You want to cook breakfast tacos? I’m your man.” When such an emphasis is placed on service, more people are able to find where they fit.

With such an unconventional practice, the pastor points to the fruit as justification for the church’s off-site Sunday service once per month. “It takes some faith, and we have to talk it up a lot,” he said, adding that attendance is about 115 on worship Sundays but about 80 on service days.

“Some of it is just a choice of impact over numbers,” Faseler said.

The pastor knows attendance will be down when they do door to door evangelism because fewer people are comfortable with that task. “But I think to have 40 or 50 people doing door to door is worth it. We could have 120 at church, but this could go a lot further if we really teach people how to do this.”

Often in Scripture, including Abraham and Mary, for example, God calls people to leave their comfort zones, Faseler said.

“We’re almost creating a culture where this is church for them. They expect to serve. They expect to have conversations with people and maybe have to share the gospel or ask people how they can pray with them and then pray.

“We’re constantly pushing our people out of their comfort zones to where they don’t even know they’re out of their comfort zones anymore. They’re just living on mission.”

Study: Protestant pastors bring attention to global Christian persecution

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.— As pastors speak and pray with their congregations, they say they’re also keeping persecuted Christians around the world in mind.

More than nine in 10 U.S. Protestant pastors (93%) say their church has engaged in at least one of six ways to bring attention to Christians suffering persecution within the past year, according to a Lifeway Research study. Around 1 in 14 (7%) say they haven’t done any of those six, and less than 1% aren’t sure.

“The United States has extensive freedom for people to practice their faith without fear of retribution,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “Despite the distance from persecution, pastors and churches are not ignoring the persecution Christians are experiencing throughout the world.”

Prayers for the persecuted

Praying isn’t all churches are doing for global persecuted Christians, but it is what the most congregations are doing. More than five in six pastors say they have encouraged their congregation to pray (86%) or prayed in a worship service (85%) for persecuted Christians worldwide within the past 12 months.

“While persecuted Christians may be hard to reach, churches are bringing requests to God on their behalf,” said McConnell.

Evangelical pastors are more likely than their mainline counterparts to include prayer as part of their churches’ response to persecution. Compared to mainline pastors, evangelical pastors are more likely to say they have encouraged their congregation to pray for persecuted Christians worldwide (92% v. 80%) and have prayed in a worship service for Christians suffering persecution (89% v. 79%).

Pastors in the South are among the most likely to have encouraged their congregation to pray (89%) and to have done so during a worship service (88%). Those in the Northeast are among the least likely to encourage prayer (80%) and pray during a service (78%) for persecuted Christians.

Denominationally, Presbyterian/Reformed pastors are among the least likely to have encouraged their congregation to pray for Christians experiencing persecution around the world (75%) and prayed specifically for those persecuted during a service (72%).

Other means of ministry

Most pastors have used their sermons as an opportunity to bring up the topic of persecution, but fewer have gone beyond that. Two in three (66%) have talked about modern persecuted believers from around the world in a sermon.

Pastors are less likely to say they’ve handed out information about persecuted Christians (31%). Even fewer had an event to bring awareness of Christian persecution (17%) or showed a video during a worship service about persecuted Christians (16%).

“Examples and stories of newly persecuted Christians worldwide are readily accessible, and most pastors are sharing this news in sermons at least annually. Whether pastors are preaching from Bible passages that include persecution or those that promise Christians will face persecution, today’s global persecution is relevant to today’s biblical teaching,” said McConnell.

As with prayer, evangelical pastors are frequently more likely to be involved in other ways of raising awareness for Christians suffering persecution. They are more likely than mainline pastors to have talked about modern persecuted Christians in a sermon (75% v. 53%), handed out information about the issue (36% v. 24%) and shown a video about the persecution of Christians worldwide (22% v. 9%).

Pastors at larger churches are among the most likely to have included something about modern persecuted Christians worldwide in a sermon in the past year. Pastors at churches with 100-249 attendees (75%) and those with 250 or more (74%) are more likely than those with fewer than 50 (59%) to have broached the subject in a sermon. Pastors of the smallest congregations are also the least likely to have shown a video (10%).

Additionally, Pentecostal (82%), Baptist (74%), non-denominational (72%) and Restorationist movement (70%) pastors are more likely than Lutheran (56%) and Presbyterian/Reformed (47%) pastors to have mentioned modern global persecution in a sermon.

Non-denominational (39%) and Baptist (33%) pastors are more likely than Presbyterian/Reformed (23%) and Restorationist movement (20%) pastors to say they handed out information about persecuted Christians in the past year. Non-denominational pastors are among the most likely to have had an event focused on the issue (27%). Lutherans are the least likely to have shown a video about persecution (4%).

Pastors 65 and older are among the most likely to say they have handed out information about persecuted Christians (37%) or hosted a related event (23%).

“Pastors are quick to say they are praying for persecuted Christians, but remembering them with other emphases or events is much less common,” said McConnell.

SBTC’s Lorick lauds prayer, progress at Puerto Rico convention’s annual meeting

PEÑUELAS, Puerto Rico—God is moving in a big way on this small Caribbean island.

At its annual meeting Feb. 15, the Convention of Southern Baptist Churches of Puerto Rico heard a series of encouraging reports revealing heightened participation among its pastors and leaders, as well as with organizations such as the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

Luis Soto, executive director of the Puerto Rico convention, said affiliated churches experienced a 24% increase in baptisms, as well as increased Cooperative Program giving, during the past year. Those achievements, he said, “mark a milestone in the history of Southern Baptists in Puerto Rico, evidencing the commitment and faithfulness of our congregations.” Soto noted that representatives from 75% of the convention’s churches were present at the meeting.

In November 2022, the SBTC Executive Board voted unanimously to enter into a multiyear ministry partnership with the Puerto Rico convention, offering resources, tools, and training to strengthen existing churches on the island—roughly the size of the state of Connecticut—while also working with leaders to plant new congregations.

As a result of the partnership, Soto told the Texan the Puerto Rico convention has experienced a 30% increase in participation in its programs to train pastors and leaders, as well as a 25% increase in donations directed toward its projects supported by the SBTC over the past two years.

“The partnership with the SBTC has been incredibly fruitful,” Soto said. “We have seen an increase in collaboration and support for our initiatives, which has allowed our churches to be trained in church revitalization, providing our pastors with the tools to carry out the Great Commission.”

SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick spoke at the meeting, emphasizing the foundational role of prayer as a catalyst for change in Puerto Rico’s churches and cities. Lorick led a corporate time of prayer, imploring pastors and church leaders to cry out to God for revival.

“It was an honor to be with our friends at the annual meeting [in Puerto Rico],” Lorick said afterward. “My friend, Luis Soto, is doing an incredible job leading this network of churches. I am excited for the SBTC to continue ministering alongside these great churches.”

Other highlights from the meeting, hosted by Oasis of Love Baptist Church and Pastor Raúl Torres, included:

A report from Xavier Torrado, director of Send Puerto Rico, who highlighted God’s faithfulness over the past year and presented a plan to plant new churches this year;
Charles Grant, associate vice president for convention partnerships for the Southern Baptist Convention, who offered a message of encouragement and support for the Puerto Rico churches;
The introduction of Pastor Bryant Morales, who will coordinate efforts and resources to reach and disciple college students in Puerto Rico;
Recognition of Pastor Camilo Méndez, who concluded his term as president of the convention’s board of directors, as well as the unanimous election of his successor, Pastor Gil Ramos from Renacer Baptist Church in Ponce; and
The celebration and welcome of two new churches to the Puerto Rico convention: La Iglesia Bíblica la Comunión in Bayamón and Coram Deo Church in the town of Aguada.