SBTC passes 2,300 affiliated churches

The affiliation of three churches during the last week of January increased to more than 2,300 the number of churches joined with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

Primera Iglesia Bautista of Alvin, Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church of Dallas and Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin pushed the convention beyond the 2,300 mark.

The pastors of the respective churches offered the following comments.

Johnny Calvin Smith of Mount Moriah: “We are truly grateful to God for such a gracious opportunity to be a part of the SBTC family. In seeking out affiliation, we were encouraged by the doctrinally firm, focused and loving stance threaded throughout all ministries. We look forward to partnering with the SBTC to continue fulfilling our mission to exalt God, edify the body of Christ, equip the saints for service, and evangelize the lost.”

Kie Bowman of Hyde Park: “Hyde Park Baptist Church has aligned with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention as a way of doing ministry with other Southern Baptist churches in Texas. We feel at home with the purposes and calling of the SBTC. We believe our giving through, and cooperation with the SBTC, reflects our commitment to the Lordship of Christ, the inerrancy of the Word of God, and our desire to evangelize lost people everywhere.

“We look forward to serving the Lord with the other churches of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and we are glad to be a part of the family.”

Oscar Toledo of Primera Iglesia Bautista, Alvin: “Our church considered affiliation with the SBTC because of their conservative position towards the Word of God and, furthermore, of the Christian faith. Because of our salvation experience and Christian life we believe and confess the divine inspiration of the Scriptures according to their inerrancy and infallibility. The Word of God is our point of reference in him, his salvation, his church, the human race and all the realities that are connected to the human existence. Negating the Scriptures would be negating God and his revelation.”

The SBTC began in 1998 as a confessional fellowship of approximately 120 churches committed to a minimal set of doctrinal parameters rooted in biblical inerrancy, the Cooperative Program missions funding mechanism, and an emphasis on missions and evangelism with limited bureaucracy.