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Life has a unique way of bringing moments of reflection. As we enter December, I can’t help but reflect on the incredible year the Lord has given the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.
When we begin a new year, we are usually looking forward. This is a good thing—we must always look to the possibilities that lie ahead. However, we also never know what to anticipate in the future. January 2024 was no different.
As we began the new year, we started implementing the SBTC’s new mission focus. We jumped in wholeheartedly to our mission of mobilizing churches to multiply disciple-making movements in Texas and around the world.
Though we didn’t know what 2024 would bring, God has once again been so good to us. Allow me to highlight a few things we can celebrate together:
1. Our convention is growing.
Throughout the year, we had quite a few churches affiliate with the SBTC. We love when we can grow and see the gospel advance together. We currently have the largest number of churches in SBTC history.
2. Church planting is growing.
When we created Send Network SBTC in partnership with the North American Mission Board, we didn’t know what to expect. Over the past three years, we have seen over 145 churches planted in Texas through the SBTC. That is an incredible number of churches. In fact, we anticipate planting between 60-65 churches in 2024 alone. I am so grateful for all that God is doing!
3. Reach Texas is growing.
Our Reach Texas State Missions Offering took in a record $1,752,383 to be used for missions and evangelism through SBTC churches. We are praying God will allow us to hit over $2 million next year.
There are so many things to look back on and be thankful for. Yet, as we close out this year, we are looking to the future with great anticipation. We believe God is going to continue to use our network of churches to see disciple-making movements multiplied in Texas and around the world.
As we enter January, there is one thing I want to make you aware of. Our Texan magazine serves as an incredible tool to tell the stories of how God is using SBTC churches. Over the course of this year, we have experienced significant increases in printing costs. Our desire is to be the best stewards of Cooperative Program dollars, so in response to rising costs, we will print eight Texan issues in 2025 instead of 12. However, we are increasing our page count from 32 pages per issue to 48 pages per issue. Therefore, you will have the same number of pages, stories, and content as before, just in fewer issues.
This creates significant savings in the cost of printing and shipping, allowing us to best manage CP dollars. While the frequency will change, we remain committed to devoting the same amount of space to conveying all that God is doing across our state. We look forward to continuing to provide the best communication piece out there.
I pray you have a great Christmas season. I encourage you to reflect on the goodness of God over the past year and enter 2025 full of expectancy of what He will do. I love you and am honored to serve you!
