Author: belrod

Crossover registration available for prospective host churches, volunteers

DALLAS — Registration for Crossover Dallas is live.

Crossover, which will run from June 2-8, 2025, is the annual evangelistic emphasis preceding the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in the host city. Events such as block parties and personal witnessing opportunities have become ingrained in the outreach effort.

Churches and groups can register through the Crossover site, which is also available in Spanish.

Participation happens two ways. The first is hosting a Crossover event. Churches in the counties of Dallas, Denton, Collin, Hunt, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Johnson and Tarrant are eligible to host, in an effort to make an indelible mark on their community.

One option for hosting is partnering with students and faculty from Southern Baptist seminaries for door-to-door evangelism. Churches can also host a multi-day event such as Vacation Bible School or a block party outreach limited to one day. Another single-day event, Harvest Sunday, would take place June 8.

The second track for Crossover registrants is to serve at an event. Southern Baptists both in the target area and outside of it are welcome to serve with local churches.

The North American Mission Board will report the number of Gospel conversations, salvations, volunteers and other figures to messengers at the annual meeting. More than 185 people responded to the Gospel delivered by more than 1,469 volunteers during Crossover Indianapolis in June.

“We would like to encourage churches in that target area to host an event and individuals and groups, especially if you are already coming for the annual meeting, to serve alongside these host churches,” said JJ Washington, NAMB national director of Personal Evangelism who is overseeing Crossover’s planning.

Benefits for host churches include learning evangelism best practices and using the event as a catalyst for establishing an evangelistic culture in the congregation. Volunteers will gain experience in starting an evangelism movement in their own church as well as the experience of partnering with other Southern Baptists.

Washington said NAMB is working with leaders from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and Baptist General Convention of Texas as well as regional and state networks. Local Baptist associations—Dallas, Denton, Collin, Hunt, Kauf-Van, Ellis, SW Metroplex and Tarrant—have also featured prominently in Crossover’s planning.

“This is truly cooperation at its finest,” he noted.

Luis Antonio Gonzalez, Spanish pastor for Lamar Baptist Church in Arlington, is helping mobilize other Spanish-speaking churches in the area.

“We are providing resources and encouraging them to participate,” he said. “Our prayer is to develop an evangelistic culture in the churches and bring a fire to fulfill the Great Commission.”

First Baptist Garland, where Greg Ammons is pastor, will host a Harvest Sunday and door-to-door evangelism.

“We’re looking at having a block party as well,” said Ammons, who is also helping mobilize churches in the area. “JJ and [NAMB Vice President for Evangelism] Tim [Dowdy] led evangelism training last week. We had a good turnout and are now signing up churches for hosting.

“We’re hoping to see a lot of people come to Jesus, to plant a lot of seeds. We want to establish an evangelism culture.”

Plant ‘in the middle of nowhere’ battling darkness, claiming territory for Christ

BROWNSVILLE—Gifts to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering helped James Martinez plant and grow Ecclesia Community Church in Brownsville, Texas. Now, the congregation is giving back in a big way.

According to church planter James Martinez, Brownsville is a border town like no other. “It’s in the middle of nowhere, and it’s a world that’s neither Mexico nor the United States. It’s like its own country with its own culture,” he says. “And everybody who leaves Brownsville says, ‘I’m never going to come back.’”

When James left Brownsville to go to college, he was one of those people who never intended to return to his South Texas roots. But during his college years, James heard the gospel, was saved, and watched God rewrite his story. Now, two decades later, James finds himself in Brownsville again—but this time as a church planter.

James describes Brownsville as a “spiritual yet dark place” that’s influenced not only by cultural Catholicism but also by witchcraft. “People have left a pig’s head on our church property. We’ve been in apartment complexes, door knocking, spreading the gospel, and they’ll come out and cut chickens’ heads off and pour blood all over wherever we walked,” James shares.

It should be no surprise, then, that Ecclesia Community Church’s origin story is full of the unexpected and unplanned. When the world shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic just a month before their planned 2020 launch, the Martinezes partnered with a local nonprofit. Together, they started serving their community through gospel-focused food distributions. That’s how, more than a year later, when it was finally time to publicly launch the church, they’d already built a strong network of prospective members.

It turns out that a church that was built largely by showing generosity to its community ended up with generosity in its DNA. Ecclesia Community Church began with many new believers, and when James introduced the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering to them, he was overwhelmed by the church’s response. “We explained that we exist because of the generosity of other churches giving to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering to fuel church planting,” James says. “And when the money started coming in, I thought, ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ We’re meeting our goal for the Annie Offering, and people are excited about it.”

All of Ecclesia Community Church were enthusiastic about a chance to give back—from new believers in the congregation who committed to setting up a recurring gift to the elderly single women and the kids in the children’s ministry. Now, the church has committed to giving more to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering each month than they did over the entire previous year.

“I’m a church planter in one of the poorest counties in the nation, and when we surpassed our offering goal, I just thought, ‘Look at what God is doing through this little bitty church,’” James says. “God has been generous to us and now we can be generous and sacrificial back to Him. I love that.”

 

Hispanic volunteers share a story that changes lives

Editor’s note: During Hispanic Heritage Month, the IMB is highlighting the contribution of Hispanics to global missions and celebrating the growing number of Hispanic churches committed to reaching the nations. Resources about Hispanic church missions efforts are available through the IMB.

“We did not go to work. We went to see God at work, and praise God that He used us beyond what we could do for His glory,” Annel Robayna said. 

Robayna, who serves as IMB’s Hispanic church mobilization strategist, recently traveled with church leaders and members of Hispanic churches in the U.S. to serve alongside Hispanic missionaries Adam and Janene Rios. The Rioses serve with the IMB in Southeast Asia.

During their two-week trip, 130 people heard the gospel, and 57 decided to follow Jesus.

In the Hispanic community, most people won’t sign up for a volunteer trip simply because they see it listed on a website, Robayna said. Personal connection is what motivates people to serve.

Robayna connected over a phone call with one of the volunteers on the trip to Southeast Asia. He met two other volunteers at an event in Texas and already had a relationship with another.

The perspective Robayna seeks to instill in churches and church members is a mindset of “What can I do?” “What can I bring to the table?”

He tells leaders and church members they can bring their “yes” to the table and then “be ready to see God at work.”

Stories that change lives

“Let me tell you about a story that changed my life, and it’s changing other people’s lives too.”

The Rioses, national pastors and other Spanish-speaking missionaries began conversations with this invitation, and the volunteers followed suit. After hearing the story, listeners were given the chance to respond.

In addition to national believers who translated, several missionaries from Spanish-speaking countries translated directly from Spanish to the local language for the volunteers who only spoke Spanish.

An older Muslim man with a military background was one of the 57 people who made decisions of faith.

He had trouble understanding God’s forgiveness because of his military background. He killed people under the orders of his superiors. Robayna shared about the forgiveness Jesus gives, no matter someone’s history.

After Robayna finished sharing, the older man rose from his chair and, with some effort, walked across the room and grabbed Robayna’s hand in a posture of respect. As tears flowed, Robayna and Southeast Asian believers prayed for him. His daughter-in-law also decided to commit her life to Christ.

The trip to Southeast Asia was the first mission trip where Andrea, from Louisiana, didn’t know the language and where she shared the gospel with mainly adults, many much older.

At one point on the trip, a flood of anxiety and fear poured over her, and negative thoughts swarmed in her mind. “Why would older and wiser people struggling with difficult things want to listen to me share the gospel?”

As she pondered that thought, Andrea prayed for the Lord to use her according to His will. She soon realized God can use even the smallest things in life for His plan. It didn’t matter how old she was to tell people what God did in her life and how He changed her.

“There’s no age limit to go out and share the gospel,” Andrea said. “All those people needed was for someone to come and plant a mustard seed, and God will handle the rest.”

God used her testimony to lead someone to place their hope in Christ. Andrea said the Lord empowered her to share the gospel in ways she never could have without Him.

From relationships to partnerships

Every time Robayna takes a volunteer team to places where IMB missionaries are working, the hope is for the volunteers to discover the needs, explore opportunities for partnership, learn about the IMB team’s strategy and return to mobilize their churches to take trips individually.

The next step is partnerships. Robayna is there to help, but the idea is for them to work directly with the IMB missionaries once the churches have a connection. A relationship with a missionary overseas has the potential to improve the partnership. Robayna explained if there isn’t a relationship, they will look elsewhere.

One woman on the trip had no previous connection to the IMB. She’d been praying about how to get involved in missions. After the trip, the Lord confirmed He wanted her to return to Southeast Asia to serve. She’s making plans to return to serve with the Rios family.

Carlos, a pastor and leader among Louisiana Baptists, said he’s been on trips to the country before, but this trip was the most productive, largely because of the missionary presence. His church had been searching for missionaries to partner with, and after meeting Adam and Janene, they decided this was the partnership they’d been waiting for.

A leader from Texas was discipled by the Rioses and will return this fall on a volunteer trip.

Robayna said, in general, ethnic churches focus on ministering to their ethnic groups. His prayer is for more churches to catch the vision for international missions, go beyond cultural preferences, and be open to taking the gospel to places where they don’t speak the language or know the culture.

Some names have been changed for security.

Short-term trips meet long-term strategies during Olympics outreach

“We can’t control the results, but we can measure our faithfulness,” said Jason Harris, team leader for the International Mission Board’s Paris team, explaining its strategy for gospel outreach during the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Part of that strategy includes facilitating and mobilizing more than 300 short-term volunteers to hit the streets of Paris sharing the gospel.

The team Harris leads in Paris is young and growing. No team members have been there longer than a few years. They are united around a common vision to make Christ known among Europeans and a long-term goal to plant five churches in Paris over the next five years.

Harris explained that short-term volunteers are vital to sharing the gospel broadly and making connections that will catalyze their local church-planting strategy and lead to longevity.

Each week of Olympics outreach, volunteers are focused on sharing the gospel within specific geographical and cultural segments of Paris. They are using a number of creative strategies as entry points for evangelism and have invited local French churches to work alongside them.

“My prayer has been that the outreach for the Olympics would be a launching point for church planting in the city,” Harris said.

Ultimately, the harvest is in God’s hands. They have already witnessed God drawing people to Himself through volunteer efforts this summer.

Zach Beasley, campus minister at Alabama State University and Tuskegee University—two historically black colleges in Alabama—led a team of six students to join a week of pre-Olympic outreach to Paris in May.

One thing the students didn’t expect was the spiritual darkness they felt almost immediately on arrival in the “City of Light.” Beasley said more than anything this trip has motivated them to pray for missionaries and their long-term presence on the mission field.

“We realized to really make a lasting impact, you have to be there for years,” Beasley said. “It takes years for boundaries to be broken down and relationships built.”

The team from Alabama spent eight days passing out water bottles, prayer walking, distributing flyers and doing spiritual surveys.

“The work we did with the local church was very familiar to our students. It’s the same thing we do on campus, going out and sharing the gospel,” Beasley said. “We collaborate and build the local church, and I loved seeing that reiterated here for our students.”

At the end of the week, Beasley and his team were excited to see many people they had given flyers to show up for an outreach event at a local church.

“We were praying they would come, and they actually did,” Beasley said.

IMB missionary Diane In came to Paris from a nearby country where she lives to help with the Olympic outreach. She joined a group of 90 volunteers partnering with local Chinese-French churches. On their first day, they handed out more than 1,000 portions of Scripture in French, had 300 gospel conversations, and saw several professions of faith.

The missionary shared how she has seen God provide divine appointments for the gospel. At the end of one day, In and one volunteer—a Chinese pastor from the U.S.—sat next to some members of the Chinese press on their way back to the hotel. The pastor gave one of the men a custom-designed pin and shared the gospel with him. On their way out of the station, they ran into two more members of the Chinese press—a man and a woman—who were lost and asked for directions. As the pastor gave directions to the woman, In pulled out another pin and shared the gospel with the man.

Brant Bauman, a digital engagement strategist for the IMB, gave an exciting update on the first round of virtual volunteers and their strategy to extend on-the-ground evangelism. Bauman said digital responders around the world are getting exactly the kind of interaction they have been hoping and praying for. Volunteers are serving on a week-long virtual mission trip where they’ll be on call to answer chat requests.

“It’s a strange thing to say, but the volume on my computer is turned up and there is a little chime that goes off roughly every 30 seconds,” Bauman said. “Normally that would drive anyone mad, but not tonight, because that is the sound of new people responding to our online ads and reaching out to us. Better yet, it’s the sound of doors being opened and the gospel being proclaimed by so many digital responders scattered all over the world.”

Bauman added that despite challenging discussions, team members are excited and bold in their interactions. “We have already seen countless prayers responded to, quite a few spiritual conversations and gospel shares, and some that have expressed a desire to meet up face-to-face and find a church.”

Harris asked for prayer as their team begins to follow up with new contacts in Paris.

“The number of connections made could be really challenging to follow up with effectively,” he said. “Pray that, ultimately, people become disciples of Jesus and don’t just hear the gospel once.”

SBC 2024: National Hispanic Baptist Network workshops focus on women’s ministry, missions, evangelism

INDIANAPOLIS—The National Hispanic Baptist Network (NHBN) organized a day of workshops for Hispanic Baptists gathered in Indianapolis for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Pastors, lay leaders and women had 19 different breakouts to choose from covering missions, evangelism, church planting and children’s education, and for the second year running, the NHBN offered a workshop track specifically designed for women.

Led by Clara Molina, director of the network’s ministry to women, the women’s general session started with worship led by Nelly Juarez, followed by a short devotional shared by Diana Puente and a biblical message conveyed by Molina. The message, titled “United at the Vine with a Sound Doctrine”, encouraged women to pursue sound doctrine to shape their lives in the likeness of Christ. The women were led in prayer by Aleyda Muñoz before splitting up for breakout sessions. The sessions included a children’s education track, serving in the church, personal devotional life and an evangelism tracks.

Besides the women’s program, there were another 15 workshops to choose from. The Logos Bible software presentation was one of the best attended sessions. Led by Jose Chicos, the workshop modeled for pastors how to use software that facilitates access to various Bible versions, languages, historical context and more. Lifeway’s Carlos Astorga led a session on the Baptist Faith and Message, which those in attendance found refreshing and useful. David Perez shared from his book the 7Ds of Prayer, International Mission Board’s Annel Robayna session talked about being a church on mission, Send Relief’s Jonathan Santiago’s shared with pastors how Send Relief comes alongside local churches to help their communities in times of disaster and open doors to share the gospel.

Raul Santamaria led a church planting workshop; Ronald Vides focused on revitalization of churches; Prison Fellowship’s Karin Arango shared how churches can come alongside families affected by the imprisonment of relatives; Angel Jordan with the Billy Graham Evangelism Association facilitated an evangelism workshop; Corporate Chaplains of America’s Cesar Brito’s session highlighted the ministry of chaplains; Apartment Life’s Rey Matos shared how apartments can be a missionary field and Luis Soto from the Southern Baptist Convention of Puerto Rico taught on personal discipleship.

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Fabio Castellanos session focused on Bible translations; Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Ricardo Sanchez’s session focused on leadership training and manuscripts and Rafy Gutierrez from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary taught about Biblical paternity.

Following workshops, state representatives for the NHBN met for fellowship and to discuss ministry in each of their regions. The NHBN’s board of directors met for a business meeting where they unanimously passed the following resolution: We serve the Hispanic churches of the Southern Baptist Convention and as an organization affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

Jesus film entirely in sign language is historic first for Deaf community

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (BP)—When Joseph Josselyn of “Jesus: A Deaf Missions Film” lost his hearing as a toddler, life became “a little painful at times” as he grew, accepted Jesus and worshipped God in the hearing world.

As the only Deaf member of his family, and despite his parents’ best efforts, only at Gallaudet University was he exposed fully to the Deaf culture and began to grow in his walk with Jesus, Josselyn told Baptist Press through the use of an interpreter.

“A lot of Deaf people don’t know Jesus as well,” he said, “and that’s a big issue … that need for them to meet, know and follow Jesus. And that’s been a big role of Deaf Missions, is to create media and resources to help get the awareness out there of Jesus.”

Communicating with the Deaf community in its heart language is a key concept of Jesus: A Deaf Missions Film portraying the story of Jesus entirely in American Sign Language (ASL), billed by Deaf Missions as the first-ever ASL adaptation for the silver screen.

The film removes all barriers Deaf people face when viewing spoken-language films with subtitles, a standard that Josselyn says makes it difficult for Deaf viewers to experience the emotions critical to any given story.

“Having an experience where Jesus is Deaf, is signing, and a Deaf cast where they’re all signing, so they could see all the emotion, they could see what was happening,” is what Josselyn sees as critical to the production. “There wasn’t anything they had to detach from. There were no barriers. They didn’t have to go through an interpreter … or a second party to get that information. To me, that’s why this is so important.”

Showings are scheduled in at least 275 theaters in the U.S. June 20 and 23. Deaf Missions recommends early ticket purchases and group attendance to encourage theaters to expand the schedule.

Deaf Missions made the film primarily for Deaf audiences, but included elements such as English subtitles and a soundtrack to accommodate a hearing audience. Also, Deaf people can experience music by feeling the bass.

“We felt it would be beneficial for hearing people to come and partake and to view the movie as well,” Josselyn said, “because most Deaf have children and parents. Or you think of relatives or siblings of the Deaf, or friends of the Deaf, so that they have access to the movie as well. Just as hearing folks give me access to their films, then we wanted to do the same thing for hearing folks.”

Josselyn, who produces and directs the film along with Deaf producer Michael Davis of GUM Vision Studio, faced unique challenges in the production, spanning the mundane of securing a boat for the scene of Jesus walking on water, to the creative element of portraying Jesus’ last words on the cross.

“Jesus is on the cross where He says certain things which I want people to watch, to see. How do we get Jesus to say those words while He was on the cross?” Josselyn shared, declining to reveal his solution. “That is part of the mystery of it all, is how did that scene take place. Thank God for His provision, for working all the details out.”

Deaf Missions, a ministry to Deaf people in more than 100 countries encompassing more than 60 denominations, hopes the film will draw unbelievers to Jesus and help believers learn more of Jesus and grow in faith.

“It’s been a true joy to see people’s response to the film,” Josselyn said, referencing recent red-carpet events where the film was shown. “The people watching were moved to tears. They were sitting speechless, deep in thought. And that is what has been the biggest encouragement for me.

“For folks to see the movie in their heart language has been the greatest reward.”

This article originally appeared on Baptist Press.

‘When can I return to Uganda?’: IMB missionary shares cancer journey

Rebekah Lockhart drove past leafy, vibrant banana trees on her way to the airport in Uganda. As she passed them, she wondered if she would ever see them again. Was this the last time she would be in this land she had grown to love?

Healthy, and in her early 40s, the International Mission Board missionary to Uganda had begun feeling intense exhaustion. She wondered if the exhaustion was just from having a lot on her plate. She was planning for her family’s stateside assignment and trip to the U.S.; her oldest son, Elijah, was about to graduate from high school and move to the U.S. for college; and she was organizing the trip-of-a-lifetime to the United Kingdom for vacation with her family.

However, doctors found something was very, very wrong. The IMB’s medical team flew her to Kenya and immediately had her admitted to the hospital. While her husband, who was ministering in Togo, couldn’t be by her side during the first few days, someone from the medical team was with her through each test and hospital stay. When she realized she wouldn’t be able to attend Elijah’s high school graduation, her fellow IMB team members surrounded him, video chatting with her the entire time and showering him with love and affirmation.

After a few tests, they had her diagnosis: leukemia.

“Cancer is shocking period,” she said. “But coming from complete health and in my early 40s, it was even crazier.”

A few days later, the IMB’s medical team arranged for her to take a private medical flight out of Africa and back to the United States. During the next year, she underwent treatment through the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and she battled the many illnesses that can accompany cancer and chemotherapy.

She was strengthened by the support of her family in the U.S., waiting for her husband (Eric) and sons (Elijah, Noah, Gavin, and Corban) to join her while she underwent her first round of chemotherapy. Three of them had tested positive for COVID-19 while trying to leave Uganda, so none of them could fly out. She prayed her hair would hold on until her boys could see her, wanting to reassure them she’d make it through this.

She spent 40 days in the hospital, undergoing aggressive chemotherapy treatments. The doctor told her they were aiming for a cure. She told them, “As long as you know I’m aiming for Uganda.”

She described her situation: “I had MRIs and PET scans and CAT scans and CT scans. I was constantly getting ultrasounds. I felt like I was going to die because I felt so bad. You pretty much just weather the storm, waiting for your platelets and your white blood cells to come back up.”

The fight wasn’t over after she was released. She had another week of chemotherapy and then spent an additional week in the hospital with an infection and dangerously low platelets. “At that point, I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m done.’ I was so tired of being in and out of the hospital. And I was so tired of being sick and not feeling myself. I don’t know how to make this go away,” she said.

After many tests, it was determined that a blood marrow transplant was the best option for a cure. They were able to find a donor with a 100 percent match, and Rebekah had the transplant in November 2022. After the transplant she spent 100 days in isolation. There was constant danger of infections and her body rejecting the transplant, but God kept her and her family healthy.

During that time, grief struck. Her father, who had been battling his own illness for years, passed away. Her first public event was her father’s funeral. She was still waiting for her body to repair itself, receiving ongoing care.

But slowly, she began improving. And though the road to recovery was long, eventually, she was declared cancer free. With her hair growing back, changing from straight, blonde hair to curly, brown locks, her body getting stronger, and her spirit livening, she had one question: “When can I go back to Uganda?”

About 18 months after her original diagnosis, she was cleared to return to the field, to serve her beloved Ugandans. She breathed a sigh of relief as she passed the same banana trees she had thought she’d never see again.

She’s back now and busy as ever, teaching church history at Uganda Baptist Seminary, serving as the school’s registrar, working for the IMB’s field human resources department, among other things.

She expressed her gratitude to the IMB and to Southern Baptists for the care she felt as she battled this life-threatening disease. As an IMB missionary, she had her treatment funded through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program. Southern Baptists gave, and now the Lockhart family is back in Uganda, equipping and encouraging seminary students – training a new generation of Christian leaders.

“In the 18 months of my ‘blip,’ we only had to pay co-pays for my medicine,” Lockhart said. “I can’t imagine what my hospital bills were, let alone the medical flight, but we didn’t have to pay a dime. I saw the bill from the hospital in Kenya and it was almost $5,000 for just one week, and that would have been the cheapest of the hospital bills. Because of LMCO, we didn’t have to worry about finances as well as my prognosis and transitioning back to the States. We will be forever grateful to everyone who prayed for and supported us – we still don’t know each one who lifted up a prayer and probably never will.”

SWBTS team preparing music as ministry for SBC Annual Meeting

FORT WORTH—Preparing music for an annual meeting that serves more than 10,000 people over two days can be overwhelming, but Joseph R. Crider, music director for the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, is confident in—and thankful for—the team around him that will help provide worship leadership during the gathering.

Crider, dean of the School of Church Music and Worship at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said SBC President Bart Barber, a two-time Southwestern alumnus, wanted the seminary’s music team to lead worship at this year’s convention. Crider was elected music leader during the 2023 annual meeting in New Orleans and has spent the past year preparing for Indianapolis.

“I am honored to be asked, but … there is a lot that goes into the preparation that most people never think about,” Crider said. “The music director for the annual meeting is a member of the Committee on the Order of Business for the SBC. The business of the SBC is packed into two days of committee reports, resolutions, entity presentations, elections, preaching and worship, so there are [many details] that take the entire year to plan.”

Crider, Southwestern A Cappella, and the seminary’s Cowden Hall Band will lead the music for the meeting. Southwestern A Cappella, a select music ensemble composed of graduate and undergraduate music students in the SCMW, assisted in leading worship during the worship sessions of the 2023 meeting in New Orleans. The Cowden Hall Band is the school’s graduate house band.

Charles Lewis, associate dean of the SCMW and professor of church music and worship, is coordinating all the production and logistical details. Ricky Johnson, SCMW artist in residence and director of bands, and Hugo Encorrada, a doctor of philosophy student, are working out specific musical arrangements for all the worship.

Without the help of these men, the students in the music groups, Fran De Wysockie, administrative assistant in the SCMW, and the help and encouragement of the school’s faculty and staff, Crider said, “I would be overwhelmed.”

Crider also tapped James Cheesman, who led the music for the 2023 meeting. Cheesman serves as the worship pastor at Barber’s church, First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas, and is a Ph.D. student and adjunct instructor at Southwestern.

“With all that James has on his plate, it was a lot to ask him to coordinate music for another annual meeting,” Crider said. “But I will say that the congregational participation and worship at last year’s annual meeting was the best I’ve heard in years. James did an incredible job of choosing songs people know and love, and he led with sincere, pastoral humility. I’m praying the Lord will help us do the same.”

Cheesman will lead the worship with SCMW students prior to Barber’s sermon on Tuesday morning of the convention.

Crider said preparation “began several months ago as we prayed through the theme of the meeting [‘One Mind, One Voice,’ based on Romans 15:5-6], the Scripture passages that will guide each of the worship elements and then the songs and hymns that Southwestern A Cappella and Cowden Hall Band have been leading through the year. Fortunately, we aren’t trying to learn all new music for the June meeting.”

Crider said he has lost track of the hours of rehearsal time, “But our students will come back from their summer break for three major rehearsals on campus totaling around 20 hours of intense rehearsals in preparation for our ministry in Indianapolis.”

The students will lead almost 40 songs throughout the two-day meeting, he said.

Crider explained what he hopes both SBC messengers and his students gain from the experience.

“We simply want to serve the messengers by encouraging them to worship Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit,” he said. “We will serve them well if they think more of Jesus than they do of us and how we lead them. At the same time, we want our SBC churches across the country to know that it [is the SCMW’s passion] to prepare men and women for their calling to the ministry – as is true of all our sister seminaries.”

Crider also expressed the desire “to be faithful in representing” the seminary and Texas Baptist College “in the best possible way – by pointing people to Christ.”

“For our students,” he added, “I hope they see the incredible phenomenon of cooperation among autonomous churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. I hope they see that the annual meeting is not only a big family reunion, but it’s also something God has used in a powerful way to build Christ’s kingdom through evangelism, missions, education, discipleship, and resources for local SBC churches. I pray they will all want to be actively engaged in the future of the SBC.”

This article originally appeared on Baptist Press.

Barber exhorts Southwestern graduates to go to the harvest

FORT WORTH—Get to work in the harvest, Southern Baptist Convention President Bart Barber challenged the 301 graduates of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Baptist College during spring commencement held May 3 on the Fort Worth campus.

The spring 2024 graduating class included students representing 27 states of the U.S. and 22 countries. Seventy-seven of the 301 certificates and diplomas awarded were for non-English degrees and certificates.

“This class represents the student body at Southwestern, which is now a multinational, multi-ethnic, intercultural, intergenerational community,” said SWBTS President David S. Dockery, noting the names listed in the commencement program that were representative of “every region of the country and multiple nations around the world, and we celebrate God’s goodness in bringing them here.”

Framing his commencement address around Jesus’ exchange with the disciples following His encounter with the woman at the well in Samaria in John 4, Barber, who has pastored First Baptist Church of Farmersville since 1999, noted the disciples encouraged Jesus to eat. Jesus refused and told the disciples His food was to do the will of His Father, which was to sow and reap for the harvest of the kingdom of God, Barber explained.

Barber, himself a two-time graduate of Southwestern Seminary, reminded the graduating class that the education and training they received at the seminary is an “investment” by the students themselves and the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention that is to be put “to work in the harvest.”

“Unlike some educational institutions, we have not led you to knowledge merely for knowledge’s sake, in and of itself,” Barber said. “But instead, there is great need in the world for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we launch you into that world in order to accomplish the purpose for which God has raised you up.”

First, Barber noted, the new graduates’ studies should give a “hunger for the harvest.”

“A seminary education is supposed to light a flame in your heart,” Barber said. “It is supposed to give you a vision and a passion in addition to giving you technique and information and know-how about how to pursue it.” He added a seminary education should “light” a “vision for the evangelization of the world, for the rescuing of souls from the domain of darkness and bringing them into the light of God.”

Barber said the disciples wondered why Jesus was not hungry when “Jesus in effect turned to them and said, ‘I’m wondering why you’re not hungry. I’m wondering why you’re able to walk by these people who are in need of the truth – in need of the Gospel and all you care about is food.’”

“I beseech you,” Barber pleaded, “to kindle in your heart a hunger for the harvest for the cause of the gospel.”

Second, Barber said, the graduates needed to have a “perception of the opportunities to harvest that are around” them. He observed that Jesus was “training” the disciples, but He also told the disciples “the harvest is ready now” as “the fields are white unto harvest.”

Third, Barber encouraged the graduates to have “an optimism about the harvest.”

“There is joy found in the ministry that you will pursue as you go from this place and there is opportunity that is there,” Barber said, while noting the graduates leave Seminary Hill “into a season of time that some have called the ‘great de-churching.’”

“You have heard it said that the opportunities are few. And you have heard it said that people are running away. And you have heard it said that your prospects are going to be difficult serving in ministry,” Barber observed before reminding the graduates that church history records “seasons of decreased interest in the Gospel” that are “usually followed by seasons of spiritual awakening.” He said that “we’re seeing something like that happening.”

Barber noted that “a godless culture has not served well the people who are coming into adulthood today.” He noted that teenagers have “been deprived of human nurture and spiritual encouragement and instead have been handed a screen and find that their calendars are full and their souls are empty.

“They have a great need for the gospel,” Barber said.

He added that “people say” the churches of the SBC are “shrinking and waning,” but, he said, “that is not true.” Barber said the last published statistics show “an increase in baptisms” in the SBC and he predicts “that is a trend that will continue to grow in the days to come.”

“If you will be faithful to plant the seed, God will be faithful to bring forth the harvest,” Barber said.

Barber concluded his remarks by encouraging the graduates to “be optimistic about what Jesus can do through your ministry—about what Jesus can make of your faithfulness.

“You are among the best-trained Christians in the world on this day,” Barber concluded. “May you also be among the most zealous Christians in the world going forth from this day and may God make much of your labor in Him.”

Barber’s sister, Traci Barber Smith, was one of the graduates, having earned a Master of Theological Studies from the seminary’s School of Theology.

The ceremony also included the awarding of the David S. and Lanese Dockery Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence to Joshua Williams, associate professor of Old Testament and director of the seminary’s Research Doctoral Studies program. Williams, who has served at Southwestern since 2006, was nominated for the award by his faculty colleagues based on the award’s criteria of faithful and effective teaching of students and genuine care and concern for the spiritual development of students inside and outside of the classroom.

In his opening remarks during the ceremony, Dockery told the gathering that the fathers of both Southwestern’s ninth president, Adam W. Greenway, and Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, had died the day before, and he then led the congregation in a time of prayer for the families.

SWBTS trustees receive reports of financial stability, enrollment growth

FORT WORTH, Texas—Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustees heard reports of renewed financial stability and enrollment growth during their April 9-10 meeting held on the Fort Worth campus, which was marked by a spirit of unity, President David S. Dockery said.

“Southwestern Seminary is in a very different place than in September 2022,” said Dockery, noting many factors. “All this has happened because of God’s providential kindness to us.”

Trustees unanimously approved a $35.6 million budget, elected and promoted faculty, named faculty to academic chairs and approved graduates for spring 2024 during the meeting.

Board Chairman Jonathan Richard thanked Dockery for his “capable leadership,” commended trustees for their work during the meeting, noted the “high morale” among students and faculty and affirmed the seminary’s faculty as a “one of our greatest assets to this institution.”

Richard said trustees “continue to rely on the Lord for guidance” and during his tenure on the board he has been “thankful for the sustaining presence of the Lord here.”

He added that the seminary’s current financial situation is “stronger than it has been in years, and I know that with continued hard work and sacrifice, the financial future is hopeful.”

The board approved a $35.6 million budget for the 2025 fiscal year, a decrease of $300,000 from the originally approved budget for the current year. Trustees also approved the firm Guinn Smith & Company as auditors for the fiscal year 2024.

In his report to trustees, Dockery noted the collective thankfulness “to God for His presence” and the “obvious presence of the Spirit leading us,” resulting in a “genuine spirit of unity and humility that was present in all aspects of our work.” He added that everyone is “very hopeful for the days to come.”

Southwestern influence

Dockery highlighted two recent “big announcements” in the Southern Baptist Convention that exemplify the influence of Southwestern Seminary. On March 21, Jeff Iorg, current president of Gateway Seminary, was elected president of the SBC Executive Committee. Iorg, who was honored as a distinguished alumnus in 2022, holds a Doctor of Ministry from Southwestern. Pending approval of the board of trustees at Gateway, Adam Groza, a two-time Southwestern Seminary graduate, including a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2009, will assume the presidency of Gateway Seminary.

“We are thankful for the influence Southwestern continues to have not just here on this campus, but across the world where there is not a time zone … across the globe in which there is not a Southwesterner serving at this time,” Dockery added.

Encouraging future

Dockery told trustees the seminary is “very hopeful” about ongoing giving to the institution. He noted that unrestricted giving is “steady” and that temporarily unrestricted giving is “ahead of the last three years.” He said that the seminary’s operational budget is “in a good place” as it is more than $1.5 million ahead of the same time last year. He added that the seminary currently has $8.4 million in cash “which no one would have imagined this time last year.”

Dockery also mentioned the $3.4 million that was placed in a “quasi-endowment fund” that is overseen by the board.

“We have moved from crisis to challenge to stability,” Dockery observed, adding “we’re not yet at a place where we can call institutional health; we still have work to do to get there.” He said the seminary will “continue to work as hard and as wisely and as carefully as we can, but we must not fail to give thanks to God for answering our prayers.”

Dockery also commended the work of the Board of Reference, a group of “50 key voices across SBC life where they speak” into the work of the seminary as they give “guidance to our work.”

Dockery noted that one-third of the objectives of the Advance Southwestern 2030 institutional plan, which trustees adopted in the spring 2023 meeting, have been completed. He also explained there have been “markers of hopefulness,” including the spring 2023 chapel sermons focused on 1 and 2 Thessalonians; the new employee handbook; enrollment progress, including the upcoming Southwestern Preview Day; unrestricted giving; an embracing of the institution’s core values; and the commitment to prayer across the campus.

During the meeting, Dockery publicly thanked the board officers for their decision to give him a raise and bonus, which he declined, explaining he wanted all employees to be rewarded while the president should be last. Richard said Dockery’s actions were “the Lord affirming to me that we have the right man in the president’s office.”

Enrollment analysis

Dockery reported an increase in enrollment and hours taught. He said the credit hours taught in the 2022-2023 academic year were 34,836, representing an increase of 1,583 credit hours from the previous academic year. Enrollment also showed an increase of 171 students in the 2022-2023 academic year from the prior year.

Dockery added that there was an increase of 479 credit hours taught in the fall of 2023 compared to the fall of 2022 and the 15,821 credit hours taught in the fall of 2023 also reflected an increase of 1,066 credit hours taught compared to the fall of 2021.

He said the spring 2024 academic semester includes 2,711 students, an increase of 71 students enrolled in spring 2023 which was up from 2,561 the year prior. Dockery said that “uptick in credit hours is the key to our stable tuition revenue line which is so important for our overall budget.”

He noted that the total hours taught for spring 2024 has increased by almost 600 hours over spring 2023 – 14,709 credit hours taught in the current semester compared to 14,152 credit hours taught in spring 2023. The credit hours taught in spring 2024 represent an increase of more than 1,350 credit hours taught compared to spring 2022.

Citing data from the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) annual enrollment report, which includes 274 divinity schools and seminaries, Dockery said that in the fall of 2023, Southwestern moved to 5th in total enrollment and 6th in total credit hours taught. The increases in enrollment and total credit hours taught make Southwestern 3rd and 4th, respectively, among Southern Baptist seminaries. Dockery also noted that Southwestern was 3rd among all of the ATS institutions regarding the total number of graduates in the past year and 9th concerning the size of the total endowment.

He added there is “no other Southern Baptist school that finished in the top 10” in all four categories of number of graduates, enrollment, credit hours taught, and endowment. He said the ranking “distinguishes Southwestern in a meaningful way” for which he gave “thanks to God.”

Providing a breakdown of the current student body, Dockery said that 23 percent of students are women, while international students make up 26 percent of students. Additionally, 58 percent are online students, and a “Revelation 7:9 picture of the Kingdom of God” is reflected among the students as 40 percent of students are white, 28 percent are Asian, 21 percent are Hispanic, 5 percent are Black, and 6 percent of unknown ethnicity, he said.

“What takes place at Southwestern is not just counting the numbers, it’s a recognition that each one of these numbers represents a person – a person called to serve in the church, to serve our denomination, to go to the mission field, to be in counseling sessions, to be in the classroom, serve in parachurch organizations, wherever God might lead that person and we never know where they’re going while they’re here,” he said.

School and board business

Trustees received an announcement of the appointment of Carl J. Bradford as the dean of Texas Baptist College, the undergraduate school of Southwestern Seminary. Bradford, whose appointment is effective May 6, led the devotion for the plenary session of the trustee meeting.

Trustees also promoted W. Madison Grace II to professor of theology, Dean Sieberhagen to professor of missions, Michael Wilkinson to professor of theology, and Joshua Williams to professor of Old Testament. Additionally, Amy Crider, associate professor of foundations of education, and Jonathan Okinaga, assistant professor of biblical counseling, were elected to the faculty. All actions are effective August 1.

Trustees named O.S. Hawkins, chancellor and senior professor of pastoral ministry and evangelism, to the L.R. Scarborough Chair of Evangelism (“Chair of Fire”); Lilly H. Park, associate professor of biblical counseling, to The Hultgren Chair of Ministerial Counseling; Okinaga to the Hope for the Heart Chair of Biblical Counseling; and Joseph R. Crider, dean of the School of Church Music and Worship, to the McKinney Chair of Church Music.

Trustees approved the students nominated by the faculty and certified by the registrar as having met all the requirements for spring 2024 graduation.

Richard (New Mexico), Robert Brown (Tennessee), and Angela Duncan (At-Large), who have served as chairman, vice chairman, and secretary, respectively, were re-elected to one-year terms as officers of the board.

Three outgoing trustees were recognized for their service. Michael Trammel (Maryland-Delaware-DC), Ron Pracht (Kansas-Nebraska), John Rayburn (At-Large) were thanked by Richard for their time and valuable contributions provided during their tenures on the board.

The next board meeting is scheduled for Oct. 21-23, 2024.