Author: Jayson Larson

God is just getting started

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an excerpt from O.S. Hawkins’ new book The Spirit Code: 40 Truths about the Holy Spirit that Every Believer Should Know. Proceeds from the book are donated to Mission:Dignity.

Luke has the great privilege of sharing how God’s work begins through the church. In Acts 1:1 he writes, “Of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.” Did you catch that? The gospels document what Jesus began to do—He is not finished; He is just getting started.

Often referred to as the “Acts of the Apostles,” the book of Acts is more accurately the record of the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work in and through the church. Luke’s gospel recounts the life and teachings of Jesus in His physical body, while Acts tells us what the Holy Spirit continues to do through the spiritual body of Christ, which is the church. It’s incredibly encouraging to realize that Jesus remains active, partnering with us through the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself to the world.

Acts is the unfolding story of how Jesus continues to work in our lives via the Holy Spirit. However, the narrative ends rather abruptly, leaving us hanging. This is intentional—the story continues in us, moving all the way to today.

Anyone who has tried to live the Christian life has discovered that it isn’t just difficult; it is impossible when attempted in our own strength. God isn’t interested in our doing something for Him. The key to victorious Christian living is allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us. As Paul puts it, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

When we awaken to the power of the Holy Spirit within us, we enter a new dimension of Christian living. This is the essence of what Jesus meant when He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12). This is a profound statement—Jesus is not merely suggesting we can replicate His works; He promises we can exceed them.

Many people interpret this verse as a call to work harder for God. However, this approach often leads to frustration and failure. The true understanding of Jesus’ statement lies in His promise to return to the Father. Just a few verses later, He reassures us: “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16). Jesus assured His disciples, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). He indeed returned, not in physical form, but through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to live out our faith.

After Jesus ascended, the disciples gathered in the upper room to wait for “the Promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4)—the coming of the Holy Spirit. They didn’t gather because they felt worthy; none of us are worthy in our own strength. They waited for the Helper that Jesus promised: “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). True to His word, the Holy Spirit fell upon them at Pentecost, transforming their lives and empowering the church in ways they had never imagined.

The power of Jesus does not end with the gospel records; He had just begun. The Holy Spirit continues to work today, in you, through you, for you, and upon you. A victorious Christian life is about the dynamic partnership between the Holy Spirit and ourselves.

Eureka moments

The word “eureka” has embedded itself into our modern lexicon, representing moments of sudden insight or discovery—those exhilarating instances when clarity replaces confusion. Think of a student who, after struggling with a math problem, suddenly sees the answer: “Eureka! Wow!” Or consider the joy of realizing that the person you’ve been dating is truly the one with whom you want to spend your life: “Eureka!”

Did you know the word “eureka” appears in the New Testament? In John 1:41, Andrew, after following Jesus, excitedly finds his brother, Simon Peter, exclaiming, “We have found [eureka!] the Messiah.” This exclamation followed centuries of prophetic anticipation and waiting for the coming Savior.

These eureka moments, whether small or monumental, remind us of the transformative power of revelation. In our spiritual lives, awakening to the truth of who Jesus is and the role of the Holy Spirit is the ultimate eureka moment. It opens our eyes to a reality that redefines our lives and empowers us to live for Him.

As we reflect on the incredible journey from the gospels to the book of Acts, we recognize that the story of Jesus is far from over. He began a transformative work that continues today through the Holy Spirit and His church. We are not just passive observers; we are active participants in this divine partnership, empowered to carry forth His mission.

The Holy Spirit equips us with strength, wisdom, and guidance, enabling us to live out our faith in ways that exceed our limitations. When we embrace the truth that “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27), we unleash the potential for greater works, not through our own efforts but through His power within us.

Let us be open to those “eureka moments”—the revelations that deepen our understanding of Christ and propel us into action. Together, as the body of Christ, we can reveal His love and grace to the world, proving that the story of Jesus is still being written through our lives today.

AM24: Lorick testifies to Cooperative Program impact during executive director’s report

HOUSTON—A widow in her 80s giving from a fixed income. A church planter in his 40s moving his family to a far-away city for the sake of the gospel. Seminary students with a passionate calling to reach future generations for Christ.

Some give. Others benefit. All impact the kingdom.

They are the ones who come to mind when Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Director Nathan Lorick thinks about the Cooperative Program, the primary giving model that funds mission efforts worldwide through the Southern Baptist Convention.

Addressing messengers Tuesday (Nov. 12) at Sagemont Church during the final day of the SBTC Annual Meeting, Lorick made an impassioned plea for churches to continue to give joyfully and sacrificially as Southern Baptists prepare to mark CP’s 100^th anniversary in 2025—a campaign that will be referred to as CP100.

“If you’re looking for an example of God multiplying the impact of your church, I can’t think of a better return on kingdom investment than the Cooperative Program,” Lorick said. “… I am asking the churches of our convention to prayerfully consider how God might lead your church to give in this anniversary year. Anniversaries are usually accompanied by gifts to honor the occasion. CP100 is an opportunity for record giving and record sending—acknowledging God’s favor for our cooperative work.”

Lorick said the SBTC, as well as Southern Baptists worldwide, will celebrate the milestone in a number of ways next year. The SBTC is challenging its churches to do three things:

Pray for record giving. While thanking churches for giving a record $1,752,383 through the Reach Texas State Missions Offering this past year, Lorick said more than 1,000 of the SBTC’s 2,786 churches had not given through CP this year as of September. “One-thousand churches giving at least $1,000 would invest $1 million more into our cooperative mission to support more international missionaries, Texas church planters, and seminary students,” he said.
Promote the effort by planning a CP Sunday on Oct. 5, 2025. Churches can use that day to emphasize the importance of CP giving, Lorick said.
Post brief videos on social media testifying of the impact CP has had on people’s lives. The SBTC is asking those who post those videos to use the hashtag #cp100story.

“Can I challenge you to pray about leaning in with your Cooperative Program giving?” Lorick asked. “We all face challenges, but nothing allows us to impact Texas and the world like the Cooperative Program.”

European initiative announced

Lorick also used his annual report to announce an initiative with the International Mission Board to connect SBTC churches with opportunities to advance the gospel in Europe.

Pastors and church mission leaders were invited to participate in a vision trip to Europe May 1-9, 2025. The trip, Lorick said, is designed to create strategic pathways to mobilize SBTC churches to partner with and support IMB’s 550 missionaries, projects, and global partners across Europe. Nearly 11% of those missionary units are from SBTC churches, Lorick said.

Vision trip attendees will gather in London for training and then be assigned to one of seven strategic locations: Nantes, France; Copenhagen, Denmark; Leeds, England; Bucharest, Romania; Budapest, Hungary; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Athens, Greece. More information about the vision trip can be found on the SBTC’s website.

Noting the Christian population of Europe is 1.1% of the continent’s 820 million people, Lorick said, “Europe is not only one of the least engaged continents in the world, but it is also the most strategic, as it continues to be the most influential continent in the world—representing nearly every people group and every language.”

The initiative is similar to other efforts developed by the SBTC over the past couple of years in Nevada, Puerto Rico, and India.

AM24: Annual meeting messengers unified in convention business

HOUSTON—Messengers to the 2024 Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Annual Meeting, gathered at Sagemont Baptist Church Nov. 11-12, conducted the business necessary for the convention’s year-round work amidst two days of fellowship and inspiration.

SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick, reflecting on the two-day meeting, was excited about the content and demeanor of this year’s gathering.

“This year’s annual meeting was incredible,” Lorick said. “We were able to present that we will plant more than 60 churches by the end of this year. We also received our highest state missions offering in the history of the SBTC, and we currently have more churches affiliated with the SBTC than ever before. I am grateful for the unity and spirit of the churches that make up the SBTC.”

Messengers conveyed a spirit of harmony in the discussion and resolution of each item. The SBTC is a confessional fellowship, meaning each affiliated church has affirmed the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, in contrast to the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which this week rejected a motion to affirm the BF&M 2000 at its annual meeting, according to an article in Baptist Press.

“Many of our brothers and sisters cannot in good conscience affirm this Baptist Faith & Message,” David Lowrie, pastor of the BGCT-aligned First Baptist Church in Decatur, was quoted as saying in the Baptist Press article. “It was written by Southern Baptists for Southern Baptists. It represents well many of the values of Southern Baptists, but it wasn’t written for us. It doesn’t represent us.”

Bruce Webb, a BGCT pastor of The Woodlands First Baptist Church, said Texas Baptists have intentionally rejected the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 for more than two decades and should continue to do so, according to Baptist Press.

All SBTC churches affirm BF&M 2000. This allows messengers each year to discuss the details of their common ministry confident that they agree on basic doctrines related to the nature of Scripture and the priority of the Great Commission.

SBTC messengers conduct important business

Only one motion was submitted from the floor at the SBTC Annual Meeting, asking the convention to consider ways to assist congregations with insurance costs. The Committee on Order of Business assigned the motion to the SBTC Executive Board for consideration.

During the Tuesday morning business session, messenger Rob Collingsworth of Redemption City Church in Fort Worth raised a point of order regarding a motion adopted in 2022 that intended to clarify the SBTC Constitution’s qualifications for affiliation in Article IV. Collingsworth called the motion a “procedural violation” and a “de facto amendment to our constitution” that violated the process for making an amendment. The chair allowed messengers to consider the question of whether the motion in 2022 expanded the meaning of the constitution. After a lengthy discussion, messengers declared the 2022 motion in order.

The convention’s executive board recommended a budget for 2025 of $27,833,488, which is equal to the budget adopted by messengers in 2023. The budget shows no increase because the 2024 budget exceeded what was collected in 2023. Cooperative Program receipts will continue to be allocated with 55% sent to the Southern Baptist Convention for worldwide ministries and 45% being retained for ministries in Texas. Messengers approved the budget without discussion.

Executive Board Chairman Caleb Turner, pastor of Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church, recognized Bart McDonald on the occasion of his 10 years as the executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation and its 20^th anniversary, which will be celebrated in 2025. SBTC’s chief financial officer, Joe Davis, was also honored for his 25 years of service in that role.

The Resolutions Committee recommended four resolutions to the messengers. Messengers expressed gratitude for the “hospitality, service, and generosity” of Sagemont Church for hosting the convention meeting. A second resolution expressed “profound gratitude” to SBTC President Danny Forshee for his service as convention president. A third resolution commemorates the 100^th anniversary of the Cooperative Program in 2025, noting the benefits the SBTC has enjoyed in missions, evangelism, church planting, and church strengthening as it partners through the Cooperative Program. The final resolution addressed chemical abortions, acknowledging that this method accounted for 60% of all abortions in 2023. The resolution concludes with a commitment to “uphold the sanctity of life even at the earliest stages.” All four resolutions were approved without amendment.

Convention officers were each elected by acclamation. Forshee, pastor of Great Hills Baptist Church, was elected to a second term as president. Ed Johnson III, church planter of Harvest Fellowship Baptist Church in Desoto, will serve as convention vice president. The convention’s secretary for 2025 is Amy Hinote of First Baptist Church in Justin.

Upon the recommendation of the Committee on Order of Business, messengers selected East Texas as the site for the 2027 annual meeting.

At final count, 1,122 people attended the annual meeting—864 registered messengers and 258 registered guests representing 351 churches.

Planters commissioned in moving ceremony

Thirty-seven Send Network SBTC church planters were commissioned during the first night of the annual meeting. Those planters represent churches from every corner of Texas, from Abilene to College Station to San Antonio. They’re dispatched to locations big and small, from Houston and Fort Worth to Murphy and Mabank. Many of the planters stood hand-in-hand with their spouses and children.

It’s been a year to celebrate for Send Network SBTC, the church planting partnership between the SBTC and the North American Mission Board. Send Network SBTC recently completed the largest assessment weekend in the history of the national Send Network, with 31 planters assessed. By the end of this year, Send Network SBTC will have planted between 60-65 churches—the largest number since 2005.

The gospel hits the streets of Houston during Crossover event

Ten or so teams representing a dozen area churches participating in Crossover Houston on Nov. 9. The event was held in conjunction with the 2024 SBTC Annual Meeting that began the next day. The Houston initiative was patterned after Crossover events held prior to the national Southern Baptist Convention each year.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to join efforts in spreading the message of hope and redemption to folks in the Houston area,” said Tony Mathews, SBTC’s senior strategist of Missional Ministries. The SBTC coordinated the event with Sagemont Church, host of the annual meeting. The event included not only outreach, but also evangelism training for participants.

Popular 20th century Baptist radio programs now accessible to all

NASHVILLE (BP)—Perhaps you’ve heard of M.E. Dodd, the father of the Cooperative Program. But have you ever heard him? What about longtime Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Duke McCall or legendary First Baptist Dallas Pastor W.A. Criswell or pioneering FBC Atlanta Pastor Roy McClain?

Thanks to an ongoing project of the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives (SBHLA), you can hear them all and many more.

For the past few years, members of the SBHLA staff have been digitizing hundreds of recordings of Baptist radio programs, including the “Baptist Hour” and “Christian Home” series, both of which became popular during the latter part of what’s known as the “Golden Age of Radio.”

“This project captures the voices of distinguished Baptist preachers and leaders,” said SBHLA Director Taffey Hall. “In the 1940s and ‘50s, the ‘Christian Home,’ ‘Southern Baptist Evangelistic Hour,’ and ‘Baptist Hour’ broadcasts allowed listeners to hear prominent, insightful Southern Baptist preachers and scholars through the radio in the comfort of their own homes.”

The SBHLA took ownership of hundreds of recordings when the Baptist Radio and Television Commission was dissolved in the 1990s. They’ve been in storage in the archives in Nashville ever since.

When the digitization project began in 2021, the first order of business was to find a way to play the recordings, which are on “transcription disks”—basically extra wide record albums.

Hall located a machine at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, but it didn’t work. An SBHLA staffer made the two-hour trek north on I-65 to Louisville to get the machine and bring it to Nashville, where a Music City recording technician got it working.

“When people think about an archive, one of the first things that may come to mind is all the paper materials collected and preserved,” Hall said, adding that the SBHLA has plenty of that.

“But in addition to those paper materials, we also have a lot of special formatted materials, items such as oversize photographs, glass plate negatives, motion picture films and these 16-inch transcription record disks, that need special storage and preservation.

“Our approach to digitization, and as was the case with this project, is for both preservation and access. Digitizing these early recordings of the Southern Baptist Radio Committee/Radio Commission was important from both the standpoint of long-term conservation of the physical items, and for making the material available to a wide audience of current listeners.”

Baptists on the air

Southern Baptists began discussing the use of radio in 1930. In 1934, Dodd, who was SBC president at the time, was part of a three-man committee tasked with looking into the idea. In 1936, Southern Baptists adopted a resolution calling for “a joint study of radio opportunities for Baptists.”

Then in 1938, Southern Baptists formed a seven-member committee to look into the possibility of using radio to “broadcast our Baptist message,” as it was put in the motion adopted by messengers. By then, most U.S. homes had radios, and Americans had become accustomed to getting news and entertainment from the medium.

The next year, nine additional members were added to the committee, and the group was allotted $1,200 to promote Baptist broadcasts on powerful radio stations.

The “Baptist Hour” was launched in January of 1941 and proved popular immediately, eliciting 17,500 pieces of mail, according to that year’s SBC Annual.

Over the next few years, the committee’s success grew. It was responsible for getting Baptist content on radio stations covering about half of the United States. Southern Baptists appointed a full-time director of the committee in 1942.

At the 1946 annual meeting in Miami, the name of the group was changed to the Radio Commission, and it became an official agency of the SBC. By 1948, the “Baptist Hour” was aired on 120 radio stations from coast to coast.

Gospel on display

Episodes of “Baptist Hour” flow a bit like a worship service. In an episode from May of 1945, Dodd preaches from John 3:16 and uses the word “Gospel” as an acrostic for the verse: God Only Son Perish Everlasting Life. The episode begins with choral music, (“When I Survey the Wonderous Cross” and “Tell Me the Old, Old Story”).

You then hear a recorded testimony from a traveling salesman who was saved at a church while on business in Knoxville, Tenn. The man tells of hearing a radio broadcast while traveling. The next day, he happened to see the church where the broadcast he’d heard had originated—City Temple Baptist Church.

“Something told me I should go in,” the man says, “so I went on in and asked for the pastor.” The pastor listened to him, read the Bible with him and led him to faith in Christ.

“Since then I have had a new life and joy of living,” the man says.

After the testimony is a prayer, another choral piece (this one based on John: 3:16), followed by Dodd’s sermon.

“John 3:16 is the greatest verse in the greatest book in the greatest volume on the greatest subject about the greatest Person or the greatest object in all the universe,” preaches Dodd, who was pastor of First Baptist Church of Shreveport, La.

And later: “God loves because the primary essence of His character is love.”

The “Christian Home” series featured practical messages on family topics as well as dramatizations of family life situations. An episode from 1956 follows a father, mother and son through the son’s life from babyhood to young adulthood. It depicts the son taking after his father in the worst ways and the tension between mother and father.

Hall says the recordings are an example of Southern Baptists’ ever-present desire to stay relevant and to share the Gospel by any means possible.

“Many of the sermon titles and broadcast series productions of these recordings addressed the concerns and issues facing Americans during that time period,” she said. “These were topics of everyday and contemporary importance to Southern Baptists—topics of marriage life, family life, home life as well as challenges of wartime.

“The ‘Christian Home’ series in particular captures an image of home life, what Southern Baptists wanted to present, in dealing with home issues and documents a time of how Baptists viewed family, marriage and raising children. …

“On almost all of the programs, Southern Baptists talked about how the gospel can change people’s lives and make their lives more joyful.”

The digital audio-visual resources of the SBHLA are available here.

AM24: Annual meeting’s first day ends with ‘amazing hour’ of prayer

HOUSTON—Danny Forshee, president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and lead pastor of Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin, called it his “favorite part of the entire convention.” Carol Yarber, who with her husband, Ronnie, and many others was instrumental in founding the SBTC a quarter-century ago, called it “absolutely essential.”

Messengers ended the first day of the SBTC Annual Meeting at Sagemont Church in Houston (Nov. 11) with a prayer meeting led by Forshee. To those in attendance, plenty was at stake.

“Considering the state of the country, the state of the state, we must pray for lost people to know Jesus,” Yarber said.

Lights dimmed and heads bowed as the praise team assumed spots on stage while Forshee energetically offered encouragement.

“Be strong. Don’t quit. Be faithful. The Lord has got your back,” Forshee said, cautioning from James 4:6-7 against isolation and the schemes of Satan.

Noting that the meeting’s structure could be emulated by every church in “every season, no matter the size,” Forshee explained the first part of the night’s gathering would feature prayer following the ACTS pattern of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication.

Across the auditorium, many rose, lifting hands and joining in the singing of Cross Church’s “Jesus Is Better,” growing louder in a crescendo of praise: “More than my healing, I want the Healer. More than direction, I want the Shepherd.”

Russ Ponder, senior pastor of First Baptist Hamlin, drew upon 1 John 1:9-10 and Proverbs 28:13 to invite worshipers to confess sin. A prayer of thanksgiving led by BJ McCurdy, pastor of New Shores Church in Sweeny, then commenced with the reading of Psalm 105:1 and 92:1.

Amens rippled throughout the worship center as listeners were reminded God had found us “in the pit” and set us “on the rock—Jesus.”

The words of the traditional “Holy, Holy, Holy” filled the room as the audience joined singers and musicians to saturate the space with song. Hands raised, hands clasped, hands were outstretched, and few remained seated.

Announcing that he was “going off script” and following the lead of the Holy Spirit, Forshee returned to the stage to ask audience members to pray for the person next to them. Throughout the auditorium, people embraced or laid a hand on a neighbor’s shoulder as voices rose and fell in appeal to the Lord. Some stood alone, watching silently or speaking softly with eyes closed.

Corporate supplication followed as five pastors led prayer centered on the five markers intended to help SBTC churches identify and measure disciple-making movements: Ed Fenton of First Baptist Malakoff on churches that are prayer-energized; Brian Haynes of Bay Area Church in League City on churches that are evangelism-prioritized; Eric Patrick of Harvest Ministries in Aubrey on disciple-making normalized churches; Cole Hedgecock of First Baptist Rowlett on sending-maximized churches; and finally, in Spanish and English, Enrique Puig of Houston’s First Baptist, on churches where partnerships are synergized.

Few left the auditorium early, and several expressed surprise the prayer meeting lasted an hour, as Forshee noted at the end.

Said Forshee: “It was an amazing hour.”

AM24: After milestone year, next wave of church planters commissioned in moving time of celebration, prayer

HOUSTON—The numbers are undeniably encouraging.

This year, Send Network SBTC—the church planting partnership between the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the North American Mission Board—conducted 71 assessments of potential planters. Of those, 34 were conducted in Spanish, 32 in English, three in Mandarin, one in Korean, and one in Romanian.

Additionally, Send Network SBTC recently completed the largest assessment weekend in the history of the national Send Network, with 31 planters assessed. By the end of this year, Send Network SBTC will have planted between 60-65 churches—the largest number since 2005.

But there’s another number that drives the mission of Send Network SBTC. During a church planter commissioning service held during the opening night of the SBTC Annual Meeting at Sagemont Church, church planters reported 926 people proclaimed faith in Christ and were baptized over the past calendar year.

“These are people who have gone from death to life,” said Jason Crandall, Send Network SBTC’s church planting lead, “and we get to celebrate that. That is the center of what we’re called to do.”

Thirty-seven planters were commissioned at Monday night’s service representing churches from every corner of Texas, from Abilene to College Station to San Antonio. They’re dispatched to locations big and small, from Houston and Fort Worth to Murphy and Mabank. Many of the planters stood hand-in-hand with their spouses and children.

“Church planters, you are the answer to prayers,” said Julio Arriola, director of Send Network SBTC. “ … The Lord is answering the prayers of the churches of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.”

‘What the Lord has called us to do’

Among those commissioned was Tim Williams, the 31-year-old pastor planter of The Vine Church in Mount Pleasant. The church is a relaunch of Gladewater Baptist Church, which had existed since 1871—about 27 years after Texas became a state.

Williams was called to pastor Gladewater Baptist Church in December 2021. At that time, the church had nine members, and leaders soon began praying and pondering its future. That future, they decided, would be most fruitful through a replant guided by Send Network SBTC. Gladewater closed in December 2023 and immediately began a nine-month preparation process of relaunching the church.

With the support of sponsor church Holly Brook Baptist Church in Hawkins and others, the relaunch happened on Sept. 24, 2024. Today, the church is multigenerational, multiethnic, and growing—with about 100 people regularly in attendance. With roughly 52% of Mount Pleasant’s population now Hispanic, the church plans to begin a Spanish-speaking service in January.

“This is what the Lord has called us to do,” Williams said. “The coolest thing for me is, throughout this replanting process we’ve had one person come by transfer of letter from another church. Everyone else has either come as a new convert or they were unchurched Christians. … It’s been really cool to see the Lord work in people’s lives.”

Dakota Adair, a 29-year-old first-time planter, stood on the stage during the commissioning service with his 3-year-old son, Elijah. Adair pastors Heirloom Church in Kyle, one of the state’s fastest-growing areas. Twenty years ago, Kyle—about 20 miles southwest of Austin—had about 8,000 residents. That number has ballooned to about 70,000 people.

With the support of its sponsor church, Epic Life New Braunfels, and many others, Heirloom Church was planted to reach Kyle’s growing and incredibly diverse population.

“Our church is very eclectic,” Adair said. “We’ve got Texas State [University] students, empty nesters, retirees … God has really just brought people together, so we’re just trying to keep things simple—love God, love people, and preach the Word.”

SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick told messengers he believes the convention will soon lead the way in all of North America in being “a network of churches planting new churches and seeing people won to Christ.”

“We are so excited for you,” Lorick said to the church planters before praying over them. “We are so grateful you took a step out in faith with no guarantees, trusting God to build His church, trusting God to have partners come alongside you. God has and is and will continue to bless your efforts. We’re for you. We’re with you. We’re side by side on this journey together.”

AM24: Crossover Houston leads to salvations on eve of SBTC Annual Meeting

HOUSTON—The team of four knocked at the door of a home a few streets from Sagemont Church and waited. A Hispanic woman peered cautiously outside and saw Sagemont members Y Tran, Ca Tran, and Giselle Higginbotham—accompanied on this particular Saturday morning by Tony Mathews, senior strategist for Missional Ministries at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

“Sorry, Español,” the woman at the door said. Three team members glanced immediately at Higginbotham, standing at the rear and the sole Spanish speaker in the group.

“I was hiding in the back and everyone looked at me,” Higginbotham said. “I was only supposed to be praying. I am very timid. I had never shared the gospel.”

Higginbotham embraced the challenge and shared Christ in Spanish with the woman.

“I was praying about being a little more comfortable and bold about sharing the gospel with people, and I think God has a sense of humor putting me in a spot I couldn’t get out of,” Higginbotham said.

The Hispanic woman didn’t come to salvation, Higginbotham noted, but the group did offer to pray for her and extended an invitation to attend an upcoming Sagemont En Español church service. “We are hoping that God will work in her heart,” Higginbotham said.

Y Tran—a college student and Vietnamese speaker like her high school-aged sister, Ca—shared with a Vietnamese man in his own language that day, as well.

Getting ready

The quartet was one of 10 or so teams representing a dozen area churches participating in Crossover Houston on Nov. 9. The event was held in conjunction with the 2024 SBTC Annual Meeting starting Monday. The Houston initiative was patterned after Crossover events held prior to the national Southern Baptist Convention each year.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to join efforts in spreading the message of hope and redemption to folks in the Houston area,” said Mathews, adding that the SBTC worked with Ben Niscavits, Sagemont’s executive director of missions, to coordinate logistics and volunteers.

Participants met at Sagemont’s youth building Saturday morning for training in the 3 Circles method of evangelism led by Carl Bradford, Southwestern Seminary’s assistant professor of evangelism and dean of Texas Baptist College. Bradford also serves as an SBTC evangelism consultant.

Bradford described the 3 Circles as “emphasizing practical steps for starting a conversation and guiding it naturally toward the gospel.”

At the end of the training, teams equipped with the straightforward, powerful-yet-adaptable evangelistic tool headed to area locations to share Jesus with the lost.

“Ben [Niscavits] identified several potential areas for witnessing including malls, parks, and neighborhoods. He also knew places presenting opportunities to engage with Buddhists, Hispanics, Muslims, and Hindus,” Mathews said, adding that these places included at least one mosque.

Launching out

Crossover teams were composed of a mixture of males and females with as much language diversity as possible, Bradford said. In addition to 25 from Sagemont, individuals from a dozen churches registered for Crossover, Mathews said. Several SBTC staff members participated, as well.

Team members approached homes and introduced themselves, asking if there was anything they could pray with them about.

“[Prayer] becomes a segue into other conversations,” Bradford said. A prayer request about a wayward child, for example, might become a conversation about the brokenness of the world and ultimately about Jesus, the solution.

Bradford noted his Crossover team appreciated the opportunity to “go the extra step” when people said they were Christians. Spiritual conversations ensued as team members asked people to describe their faith journeys.

“Some had never gone out and done anything like this before,” Niscavits said. “It was a pretty great growth opportunity for them.”

Ice cream, rocks, and Jesus

Sagemont member Jamie Moreno accompanied a team to a nearby park where two little girls were walking around selling decorative rocks.

“We had the opportunity to share with them about Jesus being the rock of salvation, and they allowed us to pray for them,” Moreno said. “They were so sweet.” Moreno even bought their rocks for a dollar.

Software consultant Chad Porter from Pearland, also a Sagemont member, along with his Crossover partner Martin, headed for a nearby flea market just off I-35, where they encountered vendors and customers of multiple ethnicities.

The pair struck up a conversation with Pepe, who was selling ice cream.

“He looked disturbed, like he was going through something rough,” Porter said. “We asked if we could pray for him.” Pepe agreed and the men took the conversation further, asking about Pepe’s ideas of heaven. He admitted he had never thought about the subject. The men shared their faith, and Pepe gave his life to Christ.

“You could just see his whole [countenance] kind of changed. He had joy in his heart,” Porter said. They invited Pepe and his family to Sagemont.

Pepe was not the only one changed. Chad and Martin were moved emotionally, too. “We were shaking,” Porter said.

“Oh man, it was a great day,” Mathews said. “We are just so happy that we all went out in diverse groups and the Lord really blessed.”

By midday, when Crossover concluded with a debriefing and praise session back at the church, the numbers told the story: Teams engaged 224 people, had 114 spiritual conversations, presented the gospel 72 times, and saw three people give their lives to Christ.

A great day, indeed.

‘God will continue the work He began’: SBTC DR reflects following Hurricane Helene response

Exactly where Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief teams would deploy in the wake of Hurricane Helene was a mystery on Oct. 3, until a call for assistance in mass feeding came from Send Relief.

“A charitable entity contacted Send Relief and said they wanted to help with mass feeding after Helene, including one at Spruce Pine, N.C.,” said Scottie Stice, SBTC DR director. The town, with a population of about 2,200 nestled in the Appalachians off the Blue Ridge Parkway, had been devastated by Helene. Businesses, homes, and the town’s wastewater treatment plant were destroyed by flooding.

At 3:30 a.m. the next day, SBTC DR associate Wally Leyerle left his home in Flower Mound for Flint Baptist Church near Tyler, where volunteers had readied the SBTC DR mass feeding unit housed at the church. The team of 19, plus drivers who would deliver the DR trailers to the disaster area and return home, caravaned northeast toward western North Carolina.

There they met another SBTC DR team headed north to join the Spruce Pine effort after completing two weeks on a feeding crew in Florida.

What should have been less than a one-day trip took two. North Carolina greeted them with impassable roads, multiple detours due to damage, and near escapes.

“Later that week, we found out that one of the bridges we had traveled on with 40-foot trailers collapsed two days after we passed over it,” Leyerle recalled.

After arriving at the parking lot of a major Spruce Pine retailer, they set up camp with five 40-foot trailers, a kitchen trailer, two support trailers, a 30-foot tent, a 20-foot tent, a forklift, two generators, and two 48-foot food storage trailers.

“Our footprint spanned one whole side of the parking lot. The retailer allowed us to block off a whole section just for DR,” Leyerle added.

Appalling conditions

“When we got to Spruce Pine, we found a community with no power, no potable water, no functioning bathrooms, no trash service, and an entire population still in shock from the storm,” Leyerle said.

The first meals went out Sunday, Oct. 6.

“At 11, we opened up our feeding lines by holding hand-lettered signs announcing, ‘Free Hot Food,’” Leyerle said.

The people came … in cars, in trucks, on tractors. They came, thankful for the hot meals available at lunch and dinner.

“In all, we served 1,200 meals that day. Not bad for zero publicity except for some social media and word of mouth,” Leyerle said. Counts steadily grew until one day the team distributed more than 2,400 meals.

“The people were very receptive. We stationed chaplains and counselors near the head of a drive-thru feeding line. The chaplains initiated conversations with all drivers and passengers, asking politely if there was anything specific they could pray for them about. Most everyone was eager to be prayed for and our chaplains did it, right there in the middle of the parking lot,” Leyerle said, adding that no one was forced to pray.

“The storm had taken out all their ability to communicate with the outside world. There was no news, no electricity, no internet. Many felt like nobody knew about them and they were going to have to get through this disaster all on their own. When the people looked at the logos on our vehicles, trailers, and our yellow DR shirts, they were shocked to discover that we had driven all the way from Texas with all this equipment just to serve them some hot food. We told them that we came here because they were here and we wanted them to know that God still loved them. Often, they cried,” Leyerle said.

By the time the deployment ended, SBDR volunteers from New Mexico, Arkansas, and Indiana had joined the Texas team to help.

God provided every step of the way

This disaster came with challenges, but God proved faithful, Leyerle noted.

Unseasonably cold weather, with frost and snow, took a toll on volunteers. When the need for six additional helpers arose, Leyerle asked his church to pray God would send laborers into His harvest. The next day Stice called to say 11 volunteers were coming from two other state Baptist DR teams.

Portable toilets proved problematic. There was no one to clean them and without bathrooms, the kitchen would have to shut down. People prayed. A man driving a septic clean-out truck just “happened” to stop by and agreed to help.

Another day, a man drove into the feeding line and noticed trash piling up due to a lack of garbage service. He offered to haul it off, explaining he had prayed and asked the Lord to use him in some way like he had seen the yellow shirts being used.

“It may seem silly to pray to the king of the universe about trash and sewage, but God cares about every little detail of our lives,” Leyerle said. “We could have waited to respond to this disaster, but instead we came depending on our God who promised to provide all our needs. And guess what? He did.”

Healing hearts

The SBTC DR team served hot meals not just to survivors, but also to linemen repairing power lines and search and rescue crews still at work. They listened to heartbreaking stories.

One man shrugged in agreement when a chaplain asked if she could pray for him. After she finished a brief prayer, the man looked at her blankly and said, “My brother died.”

“Why don’t you pull over here in this parking place and let a few of us talk to you for a while and then we’ll pray for you again?” the chaplain asked. The man agreed.

A woman drove through the food line with her sister, praying with the chaplain. When they moved forward to the place in the line where water was distributed, the woman told that volunteer, “My husband died right after the storm.” Her husband, a local contractor, slipped when descending a ladder after cutting a fallen tree off their roof. These ladies, too, were invited to pull over and receive additional counseling.

“Sometimes people just need to talk,” Stice said. “That’s a big part of what we do.”

By the time teams left Spruce Pine, the team had prepared 19,561 meals over two weeks. They also gave away hundreds of Bibles, presented the gospel 292 times, prayed with 4,018 people, and made 11,196 ministry contacts.

“As we were serving our last meal, people who had been getting food only for their family asked for multiple meals and water to give away to those who lived around them,” Leyerle said, adding, “I am confident that God will continue the work He began through us when we obeyed His command to go to a little town in North Carolina and minister to people we had never met.”

Stice added that an SBTC laundry team remains in Asheville, supporting a shelter there, while a chainsaw team is at work in Georgia and a recovery team has been sent to Roswell, N.M., in the wake of recent flooding.

13 ways to encourage your pastor beyond Pastor Appreciation Month

I recently texted nearly 150 pastors asking them one question: What are the things that are most meaningful and encouraging in your role as a pastor? The sample size was broad—from men serving their very first church to seasoned, retired pastors. Church size ranged from membership around 100 into the tens of thousands. From their 20s to their 80s, current pastors and retired pastors, bivocational and full-time, church planters and legacy church pastors, rural and urban, men you’ve never heard of and household names, senior pastors, student pastors, worship pastors—the one thing they all held in common was experience in pastoral ministry.

Some of the answers I expected and some were brand new. But all of them were good. Here is a distillation of the most frequent answers with a few specific quotes to illustrate:

1. Encourage him specifically

Verbal or written encouragement was far and away the most frequent answer. But not just any encouragement; almost to a man, each of them said that the most meaningful encouragement was specific.

“Don’t just say, ‘Great sermon, pastor.’ Say, ‘The way you explained the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing conviction of sin changed my view on the Spirit’s role in my life.’ Or ‘when you gave up your Saturday to visit that person in the hospital, it moved me. Your sacrifice for the church is inspiring, pastor!’ The more specific the encouragement, the more your pastor is going to believe it!”
“Intentional words of affirmation. Intentional meaning not just a general compliment, but specific things you appreciate, or specific ways you have been impacted, specific things that you love about the church, the mission, the vision/direction. As a pastor, one of the challenges is, I don’t always know where people actually stand or how they are receiving things, where they think the church is. So intentional words of affirmation is a huge blessing!”

2. Compensate him generously

As someone who isn’t a pastor but has the benefit of having lots of friends who are, I can say with confidence that the vast majority of pastors are underpaid. Whatever your pastor is making, he almost certainly deserves more. Pastors don’t clock out at 5 p.m., and the job is harder than you’ll ever know if you haven’t done it. Sleepless nights, tears, the burden of caring for others in their most difficult moments—these are the things you’ll rarely hear your pastor talk about. A workman is worthy of his wages, and elders who lead well are worthy of double honor (1 Timothy 5:17-18). Be the person in the church advocating for generous compensation—and this includes health insurance, retirement matching, and housing allowance, in addition to salary.

“Most pastors are underpaid, the market is tough right now, and there’s no opportunity for commission. Wives often feel this pinch more than the husbands.”

3. Offer no-strings-attached friendship

Pastors need men who will be their friends without any expectations beyond that of someone who isn’t a pastor. They need people with whom it’s safe to share their own burdens and those they can be around without constantly talking about work. Be the person who, when you reach out to plan lunch or coffee, they immediately know it will be a time of rest and refreshment rather than being lobbied about a church issue.

“When men come alongside me as ‘low maintenance’ friends. When they don’t pry for information about the church, when they don’t angle to feel connected to power—but rather—when they are true, low maintenance friends that just care about me as a man. Like my golf buddies. Guys that say more about my golf game than they do my ministry—these are my best friends in the church.”
“Let him be a real person. That’s the best way for a pastor and his family to be a part of the church, be prayed for, have friends, and be mentally healthy.”

4. Love and care for his family

If you want to honor and encourage your pastor, honor and encourage his wife and children. I had a pastor tell me last week that a church member had openly critiqued his wife in a recent meeting. Please, be the opposite of that guy! Cherish his wife and the quiet, often unknown ways she is supporting him. Look for ways to recognize and honor his children. One of the things I heard most frequently was to offer to babysit his kids (or pay for it) so he and his wife can get away for dinner.

“Most pastors are far away from family, so go to their kids’ sports events, remember their kids’ birthdays with cards or gifts, and be his kids’ family. The deepest love you can show is being involved with their family and loving on their children the same way you would with your grandkids or your own kids.”
“One member this year has given $200 gift cards or cash to each of my kids. The kids felt really special.
“If you want to encourage a pastor, then bless his kids. Find out their birthdays and do something special for them or give them a gift. A pastor’s family pays a big price and rarely gets credit for it.”
“Don’t project expectations of pastoral responsibilities on a pastor’s spouse and/or kids. Simply be kind and love them well.”

5. Pray for him creatively and in-person

Hopefully we all spend time praying for our pastors (if not, this is a great reminder to start). Think of some ways you can do that creatively and intentionally.

“Often people say they are praying for their pastor but rarely do pastors ever have people pray with them. When people stop me and say, ‘I know you pray with people a lot but I want to pray for you right now,’ it is always an encouragement.”
“Commit to pray for him for 30 days and send him your journal of how you prayed for him. Another one is to create a group where one person will text the pastor each day for 30 days with an encouraging verse and a prayer.”
“A church member took it upon herself to schedule people to pray for me in my office before every worship service. She scheduled every dynamic of the church. Children through senior adults. Singles, couples, Sunday School classes. It is such a treat every week. It has blessed me so much.”

6. Give him the benefit of the doubt

There are some pastors out there who have acted abusively or sinned in ways that disqualify them—but they are the exception, not the rule. Your pastor is trying to love Jesus and the flock that has been entrusted to him with integrity. Don’t be skeptical or cynical because other pastors have earned a bad reputation.

“You won’t agree with your pastor all the time. But a pastor will see and appreciate someone they trust to be honest behind closed doors, but publicly will remain committed and supportive.”
“Give him charity when you don’t agree, and trust when you don’t understand.”
“Tell him you’re on board. Unfortunately, pastors often hear more from those who are unhappy than from the majority who support his vision and leadership. If you’re on board, don’t be afraid to tell him.”

7. Encourage his hobbies

You have hobbies, and so does your pastor. What does he like? Offer to take him hunting if that’s his thing. Invite him to play golf if that’s what he loves. Speak his language.

“Do something that encourages a hobby he already has. My deacons bought me a bull, you know.”
“Buy him ammo.”

8. Surprise him financially

People don’t get into ministry for the money. You should be compensating him generously (see #2), but surprise him every now and then—and not just in October. I lost count of the number of pastors who said that gift cards for a date night or family night was one of the most encouraging things to them. Have each home group or Sunday School class sign up for a month of the year to give a nice, unprompted gift to the pastor and his family. Pass the boot for a love offering. Give him a cash handshake. It means a lot.

“On my first anniversary, the church sent our family on an all-expenses paid vacation. We felt appreciated!”
“Offer to babysit for a free date night. Maybe a gift card for them to go out too.”
“Money—that’s my idea. It could be specific. Nice dinner, sporting event, or some other fun activity. Or just cash.”

9. Recognize the toll his job takes, and say so

Shepherding a church is a hard, often thankless job. Don’t let it be that way for your pastor. Acknowledge the burden he is carrying as an under-shepherd of Jesus and thank him.

“Recognize the hard work and stress they deal with and simply say thank you. Sometimes pastors feel like no one cares or knows the weight of responsibility and it means a lot when someone genuinely acknowledges it.”

10. Block gossip and ungodly criticism

Be the first to encourage and the last to criticize. If you have a concern, deal with it directly rather than spreading it around to others. If it warrants a conversation with the pastor, arrange a time to talk to him and be specific about what you want to discuss—don’t send a vague text or email that you need to talk to him about “something.” When you hear others criticizing him or his family, rebuke gossip and point them toward an in-person conversation, if necessary.

“Be a blocker rather than a conduit for less-than-mission-critical complaints and questions.”
“Never criticize him to others. If you have a concern, find a time during the week to discuss it with him. Don’t ever go to him in an angry way. Always have your desire to encourage him, not condemn him.”
“Be quicker to share what you appreciate about him rather than where you disagree with him.”

11. Make sure he rests

From weekly sermon prep to hospital visits, administration and budgeting to weddings and funerals, pastors are often overworked. I talked to a friend last month who has been a senior pastor for 30 years and has never spent more than two weeks in a row out of the pulpit and never had a sabbatical. Pastors need rest. Make sure your church’s policies support this, and facilitate getaways where possible.

“Give them a sabbatical every 5 years or so. Just had my first one this past summer and it was really refreshing.”
“Obviously most pastors don’t make a ton of disposable income, so it’s such a gift when folks that have access to ranches/ski lodges/etc let them take their families to use them.”

12. Take him out for a meal

Bless your pastor with your time, presence, and a good meal—no strings attached. Ask about his favorite sports team. Get to know him as a person. Avoid church talk.

“Perhaps my favorite is when people take me out to eat. They generally give me an option or two based on what I like and then take me. Typically it’s just hang out time. Very little church talk and always a time of great encouragement.”
“Take him to lunch without controversy – just checking in and saying, ‘I’m thankful for you.’”

13. Communicate to him that you’re willing to serve

Tell your pastor that you’re willing to bat utility and serve where the need is greatest. Show him by your actions that you’re ready—this includes having a servant’s attitude and a willingness to show up consistently.

“When there are more needs than servants, the pastor feels it most acutely. Serve with a joy that makes walking through the halls of the children’s ministry a blessing for the pastor rather than triggering.”
“Tell him you would like to lead a short-term mission trip. Churches that are going are churches that are growing. Every pastor is encouraged by his people doing the main thing.”

This list could continue with more ways to encourage your pastor—tithing, leading in evangelism in missions, bringing friends to church, singing loud in worship, pursuing personal holiness (one of my favorite responses was “I don’t have much beyond stop sinning and disciple someone”).

At the end of the day, ask the Lord to cultivate a grateful heart for the work your pastor does and a willingness to not just show him on your own, but to be a leader in helping the church display that gratitude. And though October is generally celebrated as Pastor Appreciation Month, let it extend all year long. A good pastor is a gift from God—make sure he knows it!