Author: Jayson Larson

Man who grew up in Nepalese refugee camp being used by God to pastor DFW-area church

Demas Kharel knows what it feels like to be a refugee, culturally rejected and far from home.

Born in Bhutan of Nepalese descent, he spent the first two decades of his life living in squalor inside a refugee camp in Nepal before coming to the U.S. Now, through God’s leading, he is serving the Lord as pastor of New Life Family Church in Watauga.

Like many Texans, transplanted and otherwise, Kharel can look around his community and see a rising number of men and women from around the globe. According to the latest numbers released from the people groups department of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, Texas is home to 420 people groups who speak more than 300 languages. SBTC missions strategy associate Dan Acharya, who leads the convention’s people groups department, says there are 59 language groups in the five-square-mile 75231 North Dallas zip code alone.

With increasing international diversity comes higher numbers of those who are lost and unchurched. In the “Reach Cities” of Austin, Houston, and El Paso—where the SBTC has heightened its church-planting efforts to respond to growing numbers of lostness—the percentage of lost and unchurched is 41 percent, 68 percent, and 98 percent, respectively.

“I want to come closer to them and tell them what I have in me,” Kharel said, “and that Jesus can change their lives.”

Jesus changed Kharel’s life in 2008, near the end of his time living in the Nepalese refugee camp. Two years later, in December 2010, he and his family were relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex by the International Organization for Migration. Though they had envisioned a change in their fortunes after coming to the U.S., they were resettled in a high-crime apartment complex.

Even so, God was at work.

At that time, Acharya was New Life’s pastor, and he and his wife, Narola, would often visit apartment complexes to connect with people groups. That’s how they met Kharel, who, in turn, was excited to meet a Christian pastor. The Acharyas continued to minister to Kharel and his family, and he eventually joined the church and began to do ministry there.

The Acharyas spent many hours investing in the lives of Kharel and others, knowing that God might use one of them to one day lead the church. In Kharel, Acharya said he saw someone with a “kingdom-sized mentality.”

“Don’t call yourself a refugee,” Kharel remembers Acharya telling him on one occasion. “You are a new creation in Christ.”

So when Acharya was ready to hand over the reigns of the church in 2021, the congregation called Kharel to lead them into the future.

“He knows the mission,” Acharya said of Kharel. “He knows the DNA of the church.”

In 2015, New Life Family Church—which had been meeting in a Methodist church—began praying for a building of its own. Those plans were slowed in 2020 with the arrival of COVID, which hindered in-person attendance and eventually resulted in more than half the members of the church being laid off from their jobs. Despite those setbacks, one thing didn’t stop.

“We had been praying for five years,” Acharya said. “We were not going to stop now.”

Eventually, one of the church’s newest converts alerted church leaders to a building for sale in Watauga. Though its original price tag was far out of range, the church continued to pray for God to provide. Through negotiations, the owner of the building decided to sell to New Life for several hundred thousand dollars less than the asking price.

Today, New Life is meeting in the facility, which sits on three acres of land, has 220 seats in the sanctuary, and includes five to six rooms that can be used for education space. Nearly 50 families—most of whom are Bhutanese, Nepalese, and Burmese—are either members or are regularly attending.

“I thank God that He brought us here,” Kharel said. “I became a citizen of the U.S. and people here listen to our voice. We had been fighting for our rights [in Bhutan and Nepal], but we didn’t get it. But here, they hear us. They listen to our voices. That gives me great joy.”

DR teams offering ‘a hot meal and a prayer’ for those affected by Uvalde tragedy

UVALDE—In the face of unspeakable tragedy, a prayer and a hot meal provide a measure of comfort and normalcy. For this reason, in addition to pastors and Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief chaplains, an SBTC DR quick response kitchen was immediately deployed to Uvalde in the wake of the May 24 shootings that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.

Veteran Quick Response Unit (QRU) feeding volunteers Ronnie and Connie Roark left San Antonio around 5 a.m. on May 25, transporting the mobile food truck to Uvalde where they set up at the civic center and prepared brunch for first responders.

In cooperation with emergency management, they moved locations to the Uvalde County Fairplex, where various federal, state, and local government agencies and law enforcement have established a base of operations.

On May 26, the Roarks began preparing breakfast and lunch for the volunteers and personnel working out of the center, with the Red Cross supplying dinner. The area at the back of the complex where the QRU is set up has become a place of respite where weary agency representatives, government workers, first responders, and volunteers can take a break.

“This is where we need to be,” Ronnie Roark said, noting that they’ve been feeding 85-100 at each meal, sometimes taking bottled water and a hot lunch or breakfast to law enforcement personnel around the Fairplex stationed at their posts.

“A meal and a prayer, that’s what we bring,” Connie Roark said, her voice cracking with emotion.

The Roarks added that SBTC DR chaplains are available at the QRU site to talk and pray with visitors as needed. They have already prayed with many. As a law enforcement officer who approached the QRU one morning announced, “I want breakfast, but I need my prayer.”

Christina Mitchell Busbee, 38^th Judicial District Attorney who serves in the Uvalde area, expressed her gratitude and thanks to the SBTC “for being here for the Uvalde community in our time of need.

“Please continue to pray for us,” she said.

Love them well and they will let you lead them

I will never forget that day. It was May 2005. I woke up that Sunday morning excited about what the day could bring, expectant that God was doing something new in our lives.

That morning, at the grand age of 24, I was going in view of a call as pastor to Martins Mill Baptist Church in East Texas. I arrived at the church, greeted the people, preached with every ounce of energy I had, and then waited. Later that evening, I was sitting in a Dairy Queen when I received the call that the church did, in fact, call me to be their pastor.

I was beyond excited. The thoughts that began rushing through my mind when I hung up from the call were fast and furious. The remainder of the night found my mind and heart beginning to think through future vision. Lying in bed having a hard time falling asleep due to the excitement of this new call, the thought finally hit me: How in the world do I lead a church at 24 years old? How can I get people to follow me at such a young age with little experience?

Those questions led me down a road of discovering one of the greatest leadership principles I could ever learn: if you love them, they will let you lead them. Over the next 2 1/2 years, I loved the people of this church with everything I had. The more time I spent with them, the more I loved them. The more I loved them, the more eager they were to follow me.

Often, we assume we are called to get a ministry from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. While this is sometimes true, the best way to do this is simply to love the people God has called you to. As you love them well, you can lead them in the direction the Lord has put in your heart.

Almost three years later, the Lord called me to First Baptist Church of Malakoff. At 26 years old, I still had a lot to learn about leadership. However, I knew I needed to apply the one lesson I had learned. So I stepped into FBC Malakoff and immediately began to love those people deeply. I was able to walk with people through major life celebrations, difficult losses, challenging circumstances, and forward vision. Of course, there were other leadership factors that played a part in the vision. However, none carried the weight of simply loving those God called me to lead.

The real test of this came when we needed to remodel our worship facility in order to accommodate the growth we were experiencing. After exhausting all other options, we elected to meet outside under a large tent for 6-8 weeks—in December and January. I still laugh today when I think about how we arrived at that solution. However, because these incredible people knew they were loved by the leadership, they were willing to take the journey together. If you love them, they will let you lead them.

These two churches were immense blessings to me and my family. They essentially raised us. However, of all the things that bring me joy when I reflect on my time as their pastor, the fact they were willing and eager to follow me still amazes me. It’s not because I am a great leader or have it all figured out. It is simple—I loved them before I tried to lead them.

So as you serve in whatever capacity the Lord has given you, learn to love your people and they will let you lead them. I love you and am honored to serve you!

The SBC SATF Report: Helping Your Congregation Process and Pray

Sunday afternoon and evening, as I read every word of the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force report slowly and prayerfully, my heart was swollen with pain, anger, frustration, and grief. It cannot be denied that our Southern Baptist family has, in many ways and for many years, let down some of our most vulnerable neighbors.

Sexual abuse is among the most monstrous of demonic evils—an exploitative assault on the dignity of God’s image-bearers. And while we should have been working “to provide for … the needy, the abused … the helpless” (BFM2000, Article XV), we have failed so many of them miserably. Today, 14 million Southern Baptists are trying to process a somber 288-page report concerning our own colossal failure to do what we commonly confessed we would.

Many pastors have asked me, over the past few days, for some guidance in helping their congregation through this season. So, in the spirit of humility and with urgent grace, here are seven suggestions for helping your congregation process and pray:

Encourage your congregation (older students and adults) to read the report in its entirety

This investigation is their investigation. This document is their document. It is long and emotionally intense, but it is an important read for every single Southern Baptist. Opinions on the report abound, and with the proliferation of social media those opinions are as accessible as they are abundant. But every congregant has access to the primary source. Encourage your people to read the report for themselves before they read and listen to what others say about it.

Create space for questions and discussion

As your people digest the report, they need a safe place to ask questions. Hold a special processing and prayer meeting Sunday night or another night of the week. Address the key concerns, then allow for questions and discussion, and end with an extended season of prayer. Answer the questions you can, the best you can, and when you don’t know or you’re still working it out, just tell them so. You don’t have to have all the answers, but to shepherd your people through this you do need to know the questions. This will probably work better in smaller groups of 10-25 than in a large town-hall style meeting. Find a way. Create the space.

Acknowledge sin and take time to confess and repent

Anyone who reads the report can see that there have been too many instances of sexual abuse within our network of 47,000+ churches over the years. Our people have hurt people. Our people have participated in, perpetuated, covered up, and lied about sexual abuse for years. Our system of governance has allowed for it. There is a time for heartfelt remorse, confession, repentance, and grief over our sin. This is that time. Lead your people to acknowledge sin, confess it, and repent.

Pray for survivors, known and unknown

The retelling of one’s story of abuse is traumatic beyond expression, both for the survivor recounting personal events and other survivors reading them. Several sexual abuse survivors were named in the report. Lead your people to pray for them. Then help your people understand that for every known and named survivor there are a hundred more whose story is still developing and/or is yet unknown. Pray for God to heal their broken hearts and bind up their wounds. And for those nameless unknowns living in the dark valley of sexual abuse today, pray for God to deliver them immediately.

Review and communicate your church’s policies and practices regarding sexual abuse

Work with a professional and/or with survivors in your own community, to review your policies and practices and update them as needed. Then communicate those policies and practices to your people. Show them the measures your church’s leadership are taking for prevention, awareness, intervention, and survivor care. Encourage the immediate reporting of instances of sexual abuse in your own congregation and community by reminding your people that reporting is legally mandated, providing an easily located phone number they can call to report, and encouraging them to inform church leadership if the abuse is occuring in the church or by a church member or attender.

Lead them in prayer for Baptist organizations and leaders

If you do not know them already, find out the names of your current associational, state, and national Baptist leaders and lead your people to cover them in fervent prayer. In this moment, every Baptist organization is reviewing policies, checking procedures, and auditing systems to work to eradicate sexual abuse and its cover-up from their networks in the present and the future. What has happened in our past is horrific. Your Baptist leaders across the country are working to do better today and tomorrow, and they need the wisdom of Heaven. Lead your people to pray for it.

Make the developing story easily accessible

Add links on your church’s website or app to your associational, state, and national networks where your people can go to find trusted releases and news stories as the processing and implementation of the report continues to develop. If you do not show them where they can go for trusted information, they will consume a wide variety of both credible and incredible information from a variety of sources. Show them where to go for good, credible information, and make it easily accessible.

SBTC will hire sexual abuse and survivor care consultant

GRAPEVINE—As part of an increasing effort to address sexual abuse concerns and allegations in Southern Baptists of Texas Convention churches, the SBTC has announced it will hire a consultant for sexual abuse and survivor care.

The consultant will advise SBTC staff in matters pertaining to sexual abuse, assist in the development of abuse prevention and survivor care resources and action plans, and speak directly with inquiring church leaders to give counsel when sexual abuse is reported in their congregations. Additionally, the SBTC Credentials Committee will have the liberty to seek the advisement of the consultant when questions of a church’s affiliation status relate to claims of sexual abuse.

“We are still in the process of refining the role and seeking the right person,” SBTC Associate Executive Director Tony Wolfe said. “This is a position of great importance, and it deserves our diligence.”

Wolfe added that the SBTC is hoping to use a trained and licensed professional in the area of counseling and trauma care to assist in listening well and speaking sensitively with survivors of abuse when opportunities arise.

On Tuesday, in a special-called meeting conducted via Zoom, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee and Interim CEO Willie McLaurin issued “a formal apology to abuse survivors on behalf of the entire EC,” Baptist Press reported. The apology came after the EC on Sunday released the findings of an independent report conducted by Guidepost Solutions into its alleged mishandlings of sexual abuse claims over a span of decades. The report was overwhelmingly requested by Southern Baptists at last year’s annual meeting in Nashville.

During the Zoom meeting, the EC said it planned to release a previously unpublished list of 585 alleged and convicted abusers collected by Augie Boto, who is a former EC vice president for convention policy and general counsel.

In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick said, “Sexual abuse is an egregious form of sexual immorality that is clearly ungodly, morally corrupt, and a sin against God. Upon release of the list, the SBTC will thoroughly review the names, evaluating any level of association that currently exists or has existed between these names and affiliated SBTC churches. We will report to law enforcement where appropriate, and each instance will be carefully considered by our SBTC Credentials Committee.”

SBTC dispatches ministers in wake of Uvalde elementary school shooting

UVALDE—The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention has dispatched ministers to South Texas to minister to the community and assist with relief in the wake of an elementary school shooting earlier Tuesday.

At the time of this report, the Associated Press is reporting that 19 school children and two adults were killed at Robb Elementary School. Uvalde is a town of roughly 16,000 residents located about 85 miles west of San Antonio.

“Please stop and pray for those in Uvalde, Texas,” SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick tweeted Tuesday evening. “We have been in touch with SBTC pastors on the ground. This is tragic and this community needs our prayers.”

Said Uvalde Superintendent Hal Harrell: “My heart is broken today. We’re a small community and we’re going to need your prayers to get through this.” Harrell told the AP that all school activities have been canceled until further notice.

Though details are sketchy as the investigation into the tragedy gets underway, SBTC Associate Executive Director Tony Wolfe offered three ways to pray in the aftermath of the shooting:

Pray that the God of all comfort will heal the broken-hearted and bind up their wounds. The tragedy is unspeakable. The pain is unbearable. God, have mercy.
Pray for emotional and physical endurance for first responders and crisis volunteers on the ground. May their hands be steady, their minds sharp, and their hearts soft.
Pray for heavenly wisdom among local, state, and national policy makers. This tragedy should be unheard of; instead, it is has become all too common. We must do better for our children. God, help us do better for our children.

Pay attention to SBC meeting this year

Have you ever received shareholder voting proxies in the mail? Either because of an investment I’ve made or because of an organization I’ve joined, they’ve come to my box and received little attention; I don’t know the issues or the personalities involved to any degree. I also assume that usually I have no real stake in how the votes turn out. Some of us think about the Southern Baptist Convention that way. We shouldn’t.

We, you and I, are stewards of a remarkable collection of institutions and infrastructure. These resources have wavered in focus at some points, as do our churches, families, or any other collection of fallible people. But, like your church and your family, the SBC remains important to the kingdom of God. Additionally, at its wavering worst, our convention touches thousands with the gospel every week, if not every single day. Other groups of which I am a part cannot say the same. Other groups in which you may have a keener interest (HOA, club, alumni group, etc.) cannot say the same.

Our June 13-14 meeting in Anaheim this year will be attended by a large group that is not a patch on the whole number of us. That’s fine. For all the decades I have paid attention to the SBC, thousands who don’t attend read with interest the news of the meeting. In recent years, streaming has allowed thousands to watch whatever portion they want as it happens. While I don’t think the online experience can ever be the same as being in the room with your fellow Southern Baptists, you can get an informed idea of what we’re a part of, why it matters. Here are a couple of important things:

Missions

The SBC meeting commonly has a commissioning service, a sending service for missionaries we will support around the country and around the world. These folks, from everywhere and of every demographic, have usually attended our seminaries, been taught in our children’s and student ministries, and maybe been discipled in our collegiate ministries. They are us and ours, and will remain so as they join a gospel effort some place where you and I will never go. It’s fitting that we see this at our annual meeting because missions is the apex of what we do in cooperation with each other. As your church supports the Cooperative Program and our national missions offerings, these ambassadors are the focus of those funding streams. This year’s sending celebration will be Tuesday morning in Anaheim.

Budgeting, business, and reports

The messengers your church sends will be asked to consider a budget that funds all this. At the SBC level, missions and seminary education account for more than 90 percent of the budget we’ll consider in Anaheim. We usually don’t debate the budget a long time; committees and boards elected from our churches by past conventions have spent hours sweating the details of it. But, unless the messengers say “yes,” the budget is not adopted. The recipients, themselves stewards of SBC resources, will report on what they’ve done with the budgets approved in previous years. You can watch what happens and hear the reports even if you can’t go.

You may also know that a sexual abuse task force appointed in 2021 will make its report and recommendations during our two-day meeting. They have made a thorough report to the convention and their recommendations will have a significant impact on the future ministry of the SBC.

Leadership

The presidential election gets all the attention, but significant leadership roles are also decided by the messengers. Those who make appointments will be elected, as will the appointments proposed by last year’s committee. We will consider the men and women who will elect the leaders of our agencies, oversee those ministries, and recommend next year’s budget from each agency. These men and women come from our churches—they are us, volunteers that corporately “own” our institutions during the time of their service on boards.

The presidential election matters because of his appointive powers. He also has opportunities to speak for us and to us during his term. He is a volunteer, as well, and makes a big sacrifice in time and energy to lead Southern Baptists. Of this year’s election, I’ll only say a little. The three men being nominated are conservatives who each love the mission of Southern Baptists. They also have distinct emphases. This year is not about who’s an old timer or newcomer or who believes the Bible more than someone else. The men each interpret this era of SBC life in a little different way. Any of them could lead us well. I have a preference among them, but we’ll have to discuss that in private. If you follow the news as the convention begins, you’ll have a chance to hear from the man elected, even as interviews have given you an insight as to their differing views of the challenges that face our convention.

The convention is also made up of music, preaching, prayer meetings, all manner of niche group events, and lots of eating. Some messengers spend very little time in the hall during business meetings because of reunions and hall conversations. It’s all part of Southern Baptists reminding ourselves of the important things we have in common.

Follow along as the most important Southern Baptist meeting of the year unfolds. The SBC has likely been important to the beginning and building up of your church. Somebody passed a budget or trained a leader or sent a missionary that made all the difference. That’s what will go on this June in Anaheim. Join us as best you can. You should be able to access streaming of the event at the SBC website.

Christians say they’re seeking but not having evangelistic conversations, study shows

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Most Christians say they’re ready, willing and praying to have conversations about their faith with others, but many admit they haven’t gotten around to actually having those conversations recently.

An Evangelism Explosion study conducted by Lifeway Research found Christians express a willingness and desire to talk to others about their faith, yet few have shared with someone how to become a Christian in the past six months.

“Now, perhaps more than ever, people are open to conversations about faith, yet this study reveals few Christians actually take the opportunity to engage in personal evangelism,” said John Sorensen, president of Evangelism Explosion (EE). “Our mission at EE is to equip followers of Jesus to have the confidence to share the gospel naturally, lovingly and intentionally with family, friends and yes, even strangers, which is why we wanted insights on the evangelistic attitudes of Christians. We imagine a world where every believer is a witness for Christ to His glory.”

“Many Christians say they agree sharing their faith is important,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “But many also need encouragement and to be shown how to share the good news about Jesus Christ with others.”

Evangelism actions

In the survey of 1,100 self-identified Christian adults in the U.S., more than 9 in 10 (93%) say they’re at least somewhat open to having a conversation about faith with a friend, and around 4 in 5 (81%) feel similarly about speaking about faith with a stranger. Almost 2 in 3 Christians (64%) say they have prayed at least once in the past month for the salvation of a friend or family member who is not a Christian.

In the past six months, most have spoken about their beliefs with loved ones at least once, including having a conversation about faith (53%) and sharing a story about what God has done in their lives (52%).

However, less than half of self-identified Christians have, at least once in the past six months, shared a Bible verse or Bible story with a non-Christian loved one (46%), invited a non-Christian friend or family member to attend a church service or other program at church (43%) or shared with a non-Christian loved one how to become a Christian (38%).

Far fewer Christians have taken any of those evangelistic steps with a non-Christian they did not know in the past six months: 40% have had a conversation about faith, 39% have shared a story about what God has done in their lives, 36% have shared a Bible verse or story, 34% have invited a stranger to church and 30% have shared how to become a Christian.

“Praying for someone to follow Christ comes more easily than talking with someone about it,” said McConnell. “It isn’t clear if the proverbial cat has the tongue of some Christians or if they’re not connecting with non-Christians in settings where these conversations can take place.”

Evangelism opinions

When Christians think about evangelism, they’re thinking about showing love to the other person. Almost 2 in 3 Christians (65%) agree sharing with a nonbeliever how they can become a Christian is the most loving thing they can do for them, including 30% who strongly agree. Around a quarter (23%) disagree.

More than half of self-identified Christians say they are willing (39%) and/or eager (15%) to evangelize. Three in 10 (29%) are neutral, while 18% are reluctant and 11% are indifferent.

Specifically, Christians are more prone to be proactive or reactive in their evangelistic tactics than avoiding it all together. Around 1 in 7 (14%) say they try to bring up faith in conversations with everyone, while more than a quarter (28%) look for natural opportunities to bring up faith. Close to a third of Christians (32%) say they answer faith questions if asked or comment if others bring it up. Around 1 in 5 (21%) say they won’t talk about faith with most people.

More than half of self-identified Christians in the U.S. (58%) say it is easy for them to talk about Jesus with non-Christians, including 23% who say it is very easy. A third (33%) say it is at least somewhat difficult, with 10% saying it is very difficult to share about Christ with those who are not Christians.

For some, evangelism might bring up emotions more closely associated with giving a public speech than having a conversation with a friend. More than 2 in 5 Christians (42%) say sharing with a non-believer how they can become a Christian is scary. Slightly more (46%) disagree.

When asked how they believe most non-Christians feel about evangelism, Christians are split. More than 1 in 3 (37%) think most of those who are not Christians see it as pushy. Almost a quarter (22%) believe non-Christians are open to it. Similar percentages say those who aren’t Christians view evangelism as worth hearing once (18%), hope-filled (17%) and worth exploring (17%). Fewer think non-Christians believe Christian evangelistic efforts are rude (14%).

According to a 2021 Evangelism Explosion study conducted by Lifeway Research, 51% of Americans, including 60% of the religiously unaffiliated, say they’re curious why people are so devoted to their faith. Two in 3 (66%) also say they are at least open to having a conversation about the Christian faith with a friend.

Still, in the most recent study, 52% of self-identified Christians agree that encouraging someone to change their religious beliefs is offensive and disrespectful, including 20% who strongly agree. Fewer than 2 in 5 (37%) disagree.

“It’s a bold idea to encourage someone to consider converting the center of their life to be Jesus Christ,” said McConnell. “For some Christians, their love for others compels them to suggest this offensive thought. For others, this discourages them from speaking up about what they believe.”

Evangelism preparation

Two in 3 (66%) Christians say they aren’t familiar with any methods of telling others about Jesus, but half say they’re ready to at least share the basics of how someone can start following Jesus. Around a quarter (23%) say they’re ready for any opportunity to tell someone how to become a Christian, and 27% are prepared to share the basic steps. Another 1 in 5 (19%) say they know the essentials but aren’t comfortable yet putting them into words. A quarter of Christians (24%) say they aren’t sure what information needs to be shared or where to start.

Most Christians agree it’s their calling to share their beliefs but that it’s their pastor’s duty to equip them to do so. Seven in 10 Christians (69%) say it’s every Christian’s responsibility to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior, including 35% who strongly agree. One in 5 (20%) disagree. Similarly, 68% agree it’s the pastor’s responsibility to equip the congregation to share the gospel, and 19% disagree.

When thinking about the specifics of being trained and equipped for evangelism, Christians have wide varieties in their preferences. Around 1 in 5 (19%) want to experience real-life faith conversations with a trainer and another 16% prefer to take a class in person. Fewer are looking for less personal or more individual activities like watching videos (14%), reading a book (12%), taking a class online (8%) or listening to audio like a podcast or audiobook (5%). Another 18% say they would never be trained in evangelism.

“Half of Christians aren’t ready to tell someone how to become a Christian, and that likely won’t change without some help,” said McConnell. “Most are looking to their churches and its leaders to help prepare them for these conversations about faith.”

For more information, view the complete report and visit LifewayResearch.com.

East Texas pastor honored for 77 years of faithful ministry service

HUGHES SPRINGS—Charles Russell was still a teenager when he became the pastor of Lone Star Baptist Church (a little north of Mt. Pleasant) in 1945. He’s about 30 miles down the road now, pastoring Turkey Creek Baptist Church in Hughes Springs, 77 years later. He’s pastored Turkey Creek for 22 years.

This past week, Russell was honored for his nearly eight decades of service to the Lord during a meeting of the Enon Baptist Association, which covers deep Northeast Texas. Among the honors, Russell was given a plaque expressing gratitude for his ministry by Roy Ford, the Northeast Texas field representative for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

“I love my people,” said Russell, 93. “It’s a small, rural church, a very loving people. I enjoy the fellowship of working with a local church.”

With the exception of a pastorate in Bonham, Russell’s ministry has been in Northeast Texas. Returning east, he served as director of missions for three counties around Jacksonville.

He noted that he’s seen the most change over the years in the way churches worship—worship teams instead of choirs.

“I’ve mostly pastored rural churches, so the pastoral part of ministry has been pretty similar throughout the years,” he added.

He’s also noted a decline in people’s interest in attending church, a trend that has hit rural churches especially hard.

“The population [in Hughes Springs] has been pretty stable, but that doesn’t mean the churches are holding their own,” he said, “The interest in church is not as consistent as the population in small towns.”

Jeff Lynn, director of Church Health and Leadership for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, commended the ministries of pastors like Russell, even as these ministries face challenging days.

“Rural churches with long-term pastors are a stabilizing factor in these communities,” Lynn said. “The longevity of a pastor helps build a bridge and trust between the church and community.”

Although he was born in Tennessee, Russell’s family moved to Texas when he was a preschooler. His dad worked in the oil fields until he settled in a long-term job in Talco, where Charles graduated from high school. He went to college in Commerce and didn’t see much need to go to seminary, at first.

“I wasn’t really too excited about going to seminary after college,” he said of his time in his second pastorate, “but a pastor friend nearby encouraged me that I needed to go ahead and go. I went, and I thank God for him and his encouragement. It was a great decision; I enjoyed seminary a lot more than I did college.”

Russell graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1957.

His wife, Ola died in 2005, a few years after they came to Turkey Creek. They married after college, and she attended a year of seminary with Charles. The Russells raised two sons together and have four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

This past Sunday, Russell preached to his people about “Keeping on keeping on, faithful to the end,” from Revelation 2:20.

Charles Russell seems to know a little about that.

‘Extremely blessed’: Waco church records album with rare 1700s hymns to provide hope in a difficult season

WACO—A season of isolation, loss, and mourning during the COVID-19 pandemic led a Waco church to focus on the Scripture-inspired words of two well-known hymnists who long ago found hope amidst trials.

Grace Church in Waco last year recorded an album with hymns written in the late 18th century by John Newton and William Cowper for the English parish of Olney, where Newton resided. Newton and Cowper wrote more than 340 hymns, but Grace Church chose nine unique ones that reflected the somber mood of the pandemic season. Although most of those nine hymns are obscure to the modern ear, they’re no less theologically rich than their more popular cousin, Amazing Grace, which Newton also penned.

Drake Osborn, pastor of teaching and liturgy at Grace Church, said the idea began with a simple question: How can we encourage our members during the lockdown?

“We wanted to spend some time writing music that would be specifically for them and the season that we were in,” Osborn said. “We looked through the [hymns by Newton and Cowper] and … focused our attention on the ones related to our own kind of darkness and suffering and the response to the light of the cross of Christ.”

The album was recorded in front of a live audience at the church and was named The Olney Hymns: Suffering and Living In the Shadow of the Cross. It can be accessed and purchased through the church’s website, on Spotify, or on Apple Music. Proceeds support foster care and adoption services in Waco.

Incredibly, the church’s band and musicians—all volunteers—composed the arrangements for nine of the songs.

Luke Garst, a volunteer who plays guitar on the album, said it took nearly a full year to choose the songs, compose arrangements, and then to record the album.

The talent of the volunteers was a surprise—and a blessing.

“It turned out that some of our band leaders who lead the congregation on Sunday [also] dabble in songwriting, so a couple of them came up with super-creative melodies and chord progressions,” Garst said. “We have some really creative volunteers in our church.”

The lyrics, Garst said, are “beautiful” and “theologically rich,” covering “the entire spectrum of the Christian life.”

One such hymn, “Looking to the Cross,” takes the singer on a gospel-centered journey, beginning with man’s depravity (“in evil long I took delight”) before it turns to Christ’s sacrifice (“I saw my sins His blood had spilt, and helped to nail Him there”) and concludes with gratitude (“while His death fully displays, the depths of all my shame; such is the mystery of grace, the cross replaced my blame!”).

A second hymn, “Hebrews 13,” spotlights the power Christ provides in the midst of trials (“We trust all God’s ways are peace, and his promises are sure; He works through us in Christ, in his life we live secure”). Cowper was known to suffer from depression.

The experience of recording the album, Garst said, is still impacting the congregation, with a handful of the hymns being regularly sung during worship services.

“It was such a pleasure to be a part of,” Garst said. “We’re a very small church—a little blip on the map. It was really special to record songs for a congregation to sing. I think it’s special for them, too. … It’s really just to bless our church and hopefully bless other churches.”

The arrangements, Osborn said, are available for other churches to use. (Osborn suggested e-mailing or phoning the church office for more information.)

“More churches should consider doing work like this, whether it’s writing their own original music or reworking music that’s been passed down. It was just a really helpful exercise,” Osborn said. “The congregation was extremely blessed that our musicians had an outlet for their artistry. If that’s something that exists in your church, then that is something I would recommend for sure.”