Releasing a sermon title prior to the Sunday service is common practice, but a growing number of churches across Texas are doing something similar with their song selections, too—allowing members to know what will be sung long before they enter the doors on the Lord’s Day.

First Baptist Church of Prosper is one such congregation. Jared Whitworth, the church’s minister of worship, posts the upcoming songs on the church’s social media accounts, linking them to the same tunes on Spotify and Apple Music.

The result: members of FBC Prosper can listen to new and old songs alike days prior to the service, readying their hearts for worship. Gone are the days when attendees sit silently in the service trying to learn a tune they’ve never heard.

Whitworth says the idea is grounded in Scripture’s description of worship as a corporate action. He points to Colossians 3:16, which urges Christians to admonish “one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Ephesians 5:19 has a similar admonition, he said.

“There are all kinds of commands in Scripture that tell us worship and singing is a very corporate act,” Whitworth said. “And so that’s the heart behind it—really getting people to learn the songs and be able to better participate in corporate worship so that we can teach and admonish and encourage each other as we are worshiping God through song.”

The goal, he said, is to get “people to learn the song, then come ready to sing on Sunday and be comfortable doing it.”

One such example was found on FBC Prosper’s Facebook page on a Wednesday in mid-February. Whitworth listed the five songs that were scheduled to be sung the following Sunday, along with links to the tunes on Spotify and Apple Music.

In recent weeks, Northeast Houston Baptist Church and North Richland Hills Baptist Church used social media to alert members of new songs that would be sung in the service.

Joseph R. Crider, dean of the School of Church Music and Worship at Southwestern Seminary, is a champion of the idea.

“I wish more churches would do it,” he said.

Crider sees two major benefits to releasing the song selections ahead of the service.

“One, it helps them engage on Sunday mornings, because they already have those songs in their minds, in their hearts—and they’re able to participate,” Crider said. “They’re not sitting there not wondering, ‘I don’t know the rhythm. I don’t know the melody. I don’t know anything.’ They’ve been hearing it throughout the week, and they are able to engage. Secondly, when the songs are wonderfully rooted in Scripture, I think it’s a beautiful way for people to grow in their spiritual formation.”

The primary role of a worship or music minister, Crider said, is to “facilitate a dialogue between the triune God of the universe and His redeemed people.”

“And anything we can do to help facilitate that I think is really worth it,” he said.

Placing the songs on social media has other benefits, Whitworth said. Members and attendees can use the songs in their daily, personal worship time. They also can use the songs in family worship. Parents, he said, can read a passage of Scripture to their children related to the song and then sing “one of the songs that we’re going to be singing in church on Sunday.” By doing that, family worship and corporate worship are constantly related.

Whitworth says he got the idea from a book by Keith and Kristyn Getty, “Sing!” He chooses artists on Spotify and Apple Music that are biblically sound, he said.

“We’re able to then direct them towards more solid churches or groups that are covering the songs instead of the original groups that put them out that may have bad theology,” he said.

Members, he said, have embraced the idea.

“I’ve seen a steady increase … of people listening to the music and people singing more and more on Sundays,” he said. “I do think that this is helping.”

FORT WORTH—Standing before a diverse group of students at one of the largest seminaries in the world, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Director Nathan Lorick on Tuesday emphatically delivered a message he admitted might not sound like good news.

The message? “Ministry is hard.”

“I can promise that you will go through season after season after season of difficulty and challenge,” said Lorick, preaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s weekly chapel service. “But it is good news, because in the face of trials and the face of adversity and the face of uncertainty, God’s Spirit empowers you daily to walk through those things. And when you are looking at an uncertain future, you can hold on to the promise that God is in your tomorrow already waiting on you when you get there.”

In those difficult seasons, Lorick cautioned students to remember that their true calling from God will sometimes be the only thing that sustains them in their ministries. He likened such challenging times to those recounted by Paul in Acts 20, highlighting from the text the character that made Paul a great leader.

Acts 20 provides a historical account of Paul’s farewell message to the elders of the Ephesian church. In the passage, Paul describes how he served the Ephesians “with all humility, with tears” (v.19) while enduring hardships that included the Jews constantly plotting against him. Despite those trials, Paul reminds the elders he never stopped proclaiming the truth of the gospel and that he will continue to proclaim it as he prepares to head to Jerusalem where “chains and affliction are waiting for me” (v.23).

In the passage, Lorick said, Paul demonstrated himself to be a leader who was not afraid to be authentic and honest about his brokenness (v.18); whose convictions did not change through difficult circumstances (v.20); who was resolved to advance the mission even in times of uncertainty (v.22-23); and who stayed focused on the things that mattered most (v.24). Lorick implored the students to adopt Paul’s leadership character and reject the tendency of some who define ministry success by measures that may not necessarily benefit the kingdom of God.

“I can’t promise success in the way that [it is measured] today,” Lorick said, “but what I can promise is that, in the calling of your ministry, there will be challenges, there will be afflictions, there will be hardships—and you have to have the resolve and calling of God. … There will be times in your ministry when the only thing you have to go to is that calling you have from God. There will be times when books won’t help, friends will try to encourage you, but you will be so perplexed about the situation and the uncertainty that the only thing you will have is to get on your knees and say, ‘God, I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know you called me to go into tomorrow in this calling.’”

During chapel, and at a luncheon held to honor SWBTS faculty and staff afterward, Lorick marveled at the thousands of men and women the seminary has trained and sent out into missions fields all over the world and thanked them for their dedication and service.

FREER—Daryl Hall doesn’t like to talk about himself.

He doesn’t necessarily like to talk about his prostate cancer battle, either—about the yearlong struggle to find treatment at the height of the COVID pandemic, the 400-mile trip from FBC Freer to Irving (a suburb of Dallas) that he considered attempting weekly, or the grueling proton therapy that would be waiting for him once he arrived.

In fact, if you ask him about it, he’ll probably tell you the doctors caught the cancer early and that he’ll be fine.

There are things Hall likes to talk about, however, like his church. He loves to talk about his church—and how it has carried on the work of ministry in his absence.

FBC Freer has blessed Hall with the ability to stay in Irving rather than make a series of nearly 1,000-mile round trip commutes for cancer treatments, which will end in the next couple of weeks. Once they are done, he will have been away from the church for a total of about six weeks—a span of time he didn’t initially believe was possible.

The trek north for treatment that first Sunday left him exhausted not only from the sheer miles and the therapy, but also because he bore the concerns common to those who shepherd a flock: church finances, scheduling, a concern of feeling disconnected from his congregation while being away for days at a time. Staying in Irving for the duration of the treatment and not commuting—as church leaders had encouraged him to do from the beginning—just didn’t seem like an option.

The second Sunday, however, provided a relief that alleviated his and his wife Laura’s concerns and weariness. They had rushed home to see two of their deacons ordained, and the church was in full swing without him—from the deacons themselves, their wives, other church members, and neighboring church members. It was enough to encourage Hall that he could stay in Irving for the rest of his therapy, and he had peace that the church would be OK in his absence.

He has since watched the church flourish and is thrilled with the notion that it has stayed on mission. The deacons have led in services and prayer, made ministry calls, and ministered to Daryl and Laura, as well. Nearly every congregant has called, the children have made gifts, and the ladies class has made cards. The children’s ministry has also grown, and after an outreach in which free light bulbs were handed out in the community to share that Jesus is the light of the world, three new families joined the congregation of about 50.

Hall likens his congregation to the widow’s mite and salt of the earth, saying, “They give all they have—above their tithe, their work, their sweat. It is all about the Great Commission to them regardless of the pastor or anything else.”

His extended stay in DFW Metroplex has brought other blessings and revelations, as well. As a Tennessee native who moved to Texas only five years ago, getting started in ministry in the Lone Star State and making connections pastoring a church about an hour from the Mexico border proved difficult. Yet this year, he was able to meet and network with other pastors and leaders at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s annual Empower conference—held earlier this month across the street from the Irving hotel where he has been staying. At Empower, Hall said people continually stopped to encourage and pray for him simply due to a picture taken and posted on Facebook by Alex Gonzales, a church health and leadership associate who works with the SBTC and had asked for prayer for the pastor.

These aren’t incidental details to him. When first diagnosed, Daryl considered seeking treatment at MD Anderson in Houston, which would have been closer for him and Laura, but that plan ended up not working out. He now knows that, between the Facebook connections, Empower, and seeing First Baptist Freer thrive that the Lord wanted him in Irving for a reason: to reacquaint himself with his first love and to confirm something he already knew—how healthy the church really is.

“Because if the church is not healthy because you’re not there,” he said, “it’s not healthy.”

Hall’s faith has been central to healing and recovery. He has spent a lot of time praying, learning to be thankful, and reflecting on ministry. He has considered ministry careers versus the essence of the calling, asking himself, “Have you used your time and relationship with Christ wisely? Are you making disciples? Do you have a heart for the lost?” He said he has developed a thankfulness that God would include him in His mission. Even though Christ does not need us, Hall has been reminded, He chooses, wants, and uses us. And in recognizing his privilege in being in the service to his King, he asks himself now, based on Hebrews 12:28, “Am I making an acceptable sacrifice?”

With treatment soon in the rearview, Hall is developing a sermon series on gratitude and has started a blog entitled “Living Freer,” in which he gives a devotional on thanksgiving for every day of treatment. In building the blog, it dawned on him that he needed to take his own advice rather than dwell on the cancer and being away from the church. He says God is using this season to teach him and show him “all the ways He has blessed me.”

The Halls are focused on what’s ahead. They are working on a feature film titled “Armor” about ministry for children to benefit smaller SBTC churches. They are considering a barrel race and skeet shoot to raise funds, as well. All big ideas, all 100% for the sake of the mission.

Not that anything is too big for even the smallest of churches steeped in the power of the Holy Spirit and laser-focused on the gospel mission.

“I am humbled at the commitment of this tiny, multi-ethnic and multi-generational church,” Hall said. “These are very humble people with the deepest commitment to be the light of the world.”

On the heels of the return of a Send Relief Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to the U.S., Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief personnel will join other Southern Baptist Disaster Relief workers in a coordinated effort to serve the needs of Ukrainian refugees fleeing their country following the Feb. 24 Russian invasion.

Some 3 million refugees to date have fled Ukraine, with more than half going to Poland and others headed to various European Union countries, including Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary, various news agencies reported. According to figures released by UNICEF on March 15, children comprise about half of the Ukrainians seeking refuge in other parts of Europe.

From March 4-14, SBTC DR chaplain and assessor Linda Mitter of Rockwall participated with the DART crew in Poland on a fact-finding and assistance mission to help plan SBDR’s overall response to the crisis. Mitter joined five SBDR representatives from North Carolina and Ohio, including two state Baptist DR directors: Tom Beam of North Carolina and John Heading of Ohio.

Mitter said the team observed a coordinated response to the refugee crisis along the Polish-Ukrainian border. Numerous Polish Baptist churches are helping to temporarily house and feed refugees and, for migrants not en route to another European country, assisting them to find permanent housing in Poland.

SBDR teams from various states are now deploying to help Polish churches and Baptist organizations in the manner prescribed by the DART observers.

Under the coordination of Send Relief, SBTC DR’s role will shift from Poland to Moldova and Romania, SBTC DR Director Scottie Stice said.

“Many facts and patterns of refugee movement that Linda discovered in Poland are similar to what can be found in Romania and Moldova,” Stice said. “Romania is considered the second destination of choice for those fleeing Ukraine.”

On Monday, March 21, Wally Leyerle, SBTC DR associate, and SBTC DR volunteer Lynn Kurtz of Waxahachie, will join SBDR workers from Missouri and California to travel to Romania on a discovery mission similar to the original DART mission to Poland.

“They will be fact-finding and setting up support for Romanian churches helping refugees. They will also assist in establishing a border ministry not unlike that of Pastor Carlos Navarro and West Brownsville Baptist in the Rio Grande Valley,” Stice said. The Romanian border outreach will provide refreshments, charging stations, and otherwise assist the refugees as they prepare to move to their next destinations.

“It’s a small window of ministry before they move on,” Stice said, adding that SBDR—and SBTC DR—involvement is expected to expand to nearby Moldova soon.

What initially began as a one-month deployment of four teams spread out over 30 days in Eastern Europe is now expected to become a six-month mission, which will also involve helping Baptist groups coordinate shipments of supplies from Poland, Romania, and Moldova to seminaries, churches, and Baptist organizations within Ukraine, Stice said.

Arkansas Baptist DR will be joining SBTC DR, California, and Missouri, he said, explaining that once DR teams get the systems operational, churches will have the opportunity to also send teams to assist in the ministry, supplementing DR volunteers.

“We’re there to be a blessing to the Romanian and Moldovan churches as they minister to the Ukrainians. At the same time, we pray for the gospel to go forth,” Stice said, confirming that a second multi-state SBDR team including SBTC DR volunteers is scheduled to depart for Romania on March 26.