Author: Russell Lightner

A great opportunity to connect

couple years ago when we announced we would be leading a group of Southern Baptists of Texas Convention pastors on a clergy familiarization trip to Israel, I knew it would be a life-changing experience for our group. I had personally been to Israel before and experienced that incredible journey myself.

But on that trip, we saw God do exceedingly and abundantly more than we could have imagined. Not only did pastors and their wives get to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, but they connected with one another. Deep bonds were formed that remain strong today. We even saw one of our pastors lead someone to Jesus on the trip!

One of our pastors who went on the trip was interviewed by the Texan afterward and said this: “We’ve been desperate for [ministry] relationships. Spending that much time with people who understand what we’re going through—that was so needed. It helped us know we’re not alone. We’re so thankful for the relationships we made on the trip.”

There is no telling what God may do when we take our next group of SBTC pastors on our Experience the Holy Land Clergy Familiarization Trip in Israel later this year. The 10-day trip is scheduled for Dec. 26, 2024, through Jan. 4, 2025. It is available to senior pastors of SBTC-affiliated churches at a discounted price, which includes $1,300 in financial assistance provided by a generous grant from the SBTC Executive Board. Special pricing is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Senior pastors who wish to register must currently be pastoring an SBTC church. Their cost is $1,797 (after the grant has been applied). A second pastor from the same church may travel at the regular clergy price of $3,097, but only two pastors are allowed per church. Spouses can join the trip for $3,497.

You can visit sbtexas.com/israel for more information. Space is limited.

I hope you will prayerfully consider joining us as we retrace the footsteps of Jesus and watch the Bible come alive before our very eyes. I also know you will be blessed by being in the company of other servants of the Lord who can relate to the joys and challenges of ministry.

If there is anything I can do to personally encourage you, or if you have other questions, please feel free to reach out to me at nlorick@sbtexas.com.

I love you and I am honored to serve you!

Even in the face of fear and mystery, I will still trust the Lord

I was really close to my brother Gary. We were good friends in high school, roomed together in college, even were best man for each other’s weddings. We coached together and could argue with one another on the sidelines, and it’d be OK. Our dad died when we were young, and we went through that ordeal together. We worked with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and with our churches.

We were very aware of Gary’s calling to missions throughout all those years. I was excited for him. We had taken mission trips together as college kids. He’d organize it and we’d go to Mexico with groups. He worked for 10 years to get everything in line with the International Mission Board. They’re very meticulous about who they put on the field because they want those people to stay.

Gary and his family had not been in Mexico as full-time missionaries for long at all when there was a terrible accident. In 1999, Gary was swimming in the ocean near Tapachula when a strong undercurrent carried him, his 10-year-old daughter Carla, and two summer missionaries out into deep water. They all drowned.

"I’m learning to be careful with human plans and to plan with the mysterious plan of God in mind."

—Larry Sloan Tweet

Well, I guess it’s the normal human response when somebody is taken away—especially when that somebody is taken before, what we call on Earth, “their time”—to think we would have more time with them. Having it happen so quickly after they got on the field—why would God do that? I wouldn’t have planned it that way—a career-minded missionary who’s spent 10 years trying to get there. But God knows. He sees before and after, so you just have to trust Him, even though you fear what can happen. I call it “fearfully awesome.” God’s plans are fearfully awesome, because He could just take anybody [at any time].

Gary’s death created some fear in me in the next five or six years after that, maybe even now. There are pictures in my mind of tragedies that could happen to me and my wife, my kids, that God could do anything. And if He does, then He’s still the Lord and you just have to keep on.

So when my daughter planned to be married to my now son-in-law, I already knew he had a heart for missions. They grew into their relationship, got married, had kids, and they worked in the Houston area. I said, “Well, one of these days, [them getting called to the mission field is] probably going to happen.” And sure enough, it did. And all those feelings of fear resurfaced.

Just recently, I don’t know, a year-and-a-half ago, a retired coach that I’d worked with started putting together mission teams and he ended up in Tapachula, where Gary was. He sent me a picture with an older Mexican guy and asked, “Do you know this guy?” I didn’t, but he was one of Gary’s first converts and is now a pastor, and he’s still doing it 23 years later.

The day before the drowning, Gary had met with a few pastors and set out his vision for the whole Chiapas area. That vision is continuing today. There’s an institute for training, a seminary, and a group that was still meeting last I heard as of 2012 or 2013. Was Gary the guy that it’s all centered around, or did his passing cause that group to become stronger on their own? I don’t know. There we go again—the mysterious plan of God’s will.

Now my daughter, her husband, and their children are my church’s missionary family that we pray for and travel to help. We’ve been on two trips to their area and probably will do more. Our VBS offering goes to them and my daughter sends videos for each day. It’s been a great connection between our church here and our family in Southeast Asia.

We picked up an unreached people group in that area and we began to pray for them. We had gospel conversations on two trips [in the unreached people group] that we took there and are praying that one of those people will be at God’s throne with every race and every tribe.

I’m learning to be careful with human plans and to plan with the mysterious plan of God in mind. These [plans] are just thoughts that we’re going to act upon, but they may not happen. There’s got to be a trust in God there.

I’ve been reading through Leviticus recently, and there are these little stanzas that end with, “I’m the Lord.” I’ve got them all underlined, about 20 of them. He is the Lord and His mysterious plan is going to come about. I think I’ve learned that even when I’ve got my own plans here, God may have another plan.

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Fire that gutted Paris church’s youth building has done nothing but ignite a movement of God

They can laugh now, three years after the fire that destroyed their youth building, about things like the name of the ministry: Ignite.

“We’ve since rebranded,” said Phil Spann, the longtime student minister at Southside Baptist Church in Paris.

They can wonder at the odd things, like the fact Billy Norris, Southside’s senior pastor, discovered Spann’s Bible a day later amid the building’s charred remains. It was sitting on the podium where he’d left it, undamaged by either fire or water. Or that the sheet music they’d used in the most recent youth service—“Another in the Fire”—was lying on the stage in similarly pristine condition.

“Amazing,” Spann said. “It’s just neat to see how God does some things to show us that He’s in control.”

Mostly, though, they marvel at how God has worked despite—or maybe because of—adversity.

“It’s a very unique story,” Spann said, “one that only God could have written.”

On the afternoon of April 20, 2021, as contractors were installing a vent-a-hood for a new commercial kitchen, sparks from a grinder ignited attic insulation. Although firefighters arrived within minutes, the building was soon engulfed in flames.

“He knows our name. He knows our address. He knows what we’re going through. He’s faithful. He’s a faithful God.”

—Billy Norris Tweet

Spann, who has served at Southside for almost 17 years, remembers praying: “What do we do now?”

“God was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got this. You just follow me,’” Spann said. “That’s pretty much what we’ve done. We’ve just trusted Him, and He’s shown us over and above anything we could ever imagine.”

As Southside’s student ministry prepares, finally, to move into a newly built youth building sometime in the next few weeks, it’s clear the ministry hasn’t so much survived as thrived.

“Even since the fire, we’ve grown,” said Norris, the senior pastor. “It hasn’t hindered the ministry at all.”

Adjustments were necessary, not only by the student ministry, but throughout the church—especially when plans to replace the youth building were postponed for months by insurance issues. But Norris said Southside’s members “just responded in a way that’s been a blessing for everybody. It’s been good for the church but also glorifying to God.”

Each Wednesday evening for the last three years, Southside’s youth have met in the church’s fellowship hall, which seats around 50. After dinner, they head into the sanctuary for a time of praise and worship. When AWANA takes over the sanctuary, the students return to the fellowship hall.

An intentionally no-frills student ministry became even more stripped down because of the space limitations. But that didn’t seem to matter. Somehow, they haven’t lost any momentum.

Instead, they’ve gained students.

“Kids started inviting their friends,” Spann said. “Next thing we know, here we are today, and we’ll average around 75 students. And if they all came at one time, it would be over 100.”

They bring in extra chairs from classrooms. Kids sit on the floor. They haven’t had to tear open the roof yet to get one more person in, but it can feel that way.

Again, the format is simple: Supper, then praise and worship, and then Spann opens that Bible and simply preaches. It has long been his philosophy, and it’s partially why the rebranded ministry is “412 Student Ministry”—a reference to 1 Timothy 4:12 (“Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity”).

“I believe if these kids can take the classes they handle in school, they can understand the gospel,” Spann said. “I take very seriously what Paul told Timothy, to preach the Word. He didn’t say, ‘Teach ’em how to play games.’ He didn’t say, ‘Entertain.’ He said, ‘Preach the Word’—so that’s what I do.”

For several years, the youth group has attended camp at Falls Creek Conference Center in Oklahoma. Southside shared a 100-bed cabin with a youth group from another church. But when registration opened this spring, Southside filled all 100 slots within two weeks. More students are on a waiting list. And the other church has had to find another housing option.

“We’re thinking two cabins next year,” Norris said.

The results are more than just increased participation. God’s Word hasn’t returned empty. Instead, Southside has seen a harvest. The recent fruit of the student ministry includes salvations and baptisms. During the last two years, the church has celebrated more than 60 baptisms. Norris said they’ve been predominantly children and youth. He rejoices in the 34 decisions for Christ made at camp two years ago, and a similar number last summer.

“That’s all I can say. We’ve just learned to trust Him. It’s not about how we understand. It’s what He has for us. In the end, He’s gonna make it straight.”

—Phil Spann Tweet

“It’s been a significant [number],” Spann said. “Again, I’m just overwhelmed by what God has done.”

What happened?

“The thing I’ve seen more than anything else,” Norris said, “and it just reaffirms what we knew to be true, is God is faithful. It’s all Him. If anything comes out of this, it’s that His name is glorified.

“He knows our name. He knows our address. He knows what we’re going through. He’s faithful. He’s a faithful God.”

Spann knows the Southside youth ministry has lived through an example of his favorite Scripture passage, Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

“That’s all I can say,” Spann said. “We’ve just learned to trust Him. It’s not about how we understand. It’s what He has for us. In the end, He’s gonna make it straight.”

Sometimes the waiting room is the best classroom when it comes to prayer

Prayer frequently requires waiting. The trouble is, we’re not patient. In fact, Americans are so impatient that recent studies can pinpoint what we’re most impatient about and how long it takes us to grow agitated when waiting.

For instance, the majority of us grow quickly irritated with slow Wi-Fi. It’s our No. 1 complaint, guaranteed to ignite our impatience. In addition, on average, we find it intolerable to wait as much as 10 minutes for sluggish customer service.

Do people of prayer reflect the power of prayer when ordinary circumstances test the fragile limits of our patience? Our impatience reminds us of the oft repeated adage, “Man microwaves, but God marinates.”

Waiting has a bad reputation in America, but Scripture is filled with positive examples of waiting. For instance, Isaiah reminds us that if we wait on God we will fly like eagles and run without exhaustion (Isaiah 40:31). Jesus instructed His eager but powerless disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were empowered by the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49). The psalmist testified that the Lord heard his cries only after he was willing to wait (Psalm 40:1). Many of the biblical invitations to wait are directly connected to prayer.

It sounds extreme, but waiting is an inescapable factor in a praying life. In fact, Jesus insisted that we learn the discipline of waiting in prayer.

Waiting has a bad reputation in America, but Scripture is filled with positive examples of waiting.

Kie Bowman Tweet

In one of His most well-known parables in which He taught the importance of patience in prayer, Jesus contrasted a powerful, malevolent judge to a vulnerable, abused widow (Luke 18:1-8). The judge in the parable had no compassion for the widow’s legal or personal complaints. The widow, on the other hand, refused to stop showing up to court to demand justice. Finally, the corrupt judge conceded because the widow refused to stop asking for his assistance.

Jesus contrasted the heartless judge to our loving God by demonstrating that, unlike the crooked judge, God desires to answer the cries of His people—the people Jesus compared favorably to the persistent widow. The parable is introduced with this instructive preamble, “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).

From this well-known text we notice some principles about patience in prayer. Sometimes the waiting room is the best classroom.

Wait in prayer even when the outcome appears unlikely

The two characters in the parable—a widow and the judge—were on opposite ends of the power and privilege scale in ancient society. The judge was a local official with authority appointed by Rome. The widow was a symbol of vulnerability in Scripture; she had no social standing. This widow had only one power—persistence! Jesus described her as one “who kept coming.” The tense of the Greek verb means continuous, repeated action.

Her request was ignored numerous times, but she kept making the appeal. The frequency of her appeals in the face of the judge’s indifference toward her plight is a reminder to us of a basic principle of prayer: God’s delays are not necessarily God’s denials. There is nothing in the circumstances of the story that suggest the widow had a chance of success, except for her persistent asking.

Wait in prayer because God hears

In the parable, the widow’s persistence won the judge over. Her resilience wore down his reluctance. Jesus urged His followers to cry out in unceasing prayer, because God will intervene for those who “cry to Him day and night” (v. 7).

No matter how much time passes between our request and God‘s response, we should never conclude that God does not care. God wants to respond. God wants to answer. In His perfect timing, no matter how long we’ve waited, no matter how big the long shot, God answers prayer. He specializes in results that can be achieved in no other way.

Wait in prayer because an answer is coming

When does waiting in prayer reach a conclusion? Jesus said God will answer His pleading people “speedily” (v. 8). In other words, God’s answer comes suddenly. Why is it necessary to wait if the answer comes suddenly?

The Greek word translated “speedily” occurs in the New Testament seven times. It is obviously a reference to a narrow window of time. Three of the usages of the word refer to a speedy or sudden action in time. The other four usages of the word refer to the nearness in time of the action. Those instances are translated with words like “shortly” or “soon” (Acts 25:4, Romans 16:20, etc.).

In any case, the word means that action is imminent. God will answer. You are justified in waiting, because when the answer comes it will be in a timely manner. So, our job is to prayerfully wait on God’s timing.

Perhaps the testimony of George Müller best exemplifies our goals in patient prayer. He said, “When once I am persuaded that a thing is right, and for the glory of God, I go on praying for it until the answer comes.” If your classroom is the waiting room, God is teaching you. So, keep praying!

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Baptist Press.

How in the world can I bless God?

e often think about blessings in terms of possessions, things received. It’s not unusual to hear someone say, “God blessed us with this house” or, “She was blessed to receive a scholarship”—and let’s be clear, we’re not wrong when we credit God (which is to say, give Him glory) for the things we have.

But thinking about blessings merely in terms of possessions can skew our understanding of what Scripture means when we see instances of humans blessing God. For example, we find this command frequently in the psalms. Psalm 96:2 and Psalm 100:4 instruct us to bless the name of the Lord. Psalm 103:2 and Psalm 104:1 form the basis of what has famously been put to music: “Bless the Lord, O my soul!”

Obviously, there’s no possession I can give to the God of creation who owns the cattle on 1,000 hills. So how in the world can I bless God?

These questions hit me hard recently in a most unexpected place—the gym. As I was working out, the song “Promises” by Maverick City began to play through my headphones. I’ve heard—and sung—this song more times than I can count, but for some reason, a couple of lines impacted me differently than they had before:

I’ll still bless you—in the middle of my storm, in the middle of my trial,

I’ll still bless you—in the middle of the road, when I don’t know where to go …

His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He is God, and He is doing something good.

Jayson Larson Tweet

I’ve had a rough couple of weeks. There have been no major crises, but instead, a series of annoying challenges that have been labor-intensive, attention-hogging, and frustrating to say the least. We all experience these kinds of challenges—they don’t typically change the course of our lives, but they threaten to dislodge us from comfort and disrupt whatever plans we’ve made for ourselves. Nobody wakes up and says, “You know, Lord, I’d love a little more adversity to toughen me up this week,” and yet we know God absolutely uses storms and trials to achieve His purposes.

Pain and discomfort tend to make us forget those truths, and I certainly have been guilty of that lately. My complaints have been numerous enough to fill a football stadium. If pouting was an Olympic sport, I’d be well on my way to gold. I’ve asked God why these things had to happen right now (as if there’s a different time I’d gladly accept difficulty). And as I lay in the gym floor between sets that morning, I felt like the Lord reminded me of something: out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

So what does all this have to do with blessing God? I think one of the primary ways we can bless God is through faith. Not the kind of faith that saves us, but the kind of faith that sustains us—the kind that says, “Lord, I don’t like this but I know you are at work, and I trust whatever work that is.” This is the kind of faith that delivers the peace Jesus promises.

How can you bless God today? Trust Him—and bless Him by telling Him you trust Him. You don’t have to like what He is doing, and His shoulders are certainly big enough for you to be honest with Him about that, but in the end, His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He is God, and He is doing something good.

Setting your house in order

We may not have much control over when we leave this planet, but we do have a say in how we leave and the impact it will have on our families. When King Hezekiah became terminally ill, the prophet Isaiah said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your affairs in order, for you are about to die’” (2 Kings 20:1).

Abraham is an even better example of how to put our houses in order because he didn’t have a heads-up like Hezekiah—and neither do we. I can think of at least three ways Abraham showed us how to put our houses in order:

Update your financial affairs

Very few people can relate to the size of Abraham’s vast estate, but we all have something of value to leave our family. Sentimental value is as important to some people as financial value. I have too often seen friction surface during a time of grief, which is always unfortunate and usually avoidable.

A 2013 survey conducted by LifeWay Research found 37% of Southern Baptist Convention pastors do not have a trust or will of any kind. More than half (55%) of all Americans will die without a will or trust, according to the American Bar Association. Almost half do not have any life insurance for that matter.

Scripture instructs us this way: “But if anyone does not provide for his own, that is his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).

Abraham’s sons had an awkward reunion at their father’s funeral. Neither dickered over the details because Abraham had it all pre-arranged (Genesis 25).

37%

of SBC pastors do not have a trust or will of any kind

—Lifeway Research

55%

of all Americans will die without a will or trust

—American Bar Association

Formalize your funeral plans

Some pastors don’t like to talk about death, which is strange considering how often we help others through it. You don’t have to like death to get ready for it. The fewer decisions your family must make when you die, the better.

Shortly after Abraham’s wife Sarah died, he not only bought a funeral plot, but he also bought a whole cemetery! It was a nice cave, which was the upscale equivalent in that culture. Many family members were likely buried in Abraham’s family cemetery, including his great-grandson, Joseph.

Does your family know what your funeral preferences and plans are? A few minutes of your time will save several tough hours for your family.

Mend your family fences

Abraham did not have a perfect track record, especially at home. He lied to, and about, Sarah more than once. Sarah pushed him into fathering an illegitimate child because they both grew tired of waiting for one. Favoritism between sons ran rampant and became a family tradition, which was passed down to succeeding generations.

Pastors are called to lead their homes as well as their churches. Since your family is your most important ministry, what do you need to do to put your house in order? Abraham’s family benefited not only from how he lived, but also how he died, as can yours.

In new Criswell book, Hawkins examines the life of a man who impacted millions

A man for many seasons

O.S. Hawkins is chancellor of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, former pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, and president emeritus of GuideStone Financial Resources. He has authored more than 50 books, including the latest, Criswell: His Life and Times. Hawkins recently spoke with Southern Baptist Texan magazine about why he chose to write about the legendary W.A. Criswell and how others can benefit from learning about his life.

You’ve described W.A. Criswell as a friend and mentor. Can you talk about the impact he had on you personally and why you decided to write a book about his life?

O.S. Hawkins: I first met him back when I was a kid. In my generation he was legendary, and for some reason early on, he took a liking to me and we developed a warm friendship. I just considered him a great mentor and, in many ways, he was like a father to me. … Really the reason I wrote the book was he was a polarizing figure in many ways, and there has been so much written about him from people who were adversarial to him, whether it was because of theological or philosophical reasons, and then there were other things written that [portrayed him as being] sort of almost without sin. So, what I tried to do was bring balance to his life and also to introduce him to a new generation of preachers who may not have known him in his greatness.

How might pastors who don’t know as much about Criswell’s life be encouraged or even equipped by some of the things you included in this book?

Hawkins: They will see that education is important. They will see that in the first 10 years of his pastorate, he pastored little bitty churches in far-away places. It gave him a love for pastors. There are a lot of stories in the book about that. He ended up leading the largest church in the world for years at First Baptist Dallas, and he had no peer in his prime—I mean, no peer. But he never got away from loving pastors.

I also believe the title of the book, Criswell: His Life and Times, is important because this book is not just for pastors. It’s for everyone who’s interested in leadership or interested in history. It’s about his times. Dr. Criswell lived in every decade of the 20th century, and there’s a chapter on each of these decades throughout the whole book that really describes the times in which he lived. So many things were swirling around the culture in America through World War I, through World War II, through all of these decades that unfolded. So, it’s really a book about Baptist history, Texas history, American history. It’s not just about Criswell. It’s about the times in which he lived and loved and ministered.

What kinds of insights about Criswell will readers walk away with that might inspire them or even change the way they look at the world?

Hawkins: Well, I would say one thing that gets lost in the midst of all of his notoriety was how much he loved people. He’s known as a great preacher and theologian, but what many people don’t know is what an incredible pastor he was and how much he loved his people—and they loved him back. He’d often weep when he preached and the people would weep with him. It was amazing.

He was an eternal optimist in many ways, which we need in Baptist life today. He was naive in the sense that, even in the midst of the great Baptist battles of his life, it never dawned on him that [certain] people didn’t like him or didn’t love him. He was above the fray in the fact that he didn’t hold any personal animosity. He had a unique ability to realize that things are going to get better and that nothing lasts forever. Whatever he was going through, he moved forward knowing this too will pass, and he would hunker down and move on.

He owned his mistakes, which a lot of people don’t do, and he was open about them and he sought to recover from them. And then, of course, you’re not ready to live until you’re ready to die, and I didn’t see anyone ever die like he died. I mean, he died with such a sweet spirit. He would wake up his caretaker in the middle of the night preaching the gospel in his sleep.

He was such a unique individual. Had he gone into law, I think he probably would’ve been on the Supreme Court. Had he gone into business, he’d have built a Fortune 500 company. If he’d gone into politics, he’d have been a senator, maybe president of the United States. He was just a unique individual, greatly gifted by God. And yet he never lost the childlike wonder of it and the work of it. He never lost the wonder of God’s creation. I’ve never known anyone that loved the Lord and depended upon Him and consistently lived for Him and served Him like W.A. Criswell. All he ever wanted to do was pastor a local congregation of baptized believers.

Investing in the generation that could change the world

recently took my youngest son fishing. We make memories I cherish every time we get the opportunity to go. These trips are often filled with laughter, serious discussions about life, and occasionally a few fish. On this particular trip, my son and I were in the boat talking about all kinds of things when it dawned on me how fast he has grown up and how quickly time goes by.

The same week, I was scheduled to speak at a conference about reaching the next generation. I had been studying Psalm 78 about passing the truths of God to the next generation. A recent poll conducted by North American Mission Board Next Gen Director Shane Pruitt showed that 77% of believers became Christians by age 18. This ignited a passion deep in my heart to reach the next generation.

Psalm 78 is an incredible chapter full of great instruction. Allow me to share three things we must teach the next generation:

1. We must teach them of the goodness of God

Psalm 78:2-4 says, “I will declare wise sayings; I will speak mysteries from the past—things we have heard and known and that our ancestors have passed down to us. We will not hide them from their children, but will tell a future generation the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, His might, and the wonderous works He has performed.” We must continually teach the next generation how good God has been to us. He is faithful, and we need to pass this on to our children.

2. We must point them to the hope God brings

Verses 5-7 say, “He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel which He commanded our ancestors to teach their children so that a future generation—children yet to be born—might know. They were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God’s works, but keep His commands.” The enemy is after the minds and hearts of the next generation. As individuals, families, and churches, we must point them to the hope Jesus gives us. We must be intentional about sharing the gospel every chance we get. They must know the only hope for peace and eternal life is found in Jesus.

3. We must teach them to know and love the Word of God

Verse 7 tells us we do these things so they would not forget the works of God and so they would keep His commands. We must teach the next generation that the Word of God must be their roadmap for life. It must be what they stake their entire lives upon. It is the inerrant and infallible Word breathed out by God! One of my mentors used to say, “It’s not enough to get in the Word; you have to get the Word inside of you.” Let’s be intentional to teach the Bible to the next generation.

The enemy is like a lion that wants to destroy the next generation. He will do whatever he can to grab their hearts and minds. Let’s rise up and be committed to share the gospel, make disciples, and teach them the Word of God. They could be the generation that changes the world.

K-12 school infuses new life into Arcadia First Baptist Church in South Texas

Afather dropped his daughter off at Arcadia First Baptist Christian School in Santa Fe and walked back to his car.

“I saw him look back at the office,” Pastor Joshua McDonald said, recounting what he saw watching out the window that day. “He was getting back in his car, and he shook his head and he just walked straight to the office.”

The man had no history of church involvement, but his daughter, an elementary student, had placed her faith in Jesus at the school and had been baptized at Arcadia First Baptist Church about six months earlier. The father sat down with McDonald and poured out his heart.

“She’s been telling us about the gospel, and I believe in Jesus now, and I want to know how I can do this.”

—Joshua McDonald, speaking of a student's father Tweet

“He was like, ‘Man, I’ve seen a change in my daughter. She’s been reading the Word of God, she got saved, she got baptized. She’s been telling us about the gospel, and I believe in Jesus now, and I want to know how I can do this,’” McDonald said.

The man was baptized and the pastor gave him a Bible with his name on it—the first Bible he has ever owned.

“Now he’s in my small group and he’s growing by leaps and bounds, studying the Word every day,” McDonald said.

As many as 100 members of Arcadia First Baptist have died during the past five years since McDonald has been pastor, the inevitable reality of an aging congregation. Yet Sunday attendance has grown from about 200 when he arrived to more than 300 now.

“Probably 50 to 60 of those are kids,” McDonald said.

One of the ways God has pumped new life into the church is through its Christian school, training about 150 students in kindergarten through 12th grade in addition to a daycare with 200 children. What once was viewed as an opportunity mainly for educating children has grown into a ministry also aimed at reaching parents, McDonald said.

“People know that we’re in the community because of the school. We’re on the main highway that passes through town, and everybody knows we’re the last school zone before you can just take off on the highway and leave town,” he said, noting Santa Fe is between Houston and Galveston.

“I think visibility has mattered a lot for revitalization. Anytime there are parents mingling around outside, like for drop-off in the morning or pickup in the afternoon, I go out there and try to meet parents. Our staff is really good about that, too.”

One of the church’s best-attended events is a fall festival in partnership with the school and daycare.

“The first year we had maybe 1,000 people show up. The fire station came out, the police came out, we had food trucks, the Coast Guard parked a boat out here,” McDonald said. “The second year it doubled, and this last year, we probably had 2,500 to 3,000 people come through.”

Church members individually take an interest in the students, too, the pastor said.

“One of our church ladies wanted to beautify our garden area around the church where we have bushes and flowers. She said, ‘I’m going to teach the kids to do landscaping,’ so she made a butterfly garden with some of the younger kids.

“So our kindergartners and first graders go out there and plant flowers and then butterflies land on them. It’s like a little science project for them,” McDonald said.

The growth of Texas is helping Arcadia First Baptist grow. When McDonald arrived, it was a rural church, but Houston has expanded toward Santa Fe and developers are buying up land near the coast. Projections indicate 3,000 to 6,000 new homes will be built near the church in the next few years, the pastor said, and church members have been knocking on doors and having gospel conversations.

One church member, though, realized the church didn’t have to wait until new residents moved in to share the gospel. Many of the workers constructing the homes are Hispanic, so the church member took along the pastor of Arcadia First Baptist’s Spanish language ministry, and as many as 23 of those who heard a gospel presentation placed their faith in Christ, McDonald said.

“In the last year we’ve had probably over 100 salvations,” he said.

Other efforts Arcadia First Baptist has made toward revitalization include walking the campus to identify maintenance needs and transforming a seldom-used library of 3,000 books into a coffee shop where church members meet seven days a week for various reasons.

Said McDonald: “There have been more gospel conversations in the coffee shop than there have been in that room in all the church’s history.”