Month: March 2022

North Texas church approaching evangelism ‘One’ life at a time

Last July, Lane Prairie Baptist Church joined thousands of other churches participating in the North American Mission Board’s “Who’s Your One” campaign.

The nationwide effort, launched in 2019, challenges Christians to pray for lost people they know with the intent of inviting them into a relationship with Jesus. NAMB recently announced that participating churches have now combined to pray and share the gospel with more than 50,000 “ones.”

At LPBC, members use a clear display filled with colored plastic balls to keep track of their progress with their “ones” who are being prayed for, have heard a gospel presentation, been saved, and been baptized. Each time one of those acts happen, members drop a different colored ball into the display, and each week the church celebrates what God is doing through their efforts.

“We celebrate the gospel whether somebody makes a profession of faith or not,” said Ricky Fuchs, who has served as lead pastor at LPBC since last March.

“It’s really changed the environment in the church.”

—Ricky Fuchs, pastor Lane Prairie Baptist Church Tweet

God has given LPBC much to celebrate. As of this writing, members of LPBC have shared the gospel with their “ones” 836 times, with 156 of those making a profession of faith. Twelve have been baptized. These numbers don’t account for the 57 people who came to faith from March 2021 to July 2021 when a group of about 50 members at the church decided to start using their Wednesday night gathering to pray for the lost prior to beginning “Who’s Your One.”

There’s an evangelistic sprawl happening through all this, as Fuchs said LPBC members are not only sharing the gospel with their “ones” locally, but with anybody they come into contact with. Some have started taking phone calls through a billboard ministry that offers a phone number people can call when they want to find out what true hope is; others are using Zoom to share the good news with family members as far away as Africa.

Giving through the church has been impacted, as well. Fuchs said the church this past year took up the largest Annie Armstrong Easter Offering and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in the church’s 150-year history.

“It’s really changed the environment in the church,” Fuchs said. “I think there’s more unity. There’s more people in service—really all aspects of the church, not just evangelism.”

Lifeway trustees elect first African American woman as trustee chair

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For the first time in its 130-year history, Lifeway Christian Resources will have an African American woman as trustee chair. Missie Branch was elected Tuesday, March 8, by Lifeway trustees during a special-called meeting.

Branch is assistant dean of students to women and director of graduate life at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. A member of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, N.C., Branch began her service on the board in 2017.

Lifeway CEO Ben Mandrell shared his excitement about this historic moment and praised Branch’s leadership ability, character and love for the local church.

“Missie’s character, commitment to the local church, and investment in tomorrow’s ministry leaders give me confidence that she’s the person to lead our board,” Mandrell said. “I’m excited and thankful for her historic appointment as the first African American female to chair our board.

“Missie is a bright person with a tremendous amount of insight and an inner strength from the Lord. I believe she will be a strong, unifying leader. She is a great friend to Lifeway, and I look forward to our deepened partnership.”

Branch expressed her appreciation for the board and their trust in her to lead them well.

“I am humbled by the confidence of my fellow board members,” Branch said. “Leading alongside a group like ours is an honor. When asked to join the board a few years ago, I never anticipated an opportunity like this. I love serving an organization whose mission is directly linked to the ministry and mission of the local church. I’m determined to work with my fellow board members as we seek to honor the Lord and serve our convention.”

Branch was elected vice chair during the trustee meeting held Jan. 25. She will now fill the role vacated by Greg Kannady, who stepped down as chair due to a recent health issue. While Kannady plans to continue his service as a board member, he shared with trustees via email he felt it would be wise to replace him as board chair.

Mandrell offered his appreciation for Kannady’s continued commitment to Lifeway. “We’re all praying for Greg and his family as they face this health challenge together,” Mandrell said.

Trustees also elected Luther McDaniel, Chief Financial Officer at Empirical Capital Partners, to serve as vice chair. McDaniel has served on the board since 2016. He’s a member of First Baptist Church, Hendersonville, Tenn.

“Luther McDaniel’s financial and business expertise is invaluable as he steps into the vice chair role,” Mandrell said. “I’m grateful for his leadership and for the other men and women who faithfully serve on our board.”

Ben Posey, pastor of First Baptist Church in Leroy, Ala., will continue to serve as recording secretary. “I so appreciate Ben’s servant leadership and devotion to serving Christ and His church,” Mandrell said. “The church he pastors is similar to a large majority of Southern Baptist churches—churches that rely on the resources Lifeway provides. It’s indispensable to have pastors like Ben providing feedback and speaking into those resources.”

The next Lifeway trustee meeting is scheduled for August 29-30, 2022.

What’s Your Story? ‘I don’t want to forget this feeling!’

Back in August, when the Delta COVID variant was going strong, I tested positive and just kind of felt like I’d be okay.

And then my wife tested positive at the same time. I wasn’t feeling horrible. I just couldn’t get my fever down. So I went into a hospital here in Dallas. I figured I’d get some oxygen and that was going to be it.

After a few days, I got on a ventilator, but it didn’t help. I got worse until they needed to sedate me to see if that would help. A couple of days later they had to lay me on my stomach so my lungs could work. It’s one of the last things they do to somebody to try to save them. They called my wife, Vanessa, and said, “We’ve done all we can do. His lungs are like bricks.”

Then I had COVID pneumonia. They gave me 100 percent oxygen, and my body still wasn’t responding. I was on the ventilator for 22 days. By the time Vanessa got that call, I’m unconscious. When I later heard her part of the story, I felt so much for what she went through. It was harder than what I had to go through—we have two kids and she’s talking to the doctors and nurses on the phone, hearing the worst-case scenario, and trying to hold it together.

Vanessa decided when she heard that bad news that God was speaking to her: “This is not final. This isn’t what I have planned. You’re hearing this, but don’t take that to heart.” She gathered everybody she could to pray and our church just stepped up and prayed and prayed.

She went to sleep that night not knowing if I was going to make it. Overnight, things dramatically changed. The nurse told her I was able to cut back to 50 percent oxygen. I wasn’t out of the woods, but I was a lot better than I was the day before. I came off sedation, but she still hadn’t been able to come up and visit yet.

She did get to start coming in September. From that day on, she came every day, and that’s just another testament to our church. Our church made sure our kids were picked up and taken to church and taken back home and taken to their activities so she could come to be with me at the hospital.

And God, throughout everything, gave us peace, gave me peace.

Mark Warren Tweet

I was in the ICU for two months. After I had come off sedation my heart rate and oxygen still weren’t very good, but that gradually got better. And then my lungs had issues. My right had so much damage from COVID that even on the ventilator it would collapse. I had to get chest tubes twice.

With the various treatments for my lungs, down my throat and trachea, the doctors were saying, “I don’t know if he’ll be able to sing again” because they knew I was a worship pastor. The pulmonologist thought he might have to remove my right lung.

But God said, “That’s not happening, so don’t take that to heart.” And God, throughout everything, gave us peace, gave me peace.

I’m grateful for that experience because it was a sweet time with Jesus. He was there, and how many times can I count where he was so, so close? He made me “lie down in green pastures.” And I know it gave me so much more empathy for what people go through because I’d never experienced this type of ordeal.

I was in a hospital bed, but at peace. The doctors and nurses saw that and felt it. The nurses would come to our room just to be in our room. They would come to get away from the death and darkness they saw every day. Of course, we knew what was going on, and God was with us. I spent a third month in long-term, acute care, which means you’re getting better but still need care. The only difference is you can go down and do physical therapy in a gym.

When we finally got to come home, the church came in a church bus and welcomed us into our driveway. It was very emotional and … our church has just been through a lot after losing our pastor [Jimmy Pritchard]. I know God used my story here at church to give some hope in a way.

After coming home, I did outpatient therapy, just learning to walk and praying about, “What does it look like when I can come back to church? What am I going to be able to do and when?” But through it all, I had peace about my future. There were so many answered prayers and so many things I could point to that were miraculous; God had his hand in all of it.

I was made to be in relationship with God and continually learning that nothing in life matters as much as that relationship.

Mark Warren Tweet

January 16 was my first Sunday back. It was emotional, it was prayers answered—it was just a great day. I was walking out in the dark, you do a bumper intro, and people are standing up and clapping just to see me. It was great. It was all glory to God. It’s just that he saved me and uses me still. What can be better than that?

It’s a victory for me to be able to come back and be here. So that was an amazing day. I don’t want to forget this feeling. I always want to remain grateful in this.

I went to the pulmonologist two weeks ago and my lungs are doing OK. The pulmonologist said, “You’re going to heal over and then you’re going to be fine,” and even “It’s good that you are using your voice and singing.” So, it’s all green lights from here.

So what’s my story? I was made to be in relationship with God and continually learning that nothing in life matters as much as that relationship.

Want to share a story of what God is doing in your life or your church?

Share your story here

For Houston man, it’s business–but not as usual

Margarito Balon, a business owner and member of Champion Forest Baptist Church, has been able to share the gospel with different professionals in the Houston area by offering a personal and organizational training through John Maxwell’s leadership course.

“I can’t keep quiet about what God did in my life!” Balon said.

His business offers maintenance and repair for commercial kitchen and refrigeration equipment, serving an average of 100 restaurants. Balon said all his clients are now his candidates for sharing the gospel through the leadership workshops he offers.

Balon was born and raised in a town in Mexico called Tetelcingo, and came to the United States at a very young age. When he migrated to this country, he came with many dreams but said he made bad decisions that led him to become a drug dealer and work for the mafia. He was in jail for a while and on the verge of seeing his family—his wife, Marta Guzman, and their three children—destroyed.

While he was immersed in alcoholism, his family came to know Christ through his son’s girlfriend, who is a Christian. Through the persistent invitation of his daughter-in-law, Balon was the last in his family to receive Jesus as his Savior. She invited him to church, and he agreed to go until, little by little, he surrendered to God’s love.

Now he is doing the same work, walking people toward the cross through the second chance God gave him. “I have seen many people come to Christ through this leadership program,” Balon said.

“I can’t keep quiet about what God did in my life!”

Margarito Balon Tweet

For five years he has served in this ministry accompanying his pastor and mentor, Esteban Vazquez, who is the Conroe campus pastor for Champion Forest. Vazquez is the director of the Leadership program “Un Millón de Líderes” (A Million Leaders) in Latin America and John C. Maxwell’s “Más Allá del Éxito USA” (Beyond Success – USA). Balon was trained by Vazquez and he assisted the pastor for several years before becoming a trainer and course leader himself.

“At first, I didn’t want to because I didn’t feel qualified, but with God’s help and the support of my pastor, I was able to begin to share with others what I learned,” Balon said.

He said the pandemic did not stop him from continuing with the trainings. “There are no excuses; it is a matter of wanting to.” Balon began to teach the course to family members in Mexico via video call and at the same time began contacting the owners or leaders of the restaurants that serve as his clients. Balon has been leading the courses for two years. During that time he has trained about 10 businesses, in addition to former colleagues and family members, and seen an average of 40 people come to Christ in Houston and other countries.

Balon is now in charge of the Texas area to raise up leaders so they, too, can teach others this evangelistic leadership course. “We use the model of Christ, who prepared his disciples so that they could then go and prepare others,” Balon said. “Many are surprised that this course is free of charge, but it is. My pastor once told me to never dare charge for this course because the gospel is free.”

Those interested in obtaining more information about Balon’s ministry or needing leadership training can contact him at lidereusa1@gmail.com
or contact Pastor Esteban Vázquez at lidereusa@gmail.com.

Let’s charge ahead with confidence

As a former athlete and coach, I have competed in games that demanded a strategic plan to win. At times, this required multiple options—a Plan A and a Plan B—while at other times we needed to be committed to a singular strategy to bring us victory.

When it comes to fulfilling Jesus’ mission of redemption, we have been given one clear game plan: become disciples who make disciples. This is his Plan A. There is no Plan B! Jesus has commissioned us to go and proclaim the gospel, inviting people into relationship with him. We see this in the Great Commission in Matthew 28.

Jesus’ final words to his disciples before ascending was a call to go and tell the world his story. Jesus is the hope of the world and has sent his followers to be his Plan A to take him to the world! In this announcement, there is one clear and emphatic imperative: “make disciples.” Our primary calling is connecting people to Jesus and his ever-restoring life, teaching them to obey, and sending them out! So, all our going, baptizing, and teaching is about making disciples who make disciples. This is overwhelming when you recognize the responsibility with which the church has been entrusted. However, there are two truths that give us confidence to pursue his mission.

We must be a people who seek his presence through prayer and ask his Spirit to fill us.

Jayson Larson Tweet

First, we have been sent by his power. In verse 18, he says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Jesus declares that ALL authority has been given to him. Jesus is Lord of the universe! In his earthly ministry, Jesus shows power over disease and sickness, wind and waves, and demonic powers. But most importantly, through his death and resurrection, Jesus has power over sin, death, and hell! There is nothing in all the universe he doesn’t have authority and power over, and this includes every nation. And with his power and authority, we are sent. This is our confidence as we engage the world. We do not have to be afraid, worried, or intimidated. Our confidence does not rest in our abilities, accomplishments, or aptitudes but in his authority! We have been sent by the one who is in complete control of the universe!

Second, we are sent with his presence. In verse 20, he says “… And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” How is Jesus with us? Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God’s presence is with us. He is Immanuel, God with us! This is where our confidence is found. Just as the Lord comforted Moses and Joshua with his presence when he sent them to conquer the land, Jesus is sending us to conquer the land and usher people out of bondage. All authority has been given to him and he is with us!

This is why prayer is so essential to the Great Commission. It is vital for us both individually and corporately. We are called to a task beyond our capability; therefore, we need the power of God that is only found in the presence of God. We must be a people who seek his presence through prayer and ask his Spirit to fill us. We don’t have to be afraid; he is with us!

Pastor to Pastor: The bi-vocational call is different

In my experience, bi-vocational ministry has been exceptionally challenging. In my secular vocation, I have a company with goals to grow and make a profit. Of course, this comes with many expectations, and I am employed to provide a return on investment.

The role of the lead pastor in ministry includes preaching, counseling, leadership development, evangelism, church finances, meetings, vision casting, and more. One has to give an account to God for how they shepherd his flock—not to mention my calling to my family.

Managing the task of going to extracurricular activities, dating your wife, being present spiritually and emotionally to your family, raising children, doing homework, and more can be a challenge at times. As a result, there are many sleepless nights, early mornings, and challenging days.

Over the years, I have learned so much about being a bi-vocational pastor through trial and error. Here are a couple of things I have learned:

Balance does not exist. Focus on priorities

There is this thought that one has to balance their schedule to make sure that each vocation gets a set amount of time and energy. Unfortunately, I have found this impossible to accomplish. There are times and seasons when I need to be more available to my secular vocation vs. my nonsecular profession (and vice versa).

For example, as a sales professional, large deals require maximum effort. At that moment and time, focus is necessary to close this deal. This means that something else is going to receive less time and energy.

Pastors can have a lot of guilt in bi-vocational ministry. One can feel like they are robbing Peter to pay Paul. But in bi-vocational ministry, this is a normal cycle. Instead of trying to balance, I focus on priorities. What is required of me in this season?

I have made an effort to prioritize my focus on preaching, teaching, leadership development, and vision casting. Other tasks are delegated to our team, outsourced, or put on hold until a leader develops.

“Pastors, don’t be so hard on yourselves. Give yourself lots of grace.”

Joe Ogletree, Image Church in Cypress Tweet

Give yourself grace

Due to busy calendars and divided attention between vocations, there will be times that you completely miss the mark. Missing the mark can show up as an incomplete task, a sermon that is not your best, missing an assignment, etc.

Without grace, rough days turn into despair. Despair shifts into discouragement. If you had a rough day at work, go to sleep and try again tomorrow. In this performance-driven society, we can determine our worth by our work and have an unnecessary and unhealthy attachment to growth. At the end of the day, our worth is not defined by our work but by the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Pastors, don’t be so hard on yourselves. Give yourself lots of grace.

Don’t compare your ministry to others

Most pastors fall into the trap of comparing their ministry to those around them. This is especially true of bi-vocational pastors.

The bi-vocational pastor must accept that his ministry will not look like that of a full-time pastor. Comparing will make the bi-vocational pastor add events to the church calendar and be discontent with what God is doing in his ministry.

In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), each man received a different number of talents. God does not give talents equally, but he does expect us to be faithful over what he has entrusted us.

Bi-vocational pastors, your calling is different. Make disciples, reach the lost, preach the word, lead with prayer, entrust the work to God in your context. It is God who adds to the church and provides for your family. In this season, he will give you the strength and the wisdom to endure.

Ministry of Reconciliation: West Columbia church plant walks toward those who have walked away

People who left the church after difficult experiences and are hesitant to return are a main focus of West Oaks Church in West Columbia, a church plant striving to meet people where they are and fill a need in an average Texas town.

“We’ve said all along we want to be a church for the unchurched and the de-churched, the skeptics who just don’t trust the church,” Colby Wallace, pastor of West Oaks, said.

West Columbia is about an hour south of Houston, and within a span of 10 years the town has grown from 4,000 to 7,000 people—attributable in part to an expansion by Chevron Phillips Chemical Company.

“What has been really cool is to see people who were burned by the church begin to come back and life being breathed into broken marriages and people coming to know Jesus,” Wallace said. “We have a really broken community because our community is predominantly shift workers, and they have a really high divorce and debt rate. Just seeing those families finally have a church where they feel welcome has been exciting to see.”

Wallace grew up at First Baptist Church in West Columbia and served as a student pastor there for 10 years before God led him, through the suggestions of his pastor and a few others, to plant a new congregation in the same town two years ago.

“We went to the deacons, and the deacons said, ‘Can we be your sending church?’ No one in the deacon body was against it,” Wallace said. “They were unanimous: We want to support you to plant a church in our town, and we want to give you seven families to help you make this happen.”

Though West Columbia had several churches at the time, none of them were full on Sunday, Wallace said. “Let’s say you made all of them full. You still weren’t reaching half of the community.”

Wallace identified a significant need in small towns: a place for people to go after they had been “burned on traditional church.”

“For us, we just said, ‘We need to go to where they are, and we need to help them see they can come to church if they’re a mess.’”

Colby Wallace, West Oaks Church in West Columbia Tweet

“For us, we just said, ‘We need to go to where they are, and we need to help them see they can come to church if they’re a mess,’” Wallace said. “It’s OK if you’re a mess. You don’t have to get dressed up to come to church. We just want you to be there, and we want to just know you.”

West Oaks launched with 250 people in February 2020 and met at a high school five Sundays before COVID shut them down. During that time, they got creative with outreaches, such as asking people to sign up online if they would like to receive Easter egg baskets.

“We took over 250 Easter egg baskets, just drove and dropped them off to people,” Wallace said.

At the two-year mark, West Oaks has 100 members and sees 250 to 300 people most Sundays, the pastor said. They’ve had more than 35 baptisms, and they recently purchased 14 acres of land in town for a future campus.

“There’s a hunger in our community for authentic Christianity ... We want to build relationships. People are responding to just interacting with Christians who are normal people who love them and are listening to their stories.”

Colby Wallace Tweet

“There’s a hunger in our community for authentic Christianity, so our entire approach to ministry is relational,” Wallace said. “We want to build relationships. People are responding to just interacting with Christians who are normal people who love them and are listening to their stories.”

Wallace emphasized to the core team the importance of community involvement in order to reach people. He became president of the Little League board with that goal.

“I joined that with the intent of meeting those people,” he said. “Now all but two of them go to our church, and none of them really went to church before.”

Others are involved in city organizations such as the chamber of commerce. West Oaks has won first place for best float in the past three local parades, Wallace said.

The pastor told about an older couple whose grown children joined West Oaks. The couple hadn’t been to church in more than 35 years, but they started attending because their children asked them to go.

The woman “kept saying, ‘We just feel welcome. In the past, every church we were part of, we just felt like we weren’t good enough. We didn’t fit the part. In this one, we actually feel like we’re wanted,” Wallace recounted.

When First Baptist sent Wallace and seven other families out to start West Oaks, it averaged around 125 people on Sundays, he said, so it was an act of faith.

“It’s a church that took a chance to send some of their best people out to do something like this, which is a really tough task,” Wallace said. “I’m grateful for them because their desire is to see God’s Kingdom come, not just their church’s.”

Lone Star Scoop • March 2022

‘Who’s Your One’ campaign leads to 41 coming to faith at FBC Henderson

Pastor David Higgs wasn’t sure if 2021 was the best time to launch a major evangelism strategy at his church, First Baptist Church of Henderson. After all, the world was still undergoing a pandemic and some members of his community were still hesitant to attend public events. In hindsight, the timing probably couldn’t have been better. After attending a “Who’s Your One” evangelism training at Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview with his entire staff, Higgs led his church to participate in the effort that aims to challenge each member of a church to pray for and share the gospel with at least one person they know. Three hundred church members signed up to participate, and the church recently reported that 41 people have come to faith so far as a result of the campaign. “We achieve more if we get all the people of God to do all the work of God. The more people we can get engaged in evangelism, the more we will reach,” Higgs said. “It reminds me that God does reward our evangelistic efforts.” —NAMB

Giving through SBTC increases in 2021

As it closed the books on 2021, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention celebrated giving numbers that were up across the board. In 2021, $40.6 million was given through the SBTC, with $13.88 million staying in the state to reach Texas and $26.72 million sent outside the state to impact the world. Of those figures, $27.2 million was given through Cooperative Program efforts while $13.3 million was given through special offerings. Both of those figures represented a 12.66 percent increase. “It’s incredible what SBTC churches are doing to reach Texas and impact the world together,” SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick said. Receipts for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering were up about 8 percent ($8,812,458); Annie Armstrong Easter Offering giving was up 18.5 percent ($2,902,492); and Reach Texas giving was up almost 30 percent ($1,604,411). —Texan Staff

Pastor, founding SBTC board member Sutton dies at 79

William “Bill” Blaylock Sutton, who served as pastor of multiple churches until his retirement in 2021 and served on SBTC’s Executive Board in its formative years, died from complications of pneumonia Feb. 2. He was 79.

A longtime resident of McAllen, he most recently pastored Trinity Baptist Church, helping a 75-year-old church relocate from a landlocked urban site to 10 acres along prime frontage property donated by a deacon. Prior to what he considered a “nine-year interim pastorate” at Trinity, Sutton was the longest-tenured pastor of First Baptist Church of McAllen, where he served from 1986 to 2008 and was named pastor emeritus upon his retirement in 2008.

Other pastorates included North Hopkins Baptist Church in Sulphur Springs, Texas; First Baptist Church of Pine Hills in Orlando, Fla.; and Windsor Park Baptist Church in Fort Smith, Ark.; as well as associate pastor of Dauphin Way Baptist Church in Mobile, Ala.

Sutton is survived by his wife of 54 years, Martha; and sons William Blaylock Jr., Richard Bryan, and Stephen Davis. The Suttons additionally have eight grandchildren.

—Texan Staff

Creekstone Church moves into permanent building 5 years after being planted

Creekstone Church, planted in Keller in 2016, moved into its own building in North Richland Hills recently, providing its members with a permanent location and much-needed space. The congregation held its first service in its new building Feb. 6. Kason Branch, the congregation’s lead and founding pastor, said the new building is a result of “the faithfulness of our God.” “The journey over the last five years, in church planting years, this was quick,” Branch told members during the first service. The church has experienced 47 baptisms over the past five years. “The Lord has given our church a practical gift. It’s not a gift to be wasted or shown off,” Branch said. “… He has a purpose and a plan for our church and he has given us this church that we may stay on mission for him, reaching people for Christ and doing good works in his name. He has blessed us.” —CreekstoneChurch.org

Pause Retreat for bivo pastors set for Amarillo

A Pause Retreat for bi-vocational pastors is scheduled for March 18-19 at the Courtyard Amarillo Downtown. There is no cost to attend this event, which is sponsored by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

Speakers will be Will and Ali Heath and Alex Gonzales. Mr. Heath will speak about navigating conflict. He is the founder of Sherpa, a coaching company that helps ministries steward seasons of pastoral transition.

“Bi-vocational pastors make up the majority of pastors across the Lone Star State and country,” said Gonzales, who serves as a ministry associate with the SBTC. “Like countless pastors, they are spread too thin mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Therefore, we try to network with bivo pastors across the state as well as offer a retreat once a year for them and their wives thanks to the generosity of SBTC churches that give to the Cooperative Program.”

Space for this event is limited. To register, visit sbtexas.com/pause.

—Texan Staff

AAEO adopts ‘United’ theme as offering approaches

This year’s Annie Armstrong Easter Offering Week of Prayer is March 6-13, and the theme of this year’s offering is “United.” Gifts to the offering support more than 2,200 missionaries and their families as they reach North America with the gospel and enable hundreds of churches to be planted and thousands of disciples of Christ to be made. The 2022 offering goal is $70 million, and 100 percent of the gifts given go directly to the mission field. The offering’s namesake was a bold advocate for missionaries and their work, championing missions support among Southern Baptist churches while helping to create a rich legacy of people awakened and responding to God’s call to pray, give, and go. —Texan Staff

EMPOWER ’22: As conference wraps, a question lingers: ‘Will you tell them?’

IRVING—Speakers and breakout leaders at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s 2022 Empower evangelism conference, held February 28-March 1 at the Irving Convention Center, challenged in-person and online attendees to go “all in” for Jesus by sharing the gospel.

Monday kicked off with the Classics luncheon featuring songwriter and humorist Mark Lowry and the Classics session with Matt Queen of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Jim Richards, SBTC executive director emeritus; and Herb Reavis of Florida’s North Jacksonville Baptist Church. Music was provided by The Erwins gospel group.

Author Jen Wilkin and songwriter Laura Story headlined Monday afternoon’s Empower Ladies Session while breakouts led by 11 speakers on topics from Christian comedy to next-generation issues, new pastor orientation, and social justice and the gospel provided something for everyone. Breakouts continued Tuesday afternoon with 17 presenters offering hour-long sessions on such subjects as mobilizing teens, disaster relief, online worship, campus evangelism, discipleship, and LGBTQ issues in the church.

Main sessions featured worship led by Initiative Worship.

Monday: Going “all in” for Jesus

South Carolina evangelist Clayton King and his son Jacob, a college student, both from Clayton King Ministries, kicked off the main session Monday night.

“I’m assuming if you came here that you love the gospel. And you want to see people cross over from death to life,” the elder King told the crowd, adding that since mid-January, he had seen more than 1,200 people make first-time professions of faith. Today people seem more open to the gospel than before, he said. “We just have to share it.”

King said the “most effective tool of evangelism” for men and women in ministry involves family witness. Spiritual mothers, fathers, marriages, and children “can be a great testimony to the people around you that Jesus Christ is real,” King said.

Caleb Turner, co-pastor of Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church, followed the Kings, bringing a message from Matthew 21:18-22, Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree. The tree, filled with leaves, merely gave the “façade” of fruitfulness, a danger that churches must avoid. Turner cautioned against “warm pews and cold hearts” and urged pursuing the “faith of the fruitful” through prayer.

Jonathan (J.P.) Pokluda, pastor of Waco’s Harris Creek Baptist Church, rounded out Monday evening’s main session with a message from Luke 18, “the rich young ruler,” on reaching the next generation. Pokluda also guested at Late Night afterward.

“If you’re not reaching the future of your church, your church has no future,” Pokluda said, recalling his early days as a 21-year-old new Christian balancing faith and the world. Young people are “looking for that example of someone who says, ‘You know, I don’t need the world. I’m going to follow Jesus. I’m gonna go all in, for Jesus,’” he urged.

Tuesday: But God…

Tony Mathews, SBTC Missional Ministries senior strategist, opened Tuesday’s main session with a challenge: “No matter how bad your circumstance is, God can use you to advance the gospel. So trust him.” Mathews continued, “Trust him with joy,” reading and preaching on the apostle Paul’s experiences in Philippians 1:12-16.

Evangelist Greg Stier, founder of the Denver-based Dare 2 Share Ministries, which trains teens in evangelism, regaled the audience with tales of his own family and the power of the gospel.

“I don’t come from a typical religious, church-going, pew-sitting, hymn-singing family. I come from a family filled with body-building, tobacco-chewing, beer-drinking thugs,” Stier said. The Denver Mafia even nicknamed his uncles “The Crazy Brothers,” he added. All that changed when a “hillbilly preacher” nicknamed “Yankee” visited Stier’s Uncle Jack—a “dangerous man” often in and out of jail.

Jack, and eventually Stier’s whole family, were saved, all because Yankee went outside his comfort zone.

“The gospel changes everything,” he exclaimed, urging believers to “go outside the camp” and meet non-believers where they are.

A poignant moment occurred Tuesday morning onstage as Jeremy Freeman, pastor of Newcastle Baptist Church near Oklahoma City, and his son Caleb shared the story of Caleb’s miraculous survival after a horrendous rainy-night collision with an 18-wheeler on Interstate 35 on Dec. 19, 2017. Despite suffering a severe traumatic brain injury, with residual physical effects, Caleb has recovered remarkably, attends college, and shares his testimony often.

“In your life, people are going to say a lot of stuff to you,” Caleb said. “But God will always have the final say.” The pair presented a breakout session at Empower that afternoon.

On his first official day as the president of NAMB’s Send Network, Vance Pitman concluded Tuesday morning’s program, first describing his move from being pastor/planter of Hope Church in Las Vegas to his new position.

“I don’t think you can accomplish the Great Commission without planting new churches,” Pitman said. “When you engage cities with the gospel and disciples are made, then churches are born as a by-product.” He discussed the first “church plant in Jerusalem” from Acts, where 3,000 were saved. Within six months, Pitman said, there were 100,000 new followers of Jesus in Jerusalem.

Pitman called on Christians to be “a praying people … a united people … a witnessing people and … a generous people.”

Tuesday afternoon concluded with a message from Ed Newton, pastor of Community Bible Church in San Antonio. “I believe God wants to do a new thing” in this post-pandemic world, Newton said, describing the “up-in-out” lifestyle of imitating Christ.

Galvan and Simmons honored

In other highlights, the W. A. Criswell Award for Pastoral Evangelism was presented to David Galvan, a SBC and SBTC leader who recently retired from his long tenure as pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida in Dallas. Joe Simmons, crusade evangelism veteran and SBTC evangelism consultant for 12 years, received the Roy Fish Lifetime Achievement Award for Vocational Evangelism.

Empower 2022 registrations numbered 1,964 in-person and online.

Empower 2023 is scheduled for Feb. 27-28 at the Irving Convention Center.

We need not fear evangelism

When someone says the word “evangelism,” followers of Christ tend to tighten up. Why?

Evangelism scares us. When we’re not regularly telling others about Jesus, we feel guilty. When we are, we wonder if we’re doing it right, if the person we’re sharing with is going to reject us or, worse, ask us a biblical question for which we won’t have an answer.

I think most of us fit into at least one of those scenarios. If so, here are a few things to consider that may help jump-start your evangelistic efforts:

Are you praying?

“Prayer,” E.M. Bounds once said, “is the mightiest agent to advance God’s work.” There’s no greater starting place in evangelism than prayer. Prayer has no step-by-step process and isn’t hindered by a lack of interest on the part of others. One praying person can make an eternal difference.

Regardless of your resources, the size of your church, and all else, you can pray. “God, I want this person to love and trust you” is enough. In evangelism—and everything else—prayer ought to be our first response, not our last resort.

Are you preparing?

Scripture instructs us to give an account for the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15). At the same time, it’s common for followers of Jesus to say things like, “I don’t have a good testimony.” If the Holy Spirit of God lives within you, you’ve got a story to tell.

The problem is not that God isn’t living and active. The problem is, we often don’t recognize all the times and ways he is at work in our lives. That’s where church leaders can have a huge impact. You don’t need video modules, guest speakers, expensive curriculum, campaigns, or emphases to sit down with believers and teach them how to be intentional about reflecting on the struggles they’ve survived and how God carried and provided for them through those times.

The more you help your people view life through a spiritual lens, the more you’ll equip them to dwell in the peace Christ promises when the next storm comes. There’s great value in helping someone unpack the past so they are ready for the future. In fact, there’s a word for this kind of practice. It’s called “discipleship.”

In Luke 12, Jesus tells his disciples to not worry because the Holy Spirit will give them the words to testify about him in any given moment.

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Are you empowered?

Our evangelistic hesitations are often rooted in a fear that, when the time to share our faith arises, we won’t know what to say. Scripture continually pushes back against this kind of fear. In Luke 12, Jesus tells his disciples to not worry because the Holy Spirit will give them the words to testify about him in any given moment. In Acts 1, the disciples are told that they will receive power to be Jesus’ witnesses when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.

I dare you to make a head-first, eyes-closed leap into a conversation with someone about Jesus. I don’t believe the biblical promise is that you’ll become a majestic spiritual orator in those moments. I believe the promise is that the Holy Spirit won’t waste whatever words you use. Isn’t that worth the risk of looking foolish?

Are you ready?

I believe there’s a heavy guilt carried daily by not just followers of Jesus, but pastors and church leaders who feel like they’ve missed the mark when it comes to evangelism. No matter what has happened in the past, God will put people all around you today who need to meet Jesus.

Tell somebody about Jesus in your life today. He will take care of the rest.