Month: February 2025

Emphasis on prayer, evangelism, discipleship spurs revitalization at growing rural church

When Shawn Brewer came in view of a call to pastor First Baptist Church in Paradise, about 40 miles northwest of Fort Worth, he preached to about 60 people that Sunday morning.

After accepting a call from the church, he was greeted by about half that number on his first Sunday due to various difficulties, including the COVID shutdown.

“The church was struggling,” Brewer remembers of that time. “They needed to decide if we were going to grow or are we going to exist.”

Brewer had pastored larger churches in Eastland and Lubbock prior to moving to Paradise. A health crisis in the family led him to step away from his leadership of a church in Lubbock. After that crisis passed, Shawn didn’t know what God had for his future.

“This is my fourth full-time church, but I didn’t really know if I’d be in ministry again,” Brewer recalls.

At the same time, FBC Paradise knew of Brewer through a church member, but also knew he’d led larger churches than theirs. Some of the pastor search committee members doubted a pastor with Brewer’s resume could be drawn to a church one member called “beat up.”

After a short time in Paradise, the new pastor attended an associational meeting up the road in Decatur. One of his reasons for attending that day was to talk about prayer ministry—a keen interest of Brewer’s. Leaders of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Regenesis church revitalization initiative made presentations during that meeting. After listening to Anthony Svajda— pastoral ministries associate for the SBTC—talk about it, Brewer decided to explore the process with his church.

Church leadership agreed Regenesis would be a good idea, so Brewer formed a nine-person leadership team to help with the evaluation of its ministry. Svajda worked personally with the church.

“[Regenesis] helped us look at ourselves,” Brewer said. “It helped us examine why we do some of the things we do … some things that needed to be improved or removed … how we might be more efficient and effective at being the church that Christ wants us to be.”

The pastor led the church to implement a three-point emphasis on evangelism, discipleship, and prayer as it sought to have a more effective ministry. Since entering the process, the church has baptized four people, including three adult men—the first baptisms in a while for FBC Paradise.

Ren Young has been a member of the church for 38 years, ever since he and his wife married. He’s seen a lot of ups and downs at the church. Young served as a member of the Regenesis leadership team and remembers some of the hard truths they discovered.

“We had to face of lot of things we were using for excuses for how stagnant we’d become,” he said. “We had just stopped nurturing our members.”

But Young sees a foundational change in the current ministry of the church.

“[Regenesis] helped us look at ourselves. It helped us examine why we do some of the things we do … some things that needed to be improved or removed.”

—Shawn Brewer Tweet

“We’re praying now,” he said. “Shawn has been dynamic in leading us to be a praying church. We’re more Spirit-led. Discipleship is one of the things I’ll get really excited about as it grows in the church. The prayer ministry is one thing that has prepared us for [growth in discipleship].”

Brewer has trained more than 20 church members in discipleship, including becoming disciple-makers themselves. The three-part emphasis has begun to bear fruit.

“Our job is to be faithful,” the pastor emphasized. “It’s about being faithful to be the church where we are. If we do that and share the gospel, God will provide. We’ve had some real eye-opening experiences with people stepping up and saying, ‘Hey, we can reach people!’ and we have.”

Attendance at FBC Paradise has grown since that first day four years ago. Average attendance for the fall months of 2024 was 130. By teaching the congregation prayer, discipleship, and evangelism, Brewer envisions the revitalization being experienced by the church spilling out into the town and region. His vision is to host 20 evangelistic events (block parties, Easter lunch, etc.) over the next three years.

“We’re seeing our people embrace that,” he added. “It’s not just the same people who work and participate. We’re actually looking for ways to interact with the [community] to see if God’s working to share the gospel.”

With his long perspective of the church’s life, Young noted a time when the church was missing some of the younger age groups that form a foundation for any congregation’s future. He recalls when his own kids were teenagers that there were almost no kids in the church’s student ministry. He’s excited to see that change over the past couple of years, experiencing an increased feeling of life in the church he’s served for decades.

“I can tell the church is growing,” he said. “You’ve got to look for a seat on Sunday, and I love it. It’s a little noisy … we have a lot of kids and young people. It’s a joy to be at church!”

4 common questions about pastors’ kids

On March 9, 2016, an off-duty Jacksonville, Fla., police officer was taking his 14-year-old son to school when he decided to pull over a Cadillac that was driving erratically. The driver, Kevin Rojas, had just threatened his girlfriend with a gun and fired shots in their house before taking off in his car.

Rojas immediately opened fire, hitting the officer in the head, upper body, and hand. Meanwhile, the officer’s brave son managed to call for help. Fortunately, Rojas was apprehended soon afterward and the deputy made a full recovery.

That unnamed father-officer had a tough decision to make when his work and family priorities collided that day. Those of us who are privileged to lead our homes and ministries often live with a similar tension.

Here are four common questions I get about pastoring and parenting:

1. Should I protect my kids from church conflict?

Pastors who believe they need to guard their children from major church problems are not wrong, but I want to suggest a caveat. If your children are teenagers, they likely have already heard about these problems, especially if they concern you. Consider starting a high-level conversation that will help you discover what they know, as well as help you discern what they need to know. Is it better for them to hear the truth from you, or some jaded version of it from someone else?

"Make sure the grace you preach at church reflects the grace you practice at home—for yourself, as well as your kids."

Mark Dance Tweet

2. How should I shepherd my kids at home?

Some believe there are only two types of ministry parents: those who lead in regular family devotions, and those who struggle with the challenges of parenting. My suggestion is to simply read short passages and pray with your young children before they go to bed. As they get older, make mealtime a more casual-yet-intentional discipleship opportunity.

When our kids were teenagers, it seemed the only time they opened up was when I was ready to go to bed. My wife Janet and I decided we would drop everything whenever our kids made even the smallest initiative toward conversation. As empty nesters, we still practice that today.

3. How often should we make our kids go to church?

The Bible teaches weekly worship, so Janet and I were inflexible about Sunday mornings, yet we did give them more freedom as they got older about Wednesdays. If you do make your kids go “every time the doors are open,” make sure it is their interests which are being considered and not just your own.

4. How can I keep my kids from hating the church?

Do not go into pastor panic if your college-age kids leave the church or question their faith for a season. I suspect most are looking to make sure their beliefs are something they own and not just inherited.

Two-thirds of those who attended church regularly in high school dropped out for at least one year as a young adult, according to a 2019 Lifeway Research study. Janet and I often tell pastors and wives that most preachers’ kids will go through a temporary season of rebellion.

A well-managed home (1 Timothy 3:4) should not be confused with parenting perfectionism. Make sure the grace you preach at church reflects the grace you practice at home—for yourself, as well as your kids.

As Empower Student Rally nears, teen testifies to how Jesus used last year’s event as a spiritual wake-up call

Colton Weltman listened intently as evangelist Ryan Fontenot shared the gospel with the audience of nearly 750 youth and leaders at last year’s Empower Conference Student Rally.

“I want you to know tonight that God loves you. God absolutely loves you,” Fontenot said. “Jesus loves you. Jesus will meet you. Jesus won’t leave you right where you are. … You come to Jesus in order to get right with God.”

Colton, then a junior at Hebron High School in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton, wasn’t sure. He had gone to church some and had even been baptized at a Christian summer camp. But was he saved?

Soon after Colton’s camp baptism, his dad, Dean, who had been partly raised by his Jewish grandparents, became an “overnight convert” after recognizing the messianic message of Isaiah 53 while listening to sermons on the Torah.

“I thought I had accidentally skipped to the New Testament, but when I realized I was listening to the prophet Isaiah, I immediately knew Jesus was the Messiah,” Dean recalled.

Afterward, he said he began to see Jesus everywhere in the Old Testament. He started taking the whole family to church, eventually finding a home at Lewisville’s Lakeland Baptist.

Colton attended last February’s Empower rally with friends at the invitation of Lakeland youth pastor Matt Wooster. And Colton had questions.

“I figured I should just be part of the group and go,” Colton later said. “It turned out pretty good,” he added, noting it was “pretty cool to see all those people give their lives to Christ that day,” a reference to the 18 young people who expressed a decision to follow Jesus at the rally.

Colton wasn’t one of them. Yet.

Wooster recalled that at the end of the rally, as Fontenot issued the gospel invitation, he turned to Colton and asked, “What do you think?”

Colton mentioned his prior baptism. When Wooster asked him why he had been baptized, the student replied, “It seemed like the next best step to take.”

Wooster responded by walking Colton through the meaning of baptism as a public demonstration of faith in Christ. He shared the Romans Road to salvation with Colton, echoing Fontenot’s message.

“We prayed together about the Holy Spirit moving Colton towards submitting his life to Jesus,” Wooster said. Later Colton texted Wooster, requesting a graphic of the Romans Road.

Saved from sin

Back at Lakeland, Wooster and Colton chatted as the teen was about to drive off after the next Wednesday night’s student service. As they talked, Colton brought up the student rally.

“Can I make Jesus my Savior?” he asked Wooster.

“You mean right now?” Wooster answered.

“Yep,” Colton replied as he got out of his car to stand by Wooster, who led him in prayer to ask Jesus to become his Savior.

“I had him pray in the clearest way he knew how that sin was his biggest problem and that Jesus was the solution,” Wooster said. “ … He was able to say in his own words that he needed forgiveness from sin and a relationship with Jesus, and that he needed to submit to Jesus. We prayed together, but in all that had transpired, the Holy Spirit had worked in his heart.”

“I thought I was saved. I thought I had already done everything right. But from our conversation, I realized I hadn’t. I didn’t feel like I was saved,” Colton said. “I hadn’t prayed a prayer like that. Not like that.”

Changed forever

Fast forward one year.

Now a senior at Hebron, Colton confirmed that Jesus continues to work in his life.

A competitive skeet shooter at school, Colton now clearly understands his life had fallen short of the target of God’s holiness and that he had found the answer in a relationship with Christ.

He likes to tell others that story, he says, “all the time.”

Toward the end of this fall’s term, he shared the gospel with another student in shop class. When the semester ended, their class schedules would change.

“I’ve talked to him every once in a while [about the Lord]. He knows he is a sinner. He doesn’t know Jesus,” Colton said. One day, “I just told him straight up: ‘The only way you’re ever gonna feel better is through Jesus. You’ve got to stop living this sinful life that you are living. As soon as you do, you’re gonna feel better.’”

Colton invited the friend to church.

“I don’t know if I’m ever going to see him again. Hebron is a big school,” Colton said. “But I told him to let me know if he wants to go to church.”

The entire Weltman family is active at Lakeland, including Colton’s mother Chinh and siblings Grayson and Emma.

Of his son’s first baptism, Dean said, “I don’t think he understood the meaning of being a Christian,” but since then, with his time at Lakeland, he “really came to understand and appreciate Jesus.”

Since Empower, Colton admits he is “taking Jesus seriously, reading the Bible, hanging out with people who are likeminded,” and trying to “implement what Jesus teaches” into his life.

Molina to lead National Hispanic Baptist Network in full-time role

DALLAS (BP)—The National Hispanic Baptist Network has elevated its executive director, Bruno Molina, from a part-time role to a new full-time role to oversee the organization’s diverse offering of support to Hispanic churches and leaders across the Southern Baptist Convention.

“I’m thrilled that, after two years of serving in this role on a part-time volunteer basis, I can focus full-time on reaching the Hispanic community and through them realizing our vision ‘that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God,'” Molina said.

“I’m so glad that the NHBN will now have Dr. Bruno Molina serving as executive director on a full-time basis. He not only had the vision of what NHBN can and will become, but his life-long service to Hispanic Baptists will serve him well as he serves Hispanic Baptists all across the United States,” said Jesse Rincones, chairman of the NHBN’s Board of Directors. Rincones is also the Executive Director of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas (Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas), and the pastor of Alliance Church in Lubbock.

“The work of the National Hispanic Baptist Network is needed now more than ever. The 3,400 Hispanic churches in the SBC need a network like this at the national level. It’s exciting to see how God is already working to bring unity, collaboration, and culturally contextualized resources and experiences that is so needed in our churches,” Rincones added.

Molina will oversee the NHBN’s daily operations, including its 11 ministry teams: Prayer, Evangelism, Discipleship, Missions Mobilization, Emerging Leaders, Revitalization, Finance, Education, Women’s Ministry, Pastoral Care, and Church Planting.

He served bi-vocationally with the Navigators ministry, and for the last 16 years Molina has been the Language & Interfaith Evangelism Associate for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, partnering with churches by encouraging, equipping, and resourcing them to evangelize the people of over 300 language groups and many faiths throughout Texas.

In addition to formerly serving as a pastor, church planter, and human resources manager, Molina is an adjunct professor of apologetics, theology, and world religions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also teaches at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, taught at Louisiana Baptist University, the Baptist Seminary in Havana Cuba, and Baptist Seminary in Nogales, Mexico.

“Hispanic Southern Baptists make up a mission force of bilingual and transcultural missionaries that are poised to make a significant kingdom impact,” Molina said. “United for the His glory, we exist to connect on mission, contribute resources, and celebrate what God is doing among us in collaboration with the body of Christ.”

This article originally appeared in Baptist Press.

Evangelism for everybody

How did God use a simple, practical approach to sharing the gospel to grow a church?

Here’s our story

Do you remember those old insurance commercials with the phrase, “So easy, a caveman could do it,” in the early 2000s? I do, though the grey hairs in my beard remind me that was nearly a quarter century ago. Around the same time, there were also the office supply store “Easy Button” commercials. Man has often looked for ways to do things easier, faster, cheaper, etc.

That also spills into the church world, often in church growth or revitalization. Churches in decline are usually desperate for ways to see numerical or financial growth that are easy, fast, cheap, and so forth. And for good reason. Maybe the church is a few bad weeks from closing its doors or letting someone go. Shortcuts to a turnaround would be a blessing, but we probably all know from experience how shortcuts fall short of lasting change.

But what if we got back to doing the main thing we’re left here on earth to do in a way anyone can, no matter what? What if it was so easy that even a caveman could do it? What if, in the doing, you see lasting, growing change among your people and perhaps an enduring turnaround after a season of decline? I’m talking about evangelism, but not as you’d expect.

Once a megachurch, Plymouth Park Baptist Church had been in a long season of decline and was in desperate need of revitalization. We had massive buildings in disrepair, an aging congregation, and a starkly different demographic than when the church started 70 years ago. Projections revealed we were only a few years from closing our doors unless we saw what many would call a miracle.

We could disband our congregation and dissolve our assets, merge with another church in town, or sell our buildings and relocate. Those were our options if you talked to most, but was God surprised by the changing demographic around us? Was He powerless or unwilling to breathe new life into us right where we were? Do we not serve a God who eats impossible for breakfast? That became my battle cry as my family got to work with our new church family.

“I began using some of my pulpit time to encourage them to find someone ... to ask them how they could pray for them. And they did.”

—matt henslee Tweet

When it comes to church revitalization, I think one of your best bets is low-hanging fruit. Getting some small wins, like the debt-snowball strategy, builds momentum and helps gain bigger and bigger wins. The same is true with evangelism. Sure, you could launch a massive evangelism training and campaign on day one, but would you have the buy-in to pull it off? What if, instead, you look for ways to get smaller wins, build momentum, and allow that to lead the way to bigger wins and even church revitalization itself?

That’s what we did with the saints called Plymouth Park Baptist Church. With an aging congregation untrained for evangelism, I wasn’t sure selling them on making a major commitment to a massive evangelism training and campaign was the way to go. Instead, we started providing small handouts with some simple information about the church and I began using some of my pulpit time to encourage them to find someone, anyone—a family member, friend, neighbor, coworker, or the cashier at the local grocery store—to ask them how they could pray for them.

And they did. Reports started trickling in of opportunities members had to pray with a server at a restaurant, a coworker on a lunch break, a neighbor at the mailbox, and so forth. We would take the requests and pray for them during our weekly prayer meetings, and momentum began to build. Our members began conversing with people they may not usually mingle with—and lived to tell about it!

So, we took the next step. My mentor in the ministry, Matt Queen, has a simple evangelism strategy that anyone can do, which begins by asking, “Has anyone told you God loves you today?” Inevitably, the answer is no, at which point you can ask to be the first and say, “God loves you so much that He sent His one and only Son to live a perfect life for you, die a sacrificial death for you, rise victoriously for you, and save you if you turn to Him in faith. Would you like to hear more about that today?” If they do, go for it. If not, you leave them with a gospel tract, information about your church, or even your contact information if they have questions later.

I began sharing that strategy from the pulpit and during other teaching opportunities, and our people got after it. In fact, during Easter, one of our members went to the grocery store next to the church and asked the cashier if anyone had told her God loves her, and the cashier said, “Actually, yes! Someone from that church (she pointed toward our building) was just here and told me, and I plan on coming this Sunday.” Story after story started coming in, and fast. I’d often share some of them from the pulpit with encouragement to keep up the good work.

Now, instead of starting with a handful of folks committing to a big training and weekly visitation, we have hundreds of folks taking the gospel with them as they go, wherever they go, and God is blessing their faithfulness abundantly. This year, we’ll harness this momentum and mobilize a more organized or trained group of evangelizers, and we may very well live to place those doomsday projections into the dumpster where they belong.

Trust the Lord and get to work!

The annual Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Empower Conference is quickly approaching. I invite you to join with many other SBTC churches and be blessed and encouraged, as well as be challenged to share the good news of our Savior. We have some wonderful speakers and breakout sessions that will inspire and motivate you.

Speaking of motivational, Jordan Peterson’s interview with Dallas Jenkins, the creator and director of “The Chosen,” is one of the best things I have heard in a long time. I was enthralled with the testimony Dallas gave about how “The Chosen” came into existence. Peterson said it is an excellent production and the best Christian mini-series ever.

Dallas shared with much transparency how he hit rock bottom prior to “The Chosen.” Around 2016, Dallas produced the film “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.” In his own words, he said it was a total failure. He and his wife sat still and wept as they realized how poorly the film had been received. He doubted his abilities and even considered giving up on creating and directing.

During this dark night of his soul, Dallas told Peterson, who was absolutely fixated on Dallas and the story he was telling, that his wife told him they needed to read the story in the gospels where Jesus fed the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-21). He thought that was rather odd, but Dallas went along and read with his wife the only miracle recorded by all four gospels except for the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. Jesus took two fish and five loaves of bread and fed 5,000 men plus the others. Some calculate that the number could have been as high as 20,000.

"If you know Christ, then He lives in you by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit."

Danny Forshee Tweet

Not long after this, Dallas said he was on his computer at 4 a.m. working away. He was writing a 15-page critique of all that went wrong in the film he had worked so hard on. At that time, he received a Facebook message from a friend. His friend said he felt the Lord wanted him to tell Dallas this: “Focus on the bread and the fish.” His friend wrote this note from Romania and had no idea Dallas and his wife had recently read the account of the feeding of the 5,000. Even Peterson acknowledged this was no mere coincidence.

Dallas said he got the message from the Lord loud and clear. He was to do what he was good at, and that was telling the good news of Jesus in fresh and creative ways. He felt the Lord affirming him and reminding him that he was no failure. He was not to worry himself with pleasing men or Hollywood. Rather, he was to focus on what God had called him and gifted him to do. The next year, he began working on “The Chosen.”

Dallas and his wife trusted in the Lord, he quit leaning on his own understanding, and God divinely directed his path (Proverbs 3:5-6). Millions of viewers around the world have been blessed by “The Chosen.”

Let me encourage you that you are not a failure! If you know Christ, then He lives in you by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Trust the Lord, do what He has gifted you to do, and get busy!

SBDR Roundtable celebrates year of ministry and innovation

SAN ANTONIO—More than 200 leaders and volunteers representing 37 Southern Baptist state conventions gathered Jan. 28-30 for the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Roundtable.

The three-day event resembled an extended reunion of family and friends, with ample opportunities for attendees to acquire advanced training in the latest DR practices. SBDR holds two national Roundtables per year, one in January and one following the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in June.

Coy Webb, Send Relief crisis response director, called the meeting a celebration following an “extremely active year of disasters” in which SBDR offered “help and hope during times of crisis.”

Continuing education to meet crises

The day before the conference opened, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention DR Director Scottie Stice and SBTC DR associate Wally Leyerle conducted a special “train the trainer” session for Alaska DR leadership.

Participants chose among training sessions on mass feeding, incident management, data reporting, and electronic asset protection. Some opted for instruction in the safe operation of man lifts and the latest methods of using ladders and tarping roofs. Others received training in shower and laundry operations or emergency first aid.

Kentucky’s Karen Smith, chair of the SBDR national feeding committee, conducted special training for a new position in DR: feeding operations chief. Stice and Leyerle, both on the national feeding committee, assisted Smith. Recent SBTC DR work in Spruce Pine, N.C., following Hurricane Helene generated discussion—the deployment followed a new model for SBDR involving a cooperative arrangement with Walmart which offered both parking lot space and support.

A Tuesday session featuring state Baptist DR directors addressed questions from last June’s Roundtable.

On Wednesday, a panel discussion among Salvation Army and SBDR representatives explored the successful cooperative relationship between the two groups in mass feeding efforts recently showcased in the response to Hurricane Helene, with Stice serving as a panelist. The current national model of cooperation between SBDR and The Salvation Army was piloted by SBTC DR and the Texas Division of The Salvation Army.

Dennis Belz, Colorado Baptist DR director, presented Resiliency in Disaster Relief, a workshop on preparing DR teams to recognize the signs of stress and trauma precipitated by disaster work.

Send Relief continuing national and international efforts

Thursday’s Roundtable featured the annual directors’ meeting, kicked off by the Send Relief report from Webb and Send Relief vice president Josh Benton.

Send Relief supports SBDR with resources, assistance in coordination and administration, national partner relations, and advocacy, the report noted. Benton highlighted some accomplishments of Send Relief in 2024:

53,503 volunteers mobilized
6,117 churches engaged
2 million people served
More than 1 million people presented with the gospel
Supported ministry centers serving communities and saw the development of 37 affiliate ministry centers in the last 18 months

Webb offered the following SBDR-specific 2024 statistics:

109 responses to disasters
110,603 ministry contacts
42,472 gospel presentations
4,204 professions of faith
120,396 volunteer days
83,239 homes helped with recovery
1,430,938 meals provided
50,604 showers provided
26,061 laundry loads washed

Praising SBDR’s work during hurricanes Helene and Milton, Webb said SBDR workers have been noticed at a national level for “consistent work in times of disaster.” Send Relief provided approximately $3 million of supplies and grants to the SBDR network for relief during Helene and Milton, he added.

SBDR workers during the 2024 hurricanes made 2,602 gospel presentations, saw 261 professions of faith, initiated 51,584 ministry contacts, served over 1 million meals, and completed 55,373 recovery jobs, Webb said.

SBDR continues to serve the survivors of Los Angeles area wildfires, with California and Arizona state teams engaged in chaplaincy and feeding. Fire clean-up is anticipated to begin this month, Webb said, noting that Send Relief is supporting DR efforts with funds and supplies.

Webb shared that over the last 12 months across the globe, Send Relief International has done some 420 projects in 78 countries, resulting in 933 new areas being opened to the gospel, impacting 1.54 million people, and involving more than 3,600 church partners. Food assistance has been provided to 686,000, and 684,000 have heard the gospel.

International aid has been provided in the Sudan, where over 40,000 have heard the gospel and 833 have come to Christ; the Middle East, where 11 new areas have been opened to the gospel and 2,400 have heard the gospel with 20 coming to faith; and Cuba, where 26 new areas have been opened to the gospel, over 943,000 have heard the gospel, and 821 have responded in faith. Send Relief has also supported relief efforts following flooding in Kenya and Brazil and wildfires in Chile.

Directors’ meeting

Following the Send Relief presentation, DR leaders heard reports from representatives of SBDR partners including Bobbi Geery and Jeff Jellets of the Salvation Army, Laurynn Myers of the Red Cross, Justin Harris of Home Depot, and April Wood and Bethany Piehl of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD).

Webb introduced new state DR directors Bill LaFolette of Michigan and Keith Myer of Maryland/Delaware.

Highlights from the committee and regional reports included information on the establishment of the feeding chief position and the adoption of a new SBDR IMT manual. “These two policy matters were the most significant coming from the Roundtable,” Stice said.

Other major issues addressed included updates in financial policy and reporting, plans to develop materials offering long-term rebuilding guidance to states, technology, and regulations covering drone and UAV use during disasters.

Regional reports summarized the disasters each state faced, often involving multi-site responses.

The meeting closed with an address by Gaylon Moss, current chair of the SBDR steering committee and Missouri Baptist DR director. Moss, who also served as presiding officer of the Roundtable, urged leaders to “Hold the Net,” reminding them that SBDR is “not an entity” but a “network of Southern Baptist state conventions working together to bring help, hope, and healing to people in crisis.” Southern Baptist DR “brings order to chaos” and mobilizes people for mission,” Moss said.

SBDR will assist in Crossover events at the SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas this June, which will be followed by the second SBDR Roundtable of the year scheduled for June 12 in Grapevine at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention offices, with SBTC DR Director Scottie Stice and SBTC DR hosting. The June 2026 Roundtable will take place in Orlando, Fla.

This article includes reporting from Baptist Press.

Pareja viaja cada año desde México para asistir a Apoderados en la Conferencia Empower de la SBTC

Vale la pena cada milla

Para muchos, hacer un viaje de ida y vuelta de 1,200 millas es cualquier cosa menos refrescante.

Sin embargo, esa es la palabra que Carlos y Birmania Cortés usan para describir por qué han viajado de México al Norte de Texas estos últimos años para asistir a Apoderados, la sesión en español de la Conferencia Empower de la Convención de los Bautistas del Sur de Texas.

Apoderados se celebra anualmente para animar, equipar e inspirar a todos los miembros de la iglesia a evangelizar.

“Todos los temas en Apoderados han sido muy educativos para nosotros, y sentimos que refresca nuestra visión y nos ayuda a seguir adelante”, dijo Birmania, haciéndose eco de los sentimientos de su esposo Carlos, pastor de la Iglesia Bautista Eliacim en Monterrey, México, los últimos 16 años.

Los Cortés fueron invitados por primera vez a Apoderados por su amigo César Gabriel, pastor de la Iglesia Bautista Trinidad de Laredo. “Necesitan ir a la Conferencia Apoderados para refrescar su visión y estar al día [en el ministerio]”, recuerdan que les dijo Gabriel.

“Cuando hablamos con el pastor Gabriel, nos dimos cuenta de que tenemos un llamado ministerial muy a fines”, dijo Birmania, “porque él también moviliza a su gente para hacer misiones en lugares de gran necesidad.”

Los Cortés tienen un corazón para discipular y preparar misioneros. Se conocieron a través de una asociación misionera dedicada a reclutar estudiantes universitarios para aprovechar sus dones y talentos al servicio del Señor. Veinte años después, continúan sirviendo a este ministerio con gran compromiso y pasión, con Carlos reclutando misioneros potenciales para su capacitación mientras Birmania formando grupos de oración y discipulado en la universidad para alcanzar a los estudiantes.

“Pienso que necesitamos tener toda la información posible para poder capacitar a los estudiantes [que podrían convertirse en futuros misioneros]”, afirma Carlos. “Ellos nos aventajan en términos de información, y debemos tratar de capacitarnos en todas las áreas posibles para poder ministrar a sus necesidades”. Una de las formas de hacerlo, dijo Él, es a través de las sesiones ofrecidas en Apoderados.

Carlos también ha encontrado en Apoderados otras formas de apoyar su ministerio. Él dijo que la conferencia no sólo ofrece nueva información, sino que confirma la eficacia de parte del trabajo que él y su esposa ya han estado haciendo en la iglesia, así como la identificación de áreas en las que pueden mejorar.

“Oro para que otros se sientan animados a obedecer a Dios y a capacitarse en su llamado”

—Carlos Cortes Tweet

“En una de las conferencias recibí la confirmación de que es necesario que todos los ministerios estén conectados, que los jóvenes interactúen con los adultos y viceversa”, dijo Carlos. “Principios como estos reafirmaron nuestra visión de crear espacios que conecten a la iglesia”.

El hecho de que Apoderados enfatice fuertemente la evangelización es muy importante para los Cortés.

“Algo que realmente me llamó la atención de Apoderados es que abordan directamente la necesidad de la gente de compartir el Evangelio. Me sorprendió mucho que ofrezcan folletos para predicar a todo tipo de personas. Se centran en predicar el Evangelio, la integridad y la sanidad del siervo de Dios”, dijo Birmania.

Los Cortés dijeron que disfrutan compartiendo la información y las herramientas que reciben en Apoderados con otros en su ciudad. Además de ayudar a su esposo en el ministerio y la evangelización, Birmania es oradora de la Convención Regional Bautista Santiago Hickey y maestra en el instituto bíblico de la convención en Nuevo León.

“Toda la información que recibo, incluyendo los folletos, como los datos y estadísticas que mencionan los conferencistas de los talleres, me ha ayudado mucho en mis enseñanzas y conferencias”, dijo Birmania.

La pareja dijo que planean seguir asistiendo a Apoderados tan a menudo como les sea posible.

“Oro para que otros se sientan animados a obedecer a Dios y a capacitarse en su llamado”, dijo Carlos.

Couple makes annual trip from Mexico to attend Apoderados at SBTC’s Empower Conference

worth every mile

For many, making a 1,200-mile round trip is anything but refreshing.

Yet that’s a word Carlos and Birmania Cortes use when describing why they’ve traveled from Mexico to North Texas over the past few years to attend Apoderados, the Spanish session of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Empower Conference.

Empower is hosted annually to encourage, equip, and inspire all church members to evangelize.

“All the topics at Apoderados have been very educational for us, and we feel that it refreshes our vision and helps us move forward,” Birmania said, echoing the sentiments of her husband, Carlos, pastor of Eliacim Baptist Church in Monterrey, Mexico, the past 16 years.

The Corteses were first invited to Apoderados by their friend Cesar Gabriel, who pastors Trinity Baptist Church in Laredo. “You need to go to the Apoderados conference to refresh your vision and be up to date [in ministry],” they remember Gabriel telling them.

“When we talked with Pastor Gabriel, we realized that we have a very [similar] ministry calling,” Birmania said, “because he also mobilizes his people to do missions in places of great need.”

The Corteses have a heart for discipling and preparing missionaries. They met through a missionary association dedicated to recruiting college students to use their gifts and talents in the service of the Lord. Twenty years later, they continue to serve this ministry with great commitment and passion, with Carlos recruiting potential missionaries for training while Birmania forms prayer and discipleship groups at the university to reach out to students.

“I think we need to have as much information as possible to train the students [who could become future missionaries],” Carlos said. “They are ahead of us in terms of information, and we should try to educate ourselves in all possible areas to be able to minister to their needs.” One of the ways they do that, he said, is through sessions offered at Apoderados.

There are other ways Carlos has found support for his ministry at Apoderados, as well. He said the conference not only offers new information, but confirms the effectiveness of some of the work he and his wife have already been doing in the church, as well as identifying areas where they can improve.

“I received confirmation [at] one of the conferences that it is necessary for all ministries to be connected, for youth to interact with adults and vice versa,” Carlos said. “Principles such as these reaffirmed for me our vision of creating spaces that connect the church.”

“I received confirmation [at] one of the conferences that it is necessary for all ministries to be connected, for youth to interact with adults and vice versa.”

—Carlos Cortes Tweet

The fact Apoderados heavily emphasizes evangelism is very important to the Corteses.

“Something that really struck me about Apoderados is that they directly address people’s need to share the gospel. I was very surprised that they had tracts to preach to all kinds of people. They focus on preaching the gospel, the integrity and the healing of the servant of God,” Birmania said.

The Corteses said they enjoy sharing the information and tools they receive at Apoderados with others in their city. In addition to assisting her husband in ministry and evangelism, Birmania is a speaker for the Santiago Hickey Regional Baptist Convention and a teacher at the convention’s Bible institute in Nuevo Leon.

“All the information I receive, including the booklets, such as the data and statistics mentioned by the workshop speakers, has helped me a lot in my teaching and conferences,” Birmania said.

The couple said they plan to continue attending Apoderados as often as possible.

“I pray others will be encouraged to obey God and be equipped for their calling,” Carlos said.

Learn of George Liele, others in Black History book of family devotions, recipes

NASHVILLE (BP)—When the 18th century church planter, evangelist and foreign missionary George Liele was imprisoned in Jamaica, he spread the Gospel in prison, reminiscent of the apostle Paul.

Liele, celebrated Feb. 2 on the Southern Baptist calendar, is among historical African American Christians author Trillia Newbell invites families to center dinner table devotions around in her book, “Celebrating Around the Table: Learning the Stories of Black Christians Through Readings, Fellowship, Food, and Faith.”

“It’s my family tradition in book form,” Newbell, a former director of community outreach with the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said of the book released in September 2024 by Harvest House. “Yes, it’s for Black History Month, but you can use it any time.”

She began the tradition perhaps a decade ago with her family, discussing famous and not-so-famous African American trailblazers around the kitchen table with her family over traditional dishes, with prayer and devotions.

“You can use the book anytime,” she said. “We don’t want to just study history in a certain month. We want to study it all the time. And so, any time you can gather around the table and start a discussion, and look at the Bible verses together, and talk about people and learn about what God says in His Word, you want to do it.”

Liele rose from slavery, was granted freedom, and began preaching in Georgia during the American Revolutionary War. He borrowed $700 on an indentured servitude agreement to travel to Jamaica, arrived there in 1782 and, after earning his freedom from bondage, planted a house church with three other Americans.

Liele is remembered as the first foreign Baptist missionary. While preaching in Kingston in 1797, he was falsely charged with inciting a rebellion through his sermons and ended up in jail. Acquitted, he still served time in jail for a debt he owed on a church he pastored, and remained in jail until the debt was paid, preaching while imprisoned, Newbell pointed out in her narrative.

Newbell tells Liele’s story alongside 11 trailblazing African American Christians including Frederick Douglass, Betsey Stockton, Charlotte L. Forten Grimké, Lemuel Haynes, Ruby Bridges, Mahalia Jackson and others, offering original Bible-based devotions for each.

“In the book, I feature … godly characteristics that each of them displays,” Newbell said. “The devotionals kind of feature those characteristics. So whether someone was brave, humble, forgiving, loving, … all sorts of biblical characteristics that I found as I learned about the people, I pulled out. And then, I wrote a devotional based on what I learned about the people.”

The dinner table is important to Newbell’s family, she told Baptist Press, and she advocates for the dinner table as a prominent place to build unity in all family units. And while the book is built around family, including photos of cherished moments of Newbell with her husband Thern and their son and daughter, she presents the book as a useful tool for singles and includes “children’s corner” resources for those 6 and older.

She encourages families and individuals to try the practice to learn about a variety of cultures, continuing beyond Black History Month.

Unique to the book are recipes for Southern favorites learned in her mother’s kitchen, family traditions and personal contemporary tweaks.

Cornbread, homemade butter, baked ribs, black-eyed peas, greens, salmon croquettes, shrimp and grits, sweet potato pie, apple pie and banana pudding are among recipes presented as approachable by most cooks in modestly appointed kitchens.

“The recipes are meant to give you a taste of common southern African American cuisine. But remember, I am not a chef,” Newbell writes in the book, “and none of the meals will be gourmet. These recipes are for the everyday cook. And although the recipes have modern ingredients, I intentionally didn’t add complicated ingredients or require special equipment. So you won’t need an air fryer.”

Only, no microwaves, she’s quick to add.

“I said easy, but not that easy!”

This article originally appeared on Baptist Press.