Month: February 2025

Working together to ‘sow bountifully’

Each week, my inbox is filled with emails, but none capture my attention like the updates I receive from a family on the mission field sent out by our church. The almost weekly updates remind me of the expanded reach of our local body of believers. What an honor! I am so thankful for the Christ-followers and families that go as an extension of our church to be light in unfamiliar cultures.

This family left for Southeast Asia years ago and continues with determination and faithfulness for God’s glory and kingdom in a dark region of the world. They are ones with beautiful feet, and the Lord is using their lives powerfully. As they build relationships and share the gospel, they are seeing spiritual awakening. A region where generations before were hardened is now open to the good news of salvation and responding with faith in Christ. 

We hear about their work of teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded as they steadily make disciples (Matthew 28:19). Churches are regularly being planted and impacting many lives with the gospel. All of these amazing things are taking place in the midst of increased persecution and difficulty. Just recently, hundreds of Bibles were confiscated by authorities as our enemy attempted to thwart God’s work. 

This is a wonderful example of the Cooperative Program in action. This missionary family represents one path of a great journey that began many years ago. When we give through CP, we give to Christ-followers who have answered a sacrificial and beautiful call to go. We have the privilege of praying for these families laboring for the kingdom.

"Let us continue that legacy of generosity to bring glory to our Father in heaven and experience the eternal bounty of men and women made in the image of God becoming brothers and sisters through the cross of Jesus Christ."

Josh Allen Tweet

The story of this amazing family is repeated over and over across Southern Baptist life. Thousands of missionaries have responded to God’s call, with more being sent each year. Churches are being planted across North America, providing consistent gospel proclamation. Seminaries are equipping men and women to live wholly for Christ—committed to the truth of Scripture and to lead the next generation of Jesus followers to global impact. Our state is equipping churches to plant new churches here in Texas, resourcing them to more effectively make disciples and serve others with the gospel. This is the Cooperative Program changing lives.

In 2 Corinthians 9:6, 10-11, Paul writes, “The point is this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. … He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”

We have been enriched in this great state and nation.  For 100 years, Southern Baptists have combined their efforts through CP to “sow bountifully.” Let us continue that legacy of generosity to bring glory to our Father in heaven and experience the eternal bounty of men and women made in the image of God becoming brothers and sisters through the cross of Jesus Christ. For His glory!

What’s your Cooperative Program story? 

Post your story to your social channels and use #cp100story.

Empower speaker Luter shares how evangelism ignited his church through triumphs, tragedy

Fred Luter is senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. He has experienced both triumph and tragedy during his nearly four decades of ministry service, including leading his congregation to minister to a devastated city following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to being elected the first African American president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2012. Luter will speak at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Empower Conference in February. He recently spoke with Texan editor Jayson Larson about his calling and the impact evangelism has had on his church and city.

You surrendered your life to Christ after a motorcycle accident in 1977 and began preaching the gospel on a street corner in New Orleans shortly thereafter. That’s a bold way for a new believer to begin sharing his faith.

Fred Luter: I was brought up in church. My mom and dad divorced when I was six years old, but one of Mama’s rules was on Sunday morning, everybody in this house was going to church. She was a single parent with five of us. So, I was in church on Sunday morning, but in the club on Sunday night. I was doing a whole lot of crazy things.

When I got saved in 1977, it was such a traumatic event for me. It literally transformed my life. [After the motorcycle wreck], I was in the hospital and had a hole in my head, compound fracture in my leg, and I had a 50/50 chance of living. A deacon in the church I grew up in came to my hospital bed, put his finger in my face, and said, “You need to get your life together because you could have died and you’d have gone straight to hell.” He did not pull any punches. 

That night, I cried out to God and said, “God, I don’t know if I’m going to live or die, but I’ll make a deal with you. If I wake up tomorrow morning, I’ll serve you all the days of my life.” I woke up the next morning … and the transformation for me was immediate. It was conviction. It was a moment when I just felt that God was giving me another chance. 

So because of my newfound faith, and because of what God had done in my life, I wanted all those guys that I ran the street with to know the same Jesus that I knew. I was on the street corners sharing the gospel and they were laughing at me. They thought, “He’s going to get over it.” But the boldness came from the fact that because of what God did in my life, He could do the same thing in the lives of these guys I was running the street with. So every Saturday at 12 noon, I was on the street corner in the Lower Ninth Ward sharing the gospel.

Franklin Avenue started with 65 members when you arrived and has grown to a congregation that now reaches and impacts thousands. How have you led your church to mobilize through evangelism, and what role has that played in its growth?

FL: We tried all kinds of things to get more people involved in soul-winning and sharing their faith. But one [that has worked] is this concept I call FRANgelism. It’s not original with me. FRANgelism is an acronym for friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors. The concept is that everybody in the church has a boss, an unchurched friend, relative, associate, coworker, or neighbor. So I started having classes on how to share your faith in just three minutes. The first minute, you talk about your life before Christ. The second minute is how you got saved, and then the third minute, you tell about what Christ has done in your life since you’ve been born again. I tell our people to share their faith, share their testimony, and then invite those individuals to church. And man, it caught on like wildfire.

We started having FRANgelism months at the church. … Every first Sunday would be “Friends Sunday” where people would invite their friends. Every second Sunday would be relatives. Every third Sunday, co-workers, neighbors, associates. And every fourth Sunday would be neighbors. We make a big deal about it and I talk about it from the pulpit. It took off. People started spreading the word about their relationship with Christ and we never looked back. We’ve never been on TV, never been on the radio. Our growth happened as a result of people in our church sharing their testimonies with friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors, and then inviting them to their local church.

Sharing Jesus with others can often feel intimidating or make people feel fearful. Why do you think that is, and how can pastors lead their congregations to overcome those fears? 

FL: I think the reason people are fearful, one, is because of the day and time we’re living in. We’re living in a crazy time. I’m 68, and when I grew up, you were in church whether you were saved or not. People had a healthy fear of God. But we live in a day and time … we’re living in a society where Satan is truly the prince of the power of the air. People can be mean, vindictive. They cuss you out. So, I think a lot of people are just fearful of approaching total strangers to share their faith. That’s why the FRANgelism thing is so effective—because these are people you already have relationships with.

Pastors are charged to do two things: preach and teach. I think we need to preach sermons on evangelism, teach lessons on evangelism, and just remind the people that this is a charge that’s been given to us by Jesus Christ Himself. Matthew 28:19-20—go unto all the world and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Acts 1:8 says you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you. The thing I want to encourage pastors to do … is to equip the saints. One of the ways you equip the saints is to equip them in the area of evangelism by teaching, preaching, and living evangelism, sharing with them how God did it in your life and how they’re expected to do the same.

Pastoring is a challenging calling. How might you encourage those pastors who are on the front lines of a spiritual battle that can incredibly rewarding but also heartbreaking and exhausting?

FL: Pastoring is not easy. My word to pastors is that, No. 1, you’ve got to never, ever forget who called you. God called you. The deacons didn’t call you, the trustees didn’t call you, your mom and your dad didn’t call you. You got to realize God called you. And, No. 2, if God called you, then He equipped you to handle any situation you need to handle. The fact of the matter is, spiritual warfare is a reality in every pastor’s life, because the devil knows if he can get the head—the leader—the body will follow. 

And then No. 3, when those difficult times come—and they will—that’s when you’ve got to do what my wife told me one day when I was having a pity party about the ministry. My wife looked at me and said, “Boy, you need to go listen to some of your sermons today. What you’re telling other people, you need to listen to it [yourself] right now.” Bro, during those tough times, we’ve got to continue to lean on God, be faithful to what God has called us to do, and understand that God has equipped us and empowered us. That’s the time we need to put on the whole armor of God and stand firm in the midst of the attacks of the enemy.

For Austin church with strong ties to seminary, giving to CP is receiving

More than three dozen people from Acts Fellowship Church in Austin have gone to seminary, including 20 who have trained at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary—a testament to the vitality of a Cooperative Program partnership.

“Part of our CP dollars go to the support of our seminary institutions, and it’s a great way to take part in equipping the next generation of Christian leaders and to partake in the expansion of God’s kingdom,” said Charles Lee, pastor of the predominantly Asian American Acts Fellowship.

“As one of the smaller churches, we can have an even greater reach and impact for God’s kingdom as we take part in the Cooperative Program,” Lee said of Southern Baptists’ unified giving plan for national and international missions and ministry, which marks 100 years of effectiveness this year. 

Acts Fellowship, with a Sunday attendance around 250, began as a church plant 20 years ago and ministers largely to the University of Texas at Austin. The church’s demographics are about 25% college students, roughly 25% single adults, 25% married, and 25% under the age of 18, Lee said. 

“I really do believe that through the Cooperative Program we can do more together,” Lee, a Southwestern graduate, said. “I don’t think [churches] should function in isolation, but especially with a likeminded network of churches, unite for things greater than ourselves.

“I really do believe that through the Cooperative Program we can do more together."

—Charles Lee Tweet

“It’s been a blessing to us to be able to participate in the Cooperative Program and also to take advantage of various gatherings that we have here in the state of Texas and to benefit from conferences and other opportunities that are made available to us.”

Acts Fellowship supports some missionaries directly but also prioritizes CP giving to partner with the International Mission Board and North American Mission Board “to take part even in areas that we may not be aware of,” Lee said. 

“For us, I don’t think it’s one or the other. We can do both. We can take part in supporting specific individuals that we might know very well and believe in, and at the same time not neglect the greater kingdom work that we can also participate in through the institutions that we have set up,” he said.

The congregation offers several mission trip opportunities each year and subsidizes about 60% of the total cost. Each summer, they travel to Puerto Rico for a week to minister on a college campus and in some communities there. They travel to New Mexico to lead Vacation Bible School and door to door evangelism among Navajo Indians, and they send volunteers to Camp Blessing, a special needs ministry in Texas. So far, 20 people have signed up for summer mission trips this year, and the number is expected to double.

One of two associate pastors at Acts Fellowship is devoted to the college ministry, and the church offers small groups for college students in various locations, Lee said. They also take part in on-campus evangelism regularly. 

“ … Hopefully, that vision [of CP] will not diminish but escalate as we see our society drifting further away from God, that in those moments we realize that we need each other.”

—Charles Lee Tweet

Acts Fellowship provides evangelism training, and people go out on a biweekly basis to share the gospel while supported by a prayer ministry. 

Two ministry interns at the church were college students who sensed a call to the ministry and are enrolled at Southwestern, and another church member started at the seminary this semester, Lee said. 

“It is our duty as a church to train up young people to serve in God’s kingdom, whether that be as volunteers or those who will eventually be called to the gospel ministry and be equipped in seminary and be able to lead churches. We need all of them,” he said. 

“When you think about it, even Jesus—the way that I understand Scripture is that many of the disciples were around college-aged people. They were relatively young, and Jesus discipled them to be movers and shakers for the movement called Christianity.”

Churches must invest in the next generation starting in the children’s ministry to make a difference for the kingdom, Lee said. 

“It’s a lot of work. Sometimes it’s a lot more investing than counting returns because they are young, but nevertheless it is our mandate and duty to tell the good news to our children so they will tell it to their children and their children.”

The steady partnership available through the Cooperative Program undergirds the work of the local church visible at Acts Fellowship.

“We are definitely accountable to God in what we do as an individual church, but at the same time, I believe there is also another responsibility [to] work in cooperation with likeminded churches to be involved in greater things for the kingdom of God,” Lee said. 

“I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to work in isolation. That’s true for individuals. No one should be a lone ranger Christian. They need the body of Christ. Even churches should never seek to be isolated by themselves. 

“ … Hopefully, that vision [of CP] will not diminish but escalate as we see our society drifting further away from God, that in those moments we realize that we need each other.”

Focusing on what truly matters in 2025

Ilead a small group at our church. It is a great group of people in different stages of life who desire a close community to do life with. We are currently diving into Ecclesiastes together. This has been such a great challenge for us as we think about what kind of life is really worth pursuing.

C.T. Studd once wrote, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” This statement, paired with studying Ecclesiastes, has caused me to rethink my priorities for 2025. If you are like me, life gets super busy. Living with the pressures that come along with work, family, kids’ activities, and all other aspects of life can feel daunting. Often, while the intentions of the heart are good and postured correctly, life happens, priorities get rearranged, and we find ourselves spending time pursuing good things more than the great things we should pursue. 

Allow me to suggest three key priorities in our lives to diligently keep in focus in the coming year:

1. Walk closely with God

In the fast-paced, ever-chaotic pursuit of life, we must remember to walk daily with God. We all have challenges, busy schedules, work demands, and family obligations. These things close in on you and take every moment you have. While they are all necessary, prioritize spending time daily with Jesus. You will be a better person, friend, spouse, parent, and leader if you are consistently walking with God. 

2. Be intentional about living on mission

Ecclesiastes is a good reminder that most of what we pursue has no eternal value. What would our lives look like if we decide this is the year in which we sell out to living on mission where God has put us? I know most who read this are believers who love Jesus and His church. However, I also know we can lose sight of the mission for things that don’t really matter. I encourage you to ask the Lord to help you live on mission this year like never before. 

3. Practice generosity

Throughout the year, God will likely bring unexpected opportunities to you. These will come in many different shapes and forms. There will also be opportunities in which you can be joyfully generous. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” As you walk with God this year, ask Him to make you  aware of opportunities to invest in people generously for His glory. It will change you! 

Having the right priorities is essential. They help us stay focused on the real reasons we exist. They give us the chance to capitalize on opportunities to make an eternal difference. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so we must make today count. I challenge you to re-evaluate your priorities and, if needed, align them with the things that truly matter. I love you and am humbled to serve you!