Month: May 2025

In Texas and around the world

In November 2023, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention launched a new mission focus—to mobilize churches to multiply disciple-making movements in Texas and around the world. You have heard a lot about how this will play out in Texas, but I want to share with you where it goes beyond our state. 

A few weeks ago, I boarded a plane with nearly 40 pastors and missions leaders from across Texas to explore opportunities for SBTC churches with the International Mission Board as part of our Reach Europe initiative. It was an incredible trip filled with many laughs, eye-opening moments, and a heavy burden for the European people. Those pastors and church leaders spread out in strategic cities across Europe’s western, eastern, and Mediterranean clusters, meeting with missionaries and dreaming about how their churches can help advance the gospel. 

While these leaders were in one strategic city for several days, I visited sites in all three clusters. It was a whirlwind trip, but with each stop, I fell in love with the people we met. Europe is incredibly lost and in desperate need of the gospel. There are 820 million people in Europe, and missionaries there tell us only 1.1% are evangelical Christians. That makes it not only one of the least engaged places in the world, but one of the most strategic. Europe is one of the most influential continents on the planet, a place where nearly every people group and every language in the world is represented. The churches of the SBTC have a great opportunity to team up with IMB missionaries on the field to decrease lostness. 

If you are in an SBTC church, I want to strongly encourage you to consider partnering through our Reach Europe initiative. We will be working in several cities to help make a significant difference. These people need the gospel, and our IMB missionaries need help. Would you consider being a church on mission and helping us reach Europe together? Would you consider helping these missionaries as they seek to fulfill the calling of God on their lives? No church is too big or small to engage with Reach Europe. We have opportunities for all.

This initiative will be a long and in-depth strategy. We want to mobilize churches to help reach those incredible-but-lost people. If you are interested in your church engaging and helping take the gospel to Europe, you can contact our missions mobilization associate, Colin Rayburn, by email at crayburn@sbtexas.com. He can get you connected to one of these opportunities. 

Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can see the gospel advance across Europe. Together, we can be on mission, helping fulfill the Great Commission. Let’s do this! I love you and am honored to serve you.

Interested in impacted Europe with the gospel through the SBTC’s Reach Europe initiative?
Learn more >

Majoring in missions

Student’s passion to share Jesus is changing eternities among foreign-born classmates on college campus

Darius Kim was hopeless and headed for an eternity separated from God growing up in a Buddhist household before Jesus saved him as a teenager and gave him a mission—as Paul writes in Acts 20:24, “to testify of God’s grace.”

“I am passionate about sharing my faith because Jesus saved my life,” Kim said. “He called me according to His will to declare the good news of God’s grace to those who are living in darkness. … There is nothing I would rather do with my life than serve and obey Him.”

Kim, 22, is carrying out his mission on a college campus in one of the nation’s largest cities inside the boundaries of one of its most diverse states. Texas is home to 420 people groups that speak more than 300 languages.

That diversity is reflected at the state’s institutions of higher education. According to figures cited by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s People Groups ministry, nearly 10% of the more than 1 million international students in the U.S. are in the Lone Star State.

It’s a reality that creates an exciting opportunity for Christian students like Kim who come into direct contact with foreign-born classmates with backgrounds including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, and Sikhism. 

“The most rewarding part of the task is seeing the multiplication of the kingdom. When people come to Christ, I get to see them reach their own networks through sharing the gospel and discipling them.”

—Darius Kim Tweet

Last year, Kim attended an SBTC People Groups training at Houston’s First Baptist Church. People Groups trainings, which are funded through cooperative giving efforts such as the Reach Texas State Missions Offering, equip believers with tools and training to connect, share the gospel with, and disciple foreign-born people. 

Kim, a member of New Life Fellowship in Houston, uses those tools to help those he reaches grow in their faith. In one instance, he led a student from Iran to Christ and discipled him. The man, in turn, led a fellow Iranian to faith, and both are now reaching other Iranians. 

“The most rewarding part of the task is seeing the multiplication of the kingdom,” Kim said. “When people come to Christ, I get to see them reach their own networks through sharing the gospel and discipling them. As they continue to do so, I get to hear stories of people I’ve never met coming to Christ and discipling others. It is amazing to see how the simplicity of biblical ministry multiplies for kingdom growth.”

‘Man, we can do something’

When SBTC pastors and church leaders visited Europe in May, they found a continent rich in Christian history and shockingly far from Christ

When many Christians imagine unreached people groups, they envision dense jungles and dusty trails. They see villages full of sun-baked huts with thatched roofs housing exotic natives in some of the most remote, difficult-to-reach places on the planet. 

In Europe, those unreached people aren’t hidden and they aren’t hard to reach. There’s 820 million of them, and almost none of them know Jesus.

Only 1.1% of Europe’s residents are evangelical. There is no single population segment that is 2% reached with the gospel. By the International Mission Board’s standards, that makes all of Europe an unreached people group. It’s the most lost continent on the planet. 

In early May, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention led 39 pastors and church leaders on a vision trip as it ramps up its Reach Europe initiative. The effort aims to reverse the trend of staggering lostness by creating opportunities for SBTC churches to develop missional partnerships with European churches and ministries. The vision team was divided into groups that were then dispatched to one of seven cities where the SBTC is considering partnerships: Athens, Greece; Bucharest, Romania; Budapest, Hungary; Copenhagen, Denmark; Leeds, England; Nantes, France; and Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The following chronicles part of what the SBTC teams saw, what they learned, and what’s next.

Members of the SBTC vision tour hear about some of Denmark’s Christian history as they walk through Copenhagen. SBTC Photos
Members of the SBTC vision tour hear about some of Denmark’s Christian history as they walk through Copenhagen. SBTC Photos
Members of the SBTC vision tour hear about some of Denmark’s Christian history as they walk through Copenhagen. SBTC Photos
Members of the SBTC vision tour hear about some of Denmark’s Christian history as they walk through Copenhagen. SBTC Photos

‘Inoculated to the gospel’

Copenhagen has a rich Christian heritage. Statues and stone carvings dot the city landscape, depicting notable figures and moments in the country’s faith history. The Marble Church, an iconic landmark with its green-patinaed copper dome, greets visitors and passers-by with a bold proclamation delivered in gold letters across its facade: “The Word of the Lord will be eternal.” Denmark’s flag, the Dannebrog—a red banner adorned with an off-center white cross—is a tribute to three values the country’s founders held dear: bravery, strength, and Christianity.

Spiritually speaking, all that pomp is not indicative of the modern circumstance: an estimated 95% of Denmark’s 6 million residents—and likely more—do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Cultural Christianity reigns here, sustained by a society soaked in secularism, relativism, and the country’s faith-based history. Because of that history, many Danes conflate their national identity with religion. Put another way, many believe that to be Danish is to be inherently Christian—even without having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Statistics reveal about 75% of Danes belong to the state-affiliated Church of Denmark, which performs infant baptisms. Sixty-eight percent of those people, however, say they are atheists. Fewer than one in 40 attend church.  

Prominent Danish voices once heralded the one true gospel of Jesus in this country. These days, they sing a different refrain: “This is a society that is doing well without God,” according to Christian Roth, who, along with his wife, Stephanie, serves as the IMB’s lone missionary unit not only in Denmark, but also in Sweden—representing a total of about 17 million people.

“This is a very lost place,” said Roth, who pastors New Song Church in Copenhagen. “It’s a part of Europe surrounded by Christianity but inoculated to the gospel.” 

Locals and tourists walk down a crowded street in Athens, Greece, where less than 1% of the population is evangelical Christian. SBTC Photo

“This is a very lost place. It’s a part of Europe surrounded by Christianity but inoculated to the gospel.”

—Christian Roth Tweet

The degree of lostness in Denmark is on display in one of Copenhagen’s busiest centers. As SBTC pastors toured a section of the capital city on a drizzly Saturday, they walked through an area buzzing with locals, tourists, and vendors. An already noisy plaza stopped to take notice when a pack of demonstrators began parading down the street, blaring reggae music and holding up placards demanding the government legalize marijuana. Farther down the street, pride flags whipped in the breeze above several local businesses to show support for the LGBTQ community.

Cult activity is openly practiced and promoted. On this day, Scientologists had scattered out from their palatial four-story headquarters—which declares itself a “kirken,” or church—located nearby. Some were offering free literature in front of Copenhagen’s city hall. A few blocks away, a mustard yellow pop-up tent served as a hub where another group of Scientologists were offering to teach people how to manipulate their bodies to manifest positive energy. A banner above the tent offered a self-empowering message: “You CAN do something about it.” 

New Song Church is preaching a much different message: Only Jesus can do something about it. The next day during regular Sunday morning services, the SBTC contingent heard Roth—playing guitar—join two other members in leading worship. “You have no rival. You have no equal,” they sang, “now and forever, God, you reign.” Roth later preached on 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 and talked about God’s plan for His church.

“The church is God’s only plan for bringing the world to salvation,” he said. “Jesus came to seek and save individuals who are lost, but the way He did it was by founding the church.”

The harvest in Denmark is indeed plentiful, but the workers are few—very few. Despite straining to plow very hard ground during their seven years in country, the Roths remain hopeful. They are praying for more long-term missionaries to join them on the mission field—a process they know would likely take years even if new trainees join the sending pipeline tomorrow. In the meantime, they’re praying for short-term partners from SBTC churches to catch the vision of what God can do through relational outreaches, marriage conferences and retreats, and evangelistic events such as vacation Bible school.

Roth noted many in Denmark’s younger generations are starting to question societal norms that have encouraged people to look anywhere but to God for answers to life’s toughest questions. While that’s a promising development, it comes with a sense of urgency in a city where Scientologists, Muslims, and Jehovah’s Witnesses are gaining a foothold.

“If it’s not the church and the gospel answering those questions,” he said, “someone else here will.”

‘If any state can do it, I think we can’

The same is true in Hungary, where Lamar Schubert, the IMB’s cluster leader for Eastern Europe, said there’s been an increased receptivity to the gospel over the past few years. Some of that can be attributed to the pandemic, he said, and some to the war in Ukraine that has destabilized the region. 

As doubts and fears have risen in the public’s consciousness, missionaries who have transplanted their entire lives here are building relationships and telling people about the strength and hope found in Jesus. 

Hungary is a post-communist country of 11 million people. The population, in one sense, is split between urban dwellers—5.5 million of which live in the capital city of Budapest—and the Roma, the country’s ethnic majority that has fanned out and settled in rural areas. The Roma people are descendants of the nomadic tribes of Romania tied together by the Hungarian language. Though they are harder to track for census purposes, it’s estimated there are 1.5 million Roma in Hungary. Most live in extreme poverty, with many repurposing garbage and discarded construction materials to build makeshift homes.

The challenges here are many. For older Hungarians, a gospel pointing to an absolute authority—Jesus—is anything but good news to those whose trust was broken by the lie of communism. The younger generations, like many across the world, are drawn to philosophy or disconnected from religion altogether. There’s also a heavy cultural Christianity fueled by the Catholic church, which baptizes babies, leaving many to believe they’ve done all they need to do to be right with God.

Members of the SBTC vision tour pray for Feri, a local Hungarian pastor. SBTC Photo
Members of the SBTC vision tour pray for Feri, a local Hungarian pastor. SBTC Photo
Many Hungarians, especially the Roma people, live in cramped houses and severe poverty with little to no access to the gospel. SBTC Photo
Many Hungarians, especially the Roma people, live in cramped houses and severe poverty with little to no access to the gospel. SBTC Photo
The vision team speaks with a woman and her family inside a rural home outside Budapest. SBTC Photo
The vision team speaks with a woman and her family inside a rural home outside Budapest. SBTC Photo

“This guy, these people, are desperate for help. Desperate. [For a pastor here] to know there’s a seasoned pastor in Texas who cares about him and who is coming here ... that’s just discipleship, man.”

—Trey Shaw Tweet

When local believers attempt to tell their fellow countrymen Jesus is the only way to being righteous in God’s sight, Schubert said, “They’re told it’s intolerant, that it’s insensitive, that it’s communist practice. That anybody who’s convinced that their way is the only way is narrow-minded, closed-minded, a simpleton, or worse, dangerous. That’s what believers here are up against.”

Though the strategic cities are incredibly diverse and unique, the opportunities that exist within them take on a familiar shape. As the vision trip swept east across Europe, one word was continually spoken by the missionaries and pastors in each location: relationships. That word was spoken in the context of evangelism, but also in the need many local pastors and believers have in countries where Christians are the vast minority and isolated.

Trey Shaw, the IMB’s East Europe cluster trainer, recently took a mission team from Oklahoma to meet with rural pastors in three European countries. The team visited a local pastor who told the story of reaching a family after working for years to spread the gospel in his area. He was excited to have reached multiple people in an environment where few come to Christ, but his joy turned to grief when the family later turned to a false gospel and led half the congregation away with them.

“That must have been awful,” Shaw said to the pastor.

“Yeah,” the pastor said. “Then we went back down to five people [in our church].”

“He’d been doing that—street evangelism, you name it—for 10 years,” Shaw said, choking back tears. “This is where you are. This guy, these people, are desperate for help. Desperate. [For a pastor here] to know there’s a seasoned pastor in Texas who cares about him and who is coming here … that’s just discipleship, man. That’s where we will see the needle move in Europe.

“I’m a Texan, and I see the sleeping giant,” Shaw added, “and I see this dark, dark continent, and I think, ‘Man, we can do something.’ If any state can do it, I think we can. God’s blessed us beyond anything we deserve, that’s for sure.”

1 in 20

SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick stood on Mars Hill and, as he has done before, marveled at the historic significance of the rocks under his feet. On this same hill, Paul proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Acts 17,” Lorick said, standing on the smooth marble rock outcrop overlooking the city of Athens, Greece. “This is where it happened.”

Some 2,000 years ago, a grieved Paul looked down on the city after seeing rampant idol worship. Among those many idols, he even saw a monument to an unnamed God.

“Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you,” Paul said in Acts 17:24-25. “The God who made the world and everything in it—He is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.”

As vision tour participants visited church planters and surveyed Athens two millennia later, they saw one of the world’s most famous and historic cities modernized by time but possibly more spiritually lost than ever. Harley Walker, who serves the IMB in Athens, noted there are 5.5 million in the city. About 3 million of those live in the shadow of Mars Hill in houses or in hundreds upon hundreds of apartment buildings.

“You’d have to visit 20 of those apartment buildings before you’d find one saved person,” Walker said. “The soil is very, very, very hard here.”

“You’d have to visit 20 of those apartment buildings before you’d find one saved person. The soil is very, very, very hard here.”

—Harley Walker Tweet

One of the reasons that soil is so hard, Walker said, is because of the influence of the Greek Orthodox church, which also performs infant baptism—meaning most Greeks believe they are right with God by birth. To disassociate from the church and profess a personal faith in Jesus would be to risk being disowned from one’s family and becoming a social outcast. That reality exists in Romania, as well, where another SBTC team was told that a man who broke ranks with the Eastern Orthodox church to follow Jesus was nearly killed by a family member.

So in Athens, evangelism is most effective when done through the context of personal relationships, Walker said. That happens through building genuine friendships where the truth of Jesus can not only be proclaimed, but modeled. 

The IMB operates a community center here where Walker invites people of all ages to come and talk, play games, and get to know one other with the ultimate intent of sharing the gospel. One way he envisions a partnership with SBTC churches is through hosting groups to lead workshops offering training in skills for which its members have expertise, such as first aid, parenting classes, budgeting classes—whatever.

“We’re only limited by our imagination,” he said. “We need all the help we can get.”

Members of the team that went to Athens pray for the pastors they met and for the gospel work that needs to be done there.
Members of the team that went to Athens pray for the pastors they met and for the gospel work that needs to be done there.
Members of the team that traveled to Slovenia have a conversation with some of their hosts.
Members of the team that traveled to Slovenia have a conversation with some of their hosts.

‘The is just the first wave’

The SBTC teams regrouped just outside London on the final day of the trip to pray, compare notes, and consider what future partnerships with European churches might look like. Each team gave a brief presentation, sharing what they experienced and what opportunities exist for SBTC churches considering a Reach Europe partnership.

Charles Lee, lead pastor of Acts Fellowship Church in Austin, was part of the Romania group. He said he was burdened by the level of lostness in Bucharest and, at the same time, inspired by the pastors working to reach them. Many of those pastors are bivocational and doing manual labor to provide for their families.

“There’s so much work that needs to be done to reach the lost people,” Lee said. “There’s so many people there that don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and it’s just heartbreaking to see.”

Though Acts Fellowship is involved with missions in Puerto Rico, New Mexico, and Las Vegas, Lee said the church has been praying about connecting with an international partner, as well. His next step will be to report back to his congregation about what he saw in Europe and continue to lead the church to pray about the opportunity. 

“You can tell there’s a need just to let these missionaries know that they’re not alone.”

—Clint Williams Tweet

“There’s so many people there that don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and it’s just heartbreaking to see.”

—Charles Lee Tweet

“[We will be] trying to discern God’s will,” he said. “We are just trying to see where God would have us to go.”

Clint Williams, lead pastor of Holly Springs Baptist Church in Garrison, went to Budapest. He said he has already had conversations with his church about going back possibly as soon as this fall. Like Lee, Williams said he sees opportunity not only in helping local churches spread the gospel, but in encouraging local pastors. 

“You can tell there’s a need just to let these missionaries know that they’re not alone,” Williams said. “The least we can do is come back and let them know that these pastors in Texas have their back.”

Lorick, SBTC’s executive director, noted that the IMB personnel who serve here said this was the first time they’d seen a state convention come in such force on a single trip of this kind: 39 people, including 17 pastors and eight missions leaders, representing 21 churches and three associations. He urged the churches to continue giving through the Cooperative Program, which funds the work that is happening overseas, and to spread the word about Reach Europe in their churches and through their networks. 

“Here’s what I’m convinced of,” he said. “Your eyes were opened to a need, and you are open to the reality that you are a part of the solution to meet that need. God’s given us an opportunity to make an absolute eternal impact in Europe. … This is just the first wave.”

Interested in impacted Europe with the gospel through the SBTC’s Reach Europe initiative?
Learn more >

Resourced & ready

When God called a pastor’s wife to start a women’s ministry, she found help and community through the SBTC

Long before Elizabeth Mathis knew the direction her life would go, God was preparing her.

She was raised in a “house of ministry” by parents who eventually became church planting missionaries in Mexico. Along the way, she earned a degree in biblical studies with an emphasis in counseling and met her husband, David, who attended a different university. 

Little did she know, David would begin to feel a call to ministry in 2017, four years after the family moved to Texas.

“Unbeknownst to us, our church was deciding to plant a church across town,” Mathis said. Not just that, she said, but God started making it clear that David was to be the pastor of that church—Hope Church in Kyle.

The bilingual congregation of 80-100 attends either English or Spanish services on Sundays. Church members translate the sermons during the Spanish services, but the pastor reads the Scripture in Spanish. Fluent in Spanish from frequent visits to her missionary parents in Mexico, Mathis finds her language abilities help her connect with the congregation.

After Hope Church started, Mathis filled several volunteer roles, starting the women’s ministry with a variety of programs from Bible studies to retreats. Mathis credits the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Women’s Ministry as a source of renewal and resources. The SBTC Women’s Ministry model—”She Goes. She Grows. She Gathers. She Gives. She Glorifies.”—is particularly helpful, she said. “The curriculum helps us so much.”

“SBTC Women’s Ministry provides invaluable support. Without the retreats, I would probably just work, work, work, and never take a break.”

—Elizabeth Mathis Tweet

Mathis regularly attends SBTC Come Away retreats geared for the wives of senior pastors. She said these retreats include a core group of ladies who attend each year, as well as new faces.

“It’s really sweet to get to know them. Not a lot of things are set up for pastors’ wives to have time to themselves,” she said. “Come Away is always very encouraging. Pastors’ wives are in charge of so many things. [At Come Away], we kind of relax. There’s a lot of prayer for one another, too.”

Mathis also attends the She Stands women’s leadership conferences, sometimes bringing groups from Hope Church. A few years ago, She Stands was held in San Antonio, with English speaking at one church venue and Spanish speaking simultaneously at another church nearby for reasons of space, allowing Mathis to bring both language groups.

“SBTC Women’s Ministry provides invaluable support,” she said. “Without the retreats, I would probably just work, work, work, and never take a break.”

The She Stands Ministry Model consists of five core components that make up a women’s ministry program, regardless of its size, location or unique circumstances.

Get Started

New book celebrates Southern Baptists’ Great Commission cooperation

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.—In 2023, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee assembled a small team to help prepare for the centennial anniversary of the Cooperative Program in 2025. Tony Wolfe, executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, was part of that team and suggested commissioning a book as part of the celebration.
 
Wolfe was then tasked to serve as an editor of the volume, which became known as “A Unity of Purpose” to be published by B&H Publishing Group. Last year, W. Madison Grace II, provost and vice president at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, joined as co-editor. For Wolfe, the book’s purpose is to be a theological, historical, and missional celebration of the Cooperative Program’s past, present and future.
 
But for him, the book and the Cooperative Program itself are personal. “The earliest days I can remember included celebration of CP-funded overseas missionaries and state convention discipleship ministries,” Wolfe said. His father serves as a Southern Baptist pastor. He followed in those pastoral footsteps before stepping into denominational leadership roles.
 
Now, Wolfe wants to help Southern Baptists better understand the funding mechanism that has served as a unifying force and disciple-making multiplier for a century.
 

What was the heart behind the creation of the Cooperative Program 100 years ago?

Wolfe: In 1925, Southern Baptists were emerging from a five-year, $75 million campaign that overpromised but underdelivered on unified funding for the entirety of their Baptist work. Direct appeals from Baptist institutions and the mounting debt of those institutions were choking out effective ministry and wasting precious resources. But money was not the real problem—strategy was. A model for a unified funding strategy had been tested and proven in the Kentucky Baptist Convention. SBC leadership looked to this model while they developed the Cooperative Program as a comprehensive, unified funding strategy for the entirety of SBC enterprises.
 

How has the Cooperative Program impacted the world?

The Cooperative Program has carried the Great Commission work of Southern Baptists all over the world. The gospel has been proclaimed in the remotest corners, and churches have been planted in the darkest places. Entire families and tribes have repented from sin and called on Jesus Christ for salvation. Generations of Southern Baptist pastors, church leaders, and missionaries have been theologically trained and sustainably mobilized. Widows and orphans have been cared for. The hungry have been fed and the thirsty have drunk clean water—all while being pointed to the bread of life, who is also the living water.
 
The hands and feet of the Cooperative Program are the faithful, everyday Southern Baptists giving sacrificially through local churches that are giving sacrificially through the CP. However, the face of the Cooperative Program is the spiritually lost Hindu, the emotionally struggling pastor’s wife, the church leader desperate for theological training, the neighborhood in crisis from disaster, the trafficked teenage girl in an overpopulated city, and the engineer or schoolteacher called to vocational missions. Only the ledgers of heaven can record the extent of Southern Baptists’ global Great Commission impact effected through their Cooperative Program these past 100 years.
 

What do you think people don’t understand about the Cooperative Program?

Sometimes Southern Baptists don’t quite grasp how dependent upon the Cooperative Program is the entirety of our convention’s work. While the CP doesn’t populate 100% of the budgets for each supported entity, each SBC entity is dependent upon the CP in various ways including: direct funding (the CP supplies 100% of the budget for at least two national entities and most state conventions); entity interconnectedness (seminary-trained students mobilizing with the IMB); and organized representation (nominations for trustees, boards, and committees), convention polity (annual motions from the floor), and timely distribution of funds (CP and designated offerings) managed by the administrative work of the Executive Committee.
 

Why is this book called A Unity of Purpose?

In 1925, at the SBC’s Annual Meeting when the Cooperative Program was unanimously approved by messengers, M.E. Dodd was the chairman of the committee that brought the CP to the messenger body for a vote. In his address, he said, “Your Commission believes that the very time has come when this entire convention should commit itself, with a unity of purpose and consecration never known before, to the common task of the enlistment of our people and the working out of this plan. We need to see that any other course means only chaos and ruin.”
 
The CP is the most obvious and most strategic outworking of the “unity of purpose and consecration” that Southern Baptists share. To categorize the Baptist Great Commission impulse as a “unity of purpose” is simply to restate its original declared agenda, from the 1845 Constitution, to “elicit, combine, and direct the energies of the whole denomination in one sacred effort, for the propagation of the gospel.” Our one sacred effort is a unity of purpose. It keeps us moving forward together through crises and disagreements of many kinds in urgent, sacrificial, strategic Great Commission cooperation.
 

How have you seen God’s grace to Southern Baptists through the writing and editing of this book?

As the book manuscript floated around the country for review, we began to hear Southern Baptists using common language to describe the Cooperative Program as they celebrate the CP’s past, present, and future. Language creates culture, and A Unity of Purpose is giving Southern Baptists language of theological justification, historical celebration, and missional focus surrounding our Great Commission cooperation.
 
Prayerfully, this common healthy language will begin to facilitate a culture of excitement and expectation among us. A book can capture words and convey thoughts, but only God can multiply His grace through a shared language to unite hearts and voices in renewed commitment to one sacred effort. I believe He is already using this book, at least in some way, for that purpose.
 

Why is a 100-year-old funding mechanism still important today?

The genius of the CP is not in its historical precedent, but its biblical foundation and philosophical timelessness. The CP is a mechanism that maintains and extends the united efforts of tens of thousands of autonomous churches; it is an elective giving pathway that underwrites the entirety of a voluntarily shared missional ecosystem, all built upon biblical foundations for inter-congregational cooperation. Because Baptists share strong convictions against ecclesiastical hierarchy, if they are to advance the Great Commission together, they must also share strong convictions for pooling resources and relationships for their common mission.
 
In 1925, from the outgrowth of these timeless principles, the CP became the unified giving plan for Southern Baptists to support the entirety of their missional enterprise. The CP is still relevant and still important because it’s the most natural and most effective outworking of the shared and confessed Baptist theological impulse for convictional Great Commission cooperation between locally autonomous churches.
 

What are the main challenges facing the future of the CP?

Every challenge we face today is just a contemporary expression of perennial challenges in our convention of autonomous churches and institutions.
 
First, division and dissension within the convention are not new, but today’s social media culture exacerbates them. Secondly, the downward trajectory of CP-giving over the last 20 years is concerning, but several times throughout history, we’ve had to climb out of financial holes and embarrassing shortfalls. Thirdly, talks of entity consolidation, doctrinal clarity, and financial accountability are pressing upon our cooperation in this generation, but these are not new to Southern Baptists who, for 180 years, have expanded and combined entities, clarified and confessed doctrinal positions, and reframed and reformed fiduciary responsibilities. All things considered, if the question is, “Can we recover extravagant CP giving in our generation?” the only answer is: “If we will, we can.”

El ministerio de adoración se convierte en la puerta de entrada para la próxima generación en iglesia del sur de Texas 

Antes de entregar su vida a Cristo, el camino de Fernando, de 17 años, estuvo lleno de lucha, dolor y confusión. Criado por su madre, una mujer soltera y trabajadora después de que su padre se marchara, él se metió en problemas, enredado en drogas y comportamientos destructivos.  

“Iba camino de la muerte, pero Dios me habló, diciendo: ‘No he terminado contigo’”, recureda Fernando. “Él me dio otra oportunidad de vivir y de compartir Su Palabra”.  

La segunda oportunidad de Fernando comenzó cuando su madre desesperada lo llevó a una iglesia, la Iglesia Esperanza, en dónde los estudios bíblicos juveniles de los miércoles por la noche le abrieron el corazón al evangelio. A través de esas enseñanzas, Fernando se dio cuenta de que Dios lo estaba llamando a la transformación. Aceptó a Cristo como su Salvador, fue bautizado por el pastor Rey Cantú y encontró una nueva familia en la iglesia.  

  Una de las figuras más influyentes en el caminar cristiano de Fernando ha sido Randy Cantú, el hijo del pastor y ahora líder de jóvenes en la Iglesia Esperanza. Randy fue un director creativo publicitario de alto nivel, teniendo una exitosa carrera trabajando en grandes marcas y elaborando campañas de mercadeo.  

Pero en el 2024, se enfrentó a una decisión crucial. Después de años sintiéndose distante de la iglesia y luchando con su propósito, el llamado de Dios se hizo innegable. Le ofrecieron un trabajo lucrativo, pero lo rechazó, escogiendo en su lugar dedicar su vida al ministerio.  

“Tenía una elección”, dijo Randy. “Seguir subiendo en la escala corporativa o seguir el llamado de Dios. Yo sabía que Él me estaba llamando a algo más grande”.  

Randy se reconectó por primera vez con el ministerio ayudando con la adoración en la iglesia de sus padres, en dónde notó a algunos jóvenes profundamente involucrados en la música. Al ver su pasión, comenzó a enseñarles a tocar instrumentos, formulando vínculos que se extendieron más allá de la adoración.  

Este pequeño acto de mentoría pronto se convirtió en algo más grande.  

“Vi cuánto se conectaban a través de la música, y me di cuenta de que Dios me estaba llamando a invertir en ellos”, dijo Randy.  

Las simples lecciones de música se convirtieron en un profundo cuidado, ya que Randy comenzó a dirigir estudios bíblicos y a ser mentor de jóvenes que necesitaban desesperadamente orientación. Su enfoque para discipular a los jóvenes es práctico. Él no sólo los guía en la fe, sino que también invierte en sus vidas enseñándoles música, pasando tiempo con ellos en eventos escolares y simplemente estando presente.  

Pastor Rey Cantú ora por un grupo de jóvenes durante un reciente servicio de adoración en la iglesia.  FOTO COMPARTIDA

“Cada joven es diferente”, dice Randy. “Me tomo tiempo para descubrir cuál es su pasión. Para algunos, es la música. Para otros, los deportes. Los veo jugar, los llevo a pescar, juego baloncesto con ellos. Quiero que sepan que me importan más allá de la iglesia”.  

La dedicación de Randy ha llevado a un floreciente ministerio juvenil. Lo que comenzó con sólo tres jóvenes en la escuela secundaria se ha convertido en un grupo vibrante de 20, muchos de los cuales sirven activamente en el ministerio de adoración de la iglesia. Fernando, que una vez fue un adolescente perdido, ahora toca el bajo en los servicios de adoración, aprovechando su talento para glorificar a Dios y animar a otros jóvenes.  

“Dios me ha permitido servirle a través de la música”, dijo el adolescente. “Mi vida es mucho mejor ahora. Tengo dificultades, sí, pero confío en que Dios me ayudará a superar cualquier cosa”.  

El impacto de este movimiento juvenil se extiende más allá de los muros de la iglesia. A principios de este año, la Iglesia Esperanza organizó un servicio de jóvenes que atrajo a más de 50 jóvenes, un número significativo para su comunidad. Muchos se pasaron al frente para oración y 30 aceptaron a Cristo o volvieron a dedicarle su vida, mostrando evidencia de cómo Dios se está moviendo los corazones.  

“Me tomo tiempo para descubrir cuál es su pasión. Para algunos, es la música. Para otros, los deportes. Los veo jugar, los llevo a pescar. ... Quiero que sepan que me importan más allá de la iglesia”.

—Randy Cantu Tweet

El ministerio de jóvenes se está volviendo más estructurado, eligiendo una directiva de jóvenes. Los estudiantes han escogido a Fernando como presidente del grupo. Randy dijo que Fernando está ardiendo por Dios, guiando a sus compañeros con pasión. Es una pasión que Randy quiere ver extenderse más allá de los muros de la iglesia.  

“Queremos que no sólo sean espiritualmente maduros, sino también que estén preparados para la vida”, dijo Randy.  

La misión de la Iglesia Esperanza es llevar amor y esperanza a los hogares rotos, y esa visión se está haciendo realidad a través de sus jóvenes. No sólo asisten a la iglesia, sino que se están convirtiendo en discípulos, guiando a otros y viviendo el Evangelio.  

“Estoy orgulloso de ellos”, dijo Randy entre lágrimas. “Muchos de estos jóvenes nunca han escuchado palabras de afirmación en casa. Por eso me aseguro de que sepan [diciéndoles]: ‘Te quiero. Estoy orando por ti. Dios está contigo’”.  

A través del liderazgo fiel de Randy y el compromiso de jóvenes creyentes como Fernando, la Iglesia Esperanza está siendo testigo de un mover de Dios entre la próxima generación, uno que está cambiando vidas y dando forma al futuro de la iglesia.  

“Dios tiene un plan para mí”, dijo Fernando. “Él me habla de muchas maneras, y sé que puedo superar cualquier cosa con el poder de Su Espíritu Santo”.  

Worship ministry becomes front door for next generation at South Texas church 

Before giving his life to Christ, 17-year-old Fernando’s path was filled with struggle, pain, and confusion. Raised by a hard-working single mother after his father walked away, he drifted into trouble, entangled in drugs and destructive behaviors.  

“I was on my way to death, but God spoke to me, saying, ‘I am not finished with you,’” Fernando recalls. “He gave me another chance to live and to spread His Word.” 

Fernando’s second chance began when his desperate mother brought him to a church—Iglesia Esperanza—where Wednesday night youth Bible studies opened his heart to the gospel. Through those teachings, Fernando realized God was calling him to transformation. He accepted Christ as his Savior, was baptized by Pastor Rey Cantu, and found a new family in the church. 

One of the most influential figures in Fernando’s journey has been Randy Cantu, the pastor’s son and now youth leader at Iglesia Esperanza. A former high-level advertising creative, Randy had a successful career working on major brands, crafting marketing campaigns, and directing creative projects.  

But in 2024, he faced a pivotal decision. After years of feeling distant from church and struggling with his purpose, God’s call became undeniable. He was offered a lucrative job but turned it down, choosing instead to dedicate his life to ministry.  

“I had a choice,” Randy said. “Continue climbing the corporate ladder or follow God’s call. I knew He was calling me to something greater.” 

Randy first reconnected with ministry by helping with worship at his parents’ church, where he noticed a few young people deeply engaged in the music. Seeing their passion, he began teaching them how to play instruments, forming bonds that extended beyond worship.  

This small act of mentorship soon grew into something greater.  

“I saw how much they connected through music, and I realized God was calling me to invest in them,” Randy said.  

Since giving his life to Christ, Fernando (left) has taken on a leadership role in the youth group. One of the most influential figures in Fernando’s journey has been Randy Cantu (right), the pastor’s son and now youth leader at Iglesia Esperanza. Submitted Photos

“I was on my way to death, but God spoke to me, saying, ‘I am not finished with you.’"

—Fernando Tweet

Simple music lessons turned into deep discipleship, as Randy began leading Bible studies and mentoring young people who desperately needed guidance. His approach to discipling young people is practical. Not only does he mentor them in faith, but he also invests in their lives by teaching them music, spending time with them at school events, and simply being present. 

“Every young person is different,” Randy said. “I take time to find out what their passion is. For some, it’s music. For others, it’s sports. I go to their games, take them fishing, play basketball with them. I want them to know I care about them beyond just church.” 

Randy’s dedication has led to a flourishing youth ministry. What started with just three young men in high school has now grown into a vibrant group of 20, many of whom are actively serving in the church’s worship ministry. Fernando, once a lost teenager, is now playing the bass guitar for worship services, using his gift to glorify God and encourage other young people.  

“God has allowed me to serve Him through music,” the teen said. “My life is much better now. I have struggles, yes, but I trust God that He will help me get through anything.” 

“We want them to be not only spiritually mature, but also equipped for life.”

—Randy Cantu Tweet

The impact of this youth movement extends beyond the church walls. Earlier this year, Iglesia Esperanza hosted a youth service that drew over 50 young people—a significant number for their community. Many came forward for prayer and 30 accepted Christ or rededicated their lives to Him, providing evidence of how God is stirring hearts. 

The youth ministry is becoming more structured, electing officers as is common in many Hispanic churches. Students have chosen Fernando as the group’s president. Randy said Fernando is on fire for God, leading his peers with passion. It’s a passion Randy wants to see extend beyond the walls of the church. 

“We want them to be not only spiritually mature, but also equipped for life,” Randy said. 

Iglesia Esperanza’s mission is to bring love and hope to broken homes, and that vision is becoming a reality through its young people. They are not just attending church; they are becoming disciples, leading others, and living out the gospel.  

“I am proud of them,” Randy said through tears. “Many of these youth have never heard words of affirmation at home. I make sure they know [by telling them], ‘I love you. I am praying for you. God is with you.’” 

Through the faithful leadership of Randy and the commitment of young believers like Fernando, Iglesia Esperanza is witnessing a movement of God among the next generation—one that is changing lives and shaping the future of the church. 

“God has a plan for me,” Fernando said. “He speaks to me in so many ways, and I know I can push through anything with the power of His Holy Spirit.” 

Hopeful news—no matter how you say it

My wife is a high school math teacher, and because of this, I get to hear some of the lingo used by the current generation of students that, let’s just say, isn’t native to my own vocabulary. 

When something’s good—very good—it’s bussin’. When something’s not good to the point of raising suspicion about its nature or motives, it’s sus. Things or people who are attractive have rizz, and things that are fun or enjoyable are lit. 

My wife’s favorite: Rather than punctuating a statement with the word “seriously” or “for real,” such as, “That steak was good—for real!” this generation might say, “That was an amazing steak—no cap.” Don’t ask me what it means. I’m about half afraid to even look it up on my work computer. 

I write these things with good humor in my heart, and yet, these kinds of generational culture gaps also have the potential to create cynicism stemming from a lack of mutual understanding.. Allowed to grow unchecked, such cynicism can create disdain and even full-on apathy—and it’s hard to reach people for Christ through a haze of apathy.   

There are plenty of statistics that don’t shine a favorable light on the next generation as it pertains to their faith. But as we spend this issue of the Texan focusing on how God is working through the next generation,
I want to share with you a statistic I find encouraging.

In an article for Lifeway Research in January, Paul Worcester, national collegiate director for the North American Mission Board, pointed out that 87% of evangelicals came to faith before age 30. We have heard ad nauseam about how teens tend to drop out of church in droves immediately after high school, but when was the last time you heard someone excitedly proclaim the opportunity that exists to reach young people throughout the decade after graduation?

“Youth ministry is not a junior varsity calling,” Worcester writes. “College ministry is not the B team. These leaders are on the front lines of the battleground for the next generation. We need our best resources and best troops where the battle rages hottest.”

In this issue, we’ve attempted to zoom in and show you the victories being claimed for Christ on some of those battlegrounds. You’ll read about a church where the youth department is taking responsibility to lead and reach their own friends with the gospel. You’ll read about amazing things happening on college campuses where leaders got hyper-focused on prayer and diving deep into God’s Word. You’ll read about what one couple has learned about the next generation by ministering to them on multiple levels—kids, students, and even young adults into their 20s.

When you’re finished, I pray you’ll not only be inspired by what God is doing in the next generation, but filled with insight that may help you win more battles for young minds through the truth of Scripture.

Yeah, that would be lit. No cap.

As Southern Baptists gather to celebrate milestone, SBTC embraces ‘a profound responsibility’

MEMPHIS, Tenn.—It was not only a commemoration, but a renewed call to action.

Southern Baptist Convention leaders from across the country gathered Tuesday, May 13, to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1925 SBC Annual Meeting. Messengers at that meeting adopted two foundational structures that have defined Southern Baptists since—the Baptist Faith & Message and the Cooperative Program, the latter of which funds worldwide missions.

Seventy-three pastors and leaders celebrated the anniversary by signing a Declaration of Cooperation thanking Southern Baptist churches for a century of generous giving, commending “all who promote, support, and renew their commitment to the Cooperative Program among our family of churches, mission boards, seminaries, entities, local Baptist associations, and state conventions,” according to a report in Baptist Press.

Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Director Nathan Lorick was among those who signed the declaration. Other SBTC pastors who signed included Eddie Lopez, First Baptist Church Forney’s En Español pastor who also serves as the SBC’s second vice president, Caleb Turner, senior pastor of Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church, and Hyoung Min Kim, senior pastor of Saebit Baptist Church.

Speaking about the adoption of BF&M and CP, Lorick said, “Both of those decisions have had a profound impact on the gospel’s advancement not only in our nation, but around the world … and now we share a profound responsibility to carry forward this legacy.”

Lorick said the 1925 SBC Annual Meeting had a tremendous impact on the SBTC’s founding in 1998, noting it laid the groundwork for the “missional cooperation and theological agreement” that unify more than 2,800 churches today.

“Considering this centennial anniversary year, I am thanking God for our Bible-believing and missions-sending Southern Baptist legacy and family,” he said.

Eddie Lopez (center) was among those who signed the Declaration of Cooperation at an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program and the Baptist Faith & Message. Lopez is pictured with Luis Soto, executive director of the Convention of Southern Baptist Church in Puerto Rico, and Bruno Molina, executive director of the National Hispanic Baptist Network. SBTC PHOTO

During the event’s keynote address, SBC Executive Committee President Jeff Iorg called CP a “never-before-attempted method” of funding shared ministry and mission efforts. A century later, what was once an unknown has become a “practical, proven” method to tell the world about Jesus.

“My appeal today is to reaffirm our commitment to cooperation and the Cooperative Program in its simplest form—a shared funding mechanism for state and regional conventions and the national convention to substantially provide the funding needed for all our work,” Iorg said.

When SBTC churches give through the Cooperative Program, 45% of undesignated receipts are used to mobilize SBTC churches and 55% is forwarded to the SBC to fund entities including the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board.

Lorick encouraged churches to continue to give through CP “to send the gospel to the nations.” He also reiterated a three-pronged way churches have been encouraged to mark the 100th anniversary of CP:

  1. Pray, asking God how they might give to mark the milestone year;
  2. Plan a Cooperative Program Sunday on Oct. 5 to emphasize the impact of CP giving; and
  3. Post stories on social media sharing how God has used CP to bless them using #cp100story.

Information from Baptist Press was used in this report.

In the UK, a promising development: more young people are interested in Jesus, the Bible

NASHVILLE (BP)—A curiosity about Scripture and God may be one of the leading factors behind a study that claims a “quiet revival” is expanding among young people in the United Kingdom, said an International Mission Board leader.

“In churches across society something amazing is happening, challenging long-held predictions about the future of Christianity in the 21st century,” said the report produced by the UK-based Bible Society. “Where once we saw aging congregations and a steady decline in attendance, we see dramatic growth, led by the young.”

That growth is showing among several key findings from the study.

  • An increase in church attendance among 18-24-year-olds from 4% in 2018 to 16% in 2024, with young men’s attendance jumping from 4% to 21%.
  • Among churchgoers, 67% read the Bible at least weekly, up from 54% in 2018. Bible reading has doubled from 6 to 12% in England and Wales.
  • A more diverse church has emerged, with 19% of churchgoers part of an ethnic minority. Among 18-54-year-olds, that figure rises to 32%.

Kenny Dubnick, the IMB’s European People’s Affinity cluster leader for the UK and Ireland, said most of the study’s findings reflect his own observations and those of other IMB personnel.

“On the whole, we are seeing an interest in spiritual matters, including Christianity, among 18-24-year-olds,” he told Baptist Press. “They are not necessarily interested in ‘church’ or religion, but in spirituality and Christ’s teachings. For many, they are initially often suspicious and cynical towards religion and the church, but not Jesus.”

Those observations generated changes in how to share the gospel.

“One of our primary evangelistic practices is to invite people to study the Bible,” said Dubnick. “Sometimes this is done in a formal gathering of 10 to 15 people who meet once a week for dinner and a Bible study.”

Those studies typically begin with about seven weeks of going through the gospel of Mark and usually meet in a home, pub, or community center. Those early gatherings are more informal, as missionaries meet almost weekly with individuals for one-on-one Bible study.

The American Bible Society, a separate organization whose founding was influenced by its UK counterpart, recently reported a similar growth in Scripture engagement among men.

Although women are still more engaged with the Bible, men are more likely to be “Bible-curious” and have surged in their Bible-reading practices from 34% in 2024 to 41% now. What’s more, Millennial men reported a 25% increase from in Bible use last year, while Gen X men reported a 29% increase.

Dubnick’s observations match the UK study’s findings on diversity and immigration. Christians arriving from elsewhere have helped spur church growth.

“We trust that the Spirit is bringing believers to the UK to spread the gospel among the Brits,” he said. “The UK was once a missionary-sending nation. Now, it is a missionary-receiving one.”

The UK study also put forward what it called “a clear difference between church-going and non-churchgoing Christians.” Namely, fewer Britons see themselves as Christians “by default.”

In 2018, 32% identified as Christians even though they didn’t regularly go to church. That number dropped to 27% in the recent study while reflecting increasing desires for discipleship and Bible study.

That mirrors Dubnick’s observations.

“In my 18 years serving in the UK and Ireland, every person I’ve seen come to faith in Jesus has done so via studying the Bible,” he said. “People are not interested in church or organized religion, but the Bible and Jesus are topics they are more willing to engage with.”

The latest report on Southern Baptist engagement indicates something similar.

While church membership continued a downward trend, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination recorded the highest number of baptisms in seven years. That came with increases in total worship attendance as well as small group or Sunday School participation.

“The Quiet Revival” also reported a deep desire “for meaning, order and belonging.”

“With the normalization of Christianity in culture, and the confidence and comfort of Christian friends to share their own faith experience, a large number of young adults now appear to be looking towards the Church as a space for finding healing and community as well as a deeper sense of meaning in their life,” it said.

Those thoughts reflect the Global Flourishing Study released on May 1 by Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“Most of the countries that reported high overall composite flourishing may not have been rich in economic terms, but they tended to be rich in friendships, marriages, and community involvement—especially involvement in religious communities,” wrote the study’s authors.

The report also described young people as “struggling” in terms of mental health, with flourishing scores staying consistent from 18-49 years of age before showing stages of increase.

Matthew Spandler-Davison, a Kentucky Baptist pastor still heavily involved in ministry in his native Scotland, noted the encouraging signs of the UK study while calling for discernment and a “need to look beyond the surface.”

“In some of our church plants in Scotland, we have seen a growing group of teenagers interested and curious about the church,” he said. “However, many of them are navigating a syncretism in their belief and worldview. They’re piecing together their worldview from various voices, including online and social media influencers.”

The result is an amalgamation of different beliefs, with Jesus sprinkled in. This points to the ongoing importance of discipleship.

“It’s a gift to have them with us, but the exclusivity of Christ—that He alone is the way, the truth and the life—is a real stumbling block for some,” Spandler-Davison said. “We may see some drift away in the coming year if we are not clear about the claims of Jesus and the call to a life of repentance and faith in Christ alone.”

As in America, there are also long-held associations with organized religion keeping many from the church. White, working-class men in particular, said Dubnick, view the Church of England as the “Religion of the Royals” and are thus disconnected from it in almost every way.

There are others, though, such as many Anglican churches that are “doing a good job in contextualizing the gospel to the working classes.”

“These Anglican churches are committed to sharing the gospel in urban-deprived communities,” he said. “We are thankful for these Anglican brothers and sisters. The work is a marathon and not a sprint, but the Lord is at work!”

This article originally appeared in Baptist Press.