Month: July 2025

West Texas church sets goal to have 145,000 gospel conversations over the next 8 years

At a time when many seem to move further away from the church, Glen Meadows Baptist Church is seeing people come closer.

“Two years ago, we were averaging 100 more each Sunday than the year before,” Senior Pastor Mack Roller said. “Since October, we’ve baptized 46, and that almost matches what we did last year all year.”

Rugged individualism is pervasive in West Texas, Roller said, and drug use is rampant. San Angelo’s suicide rate surpasses the national average and people here often feel isolated, so Glen Meadows is training its members to break down barriers.

“One of the attributes of a dream disciple at Glen Meadows is a faithful friend,” Luke Roller, pastor of discipleship ministries, said. “We try to equip them with conversation pieces and how to navigate a conversation from the day-to-day into a spiritual conversation, into a gospel presentation.”

In communication efforts leading up to Easter, for instance, Glen Meadows, with an average attendance of 1,200, placed an emphasis on equipping people to invite. The church distributed digital invitation cards that people could text or email to their friends, and QR codes and T-shirts directed people to the church’s Easter page.

“That resulted in our highest-attended Easter Sunday that we’ve had in the history of Glen Meadows,” Luke Roller said.

“Two years ago, we were averaging 100 more each Sunday than the year before. Since October, we’ve baptized 46, and that almost matches what we did last year all year.”

—Mack Roller Tweet

Three or four years ago, church leadership was burdened to increase their prayer efforts, the pastor said. Since then, the staff has spent more time in prayer, small groups have extended prayer times, deacons pray more at their meetings, and the congregation has prayer nights.

“I think this is a crucial point, and I think it has brought a lot of peace,” Mack Roller said. “The main thing is it took our eyes off ourselves and what church can do for us and put our eyes on the Lord and what He wants from us.”

Not long after the renewed prayer emphasis, God led Mack Roller to be involved in some of the initial Regenesis training centered on church health and revitalization offered by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Implementing some of those elements, the church reworked its vision and broke it up into chronological goals. A notable goal that emerged from that process is for the church to have 145,000 gospel conversations in eight years, “which is kind of miraculous,” he said.

“It’s a big one,” he added, “but with a calculator, we can do it if we just stay focused.”

The goal includes seeing 500 disciple-makers impacting the lives of 2,000 people. “It sounds impossible, but actually it’s not,” Mack Roller said. Once the large number of 145,000 is broken down into what each person can do, it’s manageable.

“In the breaking down, someone might say, ‘That’s the role that I can play.’ It gives people handles to hold onto to own it,” Luke Roller said.

“Right now, our foyer is really small and it’s hard to even meet people. We’re adding a lot of space for people to mingle and build relationships.”

—Mack Roller Tweet

Glen Meadows kicked off the 145,000 goal in January, and now they have an app to log gospel conversations. If, for example, a church member has a gospel conversation at a local restaurant, he might take a picture of the table or the sign, upload it, and ask people to pray for that conversation to bear fruit.

The vision process yielded five values Glen Meadows seeks to connect with everything it does:

We dig deep because living water is worth the work.
We make room because the gospel creates space for everyone at the table.
We kneel down because we can’t wash feet while standing up.
We team up because Jesus calls us out of isolation into participation.
We have fun because joy is the culture of heaven.

Pertaining to making room, Glen Meadows introduced a building campaign for a second campus across the street to include an auditorium with 1,600 seats, a children’s department, adult education space, and a large common area.

“Right now, our foyer is really small and it’s hard to even meet people,” Mack Roller said. “We’re adding a lot of space for people to mingle and build relationships.”

The church hopes to break ground by the end of the year, and already leadership is encouraged by the response.

“We did a capital campaign last October,” Mack Roller said. “We wanted 100% of our active givers to participate. We ended up with 134%. It was very positive. There was just a lot of unity.”

Luke Roller added, “We’re not trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. The problem is felt every single Sunday by our people.”

Meanwhile, church members keep inviting those in their spheres of influence looking for answers and purpose. If Glen Meadows has its way, it will have the opportunity to provide that answer—the gospel—145,000 times.

The gospel is impacting flood survivors, first responders in the Hill Country

Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief teams are winding down a multisite response in Kerr County, San Saba, San Angelo, and Leander following devastating floods that swept across the Texas Hill Country on July 4.

In Kerr County, more than 130 people lost their lives as flash floods turned the normally peaceful Guadalupe River into a raging torrent. Among the dead were 27 children and counselors from a Christian youth camp outside Hunt, a community of about 1,300 residents.

Much of the SBTC DR effort in Kerr County concentrated on feeding, chaplaincy, and shower/laundry work, with operations based out of First Baptist Church Kerrville.

“We mostly have been serving first responders and volunteers in feeding and shower/laundry,” SBTC DR Director Scottie Stice said. Recovery teams from Spring Baptist Church, as well as from Oklahoma Baptist DR, have mudded out homes, cleared debris, and done chainsaw and general cleanup work with an emphasis on residential properties.

“We’ll stay to help with feeding and laundry as long as needed,” Stice added.

San Saba: Impact of a different kind

Recovery work in San Saba has been of a broader scope. SBTC DR volunteers worked alongside their counterparts from Oklahoma to complete dozens of jobs. San Saba’s First Baptist Church opened its doors as a clearinghouse where residents could find help.

Though much of the work was typical of a disaster response, the San Saba deployment featured a few unusual twists.

Among the structures flooded was the historic Mill Pond House in Mill Pond Park. SBTC DR volunteer Jim DeLaPlaine advised authorities on the amount of moisture in the structure and how best to treat the sodden plaster.

The Mill Pond House wasn’t the only bit of San Saba history to be encountered during the deployment, however.

When stripping multiple layers of ruined vinyl flooring from a home, an SBDR recovery team uncovered multiple layers of old newspapers from San Saba and Dallas, including a Feb. 5, 1956, edition of The Dallas Morning News with the front page headline: “Dallas Celebrates 100^th Birthday.”

That discovery made headlines in the present-day San Saba paper, as did an account of the hard work of SBTC DR crews helping the community.

In addition to blasts from the past, a Californian found something much more significant in San Saba. The man, a San Diego resident named Hector, heard about the Hill Country floods and searched online for ways to help when he came across information on San Saba’s First Baptist Church. He phoned to offer assistance and was told if he could make it from San Diego, he was welcome.

Hector drove to San Saba, received DR training, and began helping on the field for a week as the only Spanish translator in that area. Through that work, Hector requested a Bible, and Alan Arthur, pastor of San Saba’s First Baptist Church, shared the gospel with him. Hector accepted Christ on a Thursday and was baptized that Sunday.

DR teams also offered shower and laundry services in Leander, as well as feeding operations in San Angelo, in support of the Red Cross shelter there serving 400 displaced flood survivors.

“We’re grateful to be able to help,” Stice said.

A cooperative effort

On Saturday, July 26, SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick—speaking at the annual Equip Conference, held this year at Houston’s First Baptist Church—offered an update on the convention’s disaster relief response and thanked churches for their support that makes such efforts possible. That response has included nearly 18,000 volunteer hours served, more than 1,500 emotional or spiritual care contacts, thousands of meals prepared and served, and 20 professions of faith.

“When you sit in your church on Sunday and you invest in the kingdom of God through your tithes, and [when] your church partners with other churches of the SBTC through the Cooperative Program,” Lorick said, “you are in your city, in your church on that morning … but you are also in Kerrville and in San Saba, still serving those who are searching for healing.”

Lorick then read from an email sent to Bruce Northam, pastor of Clay Road Baptist Church in Houston, from a law enforcement first responder from the Panhandle who had been in Kerr County for nine days.

“This deployment, at times, feels like a losing battle. Searching for souls has been upsetting and just about unbearable. I was told about a yellow and blue trailer manned by three guys who would do laundry if you dropped it off to them,” the first responder wrote, referring to SBTC DR’s laundry unit. “That laundry service has been the only win I have experienced since I got here. I dropped off filthy rags to those gentlemen, and they accepted them with open arms and thanked me for dropping it off. My clothes have been sweated through, and covered in blood and tears, and returned to me clean. Having clean clothes to put on before taking on an uphill battle (literally) makes me feel valued and lets me know that someone thinks I am important enough to have clean clothes.”

Said Lorick: “We are certainly making a difference together.”

Cumulative Report for Central Texas Floods (July 4-26):

Volunteer days: 1,779
Volunteer hours: 17,790.
Total emotional/spiritual care contacts: 1,552
Professions of faith: 20
Meals prepared for Red Cross: 5,606
Southern Baptist mass care meals: 4,204
Southern Baptist volunteer meals: 3,465
Showers provided: 729
Loads of laundry provided: 1,377

Four things a pastor is not

Admit it. You do not have enough time or energy to do everything that is expected of you. I’m in that same leaky boat. The good news is that we are not supposed to. Although our gifts and calling are irrevocable, they don’t make us invincible.

What if we refused to be the solution to every problem in our church? Imagine defining ministry success by how our members succeed instead of how we succeed?

Since our call is to equip people for ministry, we should be giving plates away, not spinning them more ourselves. To help you better focus on your calling,
I would like to suggest four professions pastors are not called to.

A pastor is not a referee.

Referees and umpires have the most thankless jobs on the planet. They should wear spots instead of stripes, because they are huge targets for criticism.

Conflict resolution may be the part of a pastor’s job that comes with the most pressure and least preparation. Although every pastor (and believer) is called to be a minister of reconciliation, some of us are more gifted and equipped for it than others.

I took too many years to give myself permission to not fix every feud between spouses, siblings, and church members. God reminded me how He fixed the first church conflict in history—with an assist from deacons. As these capable lay leaders waged peace, the pastors refocused on prayer and the ministry of the Word, which led to another wave of growth.

A pastor is not an attorney.

When conflicts reach a legal impasse, some people will consult their pastors for advice. Being an expert in God’s law does not qualify you to be an expert in man’s law.

We have heard too many examples of ministers mishandling reports of sexual abuse by trying to navigate around the justice system instead of partnering with it. Although it may seem like the line between spiritual counsel and legal counsel is grey, the stakes are too high to go with your gut.

A pastor is not a therapist.

Mental health issues are difficult to diagnose for any non-professional. Taking a counseling class in seminary does not qualify you to diagnose yourself, much less someone else. In some states, it is not even lawful to use the word “counselor” without the credentials to back it up.

I confess that it is not always easy to discern between a chemical problem and a character problem, as some people struggle with both at the same time. If you suspect someone needs more than you can offer, please encourage them to talk to their doctor or a licensed therapist.

A pastor is not a generalist.

Pastors must discern whether they are equipping people or enabling them. If we become the hero of someone’s story, we divert their attention from the only real Savior. A hero complex has led many pastors down steep paths of burnout, depression, or worse.

By the way, I personally know a few pastors who are also practicing attorneys, therapists, or referees—but they are the exception. What profession are you practicing that is beyond your gifts and calling? Perhaps it is time you turn your focus back to your primary purpose, thereby encouraging others in your church or ministry to do the same.

La población hispana de Tyler está creciendo rápidamente. Esta iglesia quiere presentar a Jesús a tantas personas como sea posible.

Cuando el crecimiento se encuentra con la gracia

En agosto de 2023, una pequeña congregación hispana compuesta por sólo tres familias se reunió por primera vez en un espacio prestado dentro del auditorio de jóvenes de la Iglesia Bautista Southern Oaks en Tyler.

No tenían un edificio propio ni un gran equipo para comenzar. Lo que sí tenían era una visión clara: hacer conocido a Cristo entre la creciente población hispana de la zona y alcanzar con el evangelio de la gracia a los indiferentes espiritualmente.

Con la fuerza de esa visión, nació la Iglesia Bautista Ciudad de Gracia. La joven iglesia es pastoreada por Héctor Ahumada, cuyo propio viaje de fe, llamado y obediencia ha dado forma de manera única a la misión y el ministerio de Ciudad de Gracia.

Un llamado que comenzó en casa

Nacido en Delicias, Chihuahua, México, Ahumada creció en un hogar de ministerio, siendo su papá el pastor, en donde el evangelio se manifestaba plenamente.

“Lo que mi padre predicaba los domingos, lo vivía en casa”, dijo Ahumada. Su madre, Sheila, “una mujer de oración”, según Ahumada, fue un apoyo constante, siempre orando y animando el ministerio de su esposo con admiración y gracia.

Cuando era preadolescente, Ahumada llegó a comprender que el buen comportamiento por sí solo no podía salvarlo: necesitaba una relación personal con Cristo. Esta comprensión resultó en su conversión y marcó el comienzo de un viaje espiritual que lo llevó a una vida de servicio.

Después de la escuela superior, Ahumada se mudó a San Antonio para estudiar en una universidad bautista. Allí conoció a su futura esposa, Damaris Suárez, una joven de Guanajuato, México.

Durante sus cinco años en la universidad, Dios comenzó a afirmar su llamado pastoral a través de mentores como el pastor Víctor Rodríguez y un líder de la iglesia que lo invitó a ayudar a plantar un nuevo campus.

“En ese momento no lo vi, pero Dios aprovechó esa oportunidad para confirmar mi llamado [pastoral]”, dijo Ahumada.

Más tarde, un profesor del seminario lo animó a continuar su preparación después de la universidad. Eso lo impulsó a ingresar al Seminario Teológico Bautista Southwestern en Fort Worth, donde obtuvo una Maestría en Consejería Pastoral. Mientras estudiaba, sirvió en el ministerio de jóvenes de la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Fort Worth, bajo el pastor Rafael Berlanga.

Un camino imprevisto hacia la plantación

La jornada de Ahumada lo llevó luego a Utah por un año, donde tenía la intención de servir en consejería. En cambio, Dios lo redirigió hacia la plantación de iglesias.

Se casó con Damaris y más tarde regresó a Texas, donde completó una Maestría en Divinidad en el Southwestern. Poco después, se unió al programa de residencia pastoral en la Iglesia Bautista Crossroads en The Woodlands, donde sirvió durante tres años como el pastor asociado de grupos pequeños y educación. Fue allí donde Dios comenzó a mover su corazón para plantar una iglesia en Tyler.

Tyler, la ciudad hispana de más rápido crecimiento en el este de Texas, presentaba un campo maduro para el ministerio del evangelio. Con Crossroads como iglesia enviadora y un corazón para alcanzar a personas que no tienen una relación con Dios, Héctor y
Damaris siguieron adelante con la plantación de la iglesia.

Los dos primeros años estuvieron llenos de desafíos, incluyendo reuniones en su casa y la acogida de pequeños grupos sin un espacio permanente, entre otros obstáculos. Pero Dios proveyó. En agosto de 2023, lanzaron los servicios dominicales con sólo nueve personas. Hoy en día, la iglesia ha crecido hasta convertirse en un grupo estable de más de 30 personas, con más del 60 % conectado a pequeños grupos.

“Seguimos plantando semillas, confiando en que Dios dará el fruto”.

—Héctor Ahumada Tweet

Evangelismo relacional y crecimiento genuino

Ciudad de Gracia está comprometida con el evangelismo relacional. Aunque participan en eventos de la comunidad como el Día del Niño, una festividad tradicional hispana que honra a los niños, el verdadero crecimiento ha venido de que los miembros comparten el evangelio con amigos y vecinos.

“Una vez que el evangelio se planta en sus corazones, se quedan”, dijo Ahumada.

Los grupos pequeños han sido esenciales. Ya sea que se reúnan en hogares o en restaurantes locales, estas reuniones crean un espacio para conversaciones profundas. Por ejemplo, una mujer se dio cuenta recientemente a través de un estudio en un grupo pequeño que la salvación es por gracia, no por obras, como ella creía antes. Historias como estas son las verdaderas victorias de la iglesia, dijo Ahumada.

Ciudad de Gracia ya tiene ministerios en crecimiento para niños y jóvenes, y Dios está levantando nuevos líderes, incluyendo a Joel Ortega, quien, junto con su esposa, encontró la iglesia a través de las redes sociales. Sintiéndose llamado a servir, ahora Joel dirige la clase de escuela dominical para adultos y ocasionalmente predica.

“Nuestra visión es avanzar hacia un modelo dirigido por ancianos, y Joel es parte de cómo Dios está proporcionando eso”, dijo Ahumada.

Desafíos presentes, esperanza futura

Uno de los mayores desafíos para la iglesia ha sido la apatía espiritual de la comunidad: personas que se identifican con la religión, pero no están dispuestas a participar en conversaciones centradas en el evangelio. Una de las mayores peticiones de oración de Ahumada es por sabiduría, para que pueda administrar bien los recursos financieros y humanos de la iglesia, de modo que puedan impactar a la primera generación de hispanos y, a su vez, alcanzar a la segunda y tercera generación.

A medida que avanzan, relación a relación, siguen comprometidos a plantar la gracia de Dios en el corazón de la ciudad.

“Seguimos plantando semillas”, dijo Ahumada, “confiando en que Dios dará el fruto”.

Tyler’s Hispanic population is exploding. This church wants to introduce as many people as possible to Jesus.

In August 2023, a small Hispanic congregation consisting of just three families gathered for the first time in a borrowed space inside the youth auditorium of Southern Oaks Baptist Church in Tyler.

They had no building of their own and no big launch team. What they did have was a clear vision: to make Christ known among a growing Hispanic population in the area and to reach the spiritually complacent with the gospel of grace.

On the strength of that vision, Iglesia Bautista Ciudad de Gracia (City of Grace Baptist Church) was born. The young church is pastored by Héctor Ahumada, whose own journey of faith, calling, and obedience has uniquely shaped Ciudad de Gracia’s mission and ministry.

A calling that began at home

Born in Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico, Ahumada grew up in a pastor’s home where the gospel was on full display.

“What my father preached on Sundays, he lived at home,” Ahumada said. His mother, Sheila—“a woman of prayer,” Ahumada said—was a constant supporter, always praying and uplifting her husband’s ministry with admiration and grace.

As a pre-teen, Ahumada came to understand good behavior alone could not save him—he needed a personal relationship with Christ. The realization resulted in his conversion and marked the beginning of a spiritual journey that led him toward a life of service.

Following high school, Ahumada moved to San Antonio to study at a Baptist university. There, he met his future wife, Damaris Suárez, a young woman from Guanajuato, Mexico.

During his five years at the university, God began to affirm his pastoral calling through mentors like Pastor Víctor Rodríguez and a church leader who invited him to help plant a new campus.

“I didn’t see it at the time, but God used that opportunity to confirm my calling,” Ahumada said.

Later, a seminary professor encouraged him to continue his preparation after college. That propelled him to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, where he earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling. While studying, he served in youth ministry at Primera Iglesia Bautista de Fort Worth under Pastor Rafael Berlanga.

An unplanned path to planting

Ahumada’s journey then took him to Utah for a year, where he intended to serve in counseling. Instead, God redirected him toward church planting.

He married Damaris and later returned to Texas, where he completed a Master of Divinity at Southwestern. Soon after, he joined the pastoral residency program at Crossroads Baptist Church in The Woodlands, where he served for three years as associate pastor over small groups and education. It was there God began to stir his heart to plant a church in Tyler.

Tyler, home to the fastest-growing Hispanic population in East Texas, presented a ripe field for gospel ministry. With Crossroads as its sending church and a heart to reach people without a relationship with God, Héctor and Damaris moved forward with the church plant.

The first two years were filled with challenges, including meeting and hosting small groups in their home—but God provided. In August 2023, they launched Sunday services with just nine people. Today, the church has grown into a stable group of over 30, with more than 60% connected to small groups.

“We keep planting seeds, trusting God will bring the fruit.”

—Héctor Ahumada Tweet

Relational evangelism and genuine growth

Ciudad de Gracia is committed to relational evangelism. While they participate in community events like Día del Niño—a traditional Hispanic holiday that honors children—true growth has come from members sharing the gospel with friends and neighbors.

“Once the gospel is planted in their hearts, they stay,” Ahumada said.

Small groups have been essential. Whether meeting in homes or at local restaurants, these gatherings create space for deep conversations. For example, a woman recently realized through a small group study that salvation is by grace—not by works, as she once believed. Stories like these are the church’s real victories, Ahumada said.

Ciudad de Gracia already has growing ministries for children and youth, and God is raising up new leaders including Joel Ortega, who, along with his wife, found the church through social media. Feeling called to serve, Joel leads the adult Sunday school class and occasionally preaches.

“Our vision is to move toward an elder-led model, and Joel is part of how God is providing for that,” Ahumada said.

Present challenges, future hope

One of the greatest challenges for the church has been the spiritual apathy of the community—people who identify with religion but are unwilling to engage in gospel-centered conversations. One of Ahumada’s biggest prayer requests is for wisdom, that he would steward the church’s financial and human resources well so they can impact the first generation of Hispanics and, in turn, reach the second and third.

As they continue forward one relationship at a time, they remain committed to planting grace in the heart of the city.

“We keep planting seeds,” Ahumada said, “trusting God will bring the fruit.”

Not results, but faithfulness

Lots of people get excited for lots of different reasons each year at the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting.

The policy wonks among us love diving deep into the reports and the data and the polity and all that nuance. Others come to connect, excitedly gathering with people from other state conventions they only get to see once a year. Still others are driven by duty, understanding the role participation plays in cooperative work like ours.

All those things are truly important, but for me, I’m always most moved by the people few of us ever get to see. They’re the ones who appear as silhouettes behind screens at the International Mission Board commissioning service held in conjunction with the annual meeting. The service offers an opportunity for new missionaries to share the calling God has placed on their lives while simultaneously reminding Southern Baptists how to pray as His mission is being advanced around the world.

Some of those missionaries can be seen and share their stories in full view before the thousands of messengers and countless more watching online. They’re going to locations the IMB considers low risk. The identities of those going to high-risk countries are concealed; they give their testimonies from behind a backlit screen. You see, where they’re going, being identified as a follower of Jesus can close gospel doors or even end their lives.

And still they go, putting their lives on the line to make the name of Jesus known. They go hoping to see a mighty movement of God but knowing that droves of missionaries before them have worked for decades in hard-to-reach places with nary a convert made. They don’t go for results, because only God controls the results. They go powered by hearts of obedience and faithfulness.

One of the stories we published on Texan.Digital during June’s annual meeting in Dallas focused on another group of out-of-the-spotlight servants—the hundreds of volunteers who serve on the annual meeting encouragement team. This team, many of whom are members of Southern Baptists of Texas Convention churches, serve as ushers, pray with weary pastors in the prayer room, stuff thousands of registration bags, and much more.

These folks don’t do it for the glory, but to give glory. Though their calling is much different than that of the missionaries, they do what they do from hearts powered by obedience and faithfulness.

Our churches are filled with servants like this, who give of themselves deeply and sacrificially and with no expectation of return. They do their work in anonymity, and yet the things they do form the backbone of so many churches and ministries.

This year is the 100th anniversary of not only the Cooperative Program, but the Baptist Faith and Message—two mechanisms that form the basis of our work as Southern Baptists. As such, we’ve talked a lot about cooperation and the work we do together.

Here’s a reminder that much of that cooperative work is done behind the scenes by people you don’t know and who we couldn’t do without. If that’s you, thank you. Whether you’re essentially giving up your identity to tell others about Jesus in some distant place on the other side of the planet or grinding through your 32nd consecutive VBS, thank you. We are grateful for you, and we know the Lord is honored by your work.

Reaching Europe: In England, a rich Christian history that’s nearly been forgotten provides incredible gospel opportunity

Few noticed when a group of about 75 tourists learning about London’s Christian history grew by two.

As the tour group, consisting mostly of pastors and church leaders from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, ambled down the city’s bustling streets, a pair of local teenagers began walking with the tour and asked one of its participants what all the fuss was about.

“We’re a group of Christians from churches in Texas learning about Christian heritage in London and the U.K.,” said Matthew Hamline, who was with his wife, Stacia. “Do you know about your country’s Christian heritage?”

No, the teen said, he didn’t.

“Well,” Matthew continued, “what do you know about Christianity? What do you know about Jesus?”

“I know Christians believe in a guy named Jesus, that He died, and it had something to do with a cross,” the teen said.

“He did die on a cross,” Matthew responded, “but do you know what happened after that?”

No, the teen said, he didn’t.

Most on the tour didn’t even know the interaction happened. But for Matthew and Stacia—members of First Baptist Church in Academy and part of the SBTC contingent—it lingered and brought with it another puzzling question.

“How have things gotten so bad that this is the standard here, not only in London but all across England?” Matthew said later. “I was just heartbroken that, here we are, meeting people in the shadows of these massive cathedrals that were at one time dedicated to the gospel and Jesus Christ, who know nothing about Jesus.”

“I was just heartbroken that, here we are, meeting people in the shadows of these massive cathedrals that were at one time dedicated to the gospel and Jesus Christ, who know nothing about Jesus.”

—Matthew Hamline Tweet

“The hardest thing for me to see was just how prevalent the symbols of Christianity are here, but how dead spiritually many people seem to be,” Stacia added. “We looked at some beautiful churches, but we found out from the missionaries here that some of the churches are being used as night clubs, some have become drug distribution centers, some as shopping centers—completely throwing away these buildings that were meant to be glorifying to God, to be places of worship.”

In May, the SBTC led a vision trip to kick off its Reach Europe initiative. The trip introduced pastors and church leaders to missions opportunities across the continent with the hope of facilitating long-term partnerships. The SBTC, in partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board, is targeting seven European cities including Leeds, one of the largest cities in Northern England.

Leeds is a microcosm of what is found not only across the United Kingdom, but all of Europe—which is to say, it’s a city with a rich Christian history and monumental church landmarks, yet almost completely devoid of actual Christians. Beau Bevers, who pastors First Baptist Church in Madisonville and was on the SBTC’s Leeds team, noted the evangelical Christian population in Northern England barely tips the scale at 0.5%. It’s one of the reasons the IMB considers all of Europe an unreached continent.

“It’s extremely dark spiritually,” Bevers said. “Not only would they call themselves non-religious, but they are actually very antagonistic toward Christianity.” As such, Bevers noted, it’s a very tough place to do gospel ministry.

Even so, there are pockets of pastors leading churches in Leeds who are faithfully working to reclaim territory for Christ. While in Leeds, pastors and church leaders met with a number of local pastors and missionaries who shared how SBTC churches can partner with them. Those opportunities include doing door-to-door evangelism and hosting events such as holiday clubs, which is equivalent to vacation Bible school in the U.S.

“It was really heartwarming and really refreshing to see entire congregations [in such a lost place] passionate about Jesus and the gospel. It’s exciting.”

—Matthew Hamline Tweet

The partnership seems to be happening at just the right time. Baptist Press recently reported that the UK-based Bible Society is reporting an increased receptivity to Jesus and spiritual matters. Recent studies revealed an increase in church attendance among 18- to 24-year-olds (up from 4% in 2018 to 16% in 2024) and an increase in the number of churchgoers who read the Bible at least weekly (54% to 67%).

Bevers said pastors in Leeds are hoping to develop years-long partnerships with SBTC churches to maximize gospel impact and develop much-needed relationships to provide support and encouragement. He said the average missionary in this part of England doesn’t last longer than about three years.

The Hamlines—Matthew, a 24-year-old firefighter, and Stacia, a 22-year-old middle school teacher—are considering their own long-term commitment. Even before they had heard of Reach Europe, they had been praying for the spiritual situation in the U.K. and considering a career as missionaries with the IMB. The vision trip only intensified their desire to team up with the small-but-faithful band of Christians there to make Jesus’ name known across the country.

“Every one of the churches we saw was filled with people who are passionate about the gospel and passionate about knowing God and studying the Scriptures,” Matthew said. “It was really heartwarming and really refreshing to see entire congregations [in such a lost place] passionate about Jesus and the gospel. It’s exciting.”

After dark valleys and a dry season of ministry, FBC Mexia is experiencing a wave of new life

When dirt becomes a deluge

Earlier this year, there was dirt in the baptistery at FBC Mexia. That’s how long it had been since it had been used.

The church had lost about 100 people per decade since the 1990s, and they were down to about 115 when Robert Blackmon arrived to pastor the church last fall. All the ministerial staff had left, as well as the audio/visual team and the praise team.

The search committee chairman was honest about the church’s situation, but Blackmon saw potential.

“I had read a lot about churches in this situation and done a lot of case studies and written about church revitalization,” Blackmon said, “but the reason I came here was because it seemed like God was giving me an opportunity to put that study into practice and see if God’s Word could actually do what I thought it could.”

Over the past few months, God’s movement at FBC Mexia has been no more evident than inside that same baptistery—where a custodian recently spent three hours vacuuming and scrubbing to prepare for what would become 12 successive weeks of baptisms at the newly revived church.

“It reminded them that even though they’d gone through a dark valley, God hadn’t left them in the process and He still had a plan for them and they could still make a difference in their community.”

—Robert Blackmon Tweet

‘We just want somebody to love us’

There were still people in the congregation who remembered the church’s better days, and Blackmon said they did not want to see that completely fade away. At the same time, some expressed to Blackmon that they “kind of felt like God had abandoned them a little bit, or that He had removed the lampstand, if you want to use Revelation language,” he said.

“Preacher,” someone in the congregation told him upon his arrival, “we just want somebody to love us.”

“To have somebody here who was excited about what God could do, it reminded them that even though they’d gone through a dark valley, God hadn’t left them in the process and He still had a plan for them and they could still make a difference in their community,” Blackmon said.

Nathan Lino, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Forney, mentored Blackmon through the North American Mission Board Leadership Institute for five years and sent his resume to the FBC Mexia pastor search team. Blackmon graduated from Southwestern Seminary in 2024 with a doctorate in church revitalization.

He started with a commitment to pray, preach the Word, and love God’s people, he said. A monthlong sermon series through Haggai tackled the topic of church revitalization.

“I was really honest about where I thought the church was and what some of [the] issues were and how God’s Word could address those things,” Blackmon said.

People who had been hurt by recent conflict in the church needed their new shepherd to listen to them as they processed what had happened. They loved their church and wanted to move forward, but pain was a hindrance at first.

The church began praying together more faithfully, and Blackmon started making a lot of hospital visits. “People have responded well to that because they know that I love and care about them,” Blackmon said. “I think they feel God’s love and care through that kind of attention.”

A brighter future

About 200 people now worship at FBC Mexia each Sunday, and the children’s ministry has grown from around five to more than 30. On Easter Sunday, the 350 people who attended marked the largest attendance at any service since the 1990s, the pastor was told.

“To have somebody here who could lay out a plan and say, ‘You’re not the only ones who have ever gone through this, this is really common, even in Southern Baptist churches, and God has turned those churches around and He can do the same thing here,’ that gave them a lot of hope that was lost over the last few years,” Blackmon said.

Church members have begun the image repair needed in the community, now spreading excitement about FBC Mexia, as well as sharing the Three Circles evangelism method to spread the name of Jesus. It has become unusual for the church to have a worship service that doesn’t include a baptism.

“My job is really to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, and they are the ones who are out there doing it.”

—Robert Blackmon Tweet

“We had a young man in his 20s who was coming from a life of sin, and he started coming on Sunday mornings and felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit,” Blackmon said. “He was baptized. I started a discipleship group with young men in the church, and he meets with us every week, goes through a Bible reading plan, keeps a journal, prays with us.”

Giving has increased enough for the church to consider hiring additional staff members.

“I think a lot of people have been faithful here for a very long time and just needed a little bit of direction and vision, but now that they have that, they are the ones jumping in and making ministry happen,” Blackmon said. “My job is really to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, and they are the ones who are out there doing it.”

Five minutes with Kam Risby

Hailing from East Texas, Kam Risby came to Christ as a student at Sam Houston State University. Following college graduation in 2019, he served in a campus outreach ministry in the Houston area before becoming college pastor at Coastal Community Church in Galveston. Risby is married to Leny and they have a 10-month-old son, Rome.

What victories has the college ministry at Coastal been able to celebrate lately?

One of the biggest victories we have seen in the past two years is the reach our ministry has had not only at Texas A&M Galveston, but also through the baseball and softball teams at Galveston College. Team members from GC make up about half of our Thursday night college worship services. … The student leaders in our ministry have been so faithful, keeping attitudes of perseverance and staying zealous in using their gifts and relational skills.

What’s one thing you are praying will happen over the next year among the students?

With our college outreach expanding to Galveston College and still in its early stages of ministry at a new campus, there tends to be a disconnect between students from GC and TAMU. Students from both schools don’t hang out a lot. I am praying that relational cohesion will develop, that the culture would shift. … I pray they would make the most of their time here and see the importance of investing in relationships and their Christian walk.

What’s something surprising you have learned about this generation of college students?

This generation feels so disconnected and isolated. I think back to when I was experiencing college ministry as a student. Students would gather on campus and hang out. COVID hit and messed that up. There’s comfort in isolation, and this leads to a lack of student involvement on campus or in coming to events. Students seem more reluctant to branch out these days. We have noticed this when we recruit students for ministry involvement. Campus organizations suffer from that, too.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned to this point of your life and ministry you know you’ll never forget?

The harvest is truly plentiful. There’s always going to be work you can do. Always things to do. Always more hangouts, more meetings, more one-on-one time, more Bible studies. It can easily become more about doing the ministry, and we can lose sight of the ones we are doing ministry for. Eternal life is about knowing God and making His name known. Out of the fullness of just taking care of our relationship with God, cultivating it, growing deeper … we have this desire to make Him known to others. It’s helpful to keep that order.

How can other SBTC churches be praying for you?

That the Lord would raise up laborers in our midst to go out into the world and make His name known. Students are not at Coastal very long: two years at junior college or four if they are maritime students at TAMU. Many transfer to College Station after two years. We have them for a very short time. We want to equip them to understand the gospel, to read the Bible, to do evangelism—the essentials of the Christian faith—before they leave us. And we pray that when they do go off, they will be lights and laborers on the campus.

Pastor exposes Satan’s ‘fake news,’ exalts God’s unchanging truth in new book

The truth seems to be more hotly debated now than ever, leaving people around the world confused about how to live their lives. In his book, The Devil’s Newsroom: Muting Satan’s Fake News & Tuning in to God’s Truth, Jeff Schreve, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Texarkana, identifies the source of all lies—Satan—and exposes his tactics. At the same time, The Devil’s Newsroom exalts the supremacy of God’s Word and Christ’s victory over the sin and lies that enslave millions. Schreve recently shared with the Texan why the battle for truth is so urgent and about the incredible opportunity that exists for the church today.

“Fake news” is an oft-used term these days, and it seems harder than ever to know what is actually true. How do you believe Satan has counterfeited seemingly helpful tools such as mass media, educational systems, social media, and even AI to discredit the idea that absolute truth exists?

Jeff Schreve: The devil is not just one liar among many liars. He is a master liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). It has been said that the enemy works to deceive us not between right and wrong, but between right and almost right. Thus, we must be careful with mass media, social media, and AI to check and double-check to see that what we are being told is indeed accurate and true. To be sure, the devil wants us to think truth is subjective (residing in the subject) rather than objective (residing in the object). Objective truth is absolute, whereas subjective truth is basically personal opinion. God’s Word gives us objective truth, a truth that is universally true and one that sets us free (John 8:32).

While Satan’s tactics haven’t changed, it can often feel like the battle to proclaim the truth of God’s Word is more fierce and urgent than ever. How have you seen this battle change in our culture over your more than two decades of ministry, and why do you believe this battle is as urgent now as it has ever been?

JS: The battle for truth has definitely heated up over the years. When I first began in ministry, virtually everyone in the church and in the country agreed that homosexuality was sinful. Now it is a different ballgame, as more and more people turn aside from the truth to embrace myths and falsehoods (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Sadly, people want God to be who they want Him to be. The Lord told Moses at the burning bush, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). It is critical that we accept the truth of God’s Word as it is given to us. We are to believe it, walk in it, and preach it without stutter, stammer, or equivocation if we want to experience the power and blessings of God.

You write in detail about Satan’s many lies, but there’s one you single out as “the world’s most believed lie.” What is that lie and why do you feel it, more than others, is one of Satan’s most effective tools of deception?

JS: The world’s most believed lie is simply this: Good works, in whole or in part, determine a person’s eternal destination. Many people believe that faith in Jesus is optional—it is not. They believe that all “good” people go to heaven. What they fail to realize is that there are no “good” people. All of us are hopeless, helpless sinners in desperate need of a Savior—and that Savior is Jesus. The Bible is crystal clear that good works have nothing to do with salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And once a person is truly saved by Jesus, good works are a natural outgrowth of that relationship. But good works are not the root of salvation. Good works don’t produce saving faith; saving faith produces good works.

What are a few practical ways followers of Christ can shield themselves and those they love and care about against Satan’s lies?

JS: The only way to combat the lies of the devil is with the truth of God’s Word. Jesus prayed to His Father in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your Word is truth.” The more time we spend reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the truths of Scripture, the more we will be able to recognize the subtle lies of the devil. Spiritual babies can only tolerate the milk of the Word—the basics of the Christian life. God wants us to grow from a milk diet to a meat diet. Hebrews 5:14 tells us, “Solid food is for the mature who, because of practice, have their sense trained to discern good and evil.” As we spend time each day in the Word of God, we become adept at sniffing out the devil’s lies—lies that come only “to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).

Though statistics regarding Christians deconstructing their faith are prevalent and troubling, you also point out the incredible opportunity that exists regarding an increasing number of people—especially younger generations—being open to spiritual things. Why do you believe this opportunity exists right now, and what can pastors and church leaders do to seize upon it?

JS: There are great numbers of people today who have drunk liberally from the devil’s well of lies and find their lives the poorer for it. Many are searching for real truth that can bring hope, genuine fulfillment, and satisfaction. Since that hope can only be found in Jesus, we have a great opportunity to share Him with people disillusioned and depressed by the lies. It has well been said, “You’ve got to get folks lost in order to be saved.” Once a person realizes they are lost and in great need, they are much more receptive to the truth that can set them free. Our job as Christians is to speak the truth in love to a lost and dying generation. As we shine for Christ—walking the talk—and share the good news of Jesus, those who are open and ready to hear are much more likely to respond to the Lord and come to Him.