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.