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When the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention began in 1998, it established a clear identity separate from the other convention in the state, the older and much larger Baptist General Convention of Texas. Distinctions between the two conventions in Texas developed from the Conservative Resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention.
To put it simply, the new convention was formed by those who favored the reform of the national denomination and were disappointed to find that this could not happen in the BGCT. The new convention has grown from 120 churches in 1998 to more than 2,800 in 2026.
As the number of affiliated churches and the span of ministries grew, founding principles remained the same: The SBTC operates as a confessional fellowship, using the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as the doctrinal statement each affiliated church affirms. It operates in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention to reach beyond even the broad reach of Texas, and it has prioritized missions and evangelism over other priorities pursued by older state conventions.
The principles by which the BGCT has operated the past 27 years have varied as new leaders emerged. The convention now supports pro-life initiatives in Austin, for example. But some of the former principles remain influential within BGCT leadership and institutions.
One flashpoint between the new and old conventions at the beginning was endorsement of women as pastors. While the BGCT’s leadership affirmed women as pastors, the SBTC supported the traditional teaching of Scripture, that only qualified men as called by God should be pastors. In its 2025 report, Baptist Women in Ministry claimed 43 women were senior or co-pastors in BGCT churches. The BGCT has elected three women as convention presidents—the most recent one, a children’s pastor, was elected during their 2025 annual meeting. She is the first ordained woman to have been elected BGCT president.
The SBTC has remained in harmony with the SBC, including the allocation of 55% of undesignated receipts for national and international missions. The BGCT has had a more complex relationship with the national denomination—at one point, in 2000, mostly defunding every SBC entity that depended on Cooperative Program funds. That action was eventually reversed.
Institutions funded, though not owned or controlled, by the SBTC affirm the BF&M 2000’s doctrinal guidelines in every aspect of their ministries. At this year’s BGCT annual meeting, the decades-old controversy over teaching at Baylor University continued as some BGCT pastors urged the convention to examine the university’s response to an LGBTQ-friendly student group, as well as allegations of financial support for another LGBTQ-affirming group, Baptist Women in Ministry. The motion to investigate the convention’s flagship institution failed.
Foundational to both state conventions is their view on Scripture. Texas is a state chock-full of churches in both conventions that affirm the full inerrancy of the Bible. However, the BGCT as an organization has been unwilling to affirm inerrancy, though some likely believe it. The result of that unwillingness has been that institutions, particularly seminaries and universities, supported by the BGCT have wrestled with issues that are long settled within the SBTC and the SBC—including open theism (the belief that God does not know the future because He is still learning), LGBTQ issues, and women as pastors.
This leads to a related distinction between the two conventions—confessionalism. The BGCT has repeatedly rejected the BF&M 2000 as the confession by which it operates, though churches within the BGCT are free to use the confession they choose. The 2000 confession specifically addresses the authority of Scripture, leadership of churches, and sexual morality in a direct way not present in older confessions. A confessional fellowship will require, as do the SBTC and SBC, that denominational leaders and programs, as well as professors teaching, will do that work within the parameters of the BF&M 2000 adopted by SBC messengers from SBC churches in 2000.
A denominational body formed around an accepted confession of faith will have far less trouble sorting out how to express their biblical convictions day to day.
This was—and is—the unsettled difference between the two Southern Baptist state conventions in Texas.
“I’m so grateful for over 2,800 SBTC churches whose doctrinal unity fuels our mission focus,” SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick said. “We have always been and will always be a network of churches that stand firmly on the inerrancy of Scripture, which is the foundation for all that we do. I believe the greatest days for the SBTC are ahead.”
