Network event connects pastor & wife to community, shared cooperative mission

Michael Sheets admits he did not know much about the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention until a few years ago.

While attending the SBTC’s annual Black Church Network Retreat, Sheets—senior pastor of Abundant Faith Baptist Church in Humble—heard a presentation about the Cooperative Program and how it gives churches of all sizes an opportunity to have greater gospel impact.

“One of the reasons I wanted to join the SBTC was because I understood we all have an obligation to Matthew 28,” he said, referring to Jesus’ Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations. “As a church our size … we don’t have the capacity to do that on our own, but through our connection with the SBTC, we’re able to join cooperatively in that program and fulfill Matthew 28—which is huge for us. It’s been a real blessing to our church. It’s changing the way we see missions. It’s changing the way we see outreach.”

SBTC networks exist to serve, support, and connect pastors and church leaders in a variety of ministry areas. There are networks for student, children’s, and collegiate ministers; for women’s ministry leaders and pastor wives; and for those who specialize in disability ministry. More recently, several networks launched including the Executive Pastors & Administrators Network (for those who oversee church operations), the Regenesis Network (for those involved with the SBTC’s church health and renewal process), and the Shepherds Collective (for lead and senior pastors of any age). 

Networks are designed to meet a wide range of needs. For Sheets, those needs were personal and professional. At the BCN Retreat, speakers were brought in to talk to pastors about their mental, financial, and spiritual health. At a different BCN event, Sheets said he connected with a fellow pastor who turned him on to a system that has helped the church become more visible in the community. 

The value of network involvement reached even beyond that, he added. The wives of the pastors attending the BCN Retreat, including his wife, Theresa, began to gather as their husbands met. It provided a much-needed community for women who are often hungry for meaningful relationships.

“She really came away with a connection to some of the other ministers’ wives,” Sheets said. “To be with a group of women—sisters who understand [their calling] and who are figuring out ways to work through that—that bond was just so important for her.”

Sheets, who has ministered for over three decades and now serves on the SBTC’s Committee on Order of Business, said he would encourage other pastors to find a network with which to connect.

“It’s just good to know you’re not by yourself,” he said. “There are other guys who are walking in similar situations. Some of their situations may be different or they have evolved, but just to know you’ve got a network where you can plug in and be connected, that is huge.”

—Jayson Larson