Tag: Featured

‘Too close not to care’

Reach Puerto Rico is emblematic of the SBTC’s goal of mobilizing churches through strategic partnerships

Senior Pastor Donald Schmidt can offer plenty of reasons he is leading Lewisville’s Lakeland Baptist Church to get involved in the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Reach Puerto Rico initiative.

Seven out of 10 of the island’s 3.5 million residents identify as Catholics, underscoring the need for most Puerto Ricans to hear the true gospel of Jesus Christ. There is only one Southern Baptist church for every 47,000 residents—so the need to plant new congregations in this U.S. territory is urgent. Puerto Rico, Schmidt adds, offers an easy first missions step for church members who are not quite ready to travel across the globe.

But there’s another reason Puerto Rico is so compelling to Lakeland Baptist Church.

“Puerto Rico is too close not to care,” Schmidt said. “The people of Puerto Rico need the gospel, and it’s very affordable and accessible for us to play a small part in what God is doing there.”

“Puerto Rico is too close not to care. The people of Puerto Rico need the gospel, and it’s very affordable and accessible for us to play a small part in what God is doing there.”

—Donald Schmidt Tweet

In November 2022, the SBTC executive board (of which Schmidt is a member) voted unanimously to enter into a multiyear partnership with the Convention of Southern Baptist Churches of Puerto Rico. The mission there, as it is with all of the SBTC’s strategic partnerships, is to offer resources, tools, and training to strengthen existing churches while also planting new ones. It’s a mission that’s happening through the SBTC’s partnership with the Nevada Baptist Convention and also through a newly developed partnership with the International Mission Board in cities across Europe.

Lakeland will head to Puerto Rico this summer with plans to work with Iglesia Bautista Sin Paredes de Guayama and its pastor, Luis Soto. Lakeland members plan to replicate activities they already do in their own backyard in Lewisville—sharing the gospel via door-to-door outreach and making the name of Jesus known through sports activities and service projects.

It’s just one more way Lakeland is being faithful to Jesus by fulfilling the Great Commission.

“Above all, our church desires to be who Jesus commands us to be and to do what Jesus commands us to do,” Schmidt said. “My prayer to God is that He will use our efforts in Puerto Rico to spread the gospel, bring many people to salvation, connect the unchurched with Pastor Luis’s congregation, and encourage our church to live more faithfully on mission.”

From ‘Aha!’ to ‘Amen!’

East Texas church finds its footing through Regenesis revitalization process

When John-Daniel Cutler was called to pastor Emmanuel Baptist Church in 2021, the church began to experience growth after a season of decline. With that growth came new challenges, but all things considered, the church was trending up.

Yet something still didn’t feel quite right to Cutler and other church leaders.

“I felt like God was clearly moving,” Cutler said, “but we were without clear direction and purpose as a body.”

While attending a dinner during the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Annual Meeting in 2022, Cutler first heard about a revitalization process the convention had introduced earlier in the year called Regenesis. It seemed to offer help Cutler felt Emmanuel needed to “fully embrace what God had for us.”

Several years ago, a Lifeway Research study revealed that more than 80% of Southern Baptist churches are plateaued or in decline. Regenesis aims to reverse that trend, helping churches identify their unique purpose and determine their God-given vision to multiply disciples of Jesus.

“I felt like God was clearly moving, but we were without clear direction and purpose as a body.”

—John-Daniel Cutler Tweet

So far in 2025, 61 churches have completed Regenesis cohorts, which meet over a series of months, while another 92 churches representing 191 church leaders have attended Regenesis One-Day events. The process is also being piloted in Nevada and Puerto Rico, where the SBTC is engaged in strategic partnerships.

Emmanuel began its Regenesis journey in 2023 with a diverse leadership team of three men and three women from the church representing relatively new members and others who had been there more than 40 years.

“Perhaps the greatest ‘aha’ moment was simply the realization that we had no intentional process for replicating disciples who would make disciples,” Cutler said. “We were doing many wonderful things but had never truly considered if they were helping or harming our disciple-making process.”

Cutler said the Emmanuel team also identified “an unhealthy membership process” that led it to design a new members class to better help them understand what it means to be a church member. Sixty percent of the church’s current membership has completed the class, as well as visitors who decide to join the church.

The renewed focus on purpose has started to spread to other ministries of the church, Cutler said, making them more effective at accomplishing the Great Commission.

“As we continue walking through the lessons and tools we received through Regenesis,” Cutler said, “we are excited about what God is continuing to do and will do through us to reach our community with the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

A cut above

After retiring from the oil industry, Bellville man picked up a chainsaw and went to work for SBTC Disaster Relief

When Mike Phillips retired from a three-decade career in the oil industry, he faced the challenge of what to do next. Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief provided the answer.

“I didn’t want to sit around. I always wanted to give back,” Phillips said.

He heard about SBTC DR even before retirement, when his Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Bellville told the class about his experience with disaster relief.

“We were tithing to the Cooperative Program through the SBTC, so we chose to be trained with SBTC DR,” Phillips said.

After a short retirement vacation, he got the call to serve in May 2013. An EF5 tornado had devastated Moore, Okla., and SBTC DR volunteers were needed.

Phillips hesitated. Was he ready? Did he know enough?

A family member encouraged him: “You’ve been looking at doing something like this for 15 years. Go.”

“I never looked back,” Phillips said.

The experience was transformative. He served among 90 volunteers from across the nation, including SBTC DR crews. “Chaplaincy, feeding, recovery, chainsaw. … We all had a common reason to be there helping people, spreading the Word, planting seeds.”

“I had a desk job in my career. My little world had nothing to do with people who were really hurting. At Moore and with DR, I was thrust out. It was something bigger than self. I loved it.”

—Mike Phillips Tweet

Seven children died when the tornado struck an elementary school in Moore. One of the families Phillips helped had lost a child.

“I had a desk job in my career,” Phillips said. “My little world had nothing to do with people who were really hurting. At Moore and with DR, I was thrust out. It was something bigger than self. I loved it.”

Phillips estimates he has deployed more than 60 times over the last dozen years, most recently to Brownsville in April 2025 to assist flood survivors. While there, he was a site director for a multi-state Southern Baptist DR team in addition to overseeing the SBTC DR recovery trailer maintained by First Baptist Bellville.

“At Brownsville, we had teams engaged in feeding, chaplaincy, assessing, shower and laundry, and mud-out and recovery,” Phillips said. He worked in the field each day in addition to his administrative duties. “Everybody knew what to do. They made it easy,” he said.

Phillips often does chainsaw work on deployment and will be leading a specialized chainsaw training offered by SBTC DR for its crews.

“I am right where the Lord wants me,” Phillips said. “We all want to understand God’s will. I am doing what I think is the Lord’s work.”

Strength in numbers

SBTC networks offer safe havens where people from all walks of life connect around a common purpose

A couple of months ago, a group of about 10 pastors gathered to have lunch in North Texas. They shared a meal, laughed, and encouraged one another—not exactly front-page news for most.

But for this group, and pastors across Texas, the gathering was significant. Why? Because they came away refreshed, and in this calling, that can mean everything.

These men were all members of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Young Pastors Network, a collective of pastors age 40 or younger. YPN members are placed into cohorts and meet several times per year, including regionally, at the SBTC’s Empower Conference each winter, and during the SBTC Annual Meeting in the fall. The cohorts give young pastors an outlet to discuss current issues related to ministry, speak into one another’s lives, and hold each other accountable.

“What has made this network thrive is deep brotherhood and connections,” Spencer Plumlee, who serves as a consultant to the YPN, told the SBTC executive board last year.

Networks are so valuable to the SBTC, it has identified them as one of its three main strategic pathways by which its mission is accomplished. Its number of networks is growing and offers groups for student and collegiate ministers, women’s and children’s ministry leaders, ethnic pastors, pastor wives, executive pastors and administrators, and more.

“Over the past several years, I’ve developed some truly dear friendships. I’m never at a loss for brothers I can call when I need someone—and I have."

—Caleb Fleming Tweet

Caleb Fleming, senior pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Sherman, said the YPN has introduced him to many meaningful ministry relationships. He said he got connected with the group several years ago after meeting with Plumlee, who cast a vision for the network prior to its formation.

Fleming said he was sold on the value of the network immediately and has served on its leadership team since it began.

“For me, it’s been the fellowship,” Fleming said. “Over the past several years, I’ve developed some truly dear friendships. I’m never at a loss for brothers I can call when I need someone—and I have.

“What’s beautiful is that it goes both ways,” he added. “I’ve also been on the receiving end of those calls from brothers who were hurting and struggling. I’ve had the opportunity to offer encouragement, counsel, and prayer to men who’ve become like a brother to me.”

Change agent

Raul Rodriguez used to believe there was no hope—until a children’s Bible lesson convinced him otherwise

It was a simple children’s Bible lesson that hit Raul Rodriguez with a truth that was as promising—and as incomprehensible—as anything he’d ever heard.

Rodriguez sat in silence as he listened to a pastor read 2 Corinthians 5:17 during a Backyard Bible Club lesson attended by his children in 2009: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

For a man as battle-weary as Rodriguez, it didn’t seem possible. He’d battled a fierce drug and alcohol addiction for years that, at one point, left him separated from his wife and children. A fog of depression gripped him in an overbearing, inescapable fist, leaving him feeling suffocated and hopeless for more years than he could remember.

Change didn’t seem possible.

Or did it?

“I hated the fact that I couldn’t change. The people that I loved the most were my wife and my kids, and not even their love could change me,” Rodriguez recalled. “I had tried to change so many times, but when I heard that [verse], I said, ‘God, if you can change me—if you really can change people—please change me.’ And that day I gave my life to Christ.”

"I said, ‘God, if you can change me— if you really can change people—please change me.’ And that day I gave my life to Christ.”

—Raul Rodriguez Tweet

He soon began to experience victory over his addictions and healing in his relationships. With his lungs full of the fresh air of new life and wanting that for others, he almost immediately began telling anyone who would listen about Jesus. He eventually became an ordained minister and evangelist.

Rodriguez, a member of Sunnyvale First Baptist Church, said his faith has been deeply impacted by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s en Español ministry. This past February, Rodriguez led an evangelism workshop at Apoderados, a Spanish language event held in conjunction with the SBTC’s evangelism-focused Empower Conference each year.

Hombres de Impacto—a growing SBTC en Español men’s event that offers worship, fellowship, and equipping—has been particularly impactful on his life, he said. He attended his first one in 2010 and hasn’t missed one since.

“The room was full of like 500 men fully living for and worshiping Christ,” he said. “I had never seen that. I was used to men wanting to be tough and macho, but nothing like this. But this is what we were created for—to take care of our families and to be men who serve God.”

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.”

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.

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.

“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.”

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 100^th 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.

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 100^th anniversary of CP:

Pray, asking God how they might give to mark the milestone year;
Plan a Cooperative Program Sunday on Oct. 5 to emphasize the impact of CP giving; and
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.

What I’ve learned as a teenager on the foreign mission field

Editor’s note: Bowles, 16, lives with her family serving with the International Mission Board in the Amazon region of South America. This article was distributed by the IMB and is being included in this month’s issue highlighting next gen ministries and perspectives.

Alcoholism has its claws wrapped tightly around the souls of the small town I grew up in here in the Amazon region of South America.

There are very few people whose lives go untouched by the darkness and destruction it brings.

Mario, too, was engulfed in the addiction. He spent days out drinking, leaving his wife and six children alone. Without support from the husband and father of the household, they struggled. They were a lost family, and Satan was hard at work to keep it that way.

Amid this darkness shone one light: Mario’s mother, Miriam. She was a woman on fire for the Lord. For years, she tried very hard to help her son come to know Jesus, but nothing steered him away from his addiction. In early 2018, my father and a pastor were traveling upriver by boat when a strong storm hit. Little did they know how this random boat stop would change many lives.

They stopped at Miriam’s farm and she kindly invited them into her home. As soon as she learned they were both pastors, she talked about how she wanted a church on her property for her family. Her enthusiasm and fervor for the Lord were contagious. After eight months, a church was built. My family and I took our boat to her house every Sunday for Bible study.

Nayli, Mario’s wife, and the children went to church every Sunday, but Mario wouldn’t. Nayli showed up with bruises and black eyes from Mario getting drunk and beating her. The children became good friends with my siblings and me. Even though we could not understand the situation they were in, the best we could do was love them.

“God used this story to show me He can use anyone to glorify His kingdom, no matter what sins have been committed. It can be easy to convince ourselves that we have veered too far off and that God can no longer use us.”

—Ruth Bowles Tweet

Whether it was the feeling of obligation or conviction, after a couple of months, Mario began to go to church. Slowly but surely, his heart softened. He began to want to go to church, becoming more eager and thirstier for the Word. We saw God working in his soul. Eyes that once glared with darkness and despair now shone with hope. After one year, Mario accepted Christ. A man who lived in sin and alcoholism won’t even touch a can of beer now. Mario is living proof that God can help people make 180-degree turns.

Mario is not the only person positively affected by his salvation. His wife and children no longer lived in fear of him hurting them. He began to work and provide for his family. Within four years of his salvation, his wife and three eldest children were also led to the Lord. He even baptized his two daughters, who are my friends. Mario broke the chain of alcoholism in his family, giving his children a chance to live for the Lord.

God used this story to show me He can use anyone to glorify His kingdom, no matter what sins have been committed. It can be easy to convince ourselves that we have veered too far off and that God can no longer use us. Mario and his testimony show us that no matter how big our sins are, no matter what life we lived before we found Jesus, God still has plans for us. 1 John 1:9 says, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

When we repent, no sin is too big for God to cleanse us from. No mistake is too big to be left unforgiven.