Tag: Featured

A little Texas twang in the Big Apple

HARLEM, N.Y.

Long known for its rich culture and diversity showcased in such movements as the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, modern Harlem bustles with newly constructed multistory apartment buildings complementing traditional brownstones and thriving new and old businesses. It’s trendy.

Harlem also offers opportunities for the gospel, as the planters of Cultivate NYC are discovering with a little help from some friends at Texas churches and a series of events that could only have been orchestrated by God.

In 2021, Indiana natives Luke Calvert and his wife, Shelby, felt called to plant a church and were surprised when God led them from the Midwest to the Big Apple—a city they had never even visited before.

“We moved to the city on June 1, 2021, in the middle of COVID with a six-month-old baby,” Calvert said.

During the pandemic, the Calverts saw New York pastors exiting the city at alarming rates. “The Lord was burdening our hearts that the city desperately needed the gospel in a time of strife,” Luke said. In the borough of Manhattan with a population of 1.8 million, only 1.8% believe in Jesus, Calvert said. That percentage of faith is slightly larger—up to 2.4%—over the five boroughs (including Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island) with 7.5 to 8 million inhabitants, he added.

Before heading northeast, the Calverts partnered with CrossCreek Church (formerly First Baptist Colleyville) and its CrossCreek church planting network. Through CrossCreek, which became their sending church, and the North American Mission Board’s Send New York City initiative, they completed NAMB’s church planting assessment and underwent training.

Once in Harlem, they made connections. Co-planting pastor Robin Carabin and his wife, Jessica, with more than a decade of experience serving Harlem, joined the work six months after the Calverts’ arrival. Eventually, small group Bible studies grew to monthly gatherings to twice-a-month meetings until Cultivate NYC officially launched in September 2022.

The church has office space, and on Sundays, the congregation of about 50 meets in a school in northwest Harlem. In neighborhood outreaches, they target West Harlem and the South Washington Heights area, about 30 blocks north of Central Park.

Within the Harlem church, people from all over the world are represented, speaking a variety of languages in addition to English, including French, Creole, Spanish, and German. “We are socioeconomically diverse, ethnically diverse, but united under the gospel,” Calvert said.

Meeting the people where they’re at

Texas churches are among those partnering with Cultivate NYC, especially during community outreaches.

CrossCreek assists with family days in the summer and children’s programs throughout the school year. Using a truck provided by another ministry organization and featuring a fold-down stage, Cultivate NYC members and volunteers take what Calvert called “a Sunday school on wheels” to strategic areas near massive apartment buildings after school 26 Fridays per year.

“We mirror the school semester,” Calvert says, noting that the day before, volunteers make home visits and pass out flyers.

The “Sunday school on wheels” features music and characters relating Bible stories. CrossCreek has even sent its children’s ministry mascots to make appearances. Church members engage parents who bring their kids down from nearby apartments. This past year, 10 moms professed faith in Christ and joined the church, along with their families.

The Family Day summer outreach serves some 800 families over two days. Families enjoy snacks, free haircuts, photo opportunities, and the chance to hear about Jesus.

First Baptist Church of Rowlett has made Cultivate NYC’s Christmas outreach possible, not only providing volunteers but also gifts to distribute, as well as meeting other financial needs.

“FBC Rowlett has sent mission teams twice with funds. They have funded 80 to 90% of what we have been able to do with the Christmas outreach,” Calvert said.

“It was as though God tapped me on the shoulder to notice this was a church."

—Cole Hedgecock Tweet

A divine appointment

The Rowlett connection began as a divine appointment.

When the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention sponsored a pastor prayer trip to New York in 2022, FBC Rowlett Senior Pastor Cole Hedgecock went, in his words, to “simply refresh, rest in God, and refocus.”

One morning during the trip, Hedgecock was strolling outside following a breakfast meeting with Colin Rayburn, SBTC Missions Mobilization associate. The men happened to walk by the Cultivate NYC office in Harlem.

Intrigued by the name on the door, Hedgecock paused.

“It was as though God tapped me on the shoulder to notice this was a church,” he recalled. “An intern opened the door and welcomed us, asking if we had any questions about the church. Then we met Pastor Luke and their team and felt like this was a divine church planting partnership appointment.

“Through the initial conversation, I just really felt like God wanted us to partner with Cultivate,” Hedgecock said. “We connected quickly with their team … and clicked with their heart for Harlem. It really was a God moment where I felt God directing this partnership.”

Since then, FBC Rowlett has taken two groups and nearly 30 people to NYC to help Cultivate with community outreach. FBC Rowlett also financially partners with Cultivate and stays in communication with its leadership team.

Hedgecock said he has been grateful and humbled by the connection, noting FBC Rowlett had been praying for some time about a missions/church planting partnership.

“When you go on a trip to focus on communicating with God, it should not surprise you when He speaks to you, taps you on the shoulder, and reveals directions He wants you to move,” Hedgecock said. “Prayer is not just talking to God … but also God speaks to our spirit in prayer. This was evidence of His greater desires for FBC Rowlett.”

Sharing our homes and our lives for Jesus’ sake

My husband, Dale, and I married 11 years ago—I was widowed and he was divorced—and the thing that attracted us to one another was a mutual interest in missions. Dale was a missionary kid. He grew up in Africa. My first husband and I had been involved in short-term mission trips, so that was kind of the key thing that drew us together.

During this time, my best friend had been teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and she kept telling me I would like volunteering for ESL after I retired. I retired shortly after we married, and I was like, “OK, I am going to give this a try.” I did and was asked to teach the beginning English class to people who know almost no English. I enjoyed it immensely, interacting with them and getting to know their backgrounds. As I got more comfortable with the teaching part of it, God began to move in my heart that I needed to do more than just teach them. I needed to befriend them and be involved in their lives however I could.

God began to show me that this was a way to reach the nations. After a missions training course at our church [Church at the Cross in Grapevine], I began praying for ways to connect with my students. It began with taking some students to lunch and sharing the gospel with them.

“We were willing to go overseas, and we have, but we’ve seen that there’s a huge mission field right here in our town and our own neighborhood.”

—Debbie Fogle Tweet

Through our women’s ministry I learned of a need [on the internet]—a mother and daughter, refugees from Cuba, were looking for a place to live. First I looked at it and I thought, “Huh, that’s interesting. I’ll just watch this post and see if anybody responds to it.” After a day or two, there were no responses. I showed it to Dale. I said, “What do you think about this?” He encouraged me to find out more, pointing out that we had the resources to provide housing, food, and transportation, and we weren’t uncomfortable with people who speak a different language. One step at a time we looked into it [and met] Griset and her 14-year-old daughter Chanely by Zoom (it was during COVID). We ended up welcoming them into our home in 2020.

They will have been with us four years this August. Dale taught Griset to drive and we helped her do the things that allowed her to get a green card and a job. Our goal is for them to be independent, but there’s been a lot of challenges. Chanely graduated from Grapevine High School in May. Both Griset and Chanely have trusted Christ and were baptized into our church.

But that’s just one layer of the story. After things opened up after COVID, I went back to teaching ESL in-person and I started praying, “God, show me who of my students is open to the gospel and who you want me to invest my time in on a more personal level.” That first year back a new student came to my class for the first time. She was from [a Muslim country]. God led me to befriend and invest in her. We’ve had her family to dinner at our house and they have invited us to dinner in their home. All the while she was improving her English and I was learning more about reaching Muslims with the gospel. A second answer to prayer was a relationship I formed with a lady from the Czech Republic. She had a keen spiritual interest, and both she and her husband have now received Christ and been baptized into our church.

Dale and I had always said that when he retired, we wanted to do some more international mission trips and maybe even do something a little longer term. He retired a couple of years ago and we went on a church mission trip to Japan. But I told Dale, “We could do something else. Let’s see what other opportunities are out there.”

So, I went to the International Mission Board’s website and looked at short-term mission opportunities for people our age. The one that popped out at me offered us the chance to witness to tourists from Muslim countries as they visited Europe. We went on a trip and shared with people for about five hours a day for two weeks. When we came home, we were like, “Wow, that was amazing. We want to do this again next year.” We’re actually going to a different spot next time.

We were willing to go overseas, and we have, but we’ve seen that there’s a huge mission field right here in our town and our own neighborhood. It’s been a process, a journey, for us. We’ve learned some important things along the way. Maybe the most important is to take a step toward immigrants or people of other beliefs and engage them. You show them love, share the Bible with them, pray with them in Jesus’ name. You don’t have to know everything there is to know about their religion. You’ve just got to know who Jesus is.

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Abilene church lauds Regenesis boost as it reaches more of its community

Growing and ready to go

A couple of years ago, North Park Baptist Church had dwindled to about 30 people on Sundays, mostly senior adults. Now attendance has doubled and people in their 30s and 40s have joined.

What has made the difference is God working through a new pastor and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Regenesis process. The church also voted late last year to affiliate with the SBTC, which Joe Grizzle, North Park’s pastor, described as having “such vibrance and youth and excitement.”

A young woman who grew up in the church and now lives in Dallas told Grizzle, “I can see life in this church again.”

“I can see life in this church again.”

—A young woman who grew up in the church Tweet

Shortly after Grizzle arrived at North Park in early 2022, he was told “if things didn’t change, in six months they were probably going to have to shut the doors.” Then Grizzle got connected through the local association to Shane Kendrix, SBTC’s regional catalyst in that area of the state.

“He texted me and we met for coffee or lunch. We’ve had about 6 million of [those meetings] since then,” Grizzle said, illustrating the commitment Kendrix has shown to the church. North Park attended the SBTC’s Equip Conference, which aims to train leaders in the local church, and took nine people.

“I kept saying, ‘This isn’t our state convention,’” Grizzle said, but his church members noted the value of the trainings offered and the connections they made with other people in attendance.

As 2023 arrived, North Park began to see some improvement—making budget and having a few more people attend. But the church kept hosting block parties and hardly anyone showed up, Grizzle said.

They started planning a fall festival, and when the pastor asked a member to help, the response was: It’s going to be just like everything else we’ve done. We may get a dozen kids, and it’s going to be a lot of work for nothing.

Meanwhile, Kendrix told Grizzle about Regenesis, a revitalization emphasis, and the pastor hesitated because “we’re not SBTC.” Kendrix said, “It doesn’t matter.”

“It all spoke volumes. Not once did someone go, ‘You really should join the SBTC.’ And do you know what that made?” Grizzle said. “That made me want to join the SBTC.”

At the fall festival, the fellowship hall was mostly filled with families, which Grizzle considered “beyond a success compared to everything else.”

During the first Regenesis meeting at North Park, members of various churches were being transparent about their congregations, and someone from North Park said she didn’t feel like she was being discipled.

That was a hard comment to hear, but Grizzle shot into action in the coming days, asking pastors and other people to define discipleship and how they had been discipled.

“I got different answers from everybody I asked. Nobody was on the same page,” he said.

He ultimately landed on curriculum developed by a ministry called discipleFIRST, and he and his wife started working through it with the church member who said she wasn’t being discipled, along with her husband.

“Discipleship has come out of Regenesis. It has changed us,” Grizzle said. “It’s a small part of our church at this point, but we have this vision. Discipleship is going to spread.”

“I’m excited about what the future holds and what God’s going to do.”

—Joe Grizzle Tweet

North Park is a neighborhood church, and when Grizzle first went door-to-door in the community, he found people were not familiar with the church despite its presence just down the street. Now more people recognize the name.

“The key to Regenesis is being intentional and sitting down and figuring out how you’re going to get from here to there,” Grizzle said. “In the meantime, God is working. You don’t just shut the church down while you’re doing Regenesis. We have absolutely seen God working during this eight months of Regenesis, and it’s been mind-blowing.”

Recently a new member told the pastor, “It’s just amazing what God is doing in bringing some young people.” About that time, seven people joined the church—all under age 40, Grizzle said. Five people were lined up to be baptized.

Last December, after receiving so much help from the SBTC and observing the effectiveness and the kindness of the convention, North Park voted to uniquely affiliate.

“I’m excited about what the future holds and what God’s going to do,” Grizzle said.

Southeast Texas couple seeing gospel fruit after answering God’s call to minister in Zambia

'They were ready to send us'

Three sentences were jotted on the piece of paper a church member handed Nicholas Peveto after a morning worship service in 2011: “The time is short. You need to go. Trust God.”

“Do you know what that means?” the church member asked.

“I know exactly what that means,” Peveto answered.

God had placed a call on Peveto’s heart to serve as a missionary, but he didn’t know when it would be the right time to go. He had served as an associate pastor of families and missions at First Baptist Church in Spurger for five years, and his wife Alyssa also knew they were to be missionaries.

They just didn’t know when.

“It’s roughly the size of the state of Georgia, and we were the only IMB missionaries here for the longest time.”

—Nicholas Peveto, speaking of Solwezi province Tweet

The church member God used to nudge the Pevetos that day knew handing over the piece of paper might catch them off guard. Even so, she felt compelled to share with them a message God had put on her heart as she listened to Nicholas promote the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions.

“I still have that in my Bible. I keep that piece of paper,” Alyssa said.

That afternoon, the young couple went home, ate lunch, and returned to the church to use the internet and start the application process with the International Mission Board. Later, when they announced their call to the church, “No one was shocked,” Nicholas said. “They were ready to send us.” They arrived on the mission field in 2013.

First Baptist Spurger is a small congregation that would not be able to support missionaries financially on its own, but by giving through the Cooperative Program, the church is able to pool its resources with other churches to support the Pevetos.

The couple serves in Solwezi, a growing city in a remote area of northwestern Zambia. The area had been without a consistent Southern Baptist witness for nearly 30 years, and though it was not unreached or unengaged, it was underdeveloped spiritually, Nicholas said.

“It’s roughly the size of the state of Georgia, and we were the only IMB missionaries here for the longest time,” he said of their province, noting that an IMB Journeyman recently joined them to target the 65% of the population under age 30 with NextGen ministries. Journeymen are short-term missionaries under the age of 30 sent to reach younger generations.

Solwezi’s population has grown to around 300,000 people, Nicholas said. “We have people from around the world coming to Solwezi for copper mines.”

In a church they planted last year, a Chilean man and a South African man help with preaching. A German woman and her husband also feel called to serve as missionaries in Zambia, “so our little church is looking at being their sending church,” Nicholas said.

The Pevetos try not to do anything that cannot be replicated by nationals, said Nicholas, a graduate of Southwestern Seminary. Instead, he focuses on training and mentoring. He also writes and translates material when requested and meets with local leaders.

“On Tuesday, I’m going to drive out 130 kilometers to mentor a guy who is the chairman of the association of churches in that area, kind of like a director of missions,” he said.

Recently, the Pevetos have started digital engagement, using Facebook to reach a different group of people who are more proficient in communicating using their smart phones. A lot of that digital interaction involves answering questions—something Alyssa can do amid her work at home where she homeschools their two children.

In the past, Alyssa has helped local women realize they can be involved in ministering to abuse victims, prisoners, and orphans. “We want to give them the resources and the tools to make that happen,” she said.

Zambia’s constitution declares it a Christian nation, Alyssa said, so people are open to the gospel message. The difficulty comes in helping them sort through their foggy cultural understanding of Christianity.

“A benefit of us staying longer is we’ve learned the way they interpret what we’re saying, and now we’re able to share the gospel in a way that connects with their worldview,” Nicholas added. “We’re having a lot more fruit in evangelism now.”

“A benefit of us staying longer is we’ve learned the way they interpret what we’re saying, and now we’re able to share the gospel in a way that connects with their worldview.”

—Nicholas Peveto Tweet

Cole Clark, pastor of First Baptist Spurger, grew up with Nicholas, even attending the same youth group and graduating from the same high school. The church has been energized toward missions because of their partnership with the Pevetos.

For instance, the church prayed for a specific people group the Pevetos were trying to reach. Once that prayer was answered and inroads were made, the church prayed the new believers would be able to find a place to meet corporately.

“Then that started happening,” Clark said. “They were trying to make some focused discipleship among women and younger people, and that started to work out. Now they’re at the point where they’re trying to call a pastor there.”

Such experiences let them know that God uses their prayers, the pastor said, just like He used one of their own to nudge the Pevetos across the globe.

SBC 2024: In leading worship, SWBTS’ Crider has one goal: ‘This is about Christ’

INDIANAPOLIS —Joe Crider smiled broadly as he stepped onstage Tuesday morning, surrounded by the worship team that had just opened the 2024 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention with songs ranging from the traditional to the jazzy.

They had arrived. Crider’s smile reflected joy—and perhaps a touch of relief.

He welcomed messengers and guests, evoking the convention theme from Romans “that we would magnify and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.” After reading from Psalm 90, he asked that the Lord would “establish the work of our hands during our meeting” and that “we would rejoice with one heart and one voice for what He has done, for what He is doing, and for what He will do.”

It’s been a busy year for Crider, dean of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s School of Church Music and Worship (SCMW).

Last-minute pre-SBC preparations included a daylong rehearsal on the first Saturday in June with two SWBTS musical groups both leading worship at Indy: Southwestern A Capella, the 17-member select vocal ensemble of graduate students, and the seminary’s 10-person Cowden Hall Band.

That Saturday marathon was followed by a Monday afternoon session with James Cheesman, going over the meeting’s musical selections that he led prior to Barber’s presidential address. Cheesman, worship leader at First Baptist Church in Farmersville—the church pastored by SBC President Bart Barber—led worship at last year’s SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

These rehearsals represent a fraction of the time spent getting ready for the annual meeting. Crider told Baptist Press in an earlier interview that he had lost track of the hours of rehearsal time spent over the past year.

As if things weren’t hectic enough, during the final pre-convention week, the seminary also hosted 67 young people attending its Student Worship Camp, conducted in partnership with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

“This place is hopping!” Crider said of the Southwestern campus, as he offered a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the story behind the story of worship at the annual meeting.

Countdown to Indy

As the days counted down to the opening of SBC 2024, Crider stressed the need for flexibility, adding that his team had worked diligently to ensure a seamless musical experience for messengers.

“We wanted to make sure we hit our times so we don’t cause any delays in the business. … We have to be flexible. Meetings run over. We may not do some sets at all,” he noted, adding, “We are ready to turn on a dime if needed. We have to be ready for anything.”

Serving as music director has entailed far more than holding rehearsals and selecting music, Crider said. He has attended meetings of the SBC’s Committee on the Order of Business as an observer, to be part of the conversation as needed.

He praised his team, including Chuck Lewis, associate SCMW dean and director of Southwestern A Cappella, for his handling of musical and logistical details, and Ricky Johnson, SCMW artist-in-residence and Cowden Hall pianist and band leader, for their invaluable assistance.

“This means a lot for us as a seminary,” Crider said. “One, that Pastor Bart [Barber] trusted us. We are grateful for the trust and the stewardship we have been given. We have been blessed with wonderful faculty and students in the School of Church Music and Worship to serve the convention.”

SBC 2024 marks the third consecutive year of significant involvement by Southwestern musical groups, Crider noted. Two years ago, the Cowden Hall Band played for the Pastors’ Conference in Anaheim, when Matt Boswell led worship. Last year, Southwestern A Capella sang under Cheesman’s direction.

“We are grateful for these three years of involvement,” Crider said.

Crider expressed enthusiasm about what serving at the convention will mean for the students, most of whom are pursuing master’s degrees. The band and ensemble represent a variety of ages and ethnicities, he said. While some have attended multiple annual meetings, for at least a third, this year’s SBC will mark their first exposure to the event.

“It’s pretty amazing. Several international students … are seeing firsthand the beauty in cooperation, the power of cooperation,” he said. They are “realizing that they, too, because they are part of Southern Baptist churches in the United States, that they … have a part in this although they might be from Mexico, Korea, Venezuela, Argentina, or even Nagaland.

“I hope they realize that all of us together are better than one of us alone.”

Picking the music

The musical selection process began months ago, as team members prayed about the meeting’s theme: “One Mind, One Voice,” and its scriptural basis in Romans 15:5-6.

The convention featured a variety of music, including several of the great classic hymns such as “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” and “I Stand Amazed in the Presence.” One session included selections inspired by a heaven theme; another focused on the blood of Jesus.

Selections reflected each speaker’s message or complemented the Scripture guiding a particular convention moment.

“We [chose songs] in the heart language of a lot of Southern Baptists,” Crider said. “For many, it may have been a long time since they have sung a lot of those older hymns.” he said.

The students will lead 35 songs throughout the two-day meeting, he said.

Logistical matters

It is no easy or inexpensive task to transport nearly 30 people from Texas to Indianapolis. Crider especially thanked First Baptist Benbrook, First Baptist Farmersville, and Birchman Baptist for their support. All three churches hosted special evenings of worship highlighting the seminary vocal ensemble and band, resulting in generous gifts to help defray costs.

Churches in Indiana—Friendship Baptist in Franklin and Northside Baptist Church in Indianapolis—provided the use of their vans to transport the students from the airport to the convention center, eliminating the costs of taxis or ride shares.

“We really couldn’t have done it without all these churches,” Crider said. “ … We do not want to make this opportunity about us. This is about Christ and pointing people to Him. We want to rely completely on Him and the power of His Spirit to guide and direct us.”

SBC 2024: Pressley elected SBC president; Forney’s Lopez chosen as second VP

INDIANAPOLIS—In a six-way presidential race that resulted in two run-off votes, Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention June 12.

Brad Graves, pastor of First Baptist Church in Ada, Okla., was elected first vice president. Eddie Lopez, pastor of First Baptist Forney En Español, was elected second vice president. Lopez has been a church planter and led his church to plant other churches in the U.S and Mexico. He has served committees at the SBC level and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention as vice president.

Recording Secretary Nathan Finn and Registration Secretary Don Currence were re-elected by acclamation.

Task force recommendations OK’d by messengers

Messengers approved recommendations from three task force groups:

Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (ARITF)

The ARITF was formed in 2022 with the charge to study and bring recommendations to help Southern Baptists make their churches safer from sex abusers. The convention approved recommendations from the group in 2023 providing an additional year to build resources, such as the Ministry Toolkit, for training church leaders and volunteers, and for development of the Ministry Check database of known abusers associated with Southern Baptist churches.

The ARITF brought two recommendations to the convention:

It recommended the convention affirm the objectives emphasized in the group’s report: the expansion of the Ministry Toolkit; the establishment of the Ministry Check website; and the creation of a permanent home for abuse prevention and response.
The second recommendation urged the SBC Executive Committee to “work earnestly” by recommending a structure and funding for the implementation of the objectives, and report to messengers during the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas.

Great Commission Task Force

The Great Commission Task Force was appointed last year to evaluate the outcomes of the Great Commission Task Force that reported to the convention in 2010. After its research, the task force made the following recommendations, all of which were approved by messengers:

State conventions and Lifeway are requested to discontinue using the term “Great Commission Giving” in an effort to reaffirm the Cooperative Program as the primary method of giving for Southern Baptist churches;
State conventions and Lifeway are requested to use a simplified Annual Church Profile, limited to six categories and two questions;
The North American Mission Board is requested to conduct an annual survey of churches planted, revitalized, or otherwise assisted with CP funds 10 years after their launch;
The Executive Committee is requested to increase the budget allocation for the International Mission Board to 51% beginning with the 2026-2027 budget year;
The Historical Library and Archives is requested to make the audio recordings of the 2010 Great Commission Task Force available and navigable by June 16, 2025; and
The Executive Committee is requested to propose changes to governing documents that would require entities to report on action they have taken in response to messenger-approved recommendations coming from special work groups or task forces.

Cooperation Group

The Cooperation Group was appointed in response to a 2023 motion, during a time when the nature of a church’s “friendly cooperation” was being reconsidered. Speaking to Baptist Press last fall, group chairman Jared Wellman, pastor of Tate Springs Baptist Church in Arlington, said the Cooperation Group’s work needs to address what it means for autonomous, independent churches to work in cooperation in the SBC.

The group brought four motions to the convention, all of which were approved:

The process for editing or amending the Baptist Faith and Message should be the same as that for the SBC Constitution (two-thirds vote, two consecutive years);
The sole authority for seating [convention] messengers will be vested in the messenger body;
The Committee on Nominations should nominate as entity trustees and standing committee members only those candidates who affirm the convention’s adopted statement of faith; and
The Executive Committee will evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of a public list of SBC churches.

Eight resolutions approved

Messengers in Indianapolis approved eight resolutions expressing their convictions on relevant social and moral subjects on Tuesday, June 11. Although resolutions are not binding on the convention or its entities, these statements have been guidelines that allow convention leadership to generally know the thinking of Southern Baptist church members.

This year’s resolutions dealt with world events such as the Israel-Hamas conflict, moral issues such as in vitro fertilization and religious liberty, and convention issues such as the personal holiness of convention leaders.

Messengers offered support for Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, while also standing with all those suffering in the region. The resolution additionally denied “assertions of moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas.”

In the resolution titled, “The Ethical Realities of Reproductive Technologies and the Dignity of the Human Embryo,” the convention affirmed “the unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in an embryonic stage ….” The statement went on to call on Southern Baptists to use only technologies consistent with that affirmation of life. This call included a consideration of “the number of embryos generated in the IVF [in vitro fertilization] process ….”

Speaking to religious liberty, a resolution rejected any effort to impose a state religion—whether Christianity or another faith—while also condemning efforts such as blasphemy laws that would restrict a person’s freedom of conscience.

A resolution on “Integrity in SBC Leadership” expressed gratitude to God for “righteous and godly leaders,” but rejected “the notion that giftedness, charisma, or influence supersede character and qualification in the life of a leader.” The resolution called on leaders to repent when they fall into sin.

Other resolutions addressed the rights and responsibilities of parents, the just conduct of war, evangelism and the Great Commission, and gratitude for the convention’s host city. The text of all eight resolutions will be posted to SBC.net.

Other convention business

In other news, an amendment that would have expanded the definition of a cooperating church with regard to the role of a pastor failed the garner the required two-thirds vote to be adopted.
The convention approved a 2024-2025 Cooperative Program Allocation Budget of $190 million to fund the work of 12 SBC entities. Cooperative Program allocations to missions (the International and North American mission boards) are over 73% of the funds received.
Messengers affirmed an SBC Credentials Committee recommendation declaring First Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., no longer in friendly cooperation with the convention because their faith and practice regarding complementarianism are incompatible with the convention’s statement of faith.

The 2025 Southern Baptist Convention will meet in Dallas June 10-11.

SBC 2024: Panel discussion underscores the primacy, power of prayer

INDIANAPOLIS—Nathan Lorick, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, was 17 years old when God changed his life through an encounter with prayer.

Though he gave his life to Jesus as a child, Lorick admits he was not living for the Lord as he approached the latter part of high school. So one day, a youth pastor brought him into a room to show him something. Upon entering the room, Lorick saw his name written over and over again on one of its walls.

“What is this?” a bewildered Lorick asked the youth pastor.

“A few months ago, we began challenging our students to name that one person who they think would be impossible to imagine walking with God because of the state of their life,” the youth minister explained. “They identified you … and they’ve been praying for you. They’ve been begging God to do the impossible in your life.”

On Monday, speaking on a prayer panel at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting, Lorick recounted that story and spoke about the impact the prayers of his peers had on him.

“These are people whose names you’ll never know or who you’ll never see on a stage,” he said, “but they got behind the curtain of their prayer closets and got on their faces before God for me.”

The panel was hosted by Kie Bowman, SBC’s national director of prayer, and also included International Mission Board ambassador Gordon Fort. Bowman’s work has included keeping prayer at the forefront of ministry efforts among SBC churches. For his part, Lorick has repeatedly stressed the primacy of prayer if SBTC churches are to experience a movement of God to reverse the growing rate of lostness in Texas and around the world.

“[Prayer] is not just an emphasis—it is a major emphasis for the churches of the SBTC,” Lorick said. “We are going to unapologetically be churches of prayer. … I’m convinced that the tool of prayer is one of those things churches [often] use as an accessory, but when it becomes a driving force, we experience the power and presence of God in ways we’ve not experienced before—and it’s exciting.”

Added Fort: “The great need of the hour is to restore the doctrine and practice of prayer.”

Bowman concluded by asking each panelist what advice he would offer to young leaders struggling to develop and maintain their prayer lives. Fort encouraged such leaders to make a daily request that the Lord teach them how to pray and to prioritize prayer at the beginning of each day. Lorick challenged young leaders to make note of how God moves when they have prayed. He said being able to see how God powerfully moved in a situation when prayer was made a priority will leave a lasting impression.

“I promise you,” Lorick said, “you’ll become a prayer warrior who is intentional about chasing after the heart of God.”

SBC 2024: ‘The church has left the building’: SBC Crossover team takes unique approach to open doors for spiritual conversations

INDIANAPOLIS—Tailgate parties—where fans gather, socialize, and barbecue in stadium parking lots before a sporting event—usually require people to come to them.

Living Faith Church in Indianapolis tried something a little different this past weekend as part of the evangelistic Crossover event held each year in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting.

The church brought the party to the people.

Living Faith Church held a mobile “tell gate” party, serving traditional stadium fare such as hamburgers and hot dogs to residents of the Indianapolis neighborhood of Riverside. The food was cooked on a grill fastened to a rack on the back of a van, which included a decal on one of its back doors stating, “The church has left the building.”

The strategy was simple: meet needs through food service, make connections, and tell people about the love—and saving power—of Jesus. The church later reported that, through a series of Crossover-related events over the past couple of days, it had shared the gospel with 400 people and seen 17 put their faith in Christ.

Living Faith’s “tell gate” team was joined by members of SBC churches from as far away as Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas.

“Friends from around the country joined us to serve burgers door-to-door in Riverside today,” stated a June 8 post on the church’s Facebook page. “Together, we extended the love of Jesus in conversations and condiments.”

Tony Mathews, senior strategist of missional ministries for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, was on the Living Faith team.

“It was an amazing event,” Mathews said. “Not only did we get to interact with the people in the neighborhoods, but we got to pray for them, pray for their families, and share the gospel with them. The response was incredible. You could tell they really appreciated what we were doing.

The North American Mission Board, which hosted Crossover 2024 in partnership with the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana and the Indianapolis-based Crossroads Baptist Association, said 44 local churches participated in the event from June 3-8. Those efforts included block parties, sports camps, health clinics, door-to-door evangelism, and service projects. Students from several Southern Baptist seminaries also participated in Crossover, NAMB reported. A number of SBTC churches participated in the event, as well.

“As followers of Jesus we are all called to engage the world around us through personal evangelism,” said JJ Washington, NAMB’s national director for personal evangelism. “Crossover is an event where we get to put that into practice. I’ve been thrilled to see Indiana Baptist churches embrace the opportunity both in the preparation leading up to Crossover and in proclaiming Jesus to the people in their communities scattered throughout Indianapolis.”

Mathews said plans are already underway for Crossover 2025 when the SBC Annual Meeting comes to Dallas. SBTC churches are invited to a NAMB-hosted Crossover interest meeting, which will include an evangelism toolkit training, scheduled for Oct. 22 at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.

Information from the North American Mission Board was used in this report.

Abundance Mindset

As his presidential term comes to an end, Bart Barber sees more on the horizon for Southern Baptists—more cooperation, more giving, and more people coming to know Jesus

Editor’s note: Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, will wrap up his two terms of service as president of the Southern Baptist Convention this month. At the end of a whirlwind two years, Barber spoke briefly with the Southern Baptist Texan about the impact his time as president has had on him personally and his prayer for the future of the SBC.

What are some of the exciting things you’re seeing God doing among Southern Baptist churches?

Bart Barber: Even while some other statistical indicators have gone in the other direction, baptisms have been higher recently. Across our nation, I’m encountering Southern Baptists who are deliberately and enthusiastically focused on evangelism. They are discovering that our culture is more open to the gospel than naysayers understand. A hedonistic world is not serving people well. So many of them know they need something else.

We are sharing the gospel. We are improving our churches’ approach to sexual abuse prevention and response. There’s a great attitude across the convention. We are less influenced by social media than we were a few years back. I’m always encouraged by the brotherly love and missional focus that is so evident among Southern Baptists.

How has being SBC president impacted you personally?

Barber: The more prominence any of us experiences, the more prominently our weaknesses will be put on display for others to see. If we are blessed, it will also allow us to see those flaws and weaknesses ourselves. That has been my experience over the past two years. Each of those moments has given me the opportunity to step into the refiner’s fire and burn away some of the dross. I’m very thankful for that. Also, I’ve grown to love more people and to love some people more dearly. I’ve seen our church do better than ever before in reaching our community and seen it do so with less of my time and attention than it has had in 25 years, which has helped me to see that God can work here without me.

What are you praying God would do in the SBC over the months and years to come?

Barber: For two years, I’ve prayed pretty regularly, “God, don’t let me do any foolish thing today that hurts the Southern Baptist Convention.” He has answered that prayer most days. I expect that I will pray it for the next guy regularly, too. I’m praying for God to renew in our hearts a commitment to cooperation, resulting in more money given through the Cooperative Program and more people called into missions and into local church ministry.

On three-year anniversary of crash, pastor has new lease on life, new perspective for ministry

Repaired & Renewed

Curiosity brought the man to Main Street Baptist Church in Grand Saline one Sunday back in 2022. Though he didn’t attend the church, the man was intrigued by its interim pastor, Mark Moore.

“Are you the Mark Moore who was in the wreck?” the man asked.

When Moore replied in the affirmative, the man shrugged. “I own the wrecking yard where your car was towed,” he said. “I can’t believe anyone lived through that. I heard you were over here and I had to come see for myself.”

The fact Moore was not only alive but preaching following the devastating June 17, 2021, four-car accident near the tiny East Texas town of Ben Wheeler remains a testament to God’s grace and Moore’s determination three years later.

“I can’t believe anyone lived through that. I heard you were over here and I had to come see for myself.”

—owner of wrecking yard Tweet

A life-changing trauma

Moore’s was the third vehicle in a pileup that left him trapped, the driver’s side of his crew cab pickup crushed and crumpled like aluminum foil.

Moore said he remembers nothing about the accident and its immediate aftermath. He discovered that the first people on the scene were a couple coming from Canton, an emergency medical technician named Patrick Baldauf and his wife, Mindy, a nurse. It was Mindy who first noticed Moore hidden by his truck’s deployed airbag.

When volunteer firefighters arrived on the scene, Patrick guided them in cutting Moore out of the wreck safely before he was life-flighted to an area hospital.

“If it wasn’t for Patrick, I would have lost my right foot,” Moore said. “He held my head for 45 minutes till the helicopter arrived.”

Meanwhile, Mindy called Moore’s wife, Elaine, to tell her of the accident. Later, Moore puzzled over how Mindy knew his wife’s contact information. “You told it to me,” Mindy explained.

“I don’t remember anything,” he said. About the first thing he does recall is being in the hospital and awakening after being in a coma for seven days to see Elaine standing over him.

“Mark, you’re going to be OK … and we are going to be found faithful to God throughout this new journey we are on,” Elaine said, alluding to the surgeries, rehab, and recovery to follow.

A long journey back

Moore has since endured seven surgeries related to the wreck. After two of his surgeries—one in Tyler and the other in Dallas in July 2022—his rehab seemed smooth until he began experiencing severe pain in his right ankle.

Doctors discovered his right talus, the small bone in his ankle supporting the entire joint, had died due to lack of blood flow. In December 2023, Moore underwent a complete ankle and talus replacement procedure and spent the next three months getting around with the help of a knee scooter. He began rehab on the ankle this past March and is seeing encouraging improvement.

“I never thought I would walk like this again,” he said.

It’s been one of many blessings the Moores have experienced.

A few months before the wreck, Moore had moved from a longtime pastorate at Lakeside Baptist Church in Canton to a part-time position at The Bridge Fellowship in nearby Martin’s Mill. The Bridge continued to pay his salary even though he was out of commission for several months, Moore said.

By 2022, Moore was serving in the interim position at Main Street in Grand Saline. From there, Cross City Church in Euless invited him to join its staff as minister to senior adults. When he learned a seventh surgery loomed, Moore offered to withdraw his name from consideration for the position. His request was denied.

“We hired you,” he was told. “You’re family.”

The move from East Texas to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex was natural for Mark, a self-proclaimed “city boy” who nonetheless joyfully pastored Lakeside for 31 years. The Moores found a home in Arlington, only 10 minutes from Cross City and just 18 miles from their son and his family in Irving. They don’t have to travel on any major highways to access church or family. Driving on busy thoroughfares, Moore admits, still leaves him a little jumpy.

Another blessing? The November after the wreck, the Moores attended the volunteer fire department banquet in Noonday to express their thanks. The Baldaufs were also invited, and Moore was able to publicly convey his gratitude. The two couples remain in contact today.

Mark and Elaine also keep up with Jennifer Lanfrey, the woman in one of the other vehicles involved in the wreck.

“These are lifelong friendships,” Moore said, noting that he and Jennifer had prayed for each other over the course of their recoveries.

“I tell people I’ve had seven surgeries. In the Bible, seven means complete. I am taking God at His word that I am through with surgeries.”

—Mark Moore Tweet

A newfound perspective

Moore said the accident has changed him for the better in many ways—especially in how he ministers to people.

“Today, when I make hospital visits, I remember what it’s like to be in the bed,” Moore said.

The wreck has improved his bedside manner, he explained. “I’ve always been a tenderhearted guy. It didn’t take much for me to feel mercy. But that wreck has helped me every time I am with people. Everybody has been through something.”

He still expresses amazement that now, with his artificial ankle constructed of cobalt on a 3D printer, he is able to walk without pain.

“I am so grateful,” he said.

His job duties at Cross City vary widely, including a bit of preaching to ministering to senior adults to taking his turn manning the church playscape on days it is open as an afternoon outreach to the public.

“I tell people I’ve had seven surgeries. In the Bible, seven means complete,” Moore said with a chuckle. “I am taking God at His word that I am through with surgeries.”