Author: Jayson Larson

SWBTS hosts inaugural World Missions Center Sending Church Conference

FORT WORTH—Ian Buntain, director of the World Missions Center and associate professor of missions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS), said the idea behind the inaugural Sending Church Conference was sparked by a conversation he had with his grandson.

During a discussion about Romans 10:14-15, which says, in part, “How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard?” the grandson asked a simple, yet convicting question: Why doesn’t everybody know about Jesus?

That question, and those verses, provided the inspiration for the conference, held March 16 at the seminary’s Riley Center.

“The purpose for this conference is to be a bit subversive, a bit disruptive, to reverse the current flow of church culture, and to remind us again that we began as a people of God, as Southern Baptists, for the sake of sending missionaries,” said Buntain, a former missionary to Asia who organized the conference and served as its keynote speaker. “I want to offer this conference to encourage believers to become full-time missionaries and to offer resources to those interested in missions.”

Stu Cocanougher, who serves as the share strategy pastor at Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth— spoke at the conference and said most Christians Americans do not regularly engage in cross-cultural ministry even though all Christians are called to engage in such efforts. “As Christians, we love global missions, but we don’t practice it,” he said. “We are great fans of missionaries, but we think that we can never be that.

“For every one Southern Baptist that goes to the nations as [a missionary], 3,879 choose to stay. Going and sending is in the very nature of God,” Cocanougher added. In addition to speaking, he taught a workshop called “Leading Your Church to Create Effective Cross-Cultural Ministries” and gave participants numerous ideas about how to minister to their communities through their church.

Barry Calhoun, a church mobilization strategist for the International Mission Board (IMB) and missions director at North Garland Baptist Fellowship in Garland, spoke on the topic of “Creating a Mission Culture Within the Church.” He said his desire is to help churches prioritize missions “because missions is part of the fabric of the church, not just an activity of the church.”

April Ott, who has been serving with IMB for the last 17 years, taught on the topic of “Leading Your Church in Short-Term Missions.” On of the workshop attendants told her his church was “a going church, but not a sending church.” In response, Ott said, “Short-term missions lead people to become full time missionaries, because they can see the need first-hand. We need to help those who go on short-term missions to discover their calling to full-time mission work.”

Bruno Molina, language and interfaith evangelism associate for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and CEO of the National Hispanic Baptist Network, taught a workshop on “Sharing Christ Among Cultures and Religions.”

“My focus is to enable churches to develop cross-cultural interfaith knowledge and discernment, to be able to share the gospel effectively,” he said. Molina, who is of Hispanic descent, knows first-hand the importance of cross-cultural evangelism and diversity.

SWBTS celebra la primera conferencia de la iglesia de envío del centro de misiones mundiales

El 16 de marzo, el Director del Centro Mundial de Misiones y Profesor Asociado de Misiones en el Seminario Teológico Bautista del Suroeste (SWBTS), Dr. Ian Buntain, llevó a cabo la primera Conferencia de la Iglesia que envía en el Centro Riley del seminario. El evento comenzó con alabanza y adoración dirigida por estudiantes de la escuela de música y adoración de la iglesia de SWBTS, oración y una bienvenida del Dr. Buntain.

El Dr. Buntain basó la conferencia en Romanos 10:14-15, ¿Cómo, pues, invocarán a aquel en el cual no han creído? ¿Y cómo creerán en aquel de quien no han oído? ¿Y cómo oirán sin haber quien les predique?¿Y cómo predicarán si no fueren enviados? Como está escrito: ¡Cuán hermosos son los pies de los que anuncian la paz, de los que anuncian buenas nuevas! (RVR 1960) Buntain decidió usar estos versículos después de compartirlos con su nieto, quien quería saber por qué todas las personas no conocen a Jesús.

“El propósito de esta conferencia es ser un poco subversivo, un poco perturbador, para revertir el flujo actual de la cultura de la iglesia; y para recordarnos nuevamente que comenzamos como un pueblo de Dios, como bautistas del sur, por el bien de enviar misioneros”, compartió Buntain. Como ex misionero en Asia y nativo de Canadá, entiende el evangelismo transcultural, dijo: “Quiero ofrecer esta conferencia para alentar a los creyentes a convertirse en misioneros de tiempo completo y ofrecer recursos a aquellos interesados en las misiones”, agregó Buntain.

Como organizador del evento y uno de los oradores principales, Buntain dijo: “Mi deseo es revertir el flujo de nuestra cultura bautista, a la que se le ha dado la plataforma a los pastores que son mejores para reunir, y luego moverlos de regreso a siendo una cultura emisora”, agregó el Dr. Buntain. También impartió un taller titulado,Misiones en casa e incluyó un tiempo de oración como parte de la conferencia.

El Dr. Stu Cocanougher, quien se desempeña como pastor de Share Strategy en la Iglesia Bautista de Southcliff, liderando los ministerios de alcance, evangelismo, misiones e interculturales de Southcliff y uno de los oradores en la conferencia dijo que, “La mayoría de los cristianos estadounidenses no se involucran regularmente en el ministerio transcultural y los ministerios transculturales son para todos los cristianos, no solo para los misioneros. Como cristianos, amamos las misiones globales, pero no las practicamos… Somos grandes admiradores de los misioneros, pero pensamos que nunca podremos serlo”. Cocanougher agregó que “la mayoría de los cristianos ven las misiones como algo que podemos elegir hacer pero no ser parte de ellas.

“Por cada bautista del sur que va a las naciones como misionero, 3.879 eligen quedarse en casa. Ir y enviar está en la naturaleza misma de Dios”, agregó Cocanougher. También impartió un taller llamado Dirigiendo a su iglesia para crear ministerios transculturales efectivos y les dio a los participantes en su taller numerosas ideas de cómo ministrar a sus comunidades a través de su iglesia. “Creo que este es el mejor momento para estar vivo en la historia del cristianismo”, dijo Cocanougher, autor de Reaching the World Across the Street (Llegar al mundo al otro lado de la calle).

Barry Calhoun, un estratega de movilización de iglesias para la IMB y director de misiones de North Garland Baptist Fellowship en Texas, fue el tercer orador principal y habló sobre Creando una cultura misionera dentro de la iglesia. Dijo que quiere que los participantes sepan, “cómo mover la misión de un segundo plano a un primer plano de la iglesia porque las misiones son parte de la estructura de la iglesia, no sólo una actividad de la iglesia”. Calhoun también proporcionó formas prácticas de cómo se vería eso dentro del contexto de la iglesia local.

April Ott, quien ha estado sirviendo en la IMB durante los últimos 17 años, impartió el taller Dirigiendo su iglesia en misiones a corto plazo, donde uno de los participantes compartió la razón por la que decidió asistir al taller: “Mi iglesia es una iglesia que va, pero no una iglesia que envía, quiero que seamos una iglesia que envía”. Ott lo animó cuando dijo: “Las misiones a corto plazo llevan a las personas a convertirse en misioneros de tiempo completo, porque pueden ver la necesidad de primera mano y necesitamos ayudar a aquellos que van a misiones de corto plazo a descubrir su llamado al trabajo misionero de tiempo completo”.

El Dr. Bruno Molina, Asociado de Lenguaje y Evangelismo Interreligioso para los Ministerios Misionales de la Convención de los Bautistas del Sur de Texas, y director ejecutivo de la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana, impartió un taller sobre Compartir a Cristo entre culturas y religiones. “Mi enfoque es permitir que las iglesias desarrollen conocimiento interreligioso transcultural y discernimiento para poder compartir el evangelio de manera efectiva”, agregó Molina. Molina, de ascendencia hispana, conoce de primera mano la importancia del evangelismo y la diversidad intercultural.

La conferencia también incluyó a otros oradores y líderes de talleres como Ron Bunyard, quien enseñó Ministerio de Estudiantes Internacionales; Garrett Pearson, quien enseñó Los desplazados y cómo se puede responder y dijo, “No puedes cambiar el mundo entero, pero puedes ayudar a cambiar a una persona”; el Dr. y la Sra. Ford quienes enseñaron Necesidades de atención de los miembros para nuestros misioneros; y el Dr. David Pagel, quien Misiones Interculturales. Varios ministerios apoyaron el evento con casetas ofreciendo información misional a los participantes: El Director de Admisiones del SWBTS, Armando Hernández y parte de su equipo de admisiones, SBTC Missions y SEND Network, IMB, el equipo de Deaf Catalyst de Converge International Ministries, World Relief , estudiante internacional de SWBTS, equipo de estudiantes de SWBTS, Texas Baptist College, Hope Literacy para enseñar ESL como una forma de compartir el evangelio, etc.

SBTC’s Wolfe called to lead South Carolina Baptists

COLUMBIA, S.C. (BP)—South Carolina Baptist Convention messengers unanimously elected Tony Wolfe as the new executive director-treasurer (EDT) Monday afternoon (March 20) in a special called meeting at Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia.

Wolfe begins work April 1 and will replace Gary Hollingsworth, who is retiring after serving in the office for eight years.

Search Committee Chairman Ian Geimer said the process of finding God’s man to lead South Carolina Baptists required months of interviews, research, prayer, and discussion, but in the end, Wolfe emerged as the clear choice as EDT-elect.

“Our committee was thoroughly impressed and pleased with the candidates brought before us,” Geimer said. “Through a very competitive interview process, Dr. Tony Wolfe emerged as the frontrunner for South Carolina’s next executive director-treasurer.

“We believe Dr. Tony Wolfe’s qualifications begin with his love for Jesus. Ever since his salvation, he has dedicated his life to loving, following, and trusting the Lord. This love for God is best exemplified in his being a godly husband to Vanessa, a godly father to Ethan and Aaron. It was also recognized by our committee his humble nature, the numerous testimonies to his godly character, and his unrelenting desire to go only where God calls him.”

Wolfe, a Louisiana native, comes to South Carolina after having served as associate executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention since 2017. The 40-year-old Wolfe is the son of a Baptist pastor, came to a saving relationship with Christ at a young age and began in ministry at a relatively young age. He has served in Texas and Louisiana in various ministry positions, including pastor, worship leader, counselor, educator, and denominational leader, with 23 years of ministry experience.

Wolfe said it became clear to him early in the process that God was calling him to serve Baptist churches of South Carolina.

“After my first interview with the search committee, I was convicted and convinced that there was something special happening here,” Wolfe said. “It was actually at dinner; we sat around, and we talked, and I asked questions, and they asked questions.

“They asked everything you hoped they’d ask. Then over dinner, I felt there was something special that happened, so much so that on the way back to the hotel, I called my bride and said, ‘Babe, I don’t know how to put this into words right now, but something special just happened.’”

Wolfe outlined three priorities that will occupy the first six months of his work: meeting Baptists of South Carolina, asking them questions and building trust.

Wolfe also listed five priorities for his life and ministry, priorities to which Wolfe pledged to give his full attention:

Fervent prayer

“Because I am at my best with people when I am on my knees before God,” he said. “South Carolina Baptists, prayer is not a really good part of our program, prayer is the program. We can have all the staff and resources, but if the Holy Spirit doesn’t breathe on them, nothing happens.”

Biblical integrity

“Because I live and lead in wisdom when I am faithful to God’s Word,” he said. “The Bible is the perfect treasure of divine instruction, we’ve commonly confessed. It is our supreme standard. … We don’t have to agree on every little interpretation of Scripture, but we do have to stand together on the inerrancy, inspiration, infallibility, sufficiency and authority of God’s great Word.”

Missional priority

“Because my message is urgent and my time is short,” Wolfe said. “I’m committed to investing every minute for the rest of my life for God’s global glory through the advancement of the Gospel. The message of the Gospel is not complicated, but it is urgent. God has entrusted to us 5.3 million South Carolinians, 8 billion image bearers — citizens of the planet earth, for us to reach with the Gospel before it is everlastingly too late. … Let’s stay laser-focused on the mission.”

Everyday excellence

“Because how I do anything is how I will do everything,” he said. “I want to brush my teeth to the glory of God. At my home church, I want to set up tables and chairs to the glory of God. … Christ is worthy of excellence.”

Cooperative disposition

“Because I am better when we are together,” Wolfe said. “I’m sure you’re aware that much threatens to divide us. Southern Baptists are at one of our most delicate seasons in recent history. I firmly believe South Carolina Baptists can show our larger faith family and the rest of the watching world what it looks like to love one another with the peculiar love of Christ.

“That means to stick together, to work together, to advance the Great Commission together. Our general disposition should always be toward cooperation, not away from it.”

Wolfe and his wife, Vanessa, married in 2001 and have two sons: Ethan, who serves as a youth pastor in Oklahoma and is engaged to be married in the summer, and Aaron, a high school junior.

Wolfe holds degrees from Lamar University, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He will complete a Ph.D. in evangelism and missions from Southwestern Seminary next year.

Said Wolfe, “Vanessa and I are prepared to invest the best years of our lives in united, vigorous exertion with you around one common cause.”

This article originally appeared on Baptist Press.

Affirming women called to vocational ministry

Decades ago, grandfather clocks were common fixtures in homes. I haven’t seen one in years, but I remember my grandparents’ clock loudly announcing its presence each hour. Between those disruptive chimes, one could faintly hear its pendulum swinging. A pendulum is designed to bypass the midpoint as it swings to extreme positions.

Certain issues within the church can cause such pendulum swing reactions in an effort to correct or compensate for the past. The roles of women in vocational ministry, for example, can easily garner such extreme reactions. One extreme keeps women from any leadership role, while another eliminates role distinctions altogether.

As Christ-followers, we are all called to ministry and given gifts to edify the church. God’s Word gives us guidelines for clarity and health. It is always our responsibility as church leaders to look first to Scripture, allowing it to steer our decisions and correct our biases. With a Christ-centered focus, we can affirm and honor our sisters in Christ and their calling to vocational ministry.

Differing viewpoints exist within a complementarian framework, and each church and its leaders will guide specifics appropriate to their setting. Defining that framework is far beyond the scope of this article. Instead, my hope is to encourage those in any framework to embrace biblical role distinctions and honor the women who lead in those roles while elevating Jesus alone.

How can we do this? There are a few intentional ways to establish a nurturing church culture affirming women called to vocational ministry:

1. Develop

We can move toward excellence in developing women in vocational ministry by creating a culture valuing growth and increased opportunity. Creating this kind of environment requires time and intentionality. In our church’s context, we have protective guidelines necessary for the integrity of our staff. At the same time, lead pastors have a responsibility to ensure the development of both men and women on their teams. Here are a few practical suggestions:

Create a monthly rhythm to invest in the women on your team in an appropriate manner.
Include your wife in meetings and development.
Use tools such as regular ministry supervision conversations and long-term vocational-goal conversations.
Connect women on your team with a mentor who is further down a similar ministry path.
Encourage conferences and cohorts for continued learning and relationship building.

2. Celebrate

Each person has leadership gifts and abilities. Intentionally celebrate women on your team for leadership accomplishments and in using their gifts for kingdom impact. In this, we nurture both the individual and demonstrate the value of women in vocational ministry for our churches. A few other ideas include:

Using Sunday morning as an opportunity to honor and celebrate women on your team.
Celebrating major accomplishments when ministry staff and church leadership are gathered.
Writing cards of encouragement after ministry wins.
Providing a bonus or gift of gratitude after leading through a challenging season.

3. Ask

While the lead pastor is ultimately responsible, it is wise and helpful to gather perspectives from various individuals when making major decisions—including decisions that involve directional changes. It is easy to fail to intentionally make room for women on ministry teams to speak into decisions. This requires slowing down enough to create room at the table. Their perspectives can greatly benefit and protect the team in helping make wise decisions.

4. Support

One of our staff values is: “We love our families more than ministry, and they know it.” Women in vocational ministry who are moms need added flexibility as they embrace their primary role in their family. Recognizing and honoring this need in our church culture reinforces the family as the primary place of ministry. Thankfully, in our post-COVID, remote-work world, this option of flexibility can often be more easily applied.

The church has an important privilege to create an environment that honors and celebrates women, especially those called to vocational ministry. While the specifics for each church will be different, the need to affirm the leadership and service our sisters bring to the body is worth the time and energy. Let us be leaders who build a healthy culture in our churches.

I am grateful for the women I serve alongside for the sake of the gospel. I am grateful for the leadership abilities of my wife and the investment she makes daily in the ministries of our church. I am also grateful for my daughters’ investment in ministry and the women who continue to invest in them. By God’s grace, they will carry that forward and entrust to others what they have received.

Let me encourage you to pause a moment and think through how you can practically affirm women called to vocational ministry in your context. Let’s choose to correct any unbiblical pendulum reaction in our hearts and lay a healthy foundation for the next generation of men and women looking to serve the bride of Christ.

La sesión en español de Empower propone alcanzar a la próxima generación

ARLINGTON—Con un enfoque en equipar a las iglesias para alcanzar a las futuras generaciones, la sesión en español de Empower 2023—llamada Apoderados—marcó un récord de asistencia este año. Aproximadamente 360 pastores y líderes de iglesias asistieron al evento de dos días celebrado en Lamar Baptist Church.

Lucas Leys, fundador de e625—una organización que entrena a pastores y líderes de niños, adolescentes y jóvenes en todo Hispano América—fue el orador principal. Con un gran sentido del humor y carisma, Leys habló de la importancia de renovar una visión impulsada por la misión para alcanzar a las generaciones más jóvenes para Cristo. “Las iglesias están sufriendo porque, a medida que envejecen, no han elaborado un plan para la próxima generación,” afirmó.

Leys dijo que las iglesias tendrán dificultades para crecer—y en algunos casos, sobrevivir- si los pastores no desarrollan estrategias para alcanzar a las futuras generaciones. Uno de los escollos puede producirse cuando las iglesias miden el éxito sólo por el número de asistentes, dijo, señalando que es necesario un examen más profundo para construir congregaciones sanas.

“¿Están mejorando las familias? ¿Los matrimonios están siendo restaurados?” pregutó Leys. “¿Cuánta gente está siendo transformada? Eso es lo que mide el éxito.”

Leys dijo que el discipulado debe ser central en la estrategia de crecimiento de cualquier iglesia. “Si la iglesia y los padres no están discipulando a la próxima generación, eso no significa que no estén siendo discipulados,” dijo. “Significa que están siendo discipulados por el mundo.”

Apoderados contó con una variedad de talleres dirigidos por líderes y pastores hispanos, con temas que van desde la evangelización hasta proyectar una visión. Entre esos líderes estuvo Luis González, pastor de Lamar Baptist Church en Español, quien animó a los asistentes a entender que la evangelización es una tarea diaria que involucra a todos en la iglesia. La evangelización, dijo, no debe sentirse como una carga pesada: “Podemos descansar y disfrutar el evangelismo cuando entendemos que le toca al Señor cambiar los corazones,” dijo González.

Ramón Vélez, pastor de Una Nueva Familia, habló sobre la evangelización intergeneracional y desafió a sus oyentes a ser creativos y “romper moldes” a la hora de evangelizar. Vélez dijo que los que comparten el evangelio deben considerar la edad y el contexto de la audiencia a la que se evangeliza.

“El diablo es un experto en vender el pecado,” dijo Vélez. “Nosotros debemos ser mejores en compartir el evangelio.”

Daniel Sánchez, distinguido profesor emérito de misiones en el Seminario Teológico Bautista Southwestern (SWBTS), compartió estrategias para evangelizar a los católicos. Armando Hernández, director de admisiones en el SWBTS y líder de los estudiantes universitarios en Tate Springs Baptist Church en Arlington, compartió sobre cómo identificar y confrontar el secularismo en nuestra cultura y porqué esto nos debe importar como iglesia.

La conferencia también contó con un panel de discusión dirigido por Bruno Molina, asociado de idiomas y evangelismo interreligioso de la Convención de los Bautistas del Sur de Texas. El panel discutió los desafíos que enfrentan las iglesias hispanas en los que buscan alcanzar y ministrar a los hijos hispanos de segunda y tercera generación.

“Las iglesias [en Estados Unidos] comienzan siendo de una sola etnia, se vuelven biculturales y luego multiculturales,” dijo Molina. Con esto en mente, los panelistas respondieron a preguntas como: “¿Por qué la mayoría de los estudiantes dejan de caminar con Dios y abandonan la iglesia después de la escuela secundaria?” y “¿Cómo pueden los pastores hispanos de primera generación animar a sus iglesias a ministrar mejor a los jóvenes bilingües?”

Hernández, quien dijo representar a esa segunda y tercera generación, instó a las iglesias hispanas a encontrar personas en sus congregaciones que puedan tender un puente entre las generaciones mayores y las más jóvenes. Esas personas pueden ayudar a las iglesias a orientar a las generaciones más jóvenes para que busquen iglesias sanas en dónde puedan identificarse culturalmente.

Lisie Colón, coordinadora de eventos y comunicaciones de los recursos de la iglesia en Lifeway, dijo que es necesario dar a las generaciones más jóvenes la oportunidad de sentirse aceptadas encontrando un lugar en donde puedan identificarse mejor. González recalcó la importancia de no dar por sentado que los niños y jóvenes en la iglesia son cristianos y de modelar para ellos una vida cristiana práctica dentro y fuera de la iglesia. Cristina Ochoa, esposa del pastor Over Ochoa, de la iglesia Vida Victoriosa, añadió que la iglesia tiene la responsabilidad de garantizar que los niños sepan cómo tener una relación personal con Dios desde una edad temprana.

“Debemos planificar e invertir en estas vidas para alcanzarlas, sin importar el costo,” dijo Vélez, “porque el precio que pagó el Hijo de Dios fue muy alto.”

EMPOWER ’23: Barber outlines CP’s history, need for continued sacrificial giving during luncheon

IRVING—Southern Baptist Convention President Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, challenged 450 attendees at the Empower Conference’s Cooperative Program luncheon on Tuesday to continue the tradition of cooperation begun among Baptists during the 1800s.

“I’m not going to preach today,” announced Barber, who moments earlier had concluded giving the message to close the conference’s morning session. During that message, Barber called Jesus “amazing” and said He can use the Cooperative Program to advance kingdom causes in a tremendous way.

“I love what we do together,” he said.

Noting the Cooperative Program will mark its 100^th year in two years, Barber launched into a brief history that included its earliest iterations through the missionary efforts of William Carey, Adoniram Judson, and Luther Rice. Judson and Rice raised support among congregationalists for foreign missionaries, he said, only to see that support collapse when they became Baptists. Judson’s missionary efforts in Burma became legendary.

Cooperative Program roots

Barber said Southern Baptists existed for 80 years before the Cooperative Program was formed. From the ashes of the Civil War, God inspired Southern Baptists to combine funds and send missionaries to Brazil, China, and even Italy.

“We were going to storm hell with a water pistol … and get all those Catholics to become Baptists,” Barber said with a chuckle of the early Italian missionary efforts. “There was no Cooperative Program, but there was cooperation.”

During the early 20th century, messengers at the 1919 annual meeting took the initiative to start an unprecedented effort called the 75 Million Campaign. The 75 Million Campaign ensured that churches established a means for churches to give in support of local and global ministry.

“God started to move among Southern Baptists to dream that they could do something that reached a little further,” Barber said. Before the campaign, messengers brought money to the annual meeting from their churches: an allocation for the Foreign Mission Board, a separate amount for the Home Mission Board, and funds for the seminaries.

“We came to a point where we said, ‘We are serious about this. Every church in the convention is going to make a plan for our people, for our finances … a plan that is bigger than us, that reaches out to people who don’t live near us, that don’t look like us, that don’t speak the same language,’” Barber said.

The 75 Million Campaign raised $93 million in pledges. Barber noted the extensive involvement of Texas Baptists in the foundation of the CP, including Pastor J.B. Gambrell of Fort Worth.

“Money comes when people trust and are inspired by the work of the Great Commission. That’s what fuels cooperation among Southern Baptists,” Barber said.

From China to Cuba to Brazil, news of how campaign funds were used to bring people to Christ encouraged Southern Baptists. State conventions began to cooperate with the SBC and with one another, and “all our churches came together in this rope of sand with the strength of steel” by which we are able to support the work of the SBC, he said.

His church, FBC Farmersville, has chosen to give 10 percent of its undesignated receipts to CP and called it “healthy” for churches: “We are doing it because we think it is a great investment in the work of the Great Commission around the world.”

That cooperation is not only financial, he said, but also involves cooperation in prayer, dialogue, and the work of the convention.

Get involved

Barber urged involvement with the SBC, noting that officers like himself are volunteers, as are those who serve on the various national committees. For example, elected members of the Executive Committee are volunteers. For these, cooperation is more than writing a check, but giving time, and Barber challenged attendees to “lean in” to CP with their best efforts.

He also addressed, briefly, two SBC national controversies: the recent disaffiliation of Saddleback Church by the SBC EC over the issue of female pastors, and the recommendation by the SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force to retain Guidepost Solutions to manage an abuser database.

Barber noted the criticism regarding those decisions and challenged the audience to become involved in solutions: “If you’ve got the time and the expertise to criticize, maybe you’ve got the time and the expertise to help.” He added that he trusts the Holy Spirit who inspired Adoniram Judson so many years ago to continue to guide the cooperation of Southern Baptists.

EMPOWER ’23: Inaugural Student Rally draws hundreds, leads to 28 salvations

IRVING—Around 300 middle school and high school students flocked to the Irving Convention Center Tuesday evening to sing, pray, and praise God during a student rally that marked the official end to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s annual Empower Conference.

“We are thrilled this year to have the inaugural student rally,” SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick said prior to the event. “We are praying that God will place something in the hearts of these students that will spark a revival.”

God may have done just that, as 28 students prayed to receive Christ.

The warmup

Brandon Bales, SBTC youth ministry associate, warmed up the crowd with games and giveaways as the room filled with smoke, fog, strobe lights, and music while the large onstage screen displayed multi-colored Christian graphics, the name of Jesus, and words of faith.

Participants received black wristbands inscribed with gospel symbols and the words “JesusSave.Me.” Ryan Fontenot, SBTC evangelism consultant, explained the symbols: a heart representing the love of God, a division symbol representing sin, a cross representing Jesus, and a question mark suggesting the ultimate decision possible regarding Christ.

A worship team fronted by Jimmy McNeal, worship pastor at Austin Stone Community Church, led worship throughout the evening. Dallas-based Christian illusionist Brice Harney, who has performed for Toyota, Google, major television networks, and ministries including CRU, offered a fast-paced variety of tricks involving audience volunteers. Whether retrieving torn cards from his mouth, guessing names, or playing mental games, Harney fascinated the room.

After a disappearing trick with audience members, Harney ended his performance by warning students to go back into the world knowing the difference between reality and illusion.

The main event

Shane Pruitt, author and national Nex Gen director for the North American Mission Board, followed, beginning his message by posing several of life’s biggest questions: What is the purpose of my existence? Why am I here?

At Pruitt’s request, hands shot up throughout the auditorium as students admitted knowing friends struggling with suicidal thoughts or depression. Such feelings are often rooted in a lack of understanding their true purpose, Pruitt said, which is found only in Jesus.

“The Word of God points to the Word of God and His name is Jesus,” Pruitt said. “You literally exist to know Jesus. You are here to know Jesus and to make Jesus known.”

Speaking in an area known as the Bible belt of Texas, Pruitt said many people think they will go to heaven by being a good person. He challenged students to ask people how they think a person can go to heaven.

“Good people don’t go to heaven. Those who are saved by Jesus do,” Pruitt noted. “We may be good at sinning, but Jesus is better at saving. Jesus isn’t just sent from God. Jesus is God.”

Pruitt defined repentance and assured students of the security of their salvation. “When God comes to live inside of you, it changes everything. You are forgiven of sin: past, present, and future.”

He then presented the plan of salvation in simple, clear language. Sitting in church no more makes someone a Christian, he said, than does sitting in a McDonald’s make someone a Happy Meal.

“Now is your time,” he told the students as he led the gathering in prayer, including a prayer of salvation to which 28 young people indicated by raised hands that they had responded. Prayers and instruction regarding the need for believer’s baptism and the call to missions or ministry followed, to which other students responded.

Pruitt challenged students to pray for revival to break out in their schools, churches, neighborhood, and nation.

“You are a bold generation. You are a cause generation,” he said. “It’s time to live boldly and publicly for Him.”

EMPOWER ’23: What happens at SBTC churches where prayer has taken over? ‘Everything changes’

IRVING—Hundreds gathered in groups praying for people with children who are far from the Lord. Standing-room-only breakout sessions about the inseparable link between prayer and evangelism. Report after report of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing at churches where desperate cries to God have been sent up in increasing numbers.

Though only a small sample, this year’s Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Empower Conference—which annually champions evangelism—seemed to indicate a growing hunger among Texas churches for experiencing God’s presence and power through prayer.

“Father, it’s good to see one another, good to spend time with one another,” SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick prayed during the conference’s Monday evening session, “but it’s wasted time if we don’t seek your heart tonight. We seek a movement of your Holy Spirit among us … that we would be a desperate people desperately crying out to you.”

At last November’s SBTC Annual Meeting, Lorick challenged churches to begin weekly prayer gatherings. The announcement came four months after he led 50 SBTC pastors on a trip to the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York, where they learned from Pastor Jim Cymbala about developing a culture of prayer. The 2023 annual meeting is already being promoted as an event that will celebrate “25 years of answered prayer.”

During several of Empower’s breakout sessions, attendees heard of spiritual movements happening at churches that made fresh commitments not to new programs or better strategies, but to seeking the face of the Lord at the expense of all else.

“We’re not leading our churches to pray,” said Nathan Lino, senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Forney. “We’re trying to lead our churches to seek, and to find, and to sit in the manifest presence of Jesus. … When He manifests, we’re like sponges. We soak Him up and become filled with Him. We’re surrounded by Him, overcome by Him, overwhelmed by Him. And then everything changes.”

Two more pastors, Todd Kaunitz of New Beginnings Baptist Church in Longview and Jason Paredes of Fielder Church in Arlington, used a portion of their joint breakout session Tuesday to give personal testimony about how Jesus changed everything in their contexts when they decided to focus on seeking His manifest presence.

Kaunitz, whose church has been hosting weekly prayer services for two years, said he has seen an unprecedented movement of God at New Beginnings over the past two weeks. During a stretch of recent nightly prayer meetings, more than 40 people made professions of faith, 84 were baptized, and hundreds publicly confessed sin and saw various types of relationships restored.

All that, he noted, happened despite not preaching a single sermon during those prayer gatherings.

“You know why? Because God is speaking through my people to my people,” said Kaunitz, who also serves as SBTC president. “Here’s what I’m learning—if prayer becomes the beginning of the mobilization … the movement won’t be fostered by manipulation. It will be something that’s authentic because it’s a work God is doing in the hearts of our people. You cannot take shortcuts to creating an evangelistic culture in your church. An evangelistic culture in your church starts on your face before the Lord.”

Since beginning its prayer initiative in March 2022—an effort that has included the addition of a weekly prayer meeting—Paredes’ church has seen countless lives changed. Hundreds have been baptized and miracles have been celebrated, including two verified cases of people being healed after receiving a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis.

“We’re going to see well over two to three times more baptisms by the end of this year than we normally see over any given year, and we have done nothing different,” he said. “It’s the same preachers, the same programs, the same activities. Nothing’s changed—except we’re praying like we’ve never prayed before and we’re seeing God move like we’ve never seen Him move before.”

Showing breakout attendees a sign depicting a person bowed in prayer with the words, “Make War on the Floor” printed above, Paredes—a self-proclaimed workaholic—said the Lord impressed on him that he needed to work less and allow Him to work more.

“Prayer is the means by which we go on the offensive,” Paredes said. “Prayer is not the preparation for spiritual war. Prayer is the war.”

EMPOWER ’23: Pastor shares story of son’s death in poignant Q&A

Doug Walker, pastor of Fellowship of the Parks in Fort Worth, shared the story of his son’s tragic death from a drug overdose during a question-and-answer session on Monday night at the Empower Conference. He was interviewed onstage by Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Director Nathan Lorick. The following is an excerpt of that interview:

NL: Pastor, you went through a very difficult season and, in some ways, surely still are. Would you take a moment and share what you’ve gone through?
DW: My middle son, John, passed away from an overdose. He was 23 years old. When he was 13, he was exposed to some things that we weren’t aware of. It’s not that we weren’t around, but we didn’t realize what was going on and how deep it got. He struggled with addiction. That led him to some legal issues. We had him in India for six weeks working in a children’s home when he was 14. We had him in a residential treatment program for a year. He eventually ended up in prison. He got out on probation. He was sober. Yet he bought a drug he thought was Percocet. It took his life. John made a commitment to Christ—I believe that with all my heart. He tried and he struggled. The struggle was real. We just came to the one-year anniversary of his passing. My wife and our boys and I had to deal with all that. It’s been very, very difficult. But by the grace of God, we’re here.

NL: How did you get up every day and try to lead and serve others?
DW: The truth is, I didn’t get out of bed every day. There were days I couldn’t. When you look at Scripture, at King David … I lean on the psalms of lament, like Psalm 13, where there is this incredible transparency with God. It’s like, “Oh God, this is what it feels like. This is where I hurt.” You’ve got to be transparent with God, but you’ve also got to be transparent with the people you lead. There is a fine line, a discernment that you’ve got to trust God will give you.

I have the privilege of being the founding pastor of a church. I have an executive staff that has come from within and they are my friends … and we have established a culture of transparency in our church. They know I’m not [just] their pastor—I’m a regular guy. My wife and I, we hurt. I have cried with them. I’ve gone through [questioning] what I could have done? The woulda-shoulda-coulda game is a game for losers. You always lose when you play that. Trust in God, be honest with your staff. I didn’t abdicate leadership. I empowered those who were around me that I trusted to step in and to lead on my behalf on the days when I couldn’t. I’m just grateful to God that He continues to work through Fellowship of the Parks and the people He’s put around me. … We’ve learned some things through this about how to continue to lead through grief.

NL: There’s no pain like the pain of losing a child. What wisdom would you offer those who are walking through similar situations?
DW: Don’t lose hope. Know that you’re not alone. The more you can talk about it, the more you are going to help people. We had people come out of the woodwork that we had no idea about the struggles they faced. They felt empowered to share.

Another thing is for you and your spouse to be on the same page. … We’ve been married 33 years, but we had to get some help to get us on the same page about how to step through it, what the boundaries were. … As a pastor, God has called you. The enemy wants to do everything he can to stop you and disable you and disarm you from ministry and effectiveness. He often targets us from the inside, where you least expect it.

The greatest challenge I’ve had in life is parenting. I’m going to be 55 this year. When we first began and had children, we thought we were going to do everything right. … I would just encourage you to hang on, be honest about your hurt, and find trusting people who can help you.

NL: People have told me what an incredible job you did preaching your son’s service.
Walker: John expressed himself in art. He depicted the struggle of doing what’s right. [In one picture] he shows the struggle between a good dog and a bad dog that are always fighting each other. The one that wins is the one you feed. You are not always responsible for what your kids choose, but this [is an important] conversation. Fentanyl is killing our children. But God is good.

EMPOWER ’23: Spanish session sets sights on reaching the next generation

ARLINGTON—With a focus on equipping churches to reach future generations, the Empower 2023 Spanish session—called Apoderados—set attendance records this year. Approximately 360 pastors and church leaders attended the two-day event held at Lamar Baptist Church.

Lucas Leys, founder of e625—a ministry that provides resources and training for those involved in next-generation discipleship—was the keynote speaker. With a great sense of humor and charisma, Leys spoke of the importance of renewing a mission-driven vision for reaching younger generations for Christ. “Churches are suffering because, as they age, they have not made a plan for the next generation,” he said.

Leys said churches will struggle to grow—and in some cases, survive—if pastors do not develop strategies to reach future generations. One of the pitfalls can happen when churches measure success by attendance numbers only, he said, noting that a deeper examination is needed to build healthy congregations.

“Are families improving? Are marriages being restored?” he asked. “How many people are being transformed? That’s what measures success.”

Leys said discipleship should be central to any church’s strategy for growth. “If the church and parents are not discipling [the next] generation, that doesn’t mean they’re not being discipled,” he said. “It means they’re being discipled by the world.”

Apoderados featured a variety of workshops led by Hispanic leaders and pastors, with topics ranging from evangelism to casting vision. Among those leaders was Luis González, pastor of Lamar Baptist Church en Español, who encouraged attendees to understand that evangelism is a daily task that involves everyone in the church. Evangelism, he said, should not feel like a heavy burden: “We can rest and enjoy evangelism when we understand that it is the Lord’s [job] to change hearts,” González said.

Ramón Vélez, pastor of Una Nueva Familia, taught about intergenerational evangelism, challenging his listeners to be creative and “break the mold” when it comes to evangelism. Vélez said gospel-sharers should consider the age and context of the audience being evangelized.

“The devil is an expert at selling sin,” Vélez said. “We need to be better at sharing the gospel.”

Daniel Sanchez, distinguished professor emeritus of missions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS), shared strategies for evangelizing Catholics. Armando Hernández, director of admissions at SWBTS and a college student leader at Tate Springs Baptist Church in Arlington, shared how to identify and confront secularism in our culture and why it should matter to the church.

The conference also featured a panel discussion led by Bruno Molina, language and interfaith evangelism associate for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. The panel discussed challenges facing Hispanic churches in the U.S. seeking to reach and minister to second- and third-generation Hispanic children.

“Churches [in America] start as one ethnicity, become bicultural, and then multicultural,” Molina said. With this in mind, panelists answered questions such as, “Why do most students stop walking with God and leave the church after high school?” and “How can first-generation Hispanic pastors encourage their churches to better minister to bilingual youth?”

Hernández, who said he represents the second and third generation, urged Hispanic churches to find people in their congregations who can build a bridge between the older and younger generations. Those people can help churches mentor younger generations to seek out healthy churches where they can identify culturally.

Lisie Colón, events and communications coordinator of church resources at Lifeway, said there is a need to give younger generations an opportunity to feel accepted by finding a place where they can best identify. González emphasized the importance of knowing where children and youth stand spiritually and modeling for them a practical Christian life inside and outside the church. Cristina Ochoa, the wife of Pastor Over Ochoa of Vida Victoriosa Church, added that the church has a responsibility to ensure children know how to have a personal relationship with God from an early age.

“We must plan and invest in these lives to reach them, no matter the cost,” said Vélez, “because the price the Son of God paid was high.”