Author: Jayson Larson

Awakening National Prayer Conference seeks to convey information, spark transformation in churches across U.S.

FORT WORTH—The question was as sharp as it was simple.

“When you die,” Steve Gaines asked, “what do you hope to do in heaven?”

Gaines, senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., told the crowd gathered at the Awakening National Prayer Conference on the campus of Southwestern Seminary on April 18 that he looks forward to seeing a number of people in heaven. Jesus, of course. His father, mother, and brother. Historical saints from the Old and New Testaments, ranging from Joseph to Joshua to John.

Amidst that shuffle of faithful faces and well-known names, Gaines said he will be looking for someone whose name he doesn’t know, a “little Baptist lady” that made his voice crack upon mentioning her. Though nameless (for now), her impact on his life was tremendous.

Gaines explained that when his mother was 24, she was diagnosed with cancer in both breasts. Doctors told her a double mastectomy would be required to save her life. Because of the severity of the procedure in those days, surgeons started with one side of her chest and sent her to a post-op shared recovery room, where she spent the next day in and out of consciousness, waiting to recover enough to undergo the second part of the procedure.

In that same room was the little Baptist lady, who had also just undergone a double mastectomy. Gaines said once the women learned of his mother’s condition, she crawled into his mother’s hospital bed, laid her head in her lap, and prayed for her over the next 12 hours, asking God to heal her.

The next morning, the doctors and nurses came in to prepare Gaines’ mother for the final portion of the procedure when, to their shock, they couldn’t find the cancerous lump they had previously located. An X-ray confirmed the miracle—the cancer on the other side of her body was gone.

“What happened?” Gaines’ mother asked through tears.

“God healed you,” the little Baptist lady told her. “I prayed for you last night, and I asked God to heal you, and He did.”

Speaking to the prayer conference, Gaines asked, “Does anybody believe that God can still heal?” Late last year, he announced his own cancer battle—one he has said is improving. “ … That lady then led my mom to Christ. She got healed and got saved on that same bed.”

The anecdote underscored Gaines’ message to kick off the conference, rooted in Daniel 9: Prayer can move the hand of God. Prayer can also reveal the will of God, he said, and it blesses the heart of God. Prayer mattered for Daniel, who Gaines estimates prayed tens of thousands of times over the decades of his life, leading God to grant him favor even in captivity. And prayer mattered for his mother, who came to know Christ because a little Baptist lady gave up a night of her life making her requests known to God for a woman she didn’t know.

“There are things God does for praying people that He doesn’t do for people who don’t pray,” Gaines said. “ … Some of you are discouraged, and all discouragement is just the devil taking courage out of you. Some of you are discouraged because you don’t pray. God wants to encourage you. He wants to put courage back into you, and if you will pray, you won’t lose heart. You won’t be discouraged.”

Impressing God through desperation

The prayer conference featured some of the country’s leading voices on prayer and revival. Sermons were delivered by Southern Baptists of Texas Executive Director Nathan Lorick; Bill Elliff of The Summit Church in Little Rock, Ark.; Ronnie Floyd, author and pastor emeritus of Cross Church in Springdale, Ark.; and Robby Gallaty, senior pastor of Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville, Tenn. A pair of breakouts on the topic of prayer and revival were also offered, featuring Gaines’ wife, Donna, and SBTC pastors Todd Kaunitz (New Beginnings Baptist Church, Longview) and Nathan Lino (First Baptist Church Forney). Worship was led by Julio Arriola, director of the church planting Send Network SBTC.

The event drew participants from not only Texas, but states as far away as Oklahoma, Ohio, and Indiana, according to Kie Bowman, the national director of prayer for the Southern Baptist Convention who organized the conference. Bowman said his heart was not only to inform conference participants about prayer, but to equip them to “move the dial” regarding prayer in their local contexts.

An increase in prayer has been credited for a number of notable movements of God around the country. Included in that has been thousands of people surrendering their lives to Christ on college campuses nationwide and churches crying out to God in desperation to see Him revitalize their congregations and communities.

“Every morning when we wake up, all of hell should shudder—not because of our capabilities or who we know or what we can fund, but simply because the believer’s greatest weapon against the demons of hell is prayer,” Lorick said.

Lorick, who has championed the vital importance of prayer since being called to lead the SBTC in 2021, said crying out in desperation—and not our abilities or accomplishments—is what will impress the heart of God most and lead Him to do things only He can do.

“The truth of the matter is, prayer is not missing in our churches,” Lorick said. “Almost every church has some form of transactional prayer. We pray before the service, we pray before the offering, we pray at the end of the service.

“But what we must seek after is not transactional prayer, but transformational prayer,” he continued. “I just wonder what it would look like if believers and pastors and staff and churches took on a new posture of desperation [in prayer].”

Chosen Conference’s message to the church: ‘We must be engaged’ in fostering, adoption

PLANO—The message was clear and unapologetic: every child is precious in God’s sight.

But the heart of the Chosen Conference, held Saturday, April 13, at Prestonwood Baptist Church, aimed to not only proclaim that truth, but mobilize followers of Christ to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable and forgotten children. Figures cited throughout the conference paint an urgent picture: more than 400,000 children are in the foster care system in America and 100,000 are awaiting adoption. Each year, 20,000 children age out of the foster system without having been matched with a family.

The church, Prestonwood Senior Pastor Jack Graham said, must take action.

“This is a critical and key issue not only in the community and the country, but in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ,” Graham said. “Our goal is to elevate this work of fostering and adopting. … We believe every child is a wanted child, every child is chosen by God. They’re not here by accident or chance, but through the divine plan, providences, and purposes of God.

“This means the church—we the people of God—must be engaged in this.”

The conference was shaped around “three pillars of hope” intended to empower local churches to establish an adoption and foster care ministry within their communities; engage all believers to understand their role in supporting adoption and foster care; and equip families that have been called to adopt and foster.

‘Everyone can do something’

For Shane and Kasi Pruitt, fostering and adoption are deeply personal issues: they have six children, four of whom are adopted (two from Texas and two from Africa–including their son Titus, who passed away last summer at age 10).

Though their connection to fostering and adoption is direct, Shane—national next gen director for the North American Mission Board—noted how Galatians 4:4-5 teaches that all followers of Jesus are benefactors of adoption ministry and orphan care: “When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

“It would have been enough for Him to set us free, but He went a step further and said … ‘my Father is going to be your Father, my family is going to be your family, and my inheritance is going to be your inheritance,’” Shane said. “God did the work [through Jesus] to make us a part of His family. Now everything we do is in response to that truth.”

Kasi spoke about what she calls the “both/and” part of fostering and adoption. In other words, there is a side of it that is a beautiful picture of the gospel, wholeness, and rescue that is counterbalanced by the fact that all fostering and adoption needs grow out of the fall and begin with trauma and loss. “Foster care and adoption is heartbreaking and joy, trauma and beautiful, grief and peace, loss and love, tragic and redemption,” she said. “We can be grateful we get to parent our kids and be heartbroken when we have to be.”

The loss of Titus, Shane shared, was one of those heartbreaking instances. Titus suffered from daily seizures, was confined to a wheelchair, could not speak, and was fed through a tube. His death brought a simultaneous wave of grief and celebration for the family as it missed Titus’ daily presence but rejoiced knowing he was in heaven in the presence of the Lord and fully restored.

“I think a lot of times we paint this picture like, if we are obeying God, everything is going to be easy,” Shane said. “We’ve got to remind ourselves that Jesus doesn’t promise us an easy life. He promises us eternal life. Sometimes obedience is not easy at all.”

Kasi shared several ways churches and believers can get more involved in foster and adoption ministry. One way is for families to foster and adopt when called by God to do so. Others can build relationships with local Child Protective Services offices and minister to caseworkers by providing meals and encouragement. Kasi noted that one CPS office shared with her church that, in cases where a child was able to be reunited with his or her original family, a church had been involved in some way 100% of the time.

“Everyone can do something—absolutely everyone,” she said.

Later, Gregg Matte—senior pastor of Houston’s First Baptist Church—shared a testimony about how God used tragedy in his family’s life to lead them to found a ministry called Legacy 685, which provides financial resources, education, and other practical help for families on the frontlines of adoption, fostering, and orphan ministries. Likewise, Scott Turner, an associate pastor at Prestonwood, announced the Plano church has started a fund to support families in the adoption and fostering process.

Shaping the future of Texas

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott knows firsthand the impact a family can have through the adoption process. He and his wife, Cecilia, adopted their daughter, Audrey, in the 1990s. Abbott shared a series of personal family photos during a question-and-answer session with Graham chronicling Audrey’s life from infancy to college graduation to her engagement day.

“What you do really does change not only the life of a child, but changes the future of our state,” Abbott said. “ … The fact of the matter is, we would have to pass fewer laws if we had more families, better parenting, taking care of our children. It’s good parents educating good children, loving them, supporting them, that leads to those children being very productive and making our society better.”

Abbott said the need for qualified parents to adopt and foster remains high, as the most recent statistics show 4,000 children are available for adoption in Texas. Two thousand children have already been adopted this year, he said. There are other avenues the state has created to provide churches with opportunities to contribute. He noted the existence of “rainbow rooms” stocked with items such as diapers, car seats, and school supplies that can be given by CPS workers to children in crisis. Rainbow rooms are located in every region of Texas and can be stocked by churches with the means to help.

Another avenue of involvement is the Clergy in the Court for Kids program operated through the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. The program invites faith leaders to attend court proceedings, meet families in need, and serve as a calming influence in courtroom environments that can be intimidating for most children.

“We need church involvement in our communities more today than we have maybe ever,” Abbott said. “A way to do that is for churches across our state to immerse themselves in this family unit bonding process that can be done through the adoption and foster care process. Through that process you will be involved in ensuring that you will grow and strengthen family units in the state of Texas while at the same time doing what we are told biblically that we have the responsibility to do, and that is to care for our youngest—especially the orphans among us.”

Robertsons share adoption story

Sadie Robertson Huff and her mother, Korie Robertson—who appeared on the popular reality TV show Duck Dynasty—were interviewed by Tasha Calvert, Prestonwood women’s minister. The church later aired a preview of the pro-adoption film Possum Trot, based on the true story of a small East Texas church whose members adopted 77 children from the Texas system. The film is due in theaters July 4.

“Adoption has made our family what it is. … We love a big family,” Korie said of the six children she shares with her husband, Willie. Three of the Robertson children are adopted.

“It’s not exactly what we had planned … it’s not necessarily easier, but it’s better because God calls us to this abundant life,” Korie said. She also noted that younger generations seem increasingly open to adopting children.

Sadie, the mother of two young children, added that she and her husband were considering adoption in the future.

“As the church we do have a responsibility for adoption,” Sadie added. “The church is expected to take in the children that need help … the place that takes in the orphans and cares for those” like a hospital caring for its community.

“I’ve gotten to see my family do that and I’ve been so grateful,” Sadie said, later reminding the audience that Christians have all “been adopted into God’s family through the blood of Christ and we get to share in the same family [eternally].”

Korie praised the help of her church and family in her journey as an adoptive parent. “Find that. That is what the church is meant to be,” she said. “And if it’s not there, start it.”

Cooperative effort among state disaster relief teams assists ranchers affected by Panhandle wildfires

CANADIAN—A massive cooperative effort among Southern Baptist Disaster Relief state teams, including Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief, rushed 1,031 large round bales of hay in early March to areas devastated by recent Panhandle wildfires.

By March 21, plans to transport 1,200 more bales were also underway. As of Sunday, March 24, an additional 1,600 bales of hay have been made available pending the arrangement of transportation.

The hay relief effort—which has also included the North American Mission Board’s Send Relief, the Texas Salvation Army, and a major corporation—started when SBTC DR was contacted March 8 with a request for help. SBTC DR Director Scottie Stice was flummoxed. SBTC DR crews, along with other state SBDR teams, had hurried to the Panhandle even as the wildfires raged. Feeding, shower and laundry, and recovery crews were busy. But how would the team acquire and transport hay?

“We can’t handle this. We don’t have the equipment. We don’t have the time. We don’t have the people. We don’t have semi-trucks or trailers,” Stice remembered telling the Lord.

On March 10, Stice sat in Sunday school at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Ennis thinking of the desperate need for hay. He looked at the whiteboard where the substitute teacher had written, “Ask God.”

So Stice did.

“I read it twice. Then I prayed and asked God,” Stice said. “I sent off a text message to other state DR directors. Before Sunday school was over, we had received a promise of two semi-truck loads of hay from Kentucky Baptist DR.”

The effort gained momentum from there, with SBDR teams from Missouri, New Mexico, Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio, and Arkansas—in addition to Kentucky—promising to help.

“Farmers and ranchers across the various states are donating the hay, by and large,” Stice said.

Send Relief provided some hay loads and a grant to facilitate distribution efforts, he said. More trucks were still needed, so Stice contacted the Salvation Army Texas Division Emergency Disaster Services notifying them of the need.

“We’ve been waiting on your call,” Director Alvin Migues said.

Within a day, the Salvation Army sent two trucks, two drivers, and rented trailers to Arkansas to pick up hundreds of bales of hay and transport them to sites in Borger, Canadian, and Pampa designated as hay depots by Texas A&M AgriLife agents. The AgriLife agents then began coordinating with ranchers to distribute the hay where it was needed.

A large corporation requesting anonymity also sent three semis with trailers to Arkansas. The effort is ongoing.

“It’s been a huge cooperative effort meeting a real need in West Texas,” Stice said. “This illustrates how Baptist DR teams and like-minded organizations can partner to get the Lord’s work done.”

Texas is home to some 11 million head of cattle, more than 85% located in the Panhandle, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture. Tens of thousands of head were affected by the fires which burned more than a million acres.

“Pray God will provide a means for us to get the hay where it is vitally needed,” Stice said.

A short—yet powerful—book to preach to your people

I enjoy hiking. It brings together some of my favorite things: family, nature, and exercise. I cherish the moments of discovery on the trail when my children are surprised by spectacular views. I love how the quiet of a nature hike declares God’s glory. I look forward to the physical challenge of a trek.

But not every hike is suited for my family. Some trails are too technical, some too long, while others are too simple or short. I’ve also found we need a variety of vistas. We need mountains and lakes, coastlines and canyons, waterfalls and woods. Simply put, the process of selecting a trail is both an art and a science.

Pastor, your preaching calendar is like selecting a trail, leading you to be sensitive to the needs of your congregation while providing a panoramic view of the entire counsel of God (Acts 20:27). With that in mind, I want to give you two reasons for leading your congregation down Philemon’s path:

It’s a short New Testament trail

Your church needs variety in biblical themes and genre. Just like my family enjoys hiking a variety of landscapes, your people need the whole counsel of God. Evaluate your past, present, and future preaching calendars to determine if you are providing this.

Have you been in a lengthy book for countless weeks? Have you tackled a series of long books? If so, the brevity of Philemon will be refreshing to your congregation. It’s a short trail with some spectacular views. Maybe you’ve been preaching a series of narrative, prophetic, law, or wisdom passages. If so, Philemon could be a great fit for your congregation. It’s a gospel-centered, relationship-driven epistle.

It’s a master path in forgiveness

If your church is anything like mine, you know relationships can get messy. Bitterness. Envy. Division. Hurt. You name it. The book of Philemon insists mercy and grace should ground our relationships.

Here’s the setting: Philemon is a wealthy, slave-owning Christian. He’s a leader in the church at Colossae who opens his home for a group of believers to gather. Onesimus is Philemon’s runaway slave who wronged his master (Philemon 18). By God’s providential hand, Onesimus crosses Paul’s path in prison. While there, Paul leads him to salvation. “I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment” (Philemon 10).

Onesimus is not Paul’s natural son. He’s a son by faith in Christ. Paul was the means God used to bring Onesimus into the family of God. In this short letter Philemon is the offended brother. By all legal rights, he could punish Onesimus. Yet Paul appeals to him to freely forgive Onesimus.

“Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus … So if you consider me your partner [Philemon], receive him [Onesimus] as you would receive me” (Philemon 8-9, 17).

Preach Philemon, because your people need this beautiful model of forgiveness. Forgiveness is costly. It would cost Philemon and it will cost your congregation. But it also holds untold power for healing and ministry. This is why Paul identified Onesimus as useful to Philemon (Philemon 11) only after his conversion. Together, Philemon and Onesimus could serve as brothers in the work of gospel ministry.

At my church, we tackled the book of Philemon in three weeks. I had just finished a lengthy series through the book of Colossians and honestly, I was weary. I took this small letter as a chance to rest and share the pulpit with three qualified and competent men from my congregation. It was an opportunity to teach my congregation to rely on God’s Word, to equip future pastors, and to rest. During those three weeks, I was a joyful member taking in the surprising views from this much-needed hike.

Your church needs this epistle because forgiveness and reconciliation are at the very heart of the gospel message. Plus, if for nothing else, Onesimus is fun to say!

How we fence the Lord’s table at our church

Have you ever noticed that when you watch a movie or television show and a nightclub is part of the scene, there seems to be two different types of security strategies?

One strategy employs a door man who stands at the front of the line and lets people in whose names are on the list. The second strategy utilizes a bouncer, who allows everyone in and only removes people when there’s trouble.

Sometimes a form of these strategies is used by churches when it comes to the Lord’s Supper. Some churches have a door man mentality, where requirements are in place and enforced, while others have a bouncer mentality, where no requirements are in place and issues are dealt with only when they arise.

At our church, we use the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 to inform our strategy for observing the Lord’s Supper. Article 7 states the following:

“The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.”

Our church understands this to mean that the Lord’s Supper is for members of the local church only. So who is a member of a local church? Again, our church turns to the BF&M 2000, Article 6, for guidance:

“A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord.”

As we read it, a member is a baptized believer by covenant in faith and fellowship with other believers and operating under the commands of Jesus for that local church. Since our church believes the Lord’s Supper must have requirements that need to be met for someone to partake, we reject the bouncer strategy, which represents open communion.

That leaves our church with the door man strategy. This strategy has two options: closed communion, where only members of that local church can partake in the Lord’s Supper, or close communion, where a baptized believer in good standing with a local church can participate in the Lord’s Supper even if they are not members of that specific body. Our church believes both options are permissible in accordance with BF&M 2000 guidelines, and the local autonomous body can decide which option it practices.

So how do we fence, or protect, the Lord’s Supper at our church? I’ll give you four statements we use every month when we partake in the Lord’s Supper:

We state that the Lord’s Supper is for Christians who have followed in believer’s baptism after salvation, and if they do not meet those requirements, they cannot partake.
We state that if there is a guest who meets the above requirements and is a member in good standing of another local church, they are welcome to partake.
We state that if parents have children in the service who are not Christians or haven’t followed in believer’s baptism after salvation, they cannot partake. We encourage parents to use that opportunity to have a gospel conversation with their kids about why they could not partake of the Lord’s Supper.
We state that anyone watching online cannot partake, but that we look forward to the day they can participate when they are back in fellowship with the local body.

While these practices work in our context, each church must decide how to scripturally administer the Lord’s Supper in its own context. Even so, I believe these four statements will enable you to gracefully administer the Lord’s Supper in your local church and effectively lead your people to remember the death of Jesus as He instructed us in His Word.

SBC Executive Committee president/CEO candidate Iorg recalls Texas roots

ABILENE—The message of a Four Spiritual Laws tract shared at the West Texas Fair & Rodeo transformed a 12-year-old boy whose life was filled with chaos.

The son of a violent alcoholic father, the boy’s mother had fled for her life across four states to hide out in Abilene. Her second husband also struggled with addiction and two more children were born into the family.

Neither parent had any interest in the gospel or church, though both had come from Christian families. The boy had gone by an assumed name, but that caught up with him when his Little League team advanced to state competition. Confrontation over his name not matching his birth certificate required to prove his age added to his identity crisis as he realized other people did not live like his family.

His mother decided her son needed religious instruction, dropping him off for Sunday school at Elmcrest Baptist Church in Abilene. On the day he went to the fair, the church name was on an exhibit booth and he wondered why they were taking a survey. Burtis Williams recognized him and asked if he’d like to answer a few questions.

That’s all it took for the boy to participate. Williams’ final questions were easy to answer: “Do you know for certain you have eternal life?” and “Do you know you’ll go to heaven when you die?”

“When he shared the gospel with me and told me God had a plan for my life that would give me purpose and meaning, and not only that, but I’d get to go to heaven, I prayed to receive Christ the month before I turned 13.

“And that changed everything,” said Jeff Iorg, who, if approved on March 21 by the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, will become its president and CEO.

Iorg’s decision to follow Jesus began a journey from convert to disciple to intern to associate pastor at Elmcrest Baptist Church, where longtime pastor, T.C. Melton—an ardent supporter and longtime consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention—shepherded the young man for over a decade and remained “a mentor, supporter, and friend all the rest of my life,” Iorg added in an interview with podcaster Chad Harms.

Iorg went on to serve as a children’s pastor, church planter, state convention executive director, and president of Gateway Seminary. No stranger to the SBTC, he frequently has addressed its annual meetings and training conferences in evangelism and church health, as well as a convention staff retreat.

Looking back over his life, Iorg told Harms that Elmcrest Baptist Church taught him what it means to be a man, a leader, and how to get ready for marriage. Doctrine, church polity, soul-winning, and money management were a part of “10 fantastic years.”

“I’ve said many times—Jesus saved my soul,” Iorg said, “but Elmcrest Baptist Church saved my life.”

EMPOWER 2024: Apoderados emphasizes reaching the nations at annual gathering

EULESS—They sang it and they prayed it: “Put in me the same mind that was in Christ … make me a servant for your glory.”

That was the heart cry of the more than 400 people who attended Apoderados Feb. 23-24 at Cross City Church. Apoderados, a conference held each year in conjunction with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Empower Conference, seeks to encourage, equip, and inspire Hispanic believers to evangelize their communities.

This year’s conference emphasized world missions and how followers of Jesus can fulfill the Great Commission locally, nationally, and globally.

Apoderados kicked off with a dinner for pastors and their wives Feb. 23. Charles Grant, the Southern Baptist Convention’s associate vice president for convention advancement and relations, thanked those in attendance for their support through Cooperative Program giving and encouraged Hispanic churches to continue to advance the gospel mission.

“It is not all up to us,” Grant said, “because we have the help and power of the Holy Spirit.”

Chuy Avila, interim pastor of Cross City en Español and an SBTC church planting associate and catalyst, also spoke at the dinner and encouraged the attendees. Referencing 1 Corinthians 12:6, Avila reminded the pastors and their wives that Christians celebrate and suffer together as members of the body of Christ. Avila also led a time of prayer for pastoral families that have been going through delicate health problems.

Additionally, Julio Arriola, director of Send Network SBTC—a church planting partnership between the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the SBTC—shared statistics of how God is moving in Texas through that effort.

“About two years ago, this alliance between the SBTC and Send Network began, and in that time, about 90 churches have been planted, with the majority of the planters being Hispanic,” Arriola said. He emphasized that all of this has been possible because of the willingness of churches to invest in the kingdom, both through CP giving and as sending churches.

Eloy Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Baptist Network and pastor of Idlewild Hispanic Church in Tampa, Fla., brought an encouraging and challenging message based on Hebrews 12:1-3. He reminded pastors and their wives that life is like a marathon that requires attention to personal health, vigorous training, and a focus on the finish line. He also warned the audience of the importance of staying in their own lane as they run to the finish line, encouraging them to look ahead and not to the sides so they don’t lose focus.

Annel Robayna, Hispanic church mobilization strategist for the International Mission Board, spoke during the Apoderados’ general session on Feb. 24. Referencing the invitation of Psalm 117, he said, “All nations need to know that God has increased His mercy so that all nations will praise Him.” He concluded by inviting attendees to continue giving to cooperative efforts such as the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, as it funds 3,600 missionaries around the world—including 65 who are Hispanic.

“Hispanics can do more,” he said. “God is calling us.”

Martin Gonzalez, a missionary who has served in Mexico and Nepal and who serves as an SBTC People Groups strategist in the Houston area, echoed those sentiments during a breakout session later in the day, saying, “It is more comfortable for us to reach people who speak the same language, but God has called us to reach the nations, and they are reaching us.”

A lunch panel on the final day of the conference focused on opportunities churches have to practice the Great Commission. Regardless of whether churches work toward that mission on a short or longterm basis, Bruno Molina—SBTC’s language and interfaith evangelism associate—said it is a responsibility of all believers.

“We are all missionaries and we must live as sent ones,” he said. “The SBTC can provide many opportunities to do so: helping, praying, and giving.”

SBTC DR’s rapid response to largest wildfire in Texas history continues

PAMPA—James Greer, director of missions for the Top O’ Texas Baptist Association, knew the situation was getting dire as wildfires erupted across the Texas Panhandle at the end of February.

Greer quickly contacted Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief Director Scottie Stice to inform him that the convention’s quick response unit (QRU) housed in Pampa had been activated. Volunteers staffing the mobile food truck had already begun preparing hundreds of meals for first responders by Feb. 27.

After analyzing the paths of multiple wildfires and their proximity to nearby shelters, Stice and Greer coordinated the Pampa QRU’s move the following day to nearby Canadian, in Hemphill County, so it would be closer to where it would be needed most.

This is sometimes how disasters go. SBTC DR’s decision to locate equipment and units at key spots throughout Texas once again proved practical, facilitating rapid response.

Additionally, a shower and laundry unit has set up operations at First Baptist Church in Canadian.

“We’re not centralized at one yard or one warehouse with our units and equipment,” Stice said. “The system works for us. We can get to places fast.”

Five wildfires thus far have burned 1.3 million acres and are only partially contained as of March 4, according to published reports. The Smokehouse Creek Fire in Hutchinson County is by far the largest, to date burning 1.1 million acres with only 15% contained as of March 3. The wildfires are the largest in Texas history.

In addition to the Pampa QRU, where volunteers have now prepared more than 1,000 meals, SBTC DR assessors, chaplains, incident management team members, and clean-up and recovery volunteers have arrived in the area and begun work.

“Our first assessors were onsite over the weekend,” Stice said, adding that recovery teams from First Baptist Church in Melissa and First Baptist Church in Pampa were already clearing debris and preparing to help homeowners sift through ashes.

“Teams have also started cutting up the frames of mobile homes destroyed by the fires,” Stice said.

SBTC DR volunteers in the area will be relieved by Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams from New Mexico and Arkansas, Stice added. Send Relief is also transporting donated hay from Kentucky to the area to help care for 65,000-plus cattle impacted by the disaster.

EMPOWER 2024: Breakouts include emphasis on reaching, refocusing, and raising up leaders from Gen Z

IRVING—Several breakout sessions at the 2024 Empower Conference focused on how to reach Generation Z—the generation of people born between 1995 and 2010—and molding them into the future of the church. Here’s a sampling of the content from those sessions, held Monday and Tuesday at the Irving Convention Center:

‘Relationships matter deeply’

Sean McDowell, a renowned apologetics professor and author, acknowledges there’s a certain level of cynicism from older generations when it comes to Gen Z. Churches that look beyond the negative narrative, however, will be better equipped to reach them with the gospel, he said.

“How we view this generation shapes how we relate to them,” McDowell said. “I will tell you one thing about this generation—they value authenticity, and they can kinda tell if you really care and if you’re invested and whether they’re important to you or not. … We have to remind ourselves it is a privilege and honor to reach out to this generation.”

McDowell said Gen Zers have faced unique challenges. Theirs is the first digitally native generation, he said, one in which its members learned to swipe smartphone and tablet screens before they learned to talk. Ninety seven percent use social media, and nearly as many (79%) experience emotional distress when they are unable to use their smartphones.

Despite having more access through technology to personal connections than any previous generation, Gen Z is on the verge of the greatest mental health crisis in decades as it labors to stay afloat in a sea of loneliness and overwhelm. While 71% of its members identify as religious or spiritual, as few as 4% have what some would consider a biblical worldview. Only half believe gender is defined by one’s sex at birth.

Two approaches can help churches be more effective at reaching Gen Z, McDowell said: helping them develop a biblical worldview by addressing culturally relevant issues from a godly perspective, and working hard to build trust relationships that will open the lines of understanding and communication. Both require long-term, relational investments.

“ … Relationships matter deeply. We need to lean in with Gen Z, build relationships, get to know them, go on their turf, spend time with them,” McDowell said, “so we have [the opportunity] to speak to their hearts.”

Asking the right question

As churches have considered how to reach Gen Z, Grant Skeldon wonders if there’s been too much focus about why they’re leaving the faith and not enough attention on a more important question: Why do those who remain in the faith stay?

Skeldon is next gen director for Thinq Media, an organization that aims to help Christian leaders faithfully navigate culture while provoking the curiosity of non-believers. As Skeldon has interacted with high-capacity leaders ranging from pro athletes and actors to musicians, he said he began to notice common themes that led God to use them to have wider influence.

High-capacity Christian leaders generally have had a disciple-maker who invited them into the most intimate, personal spaces of their lives. That approach works well with Gen Zers, who tend to place a high value on authentic relationships, and it stands in contrast to approaches that merely invite them to church to hear information about Jesus.

“Mentorship is come meet with me. Discipleship is come and follow me. Church [is often] come and listen to me,” Skeldon said. “We are telling that [last one] to a generation that is already saturated with content. But they are starved for connection, and that’s where we can separate ourselves.”

The leaders he has studied have also:

Had a milestone moment in their lives when someone recognized a particular gift or talent and verbalized that recognition;
Had “robust exposure” to a community or group of people who raised their standards or view of excellence;
Been entrusted with what he called “ridiculous, huge” responsibility at a young age;
Had someone who not only encouraged them, but offered resources to help them achieve their dream or big goal;
Received tough love in the form of helpful feedback that tangibly changed them; and
Benefitted from the network of someone more experienced and resourced.

“I want to train up Christians who go and change the environments they are in,” Skeldon said, “places where they work, play, live that become different because of their relationship with Jesus.”

Winning the battle for young minds

Eighty percent of Gen Z Christians hold a sexual worldview that is not consistent with biblical values, according to Amy Davison, a popular author, podcaster, and founder of Mama Bear Apologetics. Fifty seven percent of professing Christians believe premarital sex is acceptable, and more than half believe homosexuality should be “accepted, defended, and promoted in the church,” she said.

Such numbers shouldn’t be a surprise considering the constant barrage of attacks on biblical worldview coming from an increasing number of sources—including the media, Hollywood, musicians, and even toy manufacturers. With those attacks has come a coordinated effort to normalize “sex positivity”—a worldview that espouses as proper any sexual activity that is desirable and consensual.

The strategy to implement that unbiblical worldview is two-fold: use intimidation and fear to silence Christian adults who disagree, even to the level of trying to criminalize biblical teaching as hate speech, while simultaneously grooming younger generations to accept them or risk one of the worst fates they can imagine: unpopularity and rejection—especially on social media.

Just as the culture tries to capture the hearts and minds of the young, so, too, should the church, Davison said. Parents and guardians still have the greatest chance to lay the biblical foundations necessary to refute false teaching: 54% of young people ages 12-15 say their parents have had the strongest influence over their sexual decisions, while 32% of those 16-19 say the same thing.

Davison offered a method for parents to teach truth using an acronym she calls R.O.A.R.:

Recognize the messaging being offered by cultural sources and evaluate their claims;
Offer discernment, guiding younger generations through conversations about what is true and what is false about the claim;
Argue for a healthier approach, encouraging young people to juxtapose claims against the unchanging truth of God’s Word; and
Reinforce truth through continued discussion, discipleship, and prayer.

“What we, as the church, need to be doing is empowering parents to be bold in the faith,” she said. “ … We need to be fighting for truth, because our kids are wanting to hear from us.”

EMPOWER 2024: Pastor’s powerful testimony headlines CP luncheon

IRVING—John Meador, lead pastor of Cross City Church in Euless, offered a simple-yet-powerful reminder to the capacity crowd at the Cooperative Program luncheon on the final day of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention 2024 Empower Conference: “God is faithful.”

Meador delivered the luncheon’s keynote address, sharing personal stories of God’s faithfulness from his 17.5 years at Cross City—although he admitted having experienced God’s provision at every church he has served.

“In 45 years of marriage and 40 years of pastoral ministry, it never ceases to amaze me to see how God moves,” Meador said, “ … to move people’s hearts to give in such a way that churches are funded, pastors are paid, mission dollars are sent, and missionaries share the gospel all over the world.”

He shared how at previous churches where he served, he had seen God enable congregations to pay off massive debt incurred before his arrival. Cross City’s story provided a more recent illustration of God’s faithfulness as the church embarked on a 2016 reset.

In 2004, Cross City—then known as First Euless—had $6.7 million in debt with no repayment plan and no lead pastor. Bill Anderson, a former pastor, returned as interim and challenged the congregation to give more, restore missions giving, and retire the debt. When Meador arrived as pastor in 2006, he said he realized the wisest thing he could do was allow the momentum to continue that had already been established through a renewed effort to give.

Within 28 months, the church was debt free. “We burned the note,” Meador recalled.

By 2016, Cross City was giving more than 20% to missions, with at least 10% going to the Cooperative Program. Yet building renovations were needed and the reset vision involving significant ministry expansion—including a northwest Tarrant County campus—would cost $30 million, four times the church’s budget.

Meador said he recommended temporarily reducing CP giving from 10% to 7%. Then a church member called him.

“Faith is not doing less. It’s doing more and expecting God to accomplish what He wants,” the godly man told the pastor.

After three sleepless, prayer-filled nights, Meador returned to the committees he asked to slash the missions budget and admitted he was wrong, promising never again to ask for a reduction.

“It was a decision that needed to be made,” he said. “The question to ask [is]: How do we trust God in all of our decisions so that the decision is financial but faith-oriented?”

After extensive planning, Meador and Cross City launched its Generations campaign, sharing the master plan in 2019. By March 1, 2020, people prepared their commitments to the campaign. Then COVID hit and, beginning in mid-March, the church paused in-person worship for 11 weeks.

“It was not a comfortable way to begin a fundraising campaign,” Meador said.

But God provided miraculously, despite the pandemic. “It was a humbling and awesome time,” Meador said. With God’s provision and through the generosity of His people, the church received $7.5 million in unexpected designated giving, as well as other funds raised through the sale of some church property. This opened the door for the church to move forward with its efforts to launch a satellite campus and fund other ministry efforts related to the reset.

“We saw God fully provide everything we needed and do more while we gave more to missions,” Meador said. “God is truly able to make all grace abound to us.”

It’s not lost on Meador that Cross City might have missed such a blessing because of his own willingness to consider giving less to missions.

“One phone call made me walk by faith,” he said. “ … Trust God with your decisions. Trust God with the money He has provided. He is able to do above and beyond all that we could ask or think.”

In closing the luncheon, SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick encouraged churches by reminding them CP giving contributes to advancing the gospel across Texas, the nation, and the world.

“The Cooperative Program is the only thing under God’s kingdom where you can be where you are and all around the world at the same time,” Lorick said. “It is not a program. It is a people.

“In a day in which culture would say step out, I am asking you to lean in.”