Vision 2026 White Paper

Vision 2026

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In December 2026, our church will turn 180 years old! Over the years, God has always shown Himself faithful. While we are grateful for our heritage, God has called us to faithfulness today and in the future. As we have discerned where we believe God is leading us, our hearts have been gripped with the call to grow deeper roots that results in greater reach. The beautiful oak trees that grace the northern part of our property symbolize the importance of deep roots. More importantly, the imagery draws from and is rooted in God’s Word in Jeremiah 17:7-8: “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” What would it look like in December 2026 for it to be said of our church that “…blessed in the church who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”?

Take a moment, therefore, and prayerfully dream how our church may look in December 2026. Imagine seeing: -

Many more people in Brenham and Washington County coming to know Jesus as their Savior for the first time

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Marriages and families in our community renewed and flourishing, even in the midst of all the challenges they face

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Our people serving throughout our community and our church being known and experienced as a “servant church” in Brenham and Washington County

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Hundreds of children arriving each school day in our new building and receiving a loving, Christ-centered education foundation

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More people getting on planes to travel to different parts of the world in order to make Christ known in challenging places

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People growing in their faith, finding community, learning to serve, and experiencing emotional and spiritual renewal as they connect into the life of our church As we prayerfully discern and dream, we must always remember that God is in the

business of surprising us, and there are things He will do that we cannot plan for or anticipate.

This being said, as we seek Him, we believe God will place some special burdens on our hearts in certain areas. We believe these areas need attention and will, if God enables, make us a 2

healthier, more God-glorifying church. Therefore, here is what we are praying for God to do in the next three years: Deeper Roots The call to “Deeper Roots” is a call to grow deeper in a relationship with Jesus by abiding in Him (John 15:1-17). We do not need gimmicks, quick-fix solutions, or some “new and improved” Christian faith; we need Jesus. This call to greater abiding in Christ will be reflected in consistently and joyfully spending extravagant one-on-one time with God in the Bible and in prayer. It means God working in and through us as we spend time in small group community studying the Bible, praying together, and worshiping Him corporately in our Sunday services. It will reflect in greater love for people who need Jesus as we pray for them, love people them, and tell them the Good News of Christ Jesus. Therefore, we will grow deeper by remembering that before we seek what God wants to do through us, we first grow in what He is doing in us. It will then be out of the overflow of God working in us that He works through us.

Greater Reach Out of the overflow of the deepening roots of God working in us and our abiding in Jesus, our prayer and strategic areas of focus will be on seeing God use us to provide greater reach by addressing the needs of lostness and families in Washington County: 

Lostness: The language of “lostness” comes from the parables (stories) of “the Lost Sheep,” “the Lost Coin,” and “the Lost Son” that Jesus tells in Luke 15. These are stories of God’s pursuit of people who need Jesus. In each of the stories, there is rejoicing over a sinner repenting: “I tell you that in the same way there is will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7). No one cares more about people who need Jesus than God, and He is calling us to go to the same people He loves and cares for to love them and share the Good News (the Gospel) of Jesus Christ. Therefore, because lostness is the primary problem in Washington County, we will prayerfully pursue the following: 1. Enhance and Strengthen a Culture of Evangelism: We believe this cultural shift will be done by, at a minimum, focusing on prayer, training, and love. The call to tell people the Good News of Jesus is first and foremost a call to pray. The call to 3

pray is also a good reminder that we “cannot convert anyone”; we are called simply to be faithful in telling others the Gospel. Someone coming to faith in Christ Jesus is ultimately a work of God (Luke 18:27). Second, we will train people in ongoing ways in how to share the Gospel and answer questions people may have, provide opportunities to invite people to church, and equip people to see every area of life as a place to live “on mission.” Finally, we will remember that telling others about Jesus is rooted in loving people and building relationship with them. As we have opportunity, we will speak the Good News of Jesus to those who do know Jesus. If they reject the Good News, we will not reject them; we will continue to love them, pray for them, and be their friend. 

Objective: We will double the number of our baptisms each year.1

2. Staff for Outreach: We will give a special focus and emphasis on staffing with a focus on local and global outreach (i.e. towards growing and strengthening our local ministry partnerships, evangelism training, serving with our national and international partnerships, and mission trips, etc.). The staff position may be solely focused on these areas or combined with another area of ministry focus. 

Objective: By the start of 2025, we will have added a new pastoral or ministry director position or reorganized the staff in such a way for the position with these areas of focus.

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Families: Whether the challenges are financial, conflict, busyness, mental health or so many other things, marriages and families are struggling in Washington County. Our prayer is that God will use us to help the families of Washington County and to equip families so that marriages and families may experience renewal and flourishing in Christ Jesus. Therefore, we prayerfully will pursue the following objective:

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Each objective will be structured using a metric called O.K.R. (Objectives and Key Results). The “Key Results” will be referred to as “Key Performance Indicators (K.P.I.s).” Pastor Ross will provide a yearly review to the church of each of the objectives, which may include some combination of the status of each objective, achievements or lack of achievements, new learning, changes needed, etc. Pastor Ross and the Ministerial Staff (Pastors and Ministry Directors) will develop quarterly K.P.I.s (1-3 K.P.I.s under each objective). Each quarter, they will reflect on how each K.P.I. went and develop new K.P.I.s together as a staff.

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1. We will build, via God’s provision, a beautiful and functional new school building for First Baptist Church School. Families across Washington County come to our Early Education Center (E.E.C.) to meet their childcare needs in a Christcentered, caring environment. Families also send their children to our school (K6th grade) so that their children will be provided a Christ-centered, Biblegrounded, and academically excellent education, which will provide them a solid foundation before they enter junior high. The funding needed to build this 56,000+ square foot new facility will represent the largest financial challenge in the history of our church. This challenge is first and foremost a call to pray, depend upon the Lord, and seek Him to work through people to provide the resources needed when they are needed. In so doing, our prayer is for God to be glorified. 

Objective: By December 2026, we will have started construction on the Phase 2 facility.

2. We will develop strategies to provide equipping and growth opportunities (Bible studies, special studies, retreats, etc.) *every year* for marriage, parenting, mental health, grand parenting, and being a godly man. 

Objectives: Starting in 2024, we will provide, at least once a year, an equipping and growth opportunity focused on marriage, parenting, mental health, grand parenting, and being a godly man.

To summarize: Out of the overflow of growing deeper in a relationship with Jesus, we pray we will see more lost people coming to know Jesus as their Savior and more Washington County families renewed and flourishing. As you read this, what do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel? Once again, what would it look like in December 2026 for it to be said of our church that “…blessed in the church who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”? Our prayer is that you take this “Deep and Wide 2026 Vision” to God in prayer, and we will see God do so much more than we could ever ask or imagine!

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