VOLUME 14 ISSUE NO. 1
STRENGTHENING Churches
Strong churches make disciples who make disciples. Learn how Harlem Community Church in New York City is living out the Great Commission and the Great Commandment in its community. Pg. 14
Equipping churches for Great Commandment, Great Commission faithfulness
PUBLICATION TEAM
KALIE LOWRIE Director of Communications
HEATHER PENNA Content Manager
JESSICA KING News Writer
NEIL WILLIAMS Sr. Multimedia Specialist & Coordinator
LAUREN CHILDS Graphic Designer
MARITZA SOLANO Production Designer
You are receiving a free copy of Texas Baptists Life because of your generous support of the Cooperative Program. To subscribe or update your subscription preferences, visit txb.org/subscription.
Volume 14 — Issue No. 1
Strong churches make disciples who make disciples. In this edition of Texas Baptists Life, we are exploring what it means to live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission by strengthening churches through discipleship, missions and evangelism. Will you join in the call out to live out GC2?
FORT WORTH CHURCH UNITES AROUND MISSIONAL FOCUS: “SEE RIPE FIELDS. SCATTER GOSPEL SEEDS. CELEBRATE GOD’S HARVEST.”
MILLENNIAL/GEN Z NETWORK IS REVOLUTIONARY, PROVIDES RESOURCES, COMMUNITY, REFRESHMENT FOR YOUNG MINISTRY LEADERS
GRANDVIEW CHILDREN AND FAMILY MINISTER EQUIPPED TO EQUIP PARENTS FOR DISCIPLESHIP AT DISCIPLESHIP & NEXTGEN EVENTS
TEXAS BAPTISTS NEW YORK CITY CHURCH PLANT’S DEEPEST DESIRE IS: “TRAIN UP PEOPLE TO MAKE DISCIPLES”
24 CHILDREN'S WORSHIP UNIVERSITY TRAINS LEADERS TO “RAISE UP DISCIPLES IN THE AREA OF WORSHIP” 26 TEXAS BAPTISTS EVANGELISM EVENT SEES 630 PRAYED FOR, 21 ACCEPT JESUS IN ABILENE
CHRISTIAN LIFE COMMISSION LAUNCHES PILOT PROGRAM IN EL PASO; PASTORS HEAR FROM ISAAC MINISTRY, RIVER MINISTRY AND HUNGER OFFERING 32 UNA IGLESIA EN FORT WORTH SE UNE ALREDEDOR DE UN ENFORQUE MISIONAL: “VER COSECHA ABUNDANTE. ESPARCIR SEMILLAS DEL EVANGELIO. CELEBRAR LA COSECHA DE DIOS.”
More money for ministry
Texas Baptists providing insurance solutions for churches and ministries.
“”
When we made the switch, we moved from partial coverage to full coverage, and our premium still went down 35%. The difference in coverage value was millions! Because the premium is lower, we have more room in our budget to pour into missions, discipleship, ministries and personnel that matter most to us.
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear Texas Baptists family,
What a joy it is to join God in the work He is doing! I continue to be amazed at how Texas Baptists churches are joining together to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. God is on the move!
As we consider and pray about how we join God in His mission, I am reminded of the importance of strengthening churches. If we are going to reach our state with the gospel, we need strong churches, and these churches need strong pastors. The evidence of strong churches and strong pastors is the strengthening of missions. Strengthening churches, pastors and missions is our focus at Texas Baptists.
In this edition of Texas Baptists Life , we are spotlighting stories of how God is strengthening churches in our state and beyond. Over the past three years, Pave, the Texas Baptists church revitalization strategy, has strengthened and equipped 235 churches and over 600 pastors. This has led to over
2,300 baptisms! Praise God for how He is using Pave to advance His mission!
I am also excited about the work the Millennial/Gen Z Network is doing to equip and train emerging leaders as they step into ministry roles. The training and connection they provide is vital in helping ministers stay healthy and lead healthy churches. Ministry can be lonely, but networks like this provide ministers with a community that understands what they are going through.
Additionally, the Texas Baptists discipleship team is strengthening churches around the state by providing the resources and training churches need to disciple their members. Strong churches make disciples who make disciples. One of the key ways this ministry equips churches is through Conclave NextGen. Last year, over 900 individuals from 235 churches attended and were strengthened at Conclave!
Lastly, Texas Baptists Church Starting
continues to be one of the best ways to reach the world with the gospel. Last year alone, Texas Baptists church starts saw 2,313 professions of faith, 768 baptisms, 47 new churches and over 24,572 people engaged! New churches are making disciples!
While ministry grows, Cooperative Program giving has not kept up. Thank you for your faithfulness in giving. I ask that you prayerfully consider increasing your church’s Cooperative Program giving by at least 1% of your budget so we can continue to do together what God has called us to do.
I am so thankful for Texas Baptists commitment to living out the gospel. Will you join us as we seek to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission?
¡Qué gozo es unirnos a Dios en su obra! Continúo maravillado al ver a las iglesias Bautistas de Texas colaborar para cumplir el Gran Mandamiento y la Gran Comisión. ¡Dios se está moviendo!
Al considerar y orar acerca de cómo unirnos a Dios en su misión, recuerdo la importancia de fortalecer las iglesias. Si vamos a alcanzar a nuestro estado con el evangelio, necesitamos iglesias fuertes, y esas iglesias necesitan pastores fuertes. La evidencia de pastores e iglesias fuertes es el fortalecimiento de las misiones. Fortalecer iglesias, pastores y misiones es nuestro enfoque como Bautistas de Texas.
En esta edición de Texas Baptists Life destacamos historias de cómo Dios fortalece iglesias en nuestro estado y más allá. Durante los últimos tres años, Pave, la estrategia de revitalización de iglesias de los Bautistas de Texas, ha fortalecido y equipado a 235 iglesias y a más de 600 pastores. ¡Esto ha resultado en más de 2,300 bautismos! ¡Gloria a Dios por
cómo usa a Pave para avanzar su misión!
También me emociona la labor que la Red Milenial/Generación Z está realizando para equipar y entrenar a líderes emergentes para que asuman roles en el ministerio. El ministerio puede ser solitario, pero redes como esta proveen una comunidad que entiende por lo que están pasando.
Además, el equipo de discipulado de los Bautistas de Texas fortalece iglesias en todo el estado al proveer los recursos y el entrenamiento necesarios para discipular a sus miembros. Las iglesias fuertes hacen discípulos que hacen discípulos. Una de las maneras clave en que este ministerio equipa a las iglesias es por medio de Conclave NextGen. El año pasado, más de 900 personas de 235 iglesias asistieron y fueron fortalecidas en Conclave.
Por último, la plantación de iglesias Bautistas de Texas continúa siendo una de las mejores maneras de alcanzar al mundo con el evangelio. El año pasado, las nuevas
iglesias Bautistas de Texas reportaron 2,313 profesiones de fe, 768 bautismos, 47 iglesias plantadas y la participación de más de 24,752 personas. ¡Las nuevas iglesias están haciendo discípulos!
Conforme el ministerio crece, las ofrendas al Programa Cooperativo no han sido suficientes. Gracias por su fidelidad al ofrendar. Le pido que considere en oración aumentar la ofrenda de su iglesia al Programa Cooperativo en, por lo menos, un 1 % de su presupuesto para continuar haciendo juntos lo que Dios nos ha llamado a hacer.
Estoy muy agradecido por el compromiso de los Bautistas de Texas de poner en práctica el evangelio. ¿Se unirá a nosotros mientras buscamos cumplir el Gran Mandamiento y la Gran Comisión?
JULIO GUARNERI, PH.D. Executive Director
Churches
Fort Worth church unites around missional focus: “See ripe fields.
Scatter gospel seeds.
Celebrate
God’s harvest.”
erimiah Smith, pastor of University Baptist Church in Fort Worth, got connected with Pave, the Texas Baptists revitalization strategy, after a referral from Christian Life Commission Director Katie Frugé.
“Katie Frugé is a member of our church, and... somewhere in a conversation we had – she obviously knew a little bit about our church history – she recommended that I get in touch with Jonathan Smith,” explained Jerimiah. “So I reached out to Jonathan, and we decided to set up a lunch.”
Over lunch in January 2025, Jonathan Smith, associate director of the Center for Church Health at Texas Baptists, explained the Pave program,, and “right away, it resonated and clicked” with Jerimiah.
From their conversation, Jonathan determined that University Baptist Church was in “phase three of Pave” and invited Jerimiah to join a February 2025 meeting of phase three pastors, where he began his Pave journey.
After the meeting, he began gathering staff and church members “based on their experience, their age, how long they've been in the church and constructed what [he] felt like was a phenomenal team” to walk with through Pave.
“I told the church... ‘We're going to discern together, and we're going to seek the Lord together. We're going to pray together,’” explained Jerimiah. “That invitation to bring a team into the process in the conversation was natural for where we were already, and what we felt like God was leading us towards.”
Jerimiah and his team began focusing on defining a vision for the church, and after “a stretch of praying earnestly,” he felt a conviction from Matt. 9:35-38.
“[Our vision is] all rooted in [Matt. 9:35-38], where Jesus is like, ‘Go, the harvest is plentiful. See these fields,’ that the world would define as helpless and broken, but he sees them as ripe. [Jesus] needs more laborers, so we want to go, and we want to scatter the hope of the gospel, and then it's God that produces that harvest, [and] let's celebrate what he does when we are faithfully sent and obedient to that sort of call,” said Jerimiah.
Therefore, University Baptist Church’s vision became, “See ripe fields. Scatter gospel seeds. Celebrate God’s harvest.”
By Jessica King
Jerimiah said the “fresh gospel-centered outside perspective” he received from Pave was “incredibly helpful” in the church identifying and setting five-year, three-year, oneyear and 90-day goals. He said identifying those goals “got us unstuck.”
“[The Pave process] always felt prayerful. It felt authentic. It felt sincere,” said Jerimiah. “So as a result, when [we] were shaping those [goals]... It was a spirit-led moment, several moments that felt like God's hand with the divine revelation for our team, that I think has emboldened us in bringing it to the church.”
TRAINING AND SENDING LABORERS INTO THE HARVEST
Jerimiah said, the newest ministry that the church just launched, called “Field Training,” is centered around their missional focus, “See ripe fields. Scatter gospel seeds. Celebrate God’s harvest.”
“[In Field Training], we walk them through an intentional process of helping identify their field. Then we want to build them up. We want to equip them [for] the next step [which] is to be sent to scatter gospel seeds... then we want to gather around them, pray over them, bless them and commission them [on a Sunday morning], and send them out as laborers into the harvest,” explained Jerimiah.
Once a household’s Field Training is complete and they are commissioned, Jerimiah said he encourages “a certain level of accountability” by asking them to have “gospel moments each month and then share prayer [requests] with our church.”
“[We ask] ‘What were the challenges? What were the things we're celebrating?” and continue to let that fuel this culture of prayer and this call to pray earnestly as we're being sent out,” said Jerimiah.
He said the church has held one Field Training so far, where 23 households, totaling “around 54 people” sought the Lord and had conversations with leadership to discern their mission field. He said, “five or six households were like, ‘I know it already,’” and he is following up with the rest of the households personally “to say, ‘Let's talk more about what you've
sensed [you’re calling is] so far.’”
“Our goal is to have 26% of UBC households sent as laborers into its harvest. So that would end up being about 47 households by the end of the year that we would love to see in this process,” said Jerimiah.
The church is planning to hold their first commissioning service on March 22 with “our first few households” and follow up with their next Field Training at the end of March.
REORIENTING RHYTHMS AROUND PRAYING EARNESTLY
Jerimiah said cultivating a culture of “being a praying church” informs University Baptist Church’s Pave journey.
“I shared with the church when we were looking at Acts 3, where Peter and John are on the way to the temple, and they meet this beggar [who]asks for healing. One of the things that I said to the church was, ‘What I love about this is that it tells us in Scripture that they're on the way to the temple to pray,’ and I asked, ‘When was the last time you were just on your way to pray?’” explained Jerimiah. “So, we started to develop that [culture], and I think [Acts
3] helped position us to be ready for a [prayer] focus.”
He said this past summer, the church restructured their Sunday mornings to “reorient our rhythms” around prayer.
“We start at 8:45 a.m. in our chapel for prayer, then we move into our 9:30 worship service, and then we move into Bible study from there,” said Jerimiah. “So for us, we start in prayer, seeking
the Lord and asking for the Lord's Spirit to come, to lead and soften our hearts, and it's those prayers that then fuel our worship, and then it's our worship that informs our study.”
Jerimiah shared a story of a friend and church member who demonstrated seeing ripe fields, scattering gospel seeds and allowing prayer to be her destination when a friend of hers, who was Muslim, asked for prayer from University Baptist Church.
“[My friend’s] friend was concerned about her daughter, who just had some health concerns, and she was reaching out to my friend to say, ‘Do you think somebody could pray [for us]? Yes, we're Muslim, we know y'all are Christian, but we would just love anybody to pray for my daughter,’” explained Jerimiah.
Jerimiah said, “we would absolutely be willing” to go to her home and pray with her. Then one Sunday morning, he received a text from his friend, as he was entering the 8:45 a.m. prayer time, saying, “[My Muslim friend is] on her way to church right now.”
“I was so grateful because I was like, ‘There are people already here that are on their way to pray. I don't have to go pull somebody out from a classroom. [Prayer is] what we're here to do. We're ready.’” So [my friend] brings her [Muslim friend] to the prayer time and we pray over her,” said Jerimiah.
After the prayer time, she stayed for the main worship service and Jerimiah “invited the congregation to come down [front at the end of the service] and pray over this Muslim family that had come to our church seeking prayer.”
He said it was a moment “you couldn't orchestrate.”
“To me, [this] is a story that shows you a friend who has seen a field that God has called her to labor... who had faithfully scattered the gospel for years and built that relationship, brought her into our church and our culture of praying earnestly. That then allowed us to bless this family in a way that we never would have before, and we got to celebrate and give praise to God,” explained Jerimiah. “It was one of the coolest things I've seen since I've been [Pastor] here.”
A GREAT COMMANDMENT AND GREAT COMMISSION CHURCH IN ACTION
Looking ahead to what’s next in his Pave journey, Jerimiah said one of his team’s three-year goals is to implement “The Upside Down Church” Pave principle, where “our structure and our programs are condensed so that they support the mission” rather than “swallowing up the mission.”
He said their five-year goal matches their missional focus, and as each church household defines their “Acts 1:8,” he hopes that seeing ripe fields, scattering gospel seeds and celebrating God’s harvest” becomes “second nature.”
Jonathan said, “This is what a Great Commission and Great Commandment church looks like in action.”
“Jeremiah and the Vision Team from University Baptist Church have developed an exceptionally creative new direction that will empower not only individuals, but entire families to be mobilized for local and global ministry and mission,” said Jonathan.
One year into their Pave journey, Jerimiah said, “[Establishing our missional focus has] created a synergy and a focus that unites, that excites, that encourages, that clarifies.”
He encouraged pastors that Pave is “worth your time and personal investment.”
“[Pave] is a spirit-led experience,” said Jerimiah. “What you're going to find is not a program, but you're going to find people that have a heart for the gospel, that have a heart for the church, that have a heart for pastors, in particular.”
He challenged pastors to get involved in Pave and “watch God take over and do things that you couldn’t have imagined or planned if you had tried [revitalization] another way.”
Visit txb.org/pave to learn more about Pave and how it can be a resource to your congregation.
Millennial/Gen Z Network is revolutionary, provides resources, community, refreshment for young ministry leaders
By Jessica King
Sam Bunnell, senior pastor at First Baptist Church Henrietta, first connected with the Millennial/Gen Z Network, also known as The Pastor’s Common, in August 2024, by attending a Preaching Lab advertised on Texas Baptists’ social media.
“I did not know what The Pastor's Common was [at the time], but I saw a post on social media and I thought, ‘Oh, Texas Baptists is putting on a preaching lab, and it's in Dallas, that's not too far [from Henrietta]. I can get down there and go see it,” explained Bunnell.
While there, Bunnell learned a new technique for how to tell stories in sermons, and met The Pastor’s Common leaders David Miranda and David Foster, director of Millennial/Gen Z Network at Texas Baptists, and “just hit it off with those guys.”
The next month, Bunnell attended a retreat hosted by The Pastor’s Common at First Baptist Church Richardson, where he met Joseph Adams, pastor of First Baptist Church in Mt. Pleasant and now-Texas Baptists first vice president. He said they bonded over doing small-town ministry.
“I was like, ‘Wow, I have actually made a genuine friend here today!’” said Bunnell. “[The Pastor’s Common] just became life-giving to me.”
Bunnell said he “fell in love with [The Pastor’s Common] pretty fast.”
“I'm a pastor's kid, and I’ve been in ministry my whole life, and been around all different types of Baptist life and all this stuff, and never found the community and the help [I’ve found with The Pastor’s Common],” said Bunnell.
The Pastor’s Common is a Texas Baptists ministry
dedicated to providing opportunities for emerging ministry leaders to be heard, resourced and find community, launched in 2019 by then-Texas Baptists staff member David Miranda in collaboration with pastors David Foster, Jordan Villanueva and Abraham Quiñones.
Foster stepped into the director role for the Millennial/ Gen Z Network in March 2025. He said leading The Pastor’s Common has shown him that “the future of pastoral leadership in Texas Baptists is not brittle, but thoughtful, resilient and quietly hopeful.”
“These leaders are humble, collaborative and deeply rooted in the local church. They value cooperation, learning from one another and staying present in their communities rather than opting out when ministry gets hard,” said Foster.
Bunnell said The Pastor’s Common has become very meaningful in his ministry.
“Those guys have become friends. They're guys that I call or text when I'm having a bad day. They're guys that I’ve asked to pray for me, and they asked me to pray for them. It is a true family,” said Bunnell.
REFRESHED BY THE PASTOR’S COMMON RETREATS
The genesis of involvement with The Pastor’s Common for Izzy Mendez, co-pastor at Alamo Community Church, downtown San Antonio, was at a gathering at the 2021 Texas Baptists Annual Meeting in Galveston.
“I've been involved in Texas Baptists life for, I want to say, 15 years now... [and] I'm a product of Texas Baptists, but finding places for younger ministers outside of BSM is kind of hard
to do. So when I heard about this network for Millennial and Gen Z pastors, I was like, ‘How do I get involved? What can I do to help?’” explained Mendez.
Mendez said having “intentionally carved out time for hanging out and spending time together,” and hearing from “seasoned pastors or ministry leaders” at The Pastor’s Common retreats has been refreshing.
“That carved out time where we have two days or so, somewhere else, where we're getting poured into, and then we're also pouring into one another and getting to spend time together... I think those [times] have been really refreshing,” said Mendez.
Mendez said he was most impacted by a retreat hosted by The Pastor’s Common that emphasized prayer, where he was challenged to “anchor your ministry in prayer.”
“That reminder from seasoned pastors and ministry leaders caused me to think about, ‘How do I think about this in my own day-to-day life and ministry? What does it look like for me just to abide in God's presence? What are some practical tools that I can use to do that?’” said Mendez.
He said anchoring his ministry in prayer has not only impacted him but also his congregation.
“I encourage my church to operate in this way as well; ‘What areas of my life have I just been focusing on prayer as a means to get something rather than just enjoying God's presence?’” said Mendez. “It's one of those things that you know intrinsically, but to hear them again and to be reminded with a group of peers was really beneficial at that time. It still is today. I use some of those practices now, still, even two years later.”
FINDING RENEWED STRENGTH AND MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY
Israel Villalobos, groups shepherd at Fielder Church Arlington, said he has also been impacted by The Pastor’s Common retreats. He said attending the Sabbath Retreat in October 2024 “refreshed me just by hearing [about Sabbath].”
“About a year-and-a-half ago, Jason Parades from Fielder Church was
speaking on Sabbath, and I remember that workshop refreshed me just by hearing him [and] how he helped us understand Sabbath,” said Villalobos. “It really enriched my soul. It just blessed me, my wife, my family, and whenever I'm needing a refreshment, I go back to those notes.”
Villalobos said The Pastor's Common has “proven to be a timely and dependable network for a new generation of pastors” by “providing muchneeded fellowship through authentic relationships... steady encouragement [and] practical resources, particularly valuable for young Texas Baptists pastors.”
“What's being done [through] The Pastor’s Common is revolutionary,” said Villalobos. “This network stands as a genuinely unifying space where pastors can find renewed strength and meaningful community.”
Mendez said The Pastor’s Common leadership has “done a great job of highlighting and celebrating the diversity among Texas Baptists, particularly in Millennials [and] Gen Z.”
“It matters a lot to walk into a room and say, ‘Is there anybody that looks like me? Sounds like me? Is thinking like me? Or on the other side of that, who thinks differently?” said Mendez. “[To ask], ‘How do we combine our resources and things to help one another out?’ I think that's been one of the things that I've celebrated a lot and benefited from seeing in our Texas Baptist life. I think it's worth celebrating.”
Foster said the most encouraging thing about working with the pastors and leaders in The Pastor’s Common is "their desire for faithfulness over flash.”
“[These leaders] aren’t chasing platforms or shortcuts. They’re asking hard, honest questions about preaching the gospel well, loving their people faithfully and leading with integrity in complicated moments in our culture,” said Foster.
To learn more about The Pastor’s Common, visit thepastorscommon.com.
Grandview Children and Family Minister equipped to equip parents for discipleship at Discipleship & NextGen events
By Jessica King
Originally from Alvarado, Lindsay Farmer, minister to children & families at First Baptist Church Grandview, and her family moved and began attending the church in 2020. Farmer said she can now see moving to Grandview, “obviously it was a God thing.”
“He was leading us [here],” said Farmer. “My sons, they weren't in school yet, but they were seeing their friends that they met here at First Baptist Grandview and then playing sports. So it just felt like this is where we were going to start doing life. Then [my sons] ended up coming to school here... Everything just started to transfer.”
Shortly after placing their membership at FBC Grandview, Farmer and her husband started serving in the children’s ministry by teaching Sunday school. Farmer said when the children’s minister position opened up, she was approached by
Lead Pastor Corey Cornutt to be considered.
“I didn't have any formal ministry education, but I grew up in the church and have served really since my youth days in the children's area... So when the position came up at our church, my pastor just approached me about it, and he said, ‘Hey, we think you would be a great candidate. You have education experience [of] working with kids, and we see your heart for service and leadership,’” explained Farmer.
After “lots of prayer,” Farmer decided to leave education and accepted the Minister to Children & Families position in the summer of 2023.
DISCIPLESHIP CERTIFICATION PROGRAM TEACHES IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY DISCIPLESHIP
On Farmer’s first official Sunday on staff at FBC Grandview,
Jennifer Howington, associate director and childhood ministry specialist for Discipleship & NextGen at Texas Baptists, paid her a visit and told her about the Discipleship Certification Program, a certification program that equips both new and experienced leaders with practical ministry skills. The program is designed for ministerial staff and lay leaders in a church’s Preschool/Children’s and Youth Discipleship ministry.
“I didn't have any kind of ministry background when I accepted this position. I was an [elementary school] teacher... So I was very willing to learn more and to hopefully get some knowledge about the position and have a group of support,” said Farmer. “So it was really a no-brainer for me. I was going to need all the help I could get.”
Farmer said it was valuable to have “a leader like Jennifer to help facilitate” discussions and “guide us through those growing pains” as she and her fellow cohort members were “learning the ins and outs of the job.” She said it was also comforting to be in a cohort with ministers she could “confide in [and know] we're really all in the same boat.”
Farmer said the Discipleship Certification courses “opened my eyes to... how meaningful this time [the kids’] lives are and how critical our role can be.”
“It's a short amount of time [and] the importance of what we do [is] not only for the kids, but for their parents, equipping parents [for] the discipleship of their children,” said Farmer.
She said since completing her Discipleship Certification, she has been able to “walk alongside [the kids’] families.”
“Encouraging the parents, that's definitely been weighing heavy on my heart... [because] that's another one of those things you just don't really realize because I grew up in church, so it was always going to be me and my husband bringing our kids to church and teaching them at home. But that's not how it is for everybody,” explained Farmer.
She said she has a “good group of solid volunteers” who model to families how to disciple their children and support them as they do so.
Farmer said working in children’s
ministry is “the most rewarding thing.” She encouraged those considering serving in children’s ministry to “just give it a shot.”
“The kids are so uplifting,” said Farmer. “They're very willing and loving... [so] just give it a shot. Worstcase scenario, you find out that's not for you, and you move on. Best case scenario, you are incredibly blessed by the work that you get to do.”
EQUIPPED TO FACILITATE DECISIONS FOR CHRIST AT DISCIPLESHIP COLLECTIVE
During her Discipleship Certification cohort, Farmer learned about Discipleship Collective, a ministry that provides training and resources to Sunday school, small group and other discipleship leaders “to equip [Christ’s] people for works of service” with the goal of unity in his church and maturity in his followers.
“A normal, everyday churchgoer has no idea that that kind of [resource] exists... [so] I was immediately like, ‘I want this for my church, for my people. I want to take them to one,’” said Farmer.
After finding that traveling to a Discipleship Collective would not fit into everyone’s schedules, she asked Howington, “Would we ever be able to do something near the area, somewhere closer to Grandview?”
“I emailed [the Discipleship Collective team] and said, ‘Hey, if there's ever an opportunity for one in the Johnson County area, I'd love to attend,’ and they said, ‘We just need a host church.’ So I said, ‘Done.’ That was a no-brainer for me,” explained Farmer.
Farmer received approval for a Discipleship Collective to be held at FBC Grandview. She said she has “a great support system [at FBC Grandview]” and was “glad for the opportunity to get to have our people here and be trained by somebody other than me or the other staff members.”
During her Discipleship Collective session, Farmer attended a children’s ministry breakout session led by David Butts, children's minister at First Baptist Church Arlington.
She said she “really loved hearing how [Butts] approaches [discussions with] children who have made decisions
for Christ,” including expressing reservations about a child’s sincerity if there is any and encouraging parents to let the kids be heard and talk with the leader facilitating the meeting before they chime in.
“There were several, very practical things that he shared that were good for me to hear because... [facilitating these meetings] is something that, being new to this position, I did not feel equipped to do,” said Farmer. “Oftentimes, I would call my pastor in to do it... but [the kids may] not be as comfortable with him, but they do have a relationship with me. So now I feel more equipped to have that conversation with them.”
Farmer encouraged NextGen ministers or volunteers considering Discipleship Certification or Discipleship Collective that “the resources are invaluable... and we need those reminders constantly [in ministry].”
GOD IS IN CONTROL
Farmer said she is grateful for the resources and leadership that Texas Baptists’ Discipleship & NextGen team provides.
“It was so helpful to have [the Discipleship Certification cohort] to get me through that first year of ministry,” said Farmer. “I think [Texas Baptists] has a really great team... They’re very passionate about what they do, and they're very good at what they do, ministering to ministers.”
Farmer said serving in the children & family minister seat, she has learned “just how in control God is of everything.”
“Looking back at how everything aligned the way it did to where we got to this [church] at the time [we did]... [I know] I can’t do this on my own,” said Farmer. “It's nice to have a support system, but to know that I can go to God the Father and cast all my burdens on him and he's there for me... I'm grateful that we have such a loving and almighty God that we get to serve.”
To learn more about Discipleship Collective, visit txb.org/discipleship
Texas Baptists New York City church plant’s deepest desire is: “Train up people to make disciples”
By Jessica King
TJ Stoudt, pastor of Harlem Community Church (HCC) in Harlem, New York, first felt God’s call on his life to serve in “large, diverse cities” when he served on staff at Waterfront Church in Washington, D.C., a church plant out of Southcrest Baptist Church in Lubbock.
“After years of prayer and preparation, my wife and I moved to Harlem just over a year ago. Within three months, God opened doors for us to launch weekly services in a historic gym in Central Harlem,” said Stoudt.
Stoudt said because of the mentorship and Texas Baptists background of Zack Randles, lead pastor of Waterfront Church in Washington, D.C., he built relationships with “several Texas [Baptists] churches” who became “invested in our planting journey here in Harlem.”
When Stoudt and his wife arrived in Harlem in the summer of 2024, he knew “we had to get to work,” as their launch date was set for just three months later in September 2024.
“I was meeting with one of my coaches, and he was like, ‘Man, your timeline, it makes me a little nervous,’ and I just laughed with him, and I said, ‘It makes me a little nervous, too. But it's something where it feels like a train that's going, that the Lord has set in motion, and I couldn't stop it if I wanted to. So I just have to trust him,’” said Stoudt.
Stoudt said, “the Lord really was moving” amidst the quick launch.
“We pretty much hit the ground [running]. We started
reaching as many people as we could. Any person we met in the park, we tried to let them know about the church. We did some canvassing, and then we would host these interest parties [and] had really great turnouts... It felt like we were reaching a lot of people,” said Stoudt.
When Stoudt tried to host a launch team gathering with the folks who attended the interest parties, “we continually saw that almost all of our people were unchurched,” so they were unsure what a church plant or launch team was. Nevertheless, their interest in attending church persisted.
“The thing we kept hearing time and time again was, ‘When does your church start? We would be interested in attending a service, but a launch team, we're not really interested in that.’ So, it was a short runway, but... we had a good launch team [already established]. We had a good, solid base. Then the Lord even opened up an opportunity for us to have a meeting space. He opened up an opportunity for us to have really great worship, day one,” explained Stoudt.
COMMUNICATING THE GOSPEL EVERYWHERE
Stoudt said over the past year, HCC has prioritized discipleship, to “help [members] learn how to communicate the gospel [and] how to leverage gospel conversations everywhere they go.”
“Because most of our people are locals, they have family, they have friends, they've maybe even recently received Christ. So now they're like, ‘All my family is confused by why I'm going
to church or why I'm not going out and partying now.’ And I'm like, ‘These are opportunities for you to share the gospel,’” explained Stoudt. “So we're getting to see that 2 Timothy 2:2 passage lived out [with] a lot of personal evangelism.”
Stoudt said because sharing the gospel is “so new” for many members, he has recently preached a “Kingdom Rhythms” sermon series about spiritual disciplines, and sends the church out each Sunday with a specific encouragement: “Church, you are sent.”
“[We’re] reminding our people that they are to be living sent on mission, to communicate the gospel when they're here, but also give our people just really practical evangelism training, because our people want to share the gospel, but... there's still that hesitation,” said Stoudt. “We want to cut through that because we are seeing our people reach the lost, and that's what we want to continue to see.”
Because “the amount of lostness is so massive” in New York City, Stoudt said HCC utilizes mission teams and “a bunch of our Texas Baptists partners who have come up” to “do street evangelism, set up prayer booths, [and evangelism] in the park.”
“Those connections [I have] made it clear that Texas Baptists had a genuine heart to see the gospel advance in places like New York City,” said Stoudt.
SALVATION AND GENUINE COMMUNITY
Stoudt said HCC sees an international “population that we weren't prepared to be reaching” on Sunday mornings.
“Because of where we are, we have international tourists who come to our neighborhood all the time. So, on a typical Sunday, we probably have somewhere between 5 to 15 international tourists that attend our service, which gives us a [unique] opportunity... to present the gospel,” said Stoudt.
“The spirit is moving so powerfully, and we're seeing so many people spiritually curious. We're seeing people who maybe walked away from the church, who are returning to the church. So,
we're continuing to see more and more salvations,” said Stoudt.
Since October, Stoudt has baptized fourteen.
“The greatest joy has been watching strangers become family. People from all walks of life—long-time Harlem residents, newcomers to the city, and first-time churchgoers—have come together in Christ to form a genuine community,” said Stoudt. “Today, more than 120 people now call HCC home.”
“IF I TRY TO OUT-ENTERTAIN NEW YORK CITY, I'M GOING TO FAIL”
Stoudt said the task of winning New York City for Christ “is daunting” as “it's estimated that there are 6.7 million lost people.” He said Barna put out research that stated about “64% of people in New York City identify as Christian. And then when you dig into the numbers and then it was like 1 in 5 of those individuals are actually practicing.”
“[We are] in a city that can be so overwhelming with the just amount of lostness [and] when you look at the expanse of the city, when you look at how much entertainment there is–When you pop up a church in New York City, really, there's a lot stacked up against you,” explained Stoudt. “You have to realize, ‘If I do this in my own strength, in my own ability, if I try to out-entertain New York City, I'm going to fail.’ I have to rely on the Spirit.”
He said in moments when he wants to “go as hard as I can,” he’s reminded to “slow down and pray through this and ask the Lord to do what only he can do.”
“I have to rely on the Lord for everything... because I think that's the only way to church here,” said Stoudt.
TEXAS BAPTISTS “CONSTANTLY ADVOCATING” FOR GOSPEL ADVANCEMENT IN NEW YORK
Stoudt said he “didn't know exactly what I was getting into when I came on board with [Texas Baptists], but I truly can say it has been a great blessing.” He said he has “been blown away with what a great community I found.”
“Larry Mayberry, who has a church in Queens and is also the association
director here. We’re the two Texas Baptists church planters in the city, and just having him as a friend [is so great]. We [also] get to go to a conference every year with Texas Baptists Church Starting,” said Stoudt. “Texas Baptists stands out because you don’t just send resources, you walk with planters through the ups and downs of ministry. That kind of genuine connection has meant the world to us.”
He said their Texas Baptists church partners have “come alongside us and just supported us” and are “constantly advocating and just letting people know about what the Lord is doing here.”
“[Our church partners are] sometimes our best cheerleaders. They're letting other people know, ‘Hey, the Lord is doing something amazing in New York City, you should be a part of it,’” said Stoudt.
Stoudt said as he looks ahead to year two of Harlem Community Church, he and his staff’s “deepest desire is to train up our people to make disciples.”
“Our theme for year two is Rooted— rooted deeper in Christ, in God’s Word and in one another so that multiplication can take place,” said Stoudt. “We’d love for the Texas Baptists family to rejoice with us and pray with us as we step into this next season of mission in Harlem.”
He said he is also praying that Texas Baptists would continue to share the work Harlem Community Church is doing and “even send people from Texas to join in the work the Lord is doing here.”
“The spirit is moving. People are so curious. If we invite them to church, a lot of times they'll show up or at least have a conversation with you,” said Stoudt. “God is doing something in New York City. Don't get so caught up in what's being said on the news because there's some really cool things happening here.”
For more information about Texas Baptists Church Starting, visit txb.org/ churchstarting.
Executive Board approves Cooperative Program Task Force, hears giving and insurance updates during February board meeting
The February meeting of the Texas Baptists Executive Board was held on Feb. 23-24 in Dallas, TX. Board Directors approved three new task forces on the Cooperative Program (CP), prayer and the constitution and bylaws; as well as heard ministry reports, giving and insurance updates and considered 15 unique recommendations.
Texas
Baptists Center for Cultural Engagement realigned to better serve churches
In an effort to better align Texas Baptists ministries to equip churches for Great Commandment, Great Commission faithfulness, convention leadership is realigning the Center for Cultural Engagement, effective February 1. The ministries under the center will be redistributed to other teams across the organization to provide churches with more direct access to church, minister and missions resources. The Christian Life Commission (CLC) will return to its historic role as a standalone ministry aimed at resourcing churches and focusing on the areas of ethics and justice, advocacy and public policy. Affinity groups that work with cultural churches will now be part of the Relational Development/GC2 team.
98 BSM and church collegiate leaders form 2026 State Lead Team, develop skills to "change the culture" of ministry
Jan. 7-9, the Texas Baptist Student Ministry (BSM) announced its 2026 State Lead Team at its annual State Lead Team Summit at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Camp and Conference Center in Cedar Hill.
State Lead Team is a group of BSM and church collegiate leaders who are making disciples on their campus. Each State Lead Team member has the opportunity to develop leadership skills, choose a leadership experience at the state level, lead the annual Abide Prayer Retreat and connect high school seniors to BSM and church collegiate ministries as they transition to college.
Sharing Christ at the Cup Evangelism Training
On March 28, the Texas Baptists Evangelism Team hosted a “Sharing Christ at the Cup” event at First Baptist Arlington to train individuals on how to share the gospel during the FIFA World Cup, which will feature multiple matches in Dallas and Houston this summer. To learn more about outreach opportunities during this year’s FIFA World Cup, visit txb.org/cup.
Al Curley III
Al Curley III has joined the Evangelism team as the new African American Evangelism specialist.
Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel, Edinburg
Oak View Baptist Church, Irving
First Baptist Church, Brownwood
Does your church or pastor have an anniversary coming up? Let us know at news@texasbaptists.org
John Fletcher
The Center for Ministerial Health welcomed John Fletcher, pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Haltom City, as the part-time interim area 9 representative.
Carlos Francis
Carlos Francis, director of African American Ministries, has assumed a new role as director of Affinity Relations/GC2 Support.
Katie Frugé
Following the Center for Cultural Engagements realignment, Katie Fruge will continue to serve as the director of the Christian Life Commission (CLC) and on the Leadership team.
David Harp
The Center for Ministerial Health welcomed David Harp, retired pastor of First Baptist Church in Stanton, as the part-time interim area 9 representative.
Kalie Lowrie
Kalie Lowrie has joined the Communications team as the new director of communications.
David Ritsema
David Ritsema has joined GC2 Press as the new publisher.
Rebecca Treviño
Rebecca Trevino has transitioned from her prior role as the specialist for the Center for Cultural Engagement to policy analyst for the CLC.
Corpus Christi church plant hosts annual retreat, meets medical needs for Ghanaian children with disabilities
By Jessica King
James Roots, lead and worship pastor at Christ Life Church
Corpus Christi, and Rochelle Roots, family and admin pastor at Christ Life Church Corpus Christi, began praying, “Lord, what is your purpose for our church here in our community?” upon launching the church in September 2023.
Rochelle Roots said the church’s Children's Ministry and Missions Director, Christina Jaramillo’s, heart for children with disabilities answered that prayer and “cast a long-term vision” for the church to be “open and welcoming and inclusive of families with children with disabilities.”
Jaramillo has been making an annual trip to serve children with disabilities in Ghana since 2016 with Joni & Friends, an organization that “mobilizes the global church to evangelize, disciple and serve people living with disability.”
“I had met a doctor of physical therapy at our previous church, and he invited me to go on a medical mission because I'm also a nurse. So, my husband and I went… and we weren't exactly sure what to be prepared for, we just knew we were
going on a medical mission,” explained Jaramillo.
She said that while on the trip, she began to recognize that “the Lord lit a fire in my heart” for the people she was serving, and she had a desire to do more.
“I knew that we couldn't come back home and never look back, so we continued going [to Ghana] through Joni & Friends, but the spark grew hotter and hotter for me… [I knew] the Lord was calling us to do more as far as [serving] more after the retreat, not just going for the retreat,” said Jaramillo.
When Jaramillo and her family joined Christ Life Church, she was able to share her vision of serving Ghanaian families with James and Rochelle Roots, and “we were able to start working towards some of those visions,” which would become “The Visible Ministry.”
Jaramillo said the goal is to “shine the Lord's light onto [children with disabilities] and make them visible for everyone to see. That they're no longer shunned. They're no longer in hiding. They're no longer in darkness.”
“[Ghanian children with disabilities] are kept away and kept out of society,” explained Jaramillo. “Hearing some of the stories that we've heard [of children with disabilities being neglected and hidden], the Lord gave me [a vision] of going into the communities, taking them out of their locked doors in the darkness, bringing them right in the middle of their villages and making them visible.”
SPONSORING FAMILIES TO MEET MEDICAL NEEDS
Representing Christ Life Church’s Visible Ministry, Rochelle Roots made her first trip to Ghana in 2024, alongside Jaramillo, to serve with Joni & Friends at their retreat. June 1-12, 2025, they returned to Ghana, with a team of eight, for their second annual mission trip and to host their own 3-day family retreat for families with children with disabilities. With the theme “Living Water,” families had the opportunity to attend breakout sessions designed for parents, children with disabilities and their siblings. The seven families received care packages with food and toiletries, seed money, meals, hotel lodging, transportation to and from the retreat and on-site medical evaluations and care.
Rochelle Roots said since participating in the church starting assessment and being approved as a church plant with Texas Baptists Church Starting in early 2025, they have been a significant financial partner for their annual Ghana family retreats.
“Thanks to Texas Baptists [Church Starting] and their great support, like special project funding, our young church is able to send a mission team to Ghana to minister to families who desperately need it. We're extremely grateful to Texas Baptists for their support and partnership,” said Rochelle Roots.
Providing on-site medical evaluations and care was something “the Lord put on Christina's heart.” Jaramillo realized
that if the children received medical attention “early enough to where they can get physical therapy [or] some kind of surgery, [or] some medicine,” in some cases, their conditions could improve.
“I'm a nurse, so I'm able to assess them and start their care from the time we meet them, and then we continue following up with the different medical professionals there in Ghana [for their care],” said Jaramillo.
Considering this, Jaramillo extended the invitation to church members to donate items for the care packages, including “toiletries, medication and first aid supplies,” and made connections with medical supply companies in Corpus Christi, such as Russell Medical, which has donated “15 pediatric wheelchairs and several other [specific] items” based on the child’s needs.
Having contact with several hospital representatives and pastors in Ghana, Christ Life Church is able to arrive “more prepared” for the family retreat by already knowing the invited childrens’ diagnosis.
Jaramillo said through her experience with the Joni & Friends family retreats, the Lord led her and her husband to begin sponsoring families they met at the retreats.
“2020 is when my husband and I actually started sponsoring a child ourselves. Then, in 2022, is when we started bringing other people in to help sponsor some of the other children that we had met at the previous retreats,” said Jaramillo.
Jaramillo brought that encouragement to Christ Life Church, and the Visible Ministry began sponsoring children on their first trip in 2024.
“We [were] sponsor[ing] three families before this summer, and now we sponsor [six families and] seven children total,” said Rochelle Roots. “We were able to provide surgery for two children this year.”
Rochelle Roots shared that one of the sponsored children,
"It's about encouraging the families. It's about praying for the families. It's about showing the love of Christ to them."
Raymond, is “able to actually walk with crutches when he was told that he would never walk,” as a result of the medical care provided by the Visible Ministry.
PARTNERING WITH GHANA MISSIONARY, CHURCH FOR CONTINUED CARE
After the 3-day family retreat, the team spends “an additional day with our sponsored families.”
“We do home visits with the sponsor families. We will bring them care packages, any items that we know they may have needed throughout the year and just spend some time with them in their home with them, praying over them, [to] continue to encourage them in the Lord and let them know that we're still here,” said Jaramillo.
Jaramillo said she is “in contact with the families [who have a phone and connection] weekly through WhatsApp.”
Christ Life Church also supports a missionary, Moses, whom they connected with through one of their partner churches, Covenant Family Community Church in Accra, Ghana.
Jaramillo said Moses helps the Visible Ministry stay in contact and support these families as well by “visiting the families, going to doctors' appointments with them and being there, of course, with us when we have the retreats.”
In October, Jaramillo hired a Ghanaian physical therapist, Esther, to join the Visible Ministry team and provide continued care for their sponsored children.
“We have to trust the Lord and in his discernment on who we’re choosing to work with the ministry… because it's not just about going and doing physical therapy. It's about encouraging the families. It's about praying for the families. It's about showing the love of Christ to them,” said Jaramillo. “[Esther] has a Christ-centered heart, she loves working with special needs children, and she's… been willing to go see [the families] weekly for us.”
Rochelle Roots said, “because the need is so great,” they are “looking for [more] people who have medical experience” to partner with them in their ministry.
“[These families] don't have any additional [healthcare] aid over there. So, it's really life changing for the child and for the family, for them to get not just assessed and get some direction on what the need of their child is, but to get that support every month,” said Rochelle Roots.
CHURCH MEMBERS NOW
“IN-TUNE AND AWARE,” FEEL “THEIR CHILDREN ARE VISIBLE NOW”
Rochelle Roots said, “the Lord really put [Visible Ministry] on the hearts of our church family.” She said Christ Life Church members are “now internally in-tune and aware of children [with disabilities]” in their own church and community.
“Our Ghana Visible Missions has
changed our Christ Life Church family as a whole—expanding our vision locally for our church to be a safe, welcoming place where every child and every family belongs,” said James Roots.
Jaramillo said church members who have children with disabilities have “stated how they feel their children are visible now after coming to Christ Life and being a part of this [Visible Ministry] movement that the Lord's doing here.”
“We would love to be able to eventually have a quarterly service, then a monthly service that is designed for families with children with disabilities,” said Rochelle Roots. “We're renting right now, but our vision is that the Lord is going to provide us a church home, and that we will be able to [hold those services] because that's a need in our community.”
Jaramillo said being involved in supporting Ghanaian children with disabilities has not only impacted her, but has “completely changed [my family’s] lives.”
“All of my kids are involved… and advocate for children with special needs in their schools. They will come home and tell me stories of how something happened with one of the [special needs] kids and how they stood up for them,” said Jaramillo. “So, it's really changed [their] lives, not just me personally, even though that's where the [passion] started.”
For more information about Texas Baptists Church Starting, visit txb.org/ churchstarting.
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El Buen Pastor Christian Church Texas Baptists March 21, 2025
Tune in to this podcast from Texas Baptists featuring our very own Pastor Hugo as a special guest!
Be encouraged by this powerful conversation and the message shared. Watch the full episode on YouTube through the link below and share it with someone who needs it today
Kurt Krodle February 26, 2026
One of my favorite parts of this job! I spent the day with Miguel Garcia III at First Baptist Temple and Robert Hillier at FBC West. These two student pastors are leading incredibly well in great Texas Baptists churches. I love hearing what our churches are doing and the stories of how our ministers are investing in this generation of students, serving their schools/communities, and working in partnership with other churches to do Kingdom work. What a gift to get to cheer these guys on!
Julio Guarneri February 27, 2026 is with
Grateful for the fellowship and the ministry conversation with Lance Caddel, the new executive director of the Northwest Baptist Convention and his wife, Lisa. Texas Baptists & the Northwest Convention have had a meaningful ministry partnership for several years. Looking forward for new opportunities to work together in the future. #kingdompartners #GreatCommandment #greatcommission #missionscopperation
Texas BSM March 4, 2026
The spring 2026 semester has already been a good one! Chech out a few highlights from some of our BSMs. #txbsm #Texas Baptists
Zachary Minton February 27, 2026
So thankful for Sammy Elliott. It has been a joy to have him in the Pacific Northwest for a few days.
Northwest Baptist Convention Texas Baptists
Tag Texas Baptists on Facebook, X or Instagram for a chance to be featured in our next magazine.
Mobberly Baptist Church March 5, 2026
We are grateful to host a Pastor Strong cohort on campus today in partnership with Texas Baptists. We love pastors and serving sister churches!
Children’s Worship University trains leaders to “raise disciples in the area of worship”
By Jessica King
Selbie Fountain, preschool children’s choir leader and Sunday school teacher at Mount Sylvan Baptist Church in Tyler, returned to Children’s Worship University (CWU) for the second time looking to gain tools to incorporate into her first year of teaching preschool children’s choir.
“The collaboration with other churches and meeting other people that are in preschool choir roles is super important, to get to know them and what they do at their church and what works for their church in order to incorporate it into my smaller church,” said Fountain.
Jan. 30-31, 137 children’s choir and worship leaders gathered at First Baptist Church Richardson for training from experienced clinicians through workshops and general sessions and a chance to network with other leadership throughout Texas and the United States, with Arkansas, California, Louisiana and Oklahoma represented among attendees this year. Several more states were represented by clinicians.
Tom Tillman, director of Music & Worship at Texas Baptists, welcomed attendees following an “Early Bird” session led by Whitney Head, music and worship director at South Marietta Street Baptist Church in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Head shared encouragement and exercises on how to “get Scripture and the truths of the Lord into childrens’ hearts.”
“We have such an important task,” said Head. “It's an honor to get to place those words in their heart and help them grow and have those [scriptures] when they need them... When they need God's Word in their adulthood or when they're a
teenager, it will come back to them through music.”
INTENTIONALLY DISCIPLING KIDS IN WORSHIP
With the theme “Deeply Rooted,” attendees had the opportunity, over the two-day training, to attend more than 25 unique breakout sessions on topics such as strategies for teaching upper elementary, cultivating worship programs, time management, incorporating movement and scripture into choir rehearsals and more.
Fountain said learning the five Hebrew words for “praise” in a workshop session led by Yancy Richmond, worship leader, songwriter, NextGen worship leader coach and author of “Sweet Sound: The Power of Discipling Kids in Worship,” will be helpful in teaching kids “what praise really means.”
“I think being able to teach, even starting at preschool, what praise really means, and being able to back it up biblically, will make a huge difference in their adult life, and doing worship as adults,” said Fountain.
Richmond explained, in her workshop titled “Growing Worship the Bible Way,” that the five Hebrew words for “praise” are Yaddah, “to worship with extended hands;” Barak, “to kneel, bless God, praise, salute and adore;” Shabach, “to shout, to address in a loud tone;” Zamar, “to make music, celebrate joyfully in song, pluck the strings or parts of a musical instrument;” and Caphar, “to count and number, to recount, rehearse and count exactly.”
Richmond said these words can help children understand
worship and “lead them from just being spectators to participators.” She encouraged attendees to consider, “How can you become more intentional to disciple kids in worship?”
“I would encourage you to take that to heart and lean into it,” said Richmond. “You can invite [the kids] to take a [next] step [in worship]... We're all at different parts of the journey, but each one of us can choose to lean in and try to grow our roots a little bit deeper every single time we're given the gifts to worship the Lord and build up our relationship with him.”
First-time attendee Wendy Caplinger, children’s worship minister at 121 Community Church in Grapevine, said a workshop on teaching with novelty, led by Kelly Jo Hollingsworth, assistant professor of Elementary Music Education at Baylor University, “gave me new ideas to help the kids engage [in worship].”
Hollingsworth gave attendees different strategies for adding novelty to teaching a song, including immersion (adding novelty through repetition, movement and asking questions), phrase-by-phrase, movement, picture cues, games and more.
“I really learned the immersion style of teaching the kids [that] I did not know [previously],” said Caplinger. “Also [Hollingsworth] said, ‘Adding novelty in each lesson, helps the kids see
that God can meet us in fresh ways, even in familiar practices,’ and I think that's really special.”
HELPING KIDS GROW DEEPER ROOTS OF FAITH
Richmond expanded on the idea of teaching kids what it means to worship in the Jan. 30 closing general session. She told attendees, “We have a responsibility to disciple and raise disciples in the area of worship.”
“Kids matter to Jesus. We know that [in] Matthew 19:14, ‘Let the little children come unto me and do not hinder them.” Worship is a way that they approach the throne,” said Richmond. “[Leading worship] looks like having teaching moments about what worship is, giving them practical instruction of how to get involved... and engaged in your song sets.”
Richmond encouraged attendees to “help [kids] to grow roots that will carry them through all the seasons of their lives.”
“What if we changed our motivation from ‘How do we make the whole room appear to be all in and engaged?’ to ‘How do we raise them up to be more like David, [after God’s own heart]? What if we stop doing songs and we start to worship? What if we make time and space to leave them to sit at the feet of Jesus with the songs that we put on
their lips? What if we prepare a table and invite them to feast on the presence of the living God?’” said Richmond. “I believe that every single one of those things would help our kids to go deeper in their faith.”
Bonnie Webb, kindergarten kids praise co-director at Denton Bible Church and first-time CWU attendee, said leading children’s worship has been “a new experience” and she is grateful to “learn how to engage the kids more.” She said the workshop and general sessions helped give “a deeper meaning of what my purpose is.”
“[My purpose] is not just to teach [kids] the songs, but to shepherd and disciple their heart. It's been really encouraging to experience that,” said Webb.
Children’s Worship University 2027 is scheduled to take place on Jan. 29-30 at First Baptist Church Richardson.
Texas Baptists Evangelism event sees 630 prayed for, 21 accept Jesus in Abilene
By Jessica King
On Nov. 15, prior to the Texas Baptists Annual Meeting in Abilene, the Texas Baptists Evangelism team, Forgotten Ministries, Broadview Baptist Church and other churches partnered together to evangelize to three Abilene apartment complexes.
Forgotten Ministries is a ministry founded by Jeremiah Herrian, which exists to help churches “rediscover compassion, leave the building and bring the hope of Jesus to the homes that need him most.”
“Outside the comfort of four walls, there is an entire world in anguish, and the church must rediscover the compassion that moves believers to action,” said Herrian.
Since 2007, the ministry has accomplished this with their “Grill Walk” strategy. The “Grill Walk” is a door-to-door evangelism strategy where volunteers are divided into groups of four: two grill cooks and two food preppers, and “as the grill moves down the street, groups stop at houses, knock on doors and offer free hot dogs.” This allows volunteers to share the gospel and their testimonies, pray with residents and invite them to church. Herrian “framed the day” by emphasizing compassion. He gave volunteers a “final charge” before
beginning their “Grill Walk” in Abilene.
“People are more spiritually lost today not because they reject Jesus, but because they’ve never truly heard about him,” said Herrian. “Knock on every door. Offer a hot dog at every door. Share Jesus at every door.”
The Texas Baptists Evangelism team, along with 80 volunteers from 9 different churches, delivered 710 bags of groceries, served 700 hot dogs and provided 600 pairs of socks to families in need. Volunteers knocked on 630 doors, “praying with residents and offering encouragement.” The team saw 21 individuals surrender their lives to Jesus.
“I often ask churches across the state, ‘If your church ceased to exist, would your community miss you?’ God did not call us to just be a church in the community, He called us to be the community church,” said Oza Jones, director of Evangelism at Texas Baptists. “The Grill Walk allowed us to saturate the community by serving and sharing. [It] helps us to mobilize the local church for maximum impact.”
To learn more about Texas Baptists Evangelism and how it can resource your church, visit txb.org/evangelism.
Christian Life Commission launches pilot program in El Paso; pastors hear from ISAAC Ministry, River Ministry and Hunger Offering
By Jessica King
First Baptist Church Henrietta Pastor Sam Bunnell said he wishes “everybody could take [this] trip” to learn about different Texas Baptists ministries.
“It was a very moving, impactful trip, and I hope everybody gets to go down and be exposed [to Texas Baptists’ ministries along the border],” said Bunnell.
Oct. 2-3, the Christian Life Commission (CLC) hosted a trip to El Paso for six pastors to learn about Texas Baptists’ ISAAC Ministry, River Ministry and the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering. This trip served as a launch for a pilot program that gives “an immersive experience for pastors to come alongside the work the CLC is doing and hear for themselves from the ministers and people serving on the ground.”
Katie Frugé, director of the CLC at Texas Baptists, said “several months ago” she began to “imagine and explore ways we could connect the work of the CLC with local pastors.”
“Our ministry assignment is unique in the Convention and often takes us to exciting places,” said Frugé. “I wanted to invite pastors to come and see the work that is being done across the state so they could have confidence knowing that, even if their local church was hundreds of miles away, [they are] having an impact because of our Texas Baptists partnerships.”
Frugé said the CLC chose El Paso for the “first of several immersive opportunities we're planning throughout the [next] year” because it is a “convergence point for several vital [Texas Baptists] ministries.”
Sam Bunnell, pastor of First Baptist Church Henrietta, visits with Texas Baptists Executive Director Julio Guarneri and Texas Baptists General Counsel and Director of Public Policy for the CLC John Litzler during the CLC Pilot Program El Paso trip on Oct. 2.
She said the CLC has several goals for the pilot program: first, to provide experiential learning rather than just reports; second, to help pastors witness ministry needs along the border firsthand by hearing from ministry leaders and border agents in El Paso, and understanding how the faith community can effectively support them; third, to showcase what Texas Baptists are already accomplishing in critical ministry locations like El Paso; and lastly, to create space for pastors to pray intentionally with those serving on the front lines of these ministries.
“My prayer is that these pastors left [El Paso] with a stronger connection to the Kingdom-building work we're doing together and a clearer vision of how their congregations can participate,” said Frugé.
BEING A “STAKEHOLDER IN GOD'S MISSION”
Bunnell said upon receiving an invitation from Frugé, “it seemed like a no brainer” to join the CLC in El Paso. He said getting to learn about the work that ISAAC Ministry, River Ministry and the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering are doing on the border “and the opportunities [to serve] there and the needs there was very valuable.”
“Seeing very grassroots ministries that are actually trying to step into that gap and meet that need was very moving and very powerful and sparked a lot of thought in my mind on what our church could do and what we could help support convention-wide,” said Bunnell.
Bunnell said, “it's not that the church has a mission, it's that the mission of God has a church.” He said it is “absolutely crucial” to get his church involved in mission opportunities.
“There's these mission opportunities and, granted, our church is nowhere near the border, but we could still have an active role in meeting these ministries, one just through our contributions to Texas Baptists, but I would [also] love to now see them be more of a stakeholder in God's mission by saying, ‘These are real felt needs in Texas and the organization that we love and are a part of, Texas Baptists, is taking an active role in meeting these needs, and we can do that [too],” said Bunnell.
Bunnell said he was impacted by the testimony of a volunteer who serves with the Hunger Offering in El Paso.
“[The Hunger Offering has] the restaurant and they grow their produce and they feed people [free meals throughout the week],” explained Bunnell. “We met one lady who was reached by that ministry. She was someone that somebody said, ‘She's probably having a hard time… Why don't you just come to this place and get a free meal?’... Fast forward years later, she volunteers there every week.”
Bunnell said hearing about how this woman’s “life has turned around because of that ministry,” he would encourage churches with this: “How can we look outside our day-to-day realities and notice those who maybe we weren't noticing before?”
“That translates to any community anywhere, whether you're on the border or not. We've all got people like that, that we're just kind of walking by every day, and those are the kind of people that Jesus stopped for. So I think we can definitely learn a lot from exploring these ministries and then actively supporting them and being involved,” said Bunnell.
JOINING THE “COLLECTIVE WORK” ALONG THE BORDER
Josh King, pastor of Valley Ridge Baptist Church in Lewisville, said hearing from River Ministry leaders on the trip was impactful.
“It was encouraging to see how much work Texas Baptists are doing in what we would normally think of as confusing and dark spaces, but they're not dark; we're already there. We're already doing work. That was very encouraging,”
said King..
King said it’s important for his church to be involved in these ministries by learning how to “be solid and strong here [in Lewisville]” to join the “collective work that no church can do by itself.”
“The churches in El Paso are under-resourced to accomplish what they need to accomplish,” said King. “[But] we have resources, they have skill and collectively we can put that stuff together to accomplish the vision together.”
King said trips like this one “pull back that curtain a little bit and to see that we are part of a really big [ministry] that's doing really important work.”
“The CLC strives to be a resource to Texas Baptists churches as they intentionally engage their communities and practice the Great Commandment of loving their neighbors well,” said Frugé. “Through experiences like this, I'm praying that churches and ministry leaders feel both confident and inspired by the work the CLC is doing. I also hope these visits open doors for the CLC to serve churches in new and innovative ways we haven't yet imagined.”
To learn more about the Christian Life Commission, visit txb.org/clc.
Una iglesia en Fort Worth se une alrededor de un enfoque misional: “Ver cosecha abundante. Esparcir semillas del evangelio. Celebrar la cosecha de Dios”. Por Jessica King
Jerimiah Smith, pastor de University Baptist Church en Fort Worth, se conectó con Pave, la estrategia de revitalización de iglesias Bautistas de Texas, después de ser referido por la directora de la Comisión cristiana para la vida, Katie Frugé.
“Katie Frugé es miembro de nuestra iglesia y, en una conversación que tuvimos—ella conoce mucho acerca de la historia de nuestra iglesia—me sugirió que me pusiera en contacto con Jonathan Smith”, explicó el pastor Jerimiah. “Por eso, me comuniqué con Jonathan y lo invité a almorzar”.
Durante nuestro almuerzo en enero del 2025, Jonathan Smith, director asociado del Centro para la salud de la iglesia de los Bautistas de Texas, me explicó el programa Pave y “enseguida hizo sentido”.
A partir de esa conversación, Jonathan Smith determinó que University Baptist Church estaba en la “fase tres de Pave” e invitó al pastor a una reunión de pastores en fase tres donde él inició su experiencia con Pave.
Después de la reunión, Jerimiah comenzó a reunir a su personal ministerial y miembros de la iglesia en base a su experiencia, edad, tiempo en la iglesia, y formó un equipo fenomenal para pasar por Pave.
“Le dije a la iglesia que íbamos a discernir, orar y buscar al Señor”, explicó el pastor Jerimiah. “Esa invitación inició el proceso de movernos de donde estábamos a donde Dios nos estaba dirigiendo”.
El pastor Jerimiah y su equipo definieron una visión para la iglesia después de un “período de dedicado a la oración” basándose en Mateo 9:35-38.
“Nuestra visión está basada en Mateo 9:35-38, donde Jesús dice: “Vayan, la cosecha es mucha. Miren los campos, lo que el mundo define como indefenso y quebrado, Jesús los ve como maduros. Él necesita más obreros; por eso queremos ir
y esparcir la semilla del evangelio, y entonces es Dios quien produce la cosecha y celebramos lo que Él hace cuando somos enfiados y obedientes a Su llamado”, dijo el pastor Jerimiah.
Entonces, la visión de University Baptist Church se convirtió en “Ver campos maduros. Esparcir semillas del evangelio. Celebrar la cosecha de Dios”.
Jerimiah dijo que la “perspectiva fresca enfocada en el evangelio” que recibió en Pave fue sumamente útil para la iglesia al identificar y establecer metas de cinco años, un año, y noventa días. Identificar esas metas nos sacó de la rutina”.
“El proceso Pave se basa en la oración. Es auténtico y sincero”, dijo el pastor. “Por eso, como resultado, forjar esas metas fue un momento dirigido por el Espíritu, fue como la mano de Dios con revelación divina para nuestro equipo, y esto nos dio denuedo para presentarlo a la iglesia”.
ENTRENAR Y ENVIAR OBREROS A LA COSECHA
El pastor Jerimiah dijo: “El ministerio más reciente que hemos comenzado, ‘Entrenamiento para el campo’, tiene un enfoque misional: Ver campos maduros. Esparcir semillas del evangelio. Celebrar la cosecha de Dios”.
“En este entrenamiento pasamos por un proceso intencional para ayudar a identificar el campo. Entonces, edificamos a los líderes. Los equipamos para el próximo paso, enviarlos a esparcir semillas del evangelio. Los reunimos, oramos por ellos, los bendecimos, los comisionamos y los enviamos como obreros a la cosecha”, explicó el pastor Jerimiah.
Una vez una familia completa el entrenamiento y es comisionada, los exhortamos a “ser responsables” al pedirles que informen oportunidades para compartir el evangelio y peticiones de oración con la iglesia”.
“Preguntamos acerca de desafíos, motivos para celebrar y permitimos que esto motive esta cultura de orar y este llamado
a orar con devoción al ser enviados”, dijo el pastor Jerimiah.
Jerimiah compartió que la iglesia ha celebrado un Entrenamiento de campo donde 23 hogares—cerca de unas 54 personas—buscaron al Señor y discernieron su campo misionero. Dijo que “5 o 6 hogares ya lo sabían, y ahora trabaja con los demás personalmente dándoles oportunidades para conversar más acerca de su llamado”.
“Nuestra meta es que el 26% de las familias de nuestra iglesia envíe obreros al campo. Esto significa unas 47 familias para el fin del año que hayan pasado por este proceso”, dijo Jerimiah.
Jerimiah dijo que la iglesia planifica tener su primer servicio de comisión de los primeros hogares el 22 de marzo, y dar seguimiento con el próximo entrenamiento a finales de marzo.
DEDICARSE A LA ORACIÓN
Jerimiah dijo que cultivar una cultura de “ser una iglesia que ora” es fundamental en la experiencia de la iglesia con Pave.
“Compartí con la iglesia acerca de Hechos 3, cuando Pedro y Juan iban camino al templo y se encontraron con el mendigo que necesitaba sanidad. Este
pasaje me encanta porque la Biblia nos dice que iban camino al templo para orar. Entonces les pregunté: ‘¿Cuándo fue la última vez que iban de camino al templo para orar?’ Por eso, comenzamos a desarrollar esa cultura, y creo que Hechos 3 nos preparó para enfocar en la oración”, explicó el pastor Jerimiah.
Dijo que este verano pasado la iglesia reestructuró los domingos en la mañana alrededor de la oración.
“Comenzamos a las 8:45 de la mañana en la capilla para orar, entonces
pasamos al servicio de adoración, y de ahí, a los grupos de estudio bíblico. Ahora, comenzamos el domingo en la mañana en oración, buscamos al Señor, pedimos que su Espíritu nos guíe y ablande nuestros corazones. Esas oraciones motivan la adoración y la adoración nos prepara para el estudio”.
Jerimiah compartió la historia de una miembro de la iglesia que demostró ver campos maduros, esparcir semillas del evangelio, y permitir que la oración sea su destino cuando una amiga musulmana le pidió que orara por ella.
“Su amiga estaba preocupada por la salud de su hija y le preguntó si conocía a alguien que pudiera orar por ella. Le dijo: “Somos musulmanes y ustedes son cristianos, pero nos encantaría que alguien ore por nuestra hija”, explicó el pastor Jerimiah.
“Estuvimos absolutamente dispuestos a ir a su casa y orar con ella. Entonces, un domingo por la mañana, justo cuando entrábamos al tiempo de oración, recibí un mensaje de texto indicándome que la amiga musulmana venía de camino para la iglesia. Me sentí muy agradecido al darme cuenta de que había personas dispuestas a orar. Estamos aquí para orar. Estamos listos. La joven musulmana vino al tiempo de oración y oramos por ella”, dijo el pastor.
Después del tiempo de oración, ella se quedó para el servicio de adoración y el pastor invitó a la congregación a orar por esta familia musulmana que había acudido a la iglesia pidiendo oración.
“Para mí, esta historia nos habla de alguien que vio en su amiga un campo donde esparcir semillas del evangelio y desarrollar relaciones. La cultura de oración en la iglesia nos permitió ser de bendición para esta familia, y pudimos celebrar y dar gloria a Dios”, explicó el pastor. “Es una de las cosas más maravillosas que he visto desde que soy el pastor de esta iglesia”.
UNA IGLESIA DE GRAN
MANDAMIENTO Y GRAN
COMISIÓN EN ACCIÓN
Anticipando el próximo paso en su experiencia con Pave, el pastor Jerimiah dijo que una de sus metas de tres años es implementar el principio de “la iglesia
invertida”, donde “nuestra estructura y nuestros programas se condensan para apoyar la misión” en vez de “consumir la misión”.
La meta de cinco años corresponde con el enfoque misional y, al cada hogar en la iglesia definir su “Hechos 1:8”, ver campos maduros, esparcir semillas del evangelio, y celebrar la cosecha de Dios se convierte en algo natural.
Jonathan dice que así es como funciona una iglesia de Gran Comisión y Gran Mandamiento.
“El pastor Jerimiah y el equipo de visión de la iglesia han desarrollado una nueva dirección excepcionalmente creativa que capacita, no solamente a individuos sino a familias enteras a ser movilizados para ministerios y misiones globales y locales”, dijo Jonathan Smith.
“Después de un año con Pave, establecer nuestro enfoque misional ha creado un efecto combinado que une, anima, y aclara”, dijo el pastor. Él exhorta a los pastores a que Pave “vale la pena el tiempo y la inversión personal”. “Pave es una experiencia dirigida por el Espíritu”, dijo el pastor. “Lo que encontrarán no es un programa sino personas con un corazón por el evangelio, por la iglesia, y por los pastores”.
Él desafía a los pastores a participar en Pave y a “ver a Dios hacer cosas que nunca hubieran imaginado ni esperado si trataran de revitalizar la iglesia de otra manera”.
Visite txb.org/pave para aprender más acerca de Pave y cómo puede ser un recurso para su congregación.
Pave is designed to help pastors customize church growth and revitalization in their church and community context. Pave participants are equipped with customized revitalization resources, placed in a cohort alongside other practitioners and encouraged by a church growth coach. Learn more at txb.org/pave
Imagine if every person in Texas was prayed for by name in 2026
Praying for our neighbors is one way we can love them tangibly. The BLESS app is a tool designed for just that–turning our hearts towards those we live among in prayer. Texas Baptists is grateful to partner with the BLESS App and bring this tool to your church at no cost to you.
