More than 2,000 Texas Baptists focus on Jesus’ agenda, hear clarified calling
By Jessica King, BGCT
WACO, Texas — Two-thousand-thirty messengers and visitors gathered in Waco Nov. 10-12 for the 139th annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT). The theme, drawn from Luke 4:18-19, focused on “His Kingdom Agenda.”
Speakers in worship sessions and worship and business sessions brought messages centered around the presence of God’s kingdom.
During the Sunday worship session, Albert Reyes, president and CEO of Buckner International, told attendees that the kingdom we are offering the world is “a kingdom of wholeness” that “offers peace, healing and justice.”
Al Curley III concluded the session with a message on “the clarity of the gospel’s agenda,” highlighting the five things that are clear about the gospel: the source, the system, the strategy, the subject and the significance.
During the Monday morning worship session, Meghan Hendrickson, director of the Dallas Baptist University Baptist Student Ministry (DBU BSM), spoke about the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23) and challenged attendees that without spending regular time with the Lord, we are unable to effectively disciple others.
Monday evening, Julio Guarneri, executive director of Texas Baptists, gave his report during the third worship session. He introduced a clarified missional theme, values and GC2 Pathways that will empower churches “to live out the Great Commandment and Great Commission in Texas and beyond.”
“These are the values that will inform our work. They describe our unique identity as Texas Baptists,” said Guarneri. “We want to be known by what we value.”
Concluding the Monday evening worship session, Joel Gregory, George W. Truett Endowed chair of Preaching and Evangelism at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, shared a message from Mark 1. He encouraged attendees with four things that are true about the kingdom of God: it is a gift, it is invisible, it is inherently powerful and it is here, but is coming back in its entirety when Jesus returns.
Tuesday morning, Ronny Marriott, convention president and pastor of First Baptist Church Richardson, delivered his address during the final worship and business session of the annual meeting.
Business
Of note Monday, messengers adopted a recommendation related to the formation of a Texas Baptists Insurance Program.
They also elected new officers to serve for the 2024-2025 term during the Monday morning and Tuesday morning business sessions.
Marriott was reelected to a second one-year term as president. Debbie Potter, children’s pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, was elected first vice president. Joseph Adams, pastor of First Baptist Church in Hughes Springs, was elected second vice president.
Marriott and Potter ran unopposed, and Adams was elected over Adam Pardue, pastor of Highland Baptist Church in Lubbock, by a vote of 446 to 290.
Bobby Contreras, chair of the Executive Board, gave an update on three major actions taken by the board since the Texas Baptists Family Gathering in July 2023 and other recommendations from the convention’s Sexual Abuse Task Force, Valley Baptist Mission of Education Center (VBMEC) and the Residency Task Force.
Ward Hayes, treasurer and CFO for Texas Baptists, provided a financial report celebrating the “blessings that [God] has bestowed upon us.”
The proposed 2025 budget of $36.7 million was adopted, as was the percentage allotment of the adopted budget at 79% BGCT and 21% Worldwide, with each church selecting the recipients of the Worldwide. The budget is $1.4 million larger than last year’s. The Worldwide allocation remains the same.
On Tuesday, a motion calling on “the Baptist General Convention of Texas [to] affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message,” was defeated after extended discussion.
Messengers passed a resolution that stated in part, “the work of the Great Commission and Great Commandments is too big for any one local church and [we] are grateful to God for the past 100 years of partnership mission through the Cooperative Program.”
Bill Arnold, former president of Texas Baptist Mission Foundation, was elected secretary of the corporation, and Michael Evans Sr., pastor of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield, was elected registration secretary.
In other business, messengers approved a recommendation from the Committee on Annual Meeting to hold the 2027 Texas Baptists annual meeting in Tyler. The 2026 Texas Baptists annual meeting will be held in Waco, and the 2025 annual meeting is set for Abilene.
Louisiana Baptists urged to ‘connect, cooperate, commit’
By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message
SHREVEPORT, La. — Louisiana Baptists enjoyed fellowship and worship during their 2024 annual meeting Nov. 12 hosted by Broadmoor Baptist Church.
Messengers approved the 2025 financial plan based on Cooperative Program (CP) contributions of $17,380,808, a decrease of $699,761, or 3.87%. Cooperative Program projections are based on actual receipts from August 2023 through July 2024. The allocation formula for distributing CP gifts between Southern Baptist entities and Louisiana Baptist causes remains unchanged, 62.87% to support ministries in the state and 37.13% forwarded to fund national entities.
Messengers considered four motions, unanimously approving one that established a day of prayer for Louisiana Christian University on the first Sunday in February (submitted by Terry Young, pastor, Airline Baptist Church, Bossier City).
A motion by messenger Lewis Richerson, pastor of Woodlawn Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, to amend Article 6, Section 5 of the Articles of Incorporation to affirm the office of pastor as exclusive to men was referred to the Executive Board for further deliberation and consideration.
Messengers also opted not to pull a submitted resolution out of committee after the Committee on Resolutions declined to present it for a vote. The committee said it declined to forward the resolution “The Abolition of Self-Managed Abortion in Louisiana” from pastor Brian Gunter after it researched the abortion abolitionist movement (Abolitionists Rising) with which Gunter has aligned. (See related story here.)
The final messenger count for the 2024 annual meeting was 451, an increase from 338 that registered for the 2023 annual meeting in New Orleans.
Louisiana Baptist Executive Director Steve Horn urged messengers to connect, cooperate, follow the Great Commission and commit for the kingdom.
“We are a connected force for good,” Horn said. “But if we cease to be connected, we will lose or at least diminish our ability to be a force for good. Just as we are a force for good at the national level, I believe we are a force for good in Louisiana.”
Horn shared that in 2025, Southern Baptists will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program, whose architect was the late Shreveport pastor, M.E. Dodd.
He noted that in 2008 Louisiana reached the height of giving through CP with receipts of $22,650,000. However, in 2023 Louisiana Baptist churches gave $17,400,868.
Horn said Louisiana Baptists have to follow the Great Commission which defines the mission of the church and Louisiana Baptist Convention (LBC).
“Many of you have embraced my challenge to create and maintain a ‘culture of evangelism’ in Louisiana,” Horn said. “Let’s stay the course and stay on mission.” In that regard, he asked churches to simultaneously preach about John 3:16 on March 16, 2025.
“It matters not how strong our connections, or cooperation, or even zeal for the Great Commission, if our personal commitment to the Lord Jesus is not characterized by personal holiness, obedience to our Lord’s commands and a growing devotion to Him,” he said.
David Goza, pastor of Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, was reelected president. Matt Endris, pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Alpha, was reelected first vice president, and Craig James, associational mission strategist, North-Central Baptist Association, was elected second vice president.
All three men were given individual votes of acclamation by the convention — a single ballot cast by the LBC executive director in view of no opposition to any of the candidates.
The 2025 LBC annual meeting will take place Nov. 11 at the Randolph Riverfront Center, Alexandria. The convention sermon will be preached by Michael Wood, pastor with First Baptist Church, West Monroe.
