Clay Jacobson named to lead top Cooperative Program post

The Texas Baptists Office of Cooperative Program Ministry is set to welcome Clay Jacobson as its new director in August. Jacobson will transition from his prior position as an Area 4 Church Starting Strategist and assume the top CP post on Aug. 1.

Jacobson said he is excited about using the strategic mindset he has developed with church planting to create executable plans and share the impact of collaborative missions and ministries with convention churches across the state and beyond. 

“I think that Texas Baptists is the best-situated convention in the country to engage in new and innovative kingdom work,” said Jacobson. “We’ve got a real diverse convention, and I think that we can leverage that in some ways that can be cutting edge. I am really excited for the future.”

Prior to his time at Texas Baptists, Jacobson served as student pastor at First Baptist Church of Roscoe from 2010 to 2013 and lead pastor of Lamar Street Baptist Church from 2013 to 2016. He also served as baptist student director of Rolling Plains Baptist Network from 2011 to 2013.

Jacobson has served as a Church Starting Strategist for Area 4 with Texas Baptists since 2016. 

“[The] tool that I’ve used for the last eight years that I’m going to need to apply to this new position is working with the vision that’s being developed at Texas Baptists, but then putting a strategy to it that helps us be able to map out and be very intentional about what we do and how we can collaborate,” said Jacobson.

Jacobson earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Texas A&M University and a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2023, he earned his Doctor of Ministry in Church Revitalization from Southwestern. 

"We are excited to have Clay as our next Cooperative Program director. Clay has a wide variety of experience from pastoring, church starting and revitalization ministry that will influence his approach to strengthening and expanding CP,” said Ward Hayes, treasurer and chief financial officer at Texas Baptists. “Clay’s plan of a full-team approach in accomplishing our CP strategy will reach across the board into every ministry of Texas Baptists as we share what God is doing through the BGCT."

The Texas Baptists Cooperative Program is a way of combining resources to enable more missions, evangelism and ministry throughout Texas and around the world. Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the program’s creation. Learn more about the Cooperative Program at txb.org/cp.