FBC Hereford utilizes PAVE principle to focus on Christ’s mission, reports 36 baptisms

When Nathan Adams joined First Baptist Church Hereford as their senior pastor in Nov. 2022, every area of the church was on a downhill trajectory. Adams was determined to get the church “thinking differently and on an uphill trajectory.” 

Kris Knippa, Area 1 Representative for Texas Baptists, reached out to Adams and invited him to check out PAVE, Texas Baptists’ church revitalization strategy designed to help pastors customize revitalization for their context by equipping them with resources and placing them in cohorts to be trained by a coach and encouraged within a community of pastors. 

Not even a year into his pastorate at FBC Hereford, Adams attended a PAVE training at Wayland Baptist University in 2023 as a part of the Panhandle Plains Cohort.

The conviction of the Great Commission 

Adams said when he attended that first PAVE training, he was convicted by the idea of “being in radical disobedience to the Great Commission if [the church is] not faithfully making disciples and baptizing people.” He said his attention began to shift to how his church could focus on the mission of Christ. 

“[I was convicted that] our church needs to be in obedience; to follow in obedience and to know how we evaluate that with baptisms. If we're not making disciples and baptizing people, then are we doing what we're called to be doing?” said Adams.

He said the “Upside Down Church” PAVE principle that encourages pastors to focus more on the mission of Christ rather than on the programs and structures of the church shifted his and his leadership team’s perspectives on how they measure success in their ministry. 

“Why not focus on baptisms and really focus on the mission rather than all these other things that we get caught up in?” said Adams. “The way I've seen baptisms is it's begun and done within a minute or so, it doesn't last very long and it's not really celebrated as much as it should be. People clap, but then that's it, and if you missed that Sunday, you didn't even know there was a baptism.” 

So, FBC Hereford began highlighting and celebrating baptisms by "constantly talking about baptism on Sunday mornings from the pulpit” and “reminding people of the baptisms [they] just had, the ones that are coming up.” Adams said he encourages the congregation to invite their friends and family to witness baptisms. 

Adams explained how they’ve adjusted the baptism portion of Sunday worship to be a key focus in the service.

“When someone does get baptized [on] Sunday, we bring them up on the stage, we introduce them, and then we pray over them as a corporate body, and then we worship with baptism. So we have worship songs that are being played, and the congregation is invited to stand and sing and witness the baptism together,” explained Adams.

Adams said, “empowering [ministry leaders] to baptize those that they’ve ministered to” has also aided in celebrating baptisms in the church.

God’s goodness is ‘the story I want to tell’ 

“I’m not a PAVE expert or a revitalization expert … but the few things that we have taken away have really catapulted us into another level of what it means to be a church,” said Adams. “So, I began this year and … I said, ‘we’re going to believe [as a congregation that] we’re going to see God’s goodness this year.’”  

Adams challenged his church to believe and pray in faith that God would double their baptisms from the previous year. 

“Last year, we baptized six people. ‘What if we doubled that? What if we had 12 baptisms this year and just see that God is going to have his goodness in our church?’” said Adams. “And, really, that faith, that stepping out and just saying God is going to do this, it's going to be his work, that's the story I want to tell because we have witnessed his goodness.”

At the 2024 Texas Baptists Annual Meeting in a PAVE Panel and Preview, Adams said he reported 23 baptisms this year, from last year’s six, exceeding what the church had prayed for. Since then, FBC Hereford has seen 13 more baptisms, bringing the total to 36 baptisms for the year. 

“From six to 36 [baptisms] in one year, it just shows that we're witnessing God's goodness, and it's all about God. Other than talking about baptisms, promoting it, I don't see what else we're doing other than just believing that God is working,” said Adams. “We just need to be the laborers, the workers of the harvest.” 

Adams said the church is witnessing families coming to Christ after seeing their kids or other family members get baptized. 

“[Families] come and witness their [loved one’s] baptism, and out of that, we've had other family members come to faith in Christ and be baptized,” said Adams. “So, [they are] showing up to witness their baptism, not really maybe even knowing what it means, but then that's beginning to spark questions and they're beginning to be interested in ‘Why are they being baptized? What does this mean?’ Then we get the chance to explain that to them and minister to them and baptize them as well after they receive Jesus.” 

More baptisms, new members and ministry engagement  

Jonathan Smith, director of Church Health and Growth at Texas Baptists, said when Adams gave his one-year update while training for phases three and four of PAVE, he reported rapid growth, “more baptisms, more new members, more ministry engagement with the community.” 

“He has several of the markers that we look for to go, ‘Oh, wow! This church is really revitalized,’” said Smith. “For a church in a smaller town in the Panhandle to have the kind of growth that he has had is astronomical.”

PAVE gives pastors a new set of tools for ministry. Smith said Adams “took those new sets of tools really seriously.”

“He clearly believes one of our core teachings in PAVE, ‘If you will focus on growing God's kingdom, you can trust that God will grow your church,’” said Smith. “It’s always advancing God's kingdom as our primary focus, and then we will trust God to grow the church. So, I think he is taking that to heart and done really well with it.”

Adams challenged other pastors considering PAVE to pray about whether it is the right step for their church. He encouraged them to believe that God can use them to revitalize their church despite their experience or qualifications. 

“I'm proof that you don't have to be at your church twenty years to lead a revitalization. You can do it in the midst of … how busy or how overwhelming [life] seems,” said Adams. “I believe that you'll see God's goodness if you are obedient to him.”

Adams said the growth his church has experienced this year is just the “tip of the iceberg” of how God is going to move. 

“We're never at a place where we're done. Yes, we have seen 36 baptisms this year, and it's amazing to see God and His goodness, but we have to continue to rely on him and believe that he's going to continue to move and have our eyes open to see when he is moving, and celebrating those things,” said Adams. 

Visit txb.org/pave to learn more about Texas Baptists’ church health and growth ministry and find out if PAVE is the right fit for your congregation.