This is staff week at the Texas Baptists offices in Dallas. Twice a year, we gather all of our staff from around the state, and we meet for three days to worship together, hear reports of what God is doing, encourage one another and plan as teams.

This is my second staff week as executive director, and I am filled with gratitude. I told the staff team yesterday morning that they are the best Baptist convention staff in the world, and I meant it. We truly have talented and dedicated individuals who serve our churches and partners well.

I rejoiced as I heard wonderful reports. Texas Cooperative Program giving is on track. God is using African American Ministries to encourage pastors. Hispanic leaders are being encouraged through evangelism and PAVE en Español. Intercultural Ministries is raising up a second generation of leaders. Our chaplaincy footprint continues to grow in hospitals, prisons and the military in Texas and around the world. And the Christian Life Commission continues to promote a culture of life in tangible ways.

Our Discipleship Collective continues to minister in specialized areas but is also leaning on family ministry. Our Conclave conference is now broader than student ministry, helping church staff and pastors reach the next generation through student ministry, children’s ministry and family ministry.

Our PAVE program is helping churches who have experienced decline or plateaued to reach new people and baptize hundreds, sometimes celebrating baptisms every Sunday. The program is contextualized for each congregation, and specific versions for African American churches, Hispanic churches and Millenial/Gen Z leaders are being implemented.

We continue to see pastoral health networks growing and multiplying through Pastor Strong in San Antonio, The Pastors Common across the state and a new initiative that is being launched to these networks in other parts of the state.

We continue to plant churches and see thousands come to Christ through them. Our River Ministry missionaries are bringing the gospel in word and action to people on both sides of the border. We are seeing thousands come to Christ, and many of them have been baptized.

We continue to rejoice with the presence that Collegiate Ministry has on our campuses, the impact that Beach Reach has in bringing spring breakers to Christ and training students in prayer and evangelism. And we are amazed by the mobilization of students to summer missions, semester missions and many of them to vocational collegiate ministry in Texas and beyond.

As churches continue supporting these ministries by giving through the Cooperative Program, to the World Wide Offering and the Mary Hill Davis Offering for State Missions, individuals continue to give through our Texas Baptists Missions Foundation. One exciting update from TBMF is the progress in the capital campaign for the new BSM building on the Baylor University campus. You can learn more about this here.

We also were reminded that our state is growing at a fast pace and that every day, there are more people without Christ. Millions in our state live without hope and the promise of eternal life. They are spiritually poor, often living in bondage and oppression, in need of good news, spiritual vision and freedom.

So we commit to praying, asking God for a burden for our state and world and getting busy with the advancement of his kingdom. “Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” He has done great things! Yet, there is so much more to be done.

Thank you for your prayers, your support and your partnership!