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Posted: 9/19/03

TOGETHER:
Churches & BGCT focus on missions

I love worshipping in our churches, sharing fellowship and experiencing the heart for missions and evangelism that permeates our congregations.

CHARLES WADE Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

Recently, I visited First Baptist Church of Nederland. The church reaches out to inmates at a nearby state prison, and the week before I arrived, 300 prisoners had attended a revival service. Pastor David Higgs invited me to accompany him and Sam Maggio, a Sunday School teacher who has ministered to inmates every week for more than 25 years, to baptize some of the men who had made professions of faith in Jesus. We took 10 men into the prison yard, where a large trough had been filled with water. Pastor Higgs baptized several and then asked me to assist.

It was the perfect ending to a day focused on missions, beginning with a marvelous missions emphasis in the church's morning worship service and continuing in an afternoon missions fair. Children of the church had marched in carrying flags from around the world. The pastor had introduced the parade by saying: “People from over 100 countries of the world have come to Texas. These flags represent the incredible challenge that has come to all of us who live in Texas. God has trusted these dear people to our care … to share the good news of Jesus with every one of them.” That day, the church surpassed its Mary Hill Davis Offering goal of $6,000, and more money was still coming in. Additionally, the church had its largest budget offering for the year, and church members gave more than $2,000 for benevolence ministries.

When I preached that morning, I thanked the church for its strong support of all the Baptist General Convention of Texas is doing to help churches and ministries reach out to all segments of our state. And I emphasized the importance of coming to our state convention in Lubbock Nov. 10-11.

This year's convention will be different from anything we have done in the past. The order of business committee and convention officers have worked hard to make this a time of praise, worship, fellowship, inspiration and information. General sessions will be shorter. Participants will be able to choose from among 40 special conferences designed to equip church leaders. And instead of scheduling the missions celebration at the end of the convention on Tuesday evening, it will be on Monday evening when messengers still are in town and the energy still is high.

Of course, important votes will be taken. Texas Baptists want to have a voice in matters that affect them, their churches and our missions vision. But there is much more to this year's convention.

If I still were a pastor, I would look over the list of breakout sessions. Then I would identify church members who are eager to learn and interested in preparing themselves better to help the church do new, creative things. Regardless of the number of messengers allotted to your church, if you have more people in your congregation who could benefit from these sessions, bring them all to Lubbock. We are determined to give real value–ideas and information you can take home to the place where God is using you in being the presence of Christ in the world.

Please make your room reservations and travel arrangements as soon as possible. I hope to see you in Lubbock.

We are loved.