The Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board approved the creation of three new task forces and approved committee and board nominees and two relationship agreements.

In addition to a task force to study possible updates to the BGCT constitution and bylaws and a task force to promote prayer, a Cooperative Program task force will conduct a comprehensive study of the funding mechanism.

The study will include how the Cooperative Program is promoted, how funds are allocated, how churches decide to participate, what is contributing to the ongoing decline in giving, and potential solutions to improve giving.

Keith Warren, executive pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Weatherford, will chair the task force. Other members include:

• Debbie Potter, BGCT president and children’s pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio.
• Pete Pawelek, Executive Board member and senior pastor of Cowboy Fellowship of Atascosa County in Jourdanton.
• Delvin Atchison, Executive Board member, African American Fellowship of Texas president, and senior pastor of Westside Baptist Church in Lewisville.
• Tim Eng, Executive Board member and lay member of Chinese Baptist Church in Houston.
• Victor Castillo, Texas Baptists River Ministry missionary and pastor of Rio Grande Bible Church in McAllen.
• Michael Gossett, Executive Board member and lead pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler.
• Del Lopez, lay member of Iglesia Bautista Hispana in Lubbock.
• Maria Bridwell, lay member of Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen.
• Dillard Fisher, Executive Board member and pastor of Cross Bearers Church in Copperas Cove.

Committee and board recommendations approved

The Executive Board approved the following nominations to fill vacancies on the Committee to Nominate Executive Board Directors:

• Dana Moore, Second Baptist Church in Corpus Christi.
• Monica Followell, First Baptist Church in San Marcos.

The board approved the following nominations to fill Executive Board vacancies:

• Tedrick Woods, Living Word Fellowship Church in Dallas.
• Michael Gossett, Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler.

Annual meeting location

When a reservation at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio could not be secured in time, the Committee on Annual Meeting recommended the 2028 Family Gathering be held at Kalahari Resorts and Conventions in Round Rock. The board approved the recommendation, sending it to messengers for a vote during the 2026 BGCT annual meeting.

Every fifth year, the BGCT annual meeting is held in July and is called the Family Gathering.

Relationship agreements approved

The Executive Board approved a new relationship agreement between the BGCT and Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas. Under the new agreement, the BGCT representation on the BHSET board decreases from 50 percent to 30 percent, which is in line with BGCT agreements with other Baptist hospitals.

The board also approved Baptist University of the Américas’ restated certificate of formation, bringing this agreement in line with other educational institution agreements.

Dustin Slaton, chair of the Institutional Relations Committee, explained the change is from a sole member corporation to no member corporation, which “clarifies legally [BUA is] not owned by the BGCT, run by the BGCT, managed by the BGCT,” though the BGCT still elects BUA trustees.

Other business

The following distributions from J.K. Wadley Endowment earnings were approved, for a total of $475,000:

• BSM campus missionaries, $150,000.
• BSM building maintenance, $150,000.
• Muslin and refugee ministry, $100,000.
• Western Heritage, $50,000.
• MinistrySafe, $25,000.

The board approved updates to a set of personnel policies to bring their language into compliance with current statutes and to better care for staff. The policies relate to background investigations, eligibility for benefits, time away from work, flexible spending accounts, and health savings accounts.

Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board members approved a new board structure to align with recent Texas Baptists’ staffing changes. The board also heard updates on the Texas Baptist Indemnity Program and Cooperative Program receipts, as well as BGCT President Debbie Potter’s first address to the board.

Committee restructuring

With constituent parts of the Center for Cultural Engagement reassigned, a corresponding committee is no longer needed. The Executive Board approved two new committees and a reestablished committee to take its place.

The Christian Life Commission once again has its own committee. Chaplaincy will temporarily fall under the associate executive director.

Affinity Ministries, which includes African American Ministries, Texas Baptists en Español, Western Heritage, and Intercultural Ministries, falls under the purview of the Relational Development Committee. Sergio Ramos, senior director of relational development and GC2 Strong, is the staff liaison.

Texas Baptist Communications and the Cooperative Program office fall under the purview of the Resource Development Committee. Joshua Minatrea, senior director of resource development, is the staff liaison.

The Audit Committee will now fall under the Finance Committee.

Texas Baptist Indemnity Program

Since its start, Nov. 1, 2025, at least 113 churches were enrolled by the end of January in the Texas Baptists Indemnity Program, which partners with KingsCover Insurance Services to provide church property insurance. The total insured value is about $900 million, BGCT Associate Executive Director and TBIP President Craig Christina reported.

The average premium savings has been between 15 percent to 35 percent, Christina said. In addition to reduced premiums, coverages have increased, he added.

The total 2026 premium savings to churches currently enrolled was reported at $1,277,644. These same churches gave $1,646,609 to the Cooperative Program in 2025. Sixty-four of the 113 churches “saved more in premiums than they gave to [the Cooperative Program] in 2025,” Christina reported.

About 600 churches are currently in the application process.

Additionally, Covenant Solutions/Texas Baptists Indemnity Program reimbursed the BGCT around $600,000 of the 2025 start-up costs, Christina said. TBIP partnered with Covenant Solutions, located in South Carolina, to make the church insurance program available nationally.

Cooperative Program

Elaborating on BGCT Executive Director Julio Guarneri’s remarks to the Executive Board on Feb. 23, BGCT Treasurer and CFO Ward Hayes shared an update on Cooperative Program giving.

Cooperative Program giving in 2025 was 97.2 percent of 2024 receipts, or down about $721,000. The shortfall in giving was partially offset by expenses being about $699,000 under budget.

Giving to special mission offerings—Mary Hill Davis, Annie Armstrong, Lottie Moon, and Texas Baptist Hunger Offering—also declined in 2025.

The total decline in Cooperative Program receipts since 2015 is $5 million, or a 17 percent decrease in Cooperative Program giving, averaging a 2 percent decline year over year. Inflation was a compounding factor during the same 10-year period from 2015 to 2025, Hayes said. What $100 could buy in 2015 took $135 in 2025.

In 2015, BGCT endowment income contributed 7 to 8 percent of annual revenue. By 2025, endowment income made up 23 percent of the BGCT’s revenue. Up until last year, investment earnings covered the gap in Cooperative Program decline but are no longer covering the drop, Hayes said.

“Ministry organizations move at the speed of trust,” Hayes said, stating the information shared is not to instill fear but to understand the reality faced by ministry organizations nationwide.

“The Cooperative Program is still the perfect engine to run this cooperative ministry that we share,” Hayes said.

Clay in the potter’s hand

BGCT President Debbie Potter exhorted Executive Board members to stay open to being shaped by the potter, citing Isaiah 64:8: “We are the clay, and you [Lord] are our potter.”

Potter grew up as a “Nazarene pastor’s kid.” She loved being a pastor’s kid and knew at a young age she wanted to marry a pastor because she wanted to be in ministry. She attended a Nazarene college to find and marry a “nice Nazarene man” who would become a pastor.

But it didn’t turn out as she planned. She did meet and marry a “nice Nazarene man” who became a banker. Potter became a public school teacher and administrator. Then, her father lost his ministry, and her family lost their church. She felt lost herself until she and her family found a church home at Parkhills Baptist Church in San Antonio.

Potter discovered her call to children’s ministry there. Parkhills also called her into her first ministry position. She has been a children’s pastor for the last 30 years, now serving at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, and is grateful for Texas Baptists who took her in and gave her a home, she said.

Seeing herself as an unlikely candidate for ministry in a Baptist church, Potter said to “look for the outliers. Always remember, God can and will do extraordinary things with ordinary people if we let him.”

Potter also urged Executive Board members to “stand up for the voiceless.” She thanked those who stood up for her as a woman in ministry. She also expressed her gratitude for the child protection policies in place among Texas Baptists and the Christian Life Commission’s work in Austin.

“God’s design takes time. Stay on the wheel,” Potter concluded.

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church are among 33 Black churches receiving millions of dollars for preservation of their sacred and historic buildings.

They are recipients of the fourth annual round of grants from the Preserving Black Churches program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.

The program, a $60 million initiative of Lilly Endowment, also announced $5 million in grants for five churches on Martin Luther King Day.

It has supported 170 churches across the United States with a total of almost $34 million to provide funding and technical expertise to protect the assets and legacies of historically Black churches.

Civil Rights Movement churches

The Birmingham church, which was bombed in 1963, will receive $300,000 for organizational and capacity building.

Theodore (Ted) Debro, campaign chair for 16th Street Baptist Church, said the grant will allow the church to hire a director of development and fundraising for the building where four young Black girls were killed when members of the Ku Klux Klan set off dynamite as the children were preparing for the Sunday morning worship service.

“As a site of deep historical significance—central to the Civil Rights Movement and a living symbol of resilience, faith, and community—16th Street Baptist Church deserves strategic, professional capacity to preserve its physical fabric, sustain its ministries, and protect the stories it holds for future generations,” Debro told Religion News Service in a statement.

“This grant addresses persistent inequities in preservation funding that have left many Black churches under-resourced despite their outsized cultural and historical importance.”

Ebenezer Baptist, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was baptized and went on to co-pastor with his father in the 1960s, will receive $100,000 for programming and interpretation.

Ebenezer Baptist hosted the early meetings that led to the start of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights organization King co-founded.

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, of Georgia, is now the church’s senior pastor.

The funding will support a graduate fellow from a historically Black college or university to design the “Preserving the Oral History Tour of Ebenezer Church” program.

Puerto Rico to Connecticut

Capital project grants were awarded to help restore edifices from Puerto Rico to Connecticut.

Iglesia San Mateo de Cangrejos, or “Church of Saint Mateo de Cangrejos of Santurce,” in San Juan, was constructed in 1832 by free Black people, freedom-seeking maroons and migrants from nearby Caribbean islands.

The Catholic church, whose building was damaged in 2017 during Hurricane Maria, will receive a $500,000 capital project grant to help repair its parish house and chapel.

Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church of Christ in New Haven, founded in 1820, is one of the first Black churches established in Connecticut and the oldest formally recognized Black Congregational United Church of Christ in the world.

A $400,000 grant will aid in the restoration and preservation of its historic stained-glass windows.

Significance of grants

“America’s 250th anniversary is an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable legacy of our nation’s historically Black churches,” said Brent Leggs, executive director of the fund and strategic adviser to the CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in a statement.

“They are essential civic institutions that have anchored democracy, community leadership, and collective care for generations. By investing in their preservation today, we are safeguarding not just historic buildings and architecture, but a living legacy of resilience and social progress for the future.”

Other historic churches

A total of $8.5 million in grants was awarded, ranging from $50,000 to $500,000, for capital projects, programming and interpretation, or project planning. The other recipients are:

• University African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Palo Alto, Calif.
• Shorter African Methodist Episcopal Church (New Dance Theatre d.b.a. Cleo Parker Robinson Dance), Denver, Colo.
• Third Baptist Church (Church of the Advent Anglican), Washington, D.C.
• Trinity Episcopal Church (DC Trinity Development Corporation), Washington, D.C.
• Bethel Baptist Institutional Church, Jacksonville, Fla.
• First African Baptist Church, Savannah, Ga.
• Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, Chicago, Ill.
• Wayman Chapel, Princeton, Ind.
• Fifth Street Baptist Church, Louisville, Ky.
• Clinton African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (d.b.a. The DuBois Freedom Center; The W.E.B. DuBois Center for Freedom and Democracy), Great Barrington, Mass.
• Mount Morris Ascension Presbyterian Church, Harlem, N.Y.
• First Baptist Church of Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Zion Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pa.
• Mark’s Episcopal Church, Charleston, S.C.
• Shiloh Baptist Church, Alexandria, Va.
• John Wesley Community Church (Waterford Foundation, Inc.), Waterford, Va.
• New Jerusalem Baptist Church, Tulsa, Okla.
• Pilgrim Baptist Church, Chicago, Ill.
• Mount Moriah African Methodist Episcopal Church (Banneker-Douglas-Tubman Museum Foundation), Annapolis, Md.
• Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Rochester, N.Y.
• New Congregational Missionary Baptist Church, Los Angeles, Calif.
• Good Shepherd Episcopal Church (Episcopal Diocese of Georgia), Brunswick, Ga.
• Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lafayette, Ind.
• Union United Methodist Church, Boston, Mass.
• Peter’s African Methodist Episcopal Church, Minneapolis, Minn.
• Historic Spring Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Tupelo, Miss.
• Bethany Baptist Church, Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Oklahoma City, Okla.
• John’s Reformed Episcopal Church, Charleston, S.C.

Howard Payne University named five students as Currie-Strickland scholars during the 18th annual Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics in February. The event featured guest lecturer John Litzler, director for public policy at the Christian Life Commission and general counsel for Texas Baptists. Students recognized were: Cate Gramling, a senior double majoring in practical theology and elementary education from Rowlett; David Newman, a junior Christian education major with an emphasis in cross-cultural ministry from Brownwood; Elsa Leake, a senior business administration major with a minor in youth ministry from Georgetown; Tori Petersheim, a graduate student in the youth and family ministry program from Flower Mound; and Biak Sang, a junior Christian education major with an emphasis in ministry leadership from Garland.

Hardin-Simmons University celebrated its 135th anniversary on Feb. 18, marking more than a century of Christ-centered higher education. As part of the celebration, the Student Government Association’s sophomore class hosted a birthday event in Moody Lobby, distributing free cake to members of the campus community. Founded in 1891 as Abilene Baptist College by the Sweetwater Baptist Association, the university was created to prepare students for lives of faith, leadership, and service.

Houston Christian University’s Society for Human Resource Management student chapter hosted the Energy Summit on Thursday, Feb. 18, with the theme of “Empowering Business Excellence.” Elizabeth Killinger, former executive vice president of NRG Home and former president of Reliant Energy, was the keynote speaker. Breakout sessions focused on people analytics and AI, human energy, international business, global strategy, and HR digital strategy. The summit offered Christ-centered professional development and strengthened connections among business professionals from the energy sector, human resources, business leadership, and the HCU campus.

Dallas Baptist University announced the groundbreaking of the Don and Linda Carter School of Business building. University leadership, faculty, students, alumni, and supporters gathered on campus Feb. 18 for a day of worship, celebration, and fellowship. The building is 55,000 square feet across five levels and will be state-of-the-art, featuring modern classrooms, faculty and administrative offices, student study and collaboration rooms, conference and meeting rooms, auditoriums, a simulated stock exchange trading floor, and other innovative learning environments.

Wayland Baptist University held a student panel event, “Black History Month Talks: More than a Month,” inviting students, employees, and community members to hear conversations featuring diverse experiences and reflections on history. Bashir Easter, associate dean of the School of Business and assistant professor of business administration, moderated the event. After the panel discussion, the audience was encouraged to participate in dialogue. The event was livestreamed on Wayland’s YouTube channel.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Feb. 23 to hear a years-long case brought by former Baptist state convention executive director Will McRaney against the North American Mission Board, upholding an appeals court’s decision to dismiss and essentially closing out the case.

Two judges in a three-judge panel for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous dismissal in September. The majority decision pointed out “church autonomy doctrine bars all of McRaney’s claims against NAMB” and resolving his claims “would require secular courts to opine on ‘matters of faith and doctrine.’”

“The Supreme Court’s decision not to review the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision brings closure to a long and difficult legal dispute filed against our ministry nearly nine years ago,” NAMB said in a statement.

“The outcome in this matter—the opinion of the Fifth Circuit—now stands as a landmark protection of religious liberty for all Southern Baptists and other people of faith.

“The Fifth Circuit recognized and respected doctrinal autonomy and voluntary cooperation among Baptist churches and ministries, while also carefully applying longstanding First Amendment principles that protect religious organizations from having internal ministry matters scrutinized by civil courts. We are grateful.”

In a statement, McRaney said he and his wife, Sandy, were grateful for the support and prayers they had received during the legal process.

“While we are disappointed the Supreme Court did not choose to grant cert in this particular case, we trust in time justice will be done and the rights of Baptist people and partners restored,” McRaney said. “This decision will have an impact on millions of Baptists and other religious groups.

“The Southern Baptist Convention and all of its entities won pyrrhic victories today and in the Sept. 2025 5th Circuit’s 2-1 ruling. Today after 9 years in the courts, NAMB won and secured their right to do what God forbids, to defame and interfere with Baptist ministers, partners, and financial supporters.”

In time, he continued, today’s SCOTUS decision will be viewed “as a historic loss in multiple ways.”

“NAMB has made clear in their statement that anyone who supports the mission efforts of the SBC can be defamed and their employment can be interfered with by SBC leaders without Baptist partners having the right to defend themselves in court,” McRaney’s statement said.

NAMB objected to assertions the decision would upend Baptist polity and religious liberty protection, citing the Fifth Circuit Court’s decision that “Baptist ecclesiology is non-hierarchical, and each Baptist church is autonomous.”

“Nevertheless, Baptist churches have long voluntarily cooperated in fellowship with one another and pooled resources for missions, evangelism, and church planting.”

McRaney, on the other hand, asserted the decision will have profound legal ramifications.

“As in other faith traditions like Catholics, now Baptist leaders, ministers, and partners will know for certain they have given up their personal legal rights with their voluntary partnering or contributing to the SBC. Sadly, this can already be seen in the Garner v. SBC court case before the [Tennessee] Supreme Court where SBC leaders also lied to the [Tennessee] Supreme Court justices,” McRaney stated.

“We pray the silence by those who tolerate the lies and deceptions to the courts will be broken and wrongdoings exposed. We pray there will be forthcoming repentance by SBC entity leaders, trustees, and other Baptist leaders resulting in a surge of renewed commitment to righteousness and truth telling above all as an act of obedience to God’s Word,” McRaney said, adding he would release a fuller statement in the coming days.

NAMB concluded its statement by saying: “The [judicial] outcome both respects Baptist distinctives and reaffirms that Baptists and other non-hierarchical faith groups are no less entitled to the First Amendment’s protections against secular intrusion into ministry affairs.”

McRaney sued NAMB in April 2017, claiming libel against the entity for actions that led to his firing as the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware executive director. That lawsuit was dismissed two years later, but the dismissal was reversed in July 2020 and sent back to a district court.

NAMB actually appealed to the Supreme Court to review the case, but that appeal was rejected in June 2021. The case continued to work through the courts until the Fifth Circuit heard from both sides in April 2024.

In addition to its full statement, NAMB posted a thread on X including an FAQ on the matter. Those questions addressed how the decision affects church autonomy, lawsuits filed against religious organizations, and how the ruling does not affect NAMB’s protocols for working with churches and other ministry partners.

Deriving principles from Acts 10-11, Julio Guarneri grounded Texas Baptist history in the authority of Scripture: “Texas Baptists believe the Bible. We are a people of the book. Do not let anyone deceive you otherwise.”

The Baptist General Convention of Texas’ history is a source of strength for the convention’s present and future, BGCT Executive Director Guarneri told BGCT Executive Board members during their February meeting.

Reflecting on the convention’s 140-year legacy and the account of Peter’s vision leading to Cornelius’ conversion, Guarneri called for future growth, renewed vision, and increased cooperation.

Formed around cooperation

Noting there were five Baptist groups in Texas in the mid- to late-1800s, Guarneri said the vision of the BGCT’s founders “was one of cooperation for the sake of God’s mission.” Doctrinal conformity was not an organizing principle, he asserted.

“While Baptist distinctives, including sound doctrine, have always been important, the BGCT did not organize around doctrinal conformity,” Guarneri said.

Similarly, the Southern Baptist Convention, formed in 1845, did not have a convention-wide statement of faith until 1925, Guarneri pointed out.

According to a quote Guarneri shared from William W. Barnes, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary professor, the 1925 statement of faith was not uniformly adopted by Southern Baptists.

The 1925 statement was revised in 1963 and again in 2000.

Lack of “doctrinal centralization,” as Barnes phrased it in 1934, did not mean Southern Baptists nor Texas Baptists questioned the authority of Scripture, Guarneri explained.

However, during the decades-long Southern Baptist controversy that led, in part, to the 2000 revision of the Baptist Faith and Message, the word “inerrancy” became a litmus test for one’s view of Scripture.

Authority of Scripture

Guarneri directly addressed “chatter” about inerrancy, specifically, the assertion other conventions are committed to inerrancy while the BGCT has “a low view of the authority” of Scripture and that only those who affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message believe in inerrancy.

The words “inerrant” or “inerrancy” are not in either the 1963 or the 2000 statements, Guarneri pointed out, comparing “Article I: The Scriptures” in the 1963 and 2000 statements.

Both versions of the statement, following the 1925 statement nearly verbatim, read:

“The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired [and] is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the principles by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.”

Article I of the 1963 and 2000 statements are not identical but are very similar, Guarneri acknowledged. Differences between the two appear in the first and last sentences.

“Those who suggest the conventions and churches who affirm the 2000 version [of the Baptist Faith and Message] are committed to inerrancy, in contrast with those who [affirm the] 1963 [version], are either ignorant or dishonest, because the word [inerrant] is not there,” Guarneri stated.

“I would argue … our commitment to the authority of the Scriptures is higher than others, because we do not elevate man-made confessions of faith above the Bible,” Guarneri contended. “If your conscience is going to submit to anything, let it be to the scriptures of the Old and New Testament, not to a man-made confession of faith. That’s where we stand.”

Cooperation amid polarization

“Today, we are surrounded by a culture of tribalism,” Guarneri said. “People are emotionally invested in their tribe … around politics, or religious beliefs, or ethical issues. … The tendency is to see others that are not in full agreement with me as the enemy and to attack them and to demean them and perhaps even dehumanize them,” he continued.

Sadly, this tribalism has crept into churches, resulting in people making decisions based around labels, Guarneri added.

“We need to be different [from] the culture around us,” Guarneri asserted. “We need to return to our commitment of cooperation.”

Guarneri also addressed declining Cooperative Program receipts, saying the 25-year decline in BGCT Cooperative Program receipts is not unique. The SBC Cooperative Program receipts have been declining for 35 years, he said.

Guarneri attributed the decline, in part, to increased inflation reducing the buying power at the same time costs have increased. Also, churches are sending less Cooperative Program dollars to the BGCT and SBC as their receipts decline and needs and costs increase.

“Our response should be to neither fear nor fixate on the dollars … nor lament the ways things used to be,” he said.

Rather, he proposed four things based on Acts 10-11 for ministries to focus on instead: The biblical foundation for cooperation, the legacy of cooperation as a Baptist people, prayer for God to reawaken churches, and a commitment to collaborate for the sake of the kingdom.

Unity amid diversity

Citing Numbers 2:2, how the Israelite tribes were to camp around the tabernacle, each family under their own banner, Guarneri asserted: “The church today would honor God most and would be most effective with every local congregation retaining their identity, their autonomy, their uniqueness, and recognizing that we together are one body in Christ.”

“We don’t have to agree on everything to be on mission together. We are called to unity in diversity for the sake of God’s glory,” he continued.

“Sound doctrine is important. We must agree on orthodox Christian doctrine. We must hold up Baptist distinctives, but we must give room for diversity in secondary and tertiary doctrines,” Guarneri said, noting Texas Baptist churches differ over Calvinism and Arminianism, end-times views, Communion, and women in ministry.

Though Texas Baptists interpret some of these matters differently, “what is constant is our commitment to the authority, inspiration, sufficiency, and infallibility of the Holy Scriptures,” Guarneri contended.

In all his travel around Texas and meeting with hundreds of Texas Baptist pastors, he has not yet met a pastor in Texas who doesn’t believe the Bible is authoritative and infallible, he added.

“Let us rise up and claim our identity, our legacy as a Baptist people who cooperate together,” Guarneri encouraged Executive Board members. “One hundred and forty years of cooperation for God’s mission, the Great Commandment, and the Great Commission demand it, and the glory of God is worthy of it.”

This report does not follow the exact chronology of Julio Guarneri’s address.

Feb. 24, 2026 marks the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. Valerii Antoniuk, president of the Ukrainian Baptist Union, marked the occasion in a video message.

“Dear brothers and sisters, for four years now, our country has lived under full-scale war, and for 12 years, we have endured armed aggression by Russia against Ukraine,” Antoniuk stated in the video. 

The armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine began Feb. 20, 2014, when the Russian military entered Crimea, followed by the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Eastern Ukraine. Ukrainians managed to stop the advance and liberate part of the territory. 

The current full-scale conflict in Ukraine began Feb. 24, 2022, when Russian military forces entered the country from Belarus, Russia, and Crimea. Much of the conflict is linked to Russia-backed separatists seeking to break away from Ukrainian control with the support of the Russian Federation.

Results of the war

The conflict has resulted in the mass displacement of over 20,000 children, deaths and torture of various priests, and nearly 700 churches damaged or destroyed. 

A study conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies indicates the number of Russian and Ukrainian troops killed, wounded, or missing during the last four years of war is on track to reach two million by this spring.

“Every day, we hear air raid sirens,” Antoniuk said in the video. “Pain, cold, and death have become daily realities. Yet, we live in a country where God continues to reveal his mercy and his power.”

Antoniuk explained how, in 2022, the world watched as Russia attempted to “swallow Ukraine whole.” And yet, Ukraine has persisted in fighting against Russia, he said. “We prayed, and we fought,” he added. 

As the first days of invasion passed, turning into weeks and months of Ukrainian resilience, “across continents, people saw how God was defending Ukraine,” Antoniuk continued. 

“Contrary to political forecasts, contrary to the enemy’s bloody ambitions, Ukraine has not been broken. The church has not fallen silent, has not stopped, and we have not surrendered,” Antoniuk said.

Ukrainian Baptists respond

Igor Bandura, vice president for international affairs with the Ukrainian Baptist Union, addressed the importance of prayer on this anniversary: “On Feb. 24, Ukraine’s National Day of Prayer, our churches will gather for special services of remembrance, lament, thanksgiving, and fervent intercession,” he said.  

“We see collective prayer as a powerful act of faith, dependence on God, and spiritual resistance, trusting him to bring justice, healing, and restoration. … Prayer is our most powerful resource and greatest comfort [during this season],” Bandura continued. 

“The devastation is profound—nearly 700 churches of all denominations, including Baptist ones, have been damaged or completely destroyed across Ukraine, with … heavy losses in occupied territories where [Christians] face persecution, forced registration under Russian control, or outright closure,” Bandura stated.

Even so, Bandura believes hope is found in Christ: “Yet, resilience flows from our unwavering trust in Christ’s ultimate victory over evil.”

Addressing Texas Baptists, Leonid Regheta—pastor of River of Life, a Ukrainian and Russian church in Plano, and chairman of Hope International Ministries—said: “On this fourth anniversary, Ukrainian church leaders want Texas Baptists to remember a basic fact: Ukraine did not choose this war.”

He urged Americans to be wary of misinformation portraying the invasion as liberation, pointing to documented accounts of deported Ukrainian children, repression in occupied regions, and the closure of evangelical congregations under Russian control. 

Regheta emphasized how hope is found in the small things, such as “in gestures of routine—marking birthdays, tending small gardens, planting potatoes, tomatoes, and beets—as people try to preserve a sense of normal life amid uncertainty.” 

Texas Baptists respond 

John Whitten, pastor of Pioneer Drive Baptist Church in Abilene, spoke about his experience visiting Ukraine and how the trip shaped his perspective: “Last year, I traveled with a delegation of Texas Baptist pastors to Ukraine and met directly with officers of the Ukrainian Baptist churches.” 

“My role has been to listen, learn, and represent Texas Baptists in a posture of long-term partnership rather than distant support. Those conversations shaped how I understand the spiritual resilience of Ukrainian believers and the responsibility we carry as fellow Baptists to stand with them in this season,” Whitten continued. 

Whitten explained how the focus of Texas Baptists has shifted to steady commitment. “There is a clear recognition that this is a prolonged struggle [and] faithful presence matters. The focus has shifted toward sustainable partnerships, pastoral support, and enhancing the ministry and witness of local churches,” he said. 

“Rather than directing from afar, Texas Baptists have sought to walk alongside Ukrainian pastors as they shepherd their people under extraordinary strain. That encouragement has reinforced the church’s role as both a spiritual and civic anchor in their communities,” Whitten stated. 

“Our engagement is ultimately about defending the dignity of conscience that lies at the heart of Baptist identity,” he said. 

Whitten encouraged more Texas Baptist churches to learn about and join the Healing Path Movement, a gospel-centered movement uniting Baptists across Texas and Ukraine. 

“I want Texas Baptists to understand that Ukraine’s struggle is not only territorial or political. It is also deeply spiritual. The freedom for churches to worship, preach, and serve without coercion is at stake,” he said. 

During its regular February meeting, the Baylor University Board of Regents celebrated fundraising and graduation milestones and introduced Baylor’s plan to meet the growing workforce demand by approving a Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering. 

President Linda Livingstone highlighted the Extend the Line scholarship initiative Baylor started in 2025, expressing a goal to produce $50 million in additional scholarship fundraising support by 2030. “We’re already over $100 million in that effort, [which] is fabulous news,” Livingstone said. 

Livingstone also commented on Baylor’s general fundraising growth. “This year is shaping up to be the second largest fundraising year in Baylor history,” she said. 

Baylor eclipsed its annual goal, due in large part to a $30 million gift received in January from the Moody Foundation of Galveston. 

The gift will help support scholarships, research, and academic programs in the School of Education, now known as the Moody School of Education. 

Additionally, Baylor received a $5 million Lilly Endowment grant as part of its Storytelling Initiative, and a $9.76 million Lilly Endowment grant for Truett Theological Seminary in December. 

Baylor hit a record four-year graduation rate of 77.3 percent, set in 2025 for first-year freshmen who entered Baylor in 2021. This compares to a 47.3 percent graduation rate in 2003, representing a nearly 63 percent increase. 

Regents approve increase in tuition costs 

Baylor regents approved an increase in tuition and fees for the upcoming 2026-27 academic year. Tuition will cost around $67,756 annually, an increase from $63,620 in 2025-26.

“After you account for financial aid and all of the need-based merit scholarships that we provide each year to students, … the average net out-of-pocket increase per student is expected to be around $1,978 annually,” Livingstone said. 

To assist current students, Baylor will help manage this increase in tuition and fees by increasing scholarship funding by $3.8 million, extend some form of financial aid to more than 90 percent of students, and continue both the Baylor Benefit scholarship and Extend the Line Scholarship Initiative. 

Response to BGCT annual meeting

President Livingstone responded to a question about the close vote by messengers to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in Nov. 2025 to defund and to reconsider the BGCT’s relationship with Baylor. 

“We are very committed to our relationship with the BGCT. I talk to [BGCT Executive Director] Julio Guarneri regularly,” she said. 

“Obviously, the Baptists helped found Baylor back in 1845. We deeply value that relationship and continue to work very closely with folks in the convention, and obviously they work very closely with Truett Seminary,” she continued. 

“We will continue to work closely with the leadership of the BGCT, [and] we both matter a lot to Baptists in Texas, and so it’s certainly a relationship we are committed to. [We will] support one another in the work we’re doing,” she said. 

In other business, Baylor regents:

• Elected Susan “Suzii” Youngblood March to a three-year term as an alumni-elected regent. Her term will begin June 1.
• Approved Chase R. Cortner as a new first-term, non-voting student regent.
• Approved Student Regent Spencer Yim as a second-term voting student regent through 2027. 
• Elected Chris Hansen for a three-year term as faculty regent.

Based in part on reporting from Baylor University Media and Public Relations. 

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (BP)—A Mississippi pastor has become the third known candidate to be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention recording secretary.

Jonathan Greer will be nominated for the office by Alabama pastor Tyler Armstrong at the 2026 SBC annual meeting in Orlando.

Greer has served as the pastor of Franklin Creek Baptist Church in Moss Point, Miss., since 2017.

Armstrong said the first time he saw Greer was from a distance at an annual meeting as Greer was asking an “informed question” from one of the microphones.

“Jonathan understands that the role of recording secretary is about faithful stewardship, not visibility,” Armstrong said, “He is careful, steady, and committed to serving the convention with integrity as an everyday Southern Baptist pastor who values clarity, accountability, and cooperation.”

He added Greer cares about sustaining the work of Southern Baptists.

“I’ve come to see that he deeply cares about our convention as a pastor of a normative-sized church in Mississippi,” Armstrong told Baptist Press.

He said when he thinks about Greer’s work as a pastor, he believes Greer’s public ministry “reflects a private life shaped by faithfulness.”

Franklin Creek Baptist Church reported total receipts of $116,000 in 2025 and gave $2,970.44 (2.6 percent) through the Cooperative Program, according to the annual church profile. They averaged 40 people in worship attendance and celebrated five baptisms.

Greer holds a bachelor’s degree from Blue Mountain College, now Blue Mountain Christian University.

He has served churches in Mississippi and Alabama. He has served on the SBC Registration Committee, the SBC Tellers Committee, and the SBC Committee on Committees.

He is serving his second term as moderator of the Jackson County Baptist Association and leads the Church Development Team.

“In every role he has held, he represents the normative pastor and church that form the backbone of our convention,” Armstrong told BP.

“Jonathan leads his home with attentiveness and sacrificial love,” he said. “He prioritizes his wife and children, ensuring that ministry flows from a healthy household.”

The SBC recording secretary oversees each year’s SBC Annual and serves as a member of the SBC Executive Committee. The position is elected each year but has no term limits.

Greer and his wife Hannah have been married nearly 14 years and have three children, Josiah, Levi and Ruth.

The 2026 SBC annual meeting is set for June 9-10 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

Jeff Dixon, a retired educator and football coach, credits his Christian faith with shaping his approach to coaching and mentoring young athletes.

Dixon, who coached for 39 years at several Texas high schools, said his relationship with Jesus transformed coaching from a competitive pursuit into a ministry focused on guiding students toward personal growth and faith.

A 1987 graduate of Howard Payne University, Dixon said his Christian faith deepened during his college years and continued to grow through relationships with other coaches who were bold about their beliefs.

“I wanted to be an impact on the community, not just for wins and losses, but I wanted to impact a community for his kingdom,” Dixon said.

Now serving as a deacon and youth minister at First Baptist Church in Alvarado, Dixon said he continues to pray the Lord will use him to impact the community and the kingdom.

Reflecting on his time on the field

Dixon reflected on his time on the field, including mentoring Anansi Flaherty, who later gave his life to Christ while incarcerated.

Flaherty, a backup fullback on Katy High School’s 2000 state championship team who later made headlines in a tragic case after killing his mother, gave his life to Christ in prison and was baptized Dec. 19, 2024.

“When you invest in people and you know they’re in trouble, it’s heartbreaking,” Dixon said. “When you’re in the coaching world and you have a position with a group of kids, they’re yours. You build a relationship with them. And he was one of mine.”

“I got into coaching because I love the sport,” Dixon said. “There’s way more to teaching and coaching than the competitive arena. I saw a side of it with adolescence that I never really recognized before—young boys who didn’t have a dad or parenting.”

Mentoring from leaders

Just as those young boys needed mentoring, Dixon said he received mentoring from Christian men throughout his career, including coaches and administrators who modeled bold leadership.

Dixon said watching those men live out their faith in the public arena made him bolder about sharing his own faith.

He also highlighted his involvement in Bible-based programs such as Coaches Outreach, a ministry providing studies tailored to the lives of coaches and their spouses.

“We go through a 12-week Bible study. It happens to be a Coaches Outreach Bible study. We’re talking about Jesus and we’re talking about the gospel,” Dixon said.

Through these experiences, Dixon said he fostered long-term relationships with players, guiding them in both sports and faith.

“When it comes to a coach’s impact, you’re going to do one of two things: You’re going to impact them for the kingdom or you’re not,” Dixon said.

“What a platform, as a Christian coach, to be an influencer of thousands of people who directly come in contact with you. That’s a major call.”

Dixon said he quickly realized coaching was more than a profession.

“It’s a calling. It’s not a job,” he said. “You can’t tackle coaching with that kind of mentality.”

Though he began coaching out of a love for competition, he said within a year he understood something bigger was at stake.

“What matters is how many you have impacted for his kingdom,” Dixon said. “The Christ impact is eternal. If I’ve been able to direct those I coach toward a personal relationship with the Savior of the world, then praise God.”

Dixon said a single coach over a 20-year career may come into contact with thousands of students and their families.

“What a platform to represent Jesus,” he said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)—Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor Denny Burk has announced plans to nominate Travis Kerns, a South Carolina associational mission strategist for the Southern Baptist Convention recording secretary at the 2026 SBC annual meeting.

“Travis’ devoted service at various levels of Southern Baptist life is extraordinary,” Burk told Baptist Press.

“Not only has he pastored a Southern Baptist congregation, but he has also served with distinction at several SBC entities.”

Burk said he has known Kerns since 2008 when they both served at Southern Seminary.

Kerns is the associational mission strategist for the Three Rivers Baptist Association in Taylors, S.C., and a member of First Baptist Church of Greer, S.C.

“His passion to reach the lost for Christ and his commitment to the SBC and her work has been unparalleled,” Burk said.

“He has been a devoted husband, a faithful father, and a committed churchman. I couldn’t be more enthusiastic to nominate him for recording secretary this June in Orlando.”

First Baptist Church of Greer reported total receipts of $1,478,013 and gave $102,978.90 (7 percent) through the Cooperative Program in 2025.

It also gave $35,450.53 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and $6,347.80 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. The church averaged 500 in attendance and celebrated 16 baptisms.

In addition to teaching at Southern Seminary, Kerns has also taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and North Greenville University.

He was a Send City missionary in Salt Lake City with the North American Mission Board.

Kerns served as an associate pastor in Greenville, S.C., for three years in the early 2000s.

He holds a Ph.D. and Master of Divinity from Southern Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts from North Greenville University.

“His training as an academic and as an author have prepared him for the duties of recording secretary, which includes overseeing the publication of the SBC Annual,” Burk said.

The office of recording secretary is elected each year but has no term limits.

He has served on the SBC Credentials Committee, the Committee on Committees and, in 2023, the Cooperation Study Group.

In addition, he has served on numerous local, state, and national boards.

He and his wife Staci have been married for more than 26 years and have one son, Jeremiah. Staci’s father has pastored Southern Baptist churches for more than three decades.

The 2026 SBC annual meeting is set for June 9-10 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

First Baptist Church of Muleshoe celebrated the completion of a $650,000 renovation project on its sanctuary. The east and west entryways and a nursery were included in the project. The sanctuary can seat 466 people. Todd Still, dean of Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, preached a dedication sermon during Sunday morning worship. Stacy Conner is pastor.

Green Acres Baptist Church gathered more than 1,000 cans of food to donate to families in need during its Souper Bowl Food Drive. High school students worked together to load the items onto the St. Paul Children’s Services truck.

Larry Tarver is retiring as director of missions of the Abilene-Callahan Baptist Association, where he has served since July 2017.