Margaret P. Lawson, retired professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, died Sept. 29. She was 79. She was born Oct. 25, 1943, in Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe. Prior to coming to the United States in 1983 to begin studies at Southwestern Seminary, she taught high school English and biology, and she served as coordinator of Christian education at the Baptist Union of South Africa. In addition to a Bachelor of Theology degree from the University of South Africa, Lawson earned a Master of Arts in Religious Education degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree, both from Southwestern Seminary. Lawson served nine years at Southwestern Seminary as an adjunct teacher for multiple classes—including principles of teaching, building church curriculum and adult education—before she was elected to the faculty as assistant professor of foundations of education in 1999. She was promoted to associate professor of foundations of education in 2008, where she served until she retired in 2012. She served as the minister of education or minister of discipleship at several churches in the Fort Worth area, including Springdale Baptist Church, Riverside Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Lakeside and Woods Chapel Baptist Church, as well as Surrey Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, Okla. Lawson also served as the director of the curriculum center at Southwestern from 1987 to 1993. In 2013, Lawson was awarded the Distinguished Leaders Award by the Disciple Leaders Network, a ministry of the Baptist Association of Christian Educators. A celebration of life service will be held at 10 a.m. on Oct. 21 at Arlington Plaza—Sky Active Living.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (BP)—Rex Horne, longtime Arkansas Baptist pastor and former president of Ouachita Baptist University, is executive director-elect of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.

The state convention’s executive board approved the recommendation of its operating committee, which served as the search team, during a special called meeting Oct. 10. Horne has served as the interim executive director since December.

The decision makes Horne the 35th executive director in the 175-year history of the convention, which began in 1848.

The executive director leads the convention staff in serving the needs of and assisting about 1,500 churches and encouraging missions cooperation among them.

“I am deeply humbled and honored to be named the next executive director of the ABSC,” Horne said. “During these last 10 months, there have been a number of challenges met and steps taken that will have a positive impact on our future cooperative ministries.

“I will respect all our churches. I will assist and strive to encourage our pastors and their vision. I will listen, learn and lead optimistically in a time that is transitional but can also be transformational.”

Bill Panneck, senior executive pastor at Central Baptist Church in Jonesboro and chairman of the operating committee, said the committee members recognized early on that prayer would be the key for God to lead them to “his perfect choice, at his perfect time, in his perfect way.”

When the opportunity came to hear Horne’s vision and plans going into the future for Arkansas Baptists, Panneck said it became clear to the whole team he was the person to lead them going forward.

“What a privilege it was for me, as chairman of the search team, to recommend Dr. Horne to the executive board and have them unanimously approve one of Arkansas’ great statesmen as the next executive director of the ABSC. God is in control and the future for Arkansas Baptists is very bright with Dr. Horne at the helm,” he said.

Jeff Paxton, senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dover and president of the state convention’s executive board, said he is excited Horne answered the call to be the next executive director for Arkansas Baptists.

“Dr. Horne has admirably and effectively served Arkansas Baptists for decades, and I have no doubt he will do the same in the future. His energy, passion, vision and wisdom, along with his steady hand will lead us well as we endeavor to win the lost for Christ. It is evident God’s Spirit has been upon him, and I’m certain that will be the case as the ABSC moves forward,” Paxton said.

Horne served as pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock from 1990 to 2006, president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention from 1996 to 1997 and president of Ouachita Baptist University from 2006 to 2015. Additionally, Horne was a trustee for OBU and a board member for Baptist Health.

The past several years, Horne has also interacted with several Arkansas Baptist churches through his work with the Arkansas Baptist Foundation as a consultant.

He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Horne and his wife, Becky, have been married 50 years. They have four children and 15 grandchildren.

FORT WORTH—Middle-class social service providers and educators who try to communicate with people trapped in generational poverty might as well be speaking in a foreign language—unless they intentionally become “poverty-informed,” Donna Beegle told participants at a Christian community development conference.

“America is segregated by social class,” Beegle, founder of Communication Across Barriers, said at the No Need Among You Conference at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

“We need to fight poverty, not the people who live in it,” she said at the conference, sponsored by the Texas Christian Community Development Network. “Poverty steals hope.”

Beegle described spending “28 years living in the war zone of poverty.” Growing up, she seldom understood the vocabulary her teachers used, and their examples based on middle-class experiences rang hollow.

When Beegle told a teacher she planned to drop out of school, the teacher tried to motivate her by saying she needed to earn a diploma if she wanted to get a job.

“I told her I didn’t want a job,” Beegle recalled.

When the teacher talked about a “job,” she meant a meaningful career that would enable her to have a decent lifestyle.  She interpreted Beegle’s response as evidence of laziness.

When Beegle heard “job,” she thought about all the migrant workers and other laborers she knew who worked long hours at jobs that didn’t pay a living wage, and she wanted no part of that life.

“If you judge, you cannot connect. If you cannot connect, you cannot communicate,” Beegle said.

As a divorced mother in her late 20s who wanted to provide for her children, Beegle enrolled in a program for women that enabled her to earn a GED.

After two years at a community college, she continued her studies at the University of Portland, where a professor offered to teach her the communication skills she never learned as an elementary school student. After completing her undergraduate degree, she went on to earn a master’s degree in communication and a doctorate in educational leadership.

“Now I am bilingual. I speak fluent middle-class English,” she said.

‘Put poverty in its place’

Beegle challenged Christians involved in community development to recognize if they control resources people in poverty need, they should “hold that power as sacred.”

“See the unknown potential of the human in front of you,” she urged.

Touching on some of the same themes, Coyletta Govan of Cornerstone Assistance Network in Fort Worth led a workshop on “Thriving in the Wake of Poverty.”

“Poverty is like a vicious predator,” Govan said.

People trapped in poverty are like the enslaved Israelites in Egypt who were commanded by Pharaoh to make bricks without straw. In other words, they were required to work but not provided the resources necessary to accomplish the assigned task, she said.

She challenged Christians in community development to act with “courageous compassion” and find the STRAW—Solutions That Restore Access To Wealth.

“Poverty is the problem, not the people living in poverty,” she said. “Remove obstacles and replace them with resources. We can put poverty in its place.”

WASHINGTON (RNS)—American evangelical Christian leaders responded Oct. 11 to the attacks on Israel by Hamas by issuing a letter calling for moral clarity, both supporting Israel’s right to defend itself and proclaiming the need to protect the lives of innocent civilians.

“In the wake of the evil and indefensible atrocities now committed against the people of Israel by Hamas, we, the undersigned, unequivocally condemn the violence against the vulnerable, fully support Israel’s right and duty to defend itself against further attack, and urgently call all Christians to pray for the salvation and peace of the people of Israel and Palestine,” the public statement reads.

The letter, signed by 60 institutional leaders, will be delivered to the White House, Congress and leaders at the United Nations, said Brent Leatherwood, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, which helped organize the letter.

Texas Baptists who endorsed the statement include Julio Guarneri, executive director-elect of the Baptist General Convention of Texas; Katie Frugé, director of the Christian Life Commission and the BGCT Center for Cultural Engagement; Katie McCoy, director of BGCT women’s ministries; and Robert Sloan, president of Houston Christian University.

‘Clear-eyed thinking and moral certainty’

In a phone interview, Leatherwood said the letter was prompted by what he said were responses to attacks on Israel that drew “false equivalence” between the attacks by Hamas, a group identified by the United States as a terrorist group, and the actions of Israel’s military.

“It is time for clear-eyed thinking and moral certainty,” he said.

SBC officials are strongly represented among the signers, including the SBC president, Pastor Bart Barber of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, as well as seminary presidents Al Mohler, Danny Akin, Jason Allen and David Dockery.

Two former ERLC presidents—Russell Moore, now editor of Christianity Today, and Richard Land, now executive editor of the Christian Post website—also signed the letter.

The letter draws on the Christian justification for war known as just war theory to support Israel’s right to defend itself from attacks.

It also ties the current violence to past attacks on Jews and Israel.

“Since the inception of the modern state of Israel in 1948, Israel has faced numerous attacks, incursions, and violations of its national sovereignty,” the letter reads. “The Jewish people have long endured genocidal attempts to eradicate them and to destroy the Jewish state. These antisemitic, deadly ideologies and terrorist actions must be opposed.”

Leatherwood said that just war theory clarifies Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks but also puts limits on the response to those attacks. Leatherwood said the letter’s signers are concerned about civilians who will be harmed in the current war in Israel.

“Our concern first and foremost for innocent, vulnerable individuals in Israel and throughout the region that are caught in the middle of this,” he said. “It is a war that is not of their choosing.”

Focus on ‘protecting the vulnerable’

Leatherwood said organizing the letter is part of the ERLC’s broader mission of “protecting the vulnerable.” That mission, he said, has become even more important to him in recent months—earlier this year, the school in Nashville, Tenn., that his children attend was the site of a mass shooting in which three students and three adults were killed. That shooting led Leatherman to push for gun violence reforms.

“The Lord has taught me to continually have an eye out for vulnerable individuals in a number of different contexts,” he said.

Evangelical Christians are among the staunchest supporters of the state of Israel. The ERLC cited a 2017 study of evangelical attitudes toward Israel from Lifeway Research, an evangelical firm, that found that 73 percent of those polled supported Israel’s right to defend itself from attacks.

Dan Darling, director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and one of the letter’s signers, was encouraged to see evangelical leaders speak out for Israel. He also said that evangelicals are concerned about Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who will be harmed by the war.

He said there is no justification for the “atrocities inflicted on innocent Jewish people by Hamas.”

“The geopolitics of the region are complex,” he said. “Condemning what we are seeing from Hamas is not complex.”

Leatherwood drew a distinction between Palestinians, who include a number of his fellow Christians, and the actions of Hamas.

 “Hamas is the enemy, not innocent civilians,” he said.

East Texas Baptist University’s Learning and Leading classes hosted fall festivals for Marshall’s David Crockett Elementary, Sam Houston Elementary, William B. Travis Elementary, Price T. Young Elementary schools and the Marshall Early Childhood Center on Oct. 2. ETBU students served nearly 1,000 elementary students and their families. ETBU’s fall festival events have become a tradition for the university’s students and the elementary students and families of the Marshall Independent School District, with more than 350 ETBU freshmen planning and organizing the event during their Learning and Leading courses and the freshman Honors Program. “Our students get to take what they have learned in class about Christian servant leadership and apply that knowledge by collaborating with each other to plan, build, and host booths at the fall festivals,” said Vanessa Johnston, ETBU Learning and Leading coordinator. “Hosting the fall festivals for the families in Marshall ISD allows them to see the impact they can make in the community in a tangible way. We hope this experience positively affects not only the families of Marshall, but also our students who will see the importance of loving and serving our neighbors as Christ has called us to do.”

Wayland Baptist University has launched the search for the school’s 14th president, creating a webpage with updates about the search, said Tyler Topper, chair of Wayland’s presidential search committee. President Bobby Hallannounced in September plans to retire effective June 30, 2024. The search committee and consultants “have developed a job ad and position profile describing the key institutional needs and priorities, as well as a related set of desired characteristics for our next president,” Topper said in a letter sent to Wayland students, faculty and staff. The search committee welcomes the suggestion of candidates who could serve effectively as the next president or the names of persons who might recommend potential candidates, he added. “When nominating, please complete the confidential online nomination form on the website or forward the name(s) and contact information, including email address, to our consultants at WBUPresident@academicsearch.org,” Topper said. The search committee plans to begin reviewing applications in late October with the goal of identifying a small group of candidates. Semifinalist interviews are expected in late-November, with finalists being interviewed in early January.

Lance Shumake, president of iGo Global, spoke in chapel at Dallas Baptist University at the beginning of Missions Week. Shumake’s Rockwall-based organization partners with churches to help train and mobilize the next generation to spread the gospel internationally. Shumake challenged students to think beyond self-interested hopes and focus instead on God’s will. He urged them to be on mission with God as instruments of blessing, sharing the hope of God’s love. In addition to iGo Global, representatives from Greater Europe Mission, Cafe 1040, Africa Inland Mission and other organizations participated in an outdoor mission fair, introducing students to missions opportunities. In another chapel service during DBU Missions Week, Izabella McMillon of Samaritan’s Purse told how—as a 13-year-old girl in Romania—she received an Operation Christmas Child gift box that changed her life.

The board of directors of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty elected Anyra Cano of Fort Worth as chair. She is the first Latina to serve in that role. Cano is director of programs and outreach for Fellowship Southwest. She previously was coordinator of Texas Baptist Women in Ministry and served 12 years as youth minister at Iglesia Bautista Victoria en Cristo in Fort Worth.

Members at Ventana, a Buckner senior living community in Dallas, volunteered recently at the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid. They spent the afternoon sorting shoes and stuffing them with encouraging notes to support Buckner’s Shoes for Orphan Souls program. “This is our first outing of this type,” said Holly Yates, director of lifestyle services at Ventana. “But members have been involved in volunteering with Buckner through Pajamas for Seniors and by providing supplies to families in the Buckner Family Hope Center or Buckner Family Pathways programs.”

Specially trained Texas Baptist Men disaster relief volunteers are at a secure site in Israel, preparing about 2,000 meals a day for civilians displaced by bombing.

The TBM crew—all of whom trained in Israel to learn how to cook culturally appropriate meals for religiously observant citizens of the region—arrived in two waves.

When the team’s initial flight was cancelled, the 19-member TBM crew had to split into two groups. After some circuitous travel, the first group arrived in Jordan on Oct. 10 and walked across the border into Israel. Next, they were transported by bus to the same facility where they had trained with Israel’s Emergency Volunteers Project. The second group of TBM volunteers arrived the next day.

 “We had to go through multiple military checkpoints at the border,” said Gary Finley, Israel volunteer coordinator for TBM.

TBM volunteers are working alongside EVP personnel at their base of operations to cook meals and prepare them for delivery.

“The meals are being distributed by EVP volunteers, who are going into hot spots where there are displaced people,” Finley said. “Those are areas where homes have been damaged or destroyed and are prone to missile attacks. No TBM volunteers are placed in harm’s way.”

Dealing with a ‘very fluid’ situation

Even so, Finley acknowledged the stress inherent in entering a country at war and dealing with a variety of contingencies.

“It’s one thing to sit in a Sunday school class and say, ‘I want to be in the center of God’s will, and I’m trusting in him.’ It’s another to make the decision to go into a war zone,” he said.

Still, Finley said, he left Texas for Israel with his family’s blessings.

“They said, ‘We know this is what you’ve been training for.’ My kids and grandkids understand. We’re all standing on God’s promises,” he said.

Finley described the situation as “very fluid,” and he said the team is prepared to move to another location where they can serve displaced citizens, particularly if the violence escalates. The volunteer team in place now expects to serve two weeks.

“We’re playing it by ear,” he said. “Pray for whatever God has in store. … Pray for patience, because we don’t know from one day to the next what that day will bring.”

In addition to requesting prayer for peace and for the safety of the TBM team, he also asked Texas Baptists to pray God will grant the volunteers the energy and endurance they need.

“Our cooking capacity is limited here,” Finley said. “So, we may end up running 24 hours a day to keep up. Pray that we will be up to the task.”

An Oct. 11 email to TBM disaster relief volunteers noted the possible need for a significantly larger number of workers “if the conflict intensifies” in Israel.

“We are making contingency plans to send as many as 150 more volunteers,” the email stated.

Advance completion of training for Israel feeding is not required, but previous disaster relief training and experience is essential. Credentialed disaster relief volunteers in good health who have current passports and are capable of working long hours in challenging conditions can apply here.

A 13-member Texas Baptist Men volunteer team left Texas traveling to Maui Oct. 7 to help with recovery in the aftermath of the wildfires that occurred in early August.

Considered the deadliest U.S. fire in more than a century, the fires in Maui destroyed more than 2,000 acres of land and killed 97 people. Most of the structures burned in the fire were residential.

Homeowners only recently returned to their homes and saw for the first time the damage to their property. As they sift through ash and other debris to try to regain possessions, the TBM team will be there to help in any way needed.

The experience will be “quite emotional,” said Curt Neal, team leader for the TBM team.

“For the first few days, we might be working more in a chaplaincy role,” he said. “It’s not just possessions. They’ve lost neighbors. It’s going to take some time to reflect on what their loss has been, and we’re going to be there for them. We will provide emotional support and be there to do whatever they want.”

It probably won’t be a typical TBM ash-out effort, Neal said. The teams will work slowly and evaluate the needs of the homeowners. They will be flexible and work with what the homeowners need.

Some may need emotional support. Others may need help sifting through ash to find possessions. For those whose homes did not burn, they may need help moving furniture and other items from their home.

“We are coming in with open ears and open arms,” Neal said. “We don’t really know what to expect, but the team is willing and ready to serve.”

The team will be on Maui several weeks.

“Recovery of this magnitude takes time,” said David Wells, director of TBM disaster relief. “We are so thankful for everyone who is praying and those who have donated to this effort. You are helping to deliver help, hope and healing to Hawaiians during this difficult time.”

The Baptist General Convention of Texas’ executive director-elect believes the greatest challenge facing Texas Baptists and their greatest opportunity are closely related.

Presenting the gospel to a burgeoning Texas population in the midst of “complex demographic shifts that are happening in our state will require a concerted and strategic effort,” Julio Guarneri said.

Guarneri, who assumes his duties as BGCT executive director in late November, talked about the mission that unites Texas Baptists during an Oct. 10 Zoom interview with the Baptist Standard.

“Reaching Texas for Christ” and mobilizing Texas Baptists to be engaged in worldwide missions in the current context will require “concerted effort” and focus, he noted.

“I’m convinced that business as usual is not going to get it done,” he said. “I think we are doing some great things, but I think there is so much more to do. The risk is to get complacent or to major on controversies.”

Resist being pulled to extremes

Staying focused on mission means resisting forces that would seek to pull Texas Baptists toward extremes, he noted.

He recognizes a challenge in “dealing with those who would want us to move from our historic centric focus.”

“I think we live in times where society seems to thrive on extremism, and it’s difficult to stay the course to our historical, biblical and missional commitment when forces try to pull us to the extremes,” Guarneri said.

Currently, the Southern Baptist Convention is embroiled in debate over the role of women in ministry—particularly whether a church can employ a woman on its ministerial staff as a “pastor” and still be in “friendly cooperation” with the SBC.

When it comes to women serving in pastoral roles, Guarneri believes Texas Baptists properly emphasize local church autonomy and the priesthood of all believers.

Messengers to BGCT annual meetings “have consistently spoken” and declared “that this is a local church autonomy issue,” he said.

“While we believe God calls and equips women for ministry in the local church, the mission field and parachurch ministries, the specific titles for both men and women in church are for the local church to decide, not for us to dictate,” he said.

“And for me, more important than particular titles for church staff is the recognition that we champion the priesthood of all believers, and all believers are called to obey the Great Commission.”

By keeping the emphasis on local church autonomy, “we can continue to have room for respectful dialogue where there are differences” and to encourage and provide resources to local churches “whatever position they take” on women in ministry, he said, expressing his desire to be “an executive director for all Texas Baptists.”

“While there are differences in our Texas Baptist churches in this regard, I believe that most churches and leaders don’t desire to make this an issue of fellowship,” he said. “To me that’s important, that we don’t alienate churches or ministers on either side of the issue.”

Work with those ‘who are willing to work with us’

Guarneri noted Texas Baptist churches continue to contribute more than $22 million annually to SBC missions and ministries.

“I believe that the BGCT needs to work with those denominational bodies that are committed to the Great Commission, that are committed to the importance of cooperation for the sake of the kingdom, bodies with whom we have general agreement regarding faith and practice, and who are willing to work with us and our churches,” he said.

Guarneri expressed appreciation for the vision of those who drafted the BGCT Constitution, particularly in regard to the breadth of its mission statement: “The object of this convention shall be to awaken and stimulate among the churches the greatest possible activity in evangelism, missions, Christian education and benevolent work and enterprises; to cultivate a closer cooperation among the churches and promote harmony of feeling and concert of action in advancing all of the interests of the Redeemer’s Kingdom.”

He also voiced support for the more succinct defining mission of Texas Baptists as “a movement of God’s people to share Christ and show love by strengthening churches and ministers, engaging culture and connecting the nations to Jesus.”

Texas Baptists can unite around Christ’s Great Commission, his Great Commandment and “churches working along with institutions in advancing kingdom initiatives—in doing things no one church could do by itself,” he said.

‘What a good servant leader does’

Guarneri, who earned a doctorate in leadership studies with a ministry concentration from Dallas Baptist University, said he aspires to be “a servant leader.”

“My goal—my desire—is to model for others what it means to follow Jesus, what it means to serve others, what it means to be about his agenda,” he said.

“And I think that includes being an encourager, being a listener, valuing working as a team, and in that process discovering vision together, casting the vision and then inspiring and empowering others to live out God’s calling on their lives. That’s what a good servant leader does.”

As executive director, Guarneri said he wants to listen to church and associational leaders, as well as institutional leaders, to hear their “dreams and hopes” and discover a shared vision for Texas Baptists.

In his new role, he acknowledged the need to balance being accessible and being strategic in how he spends his time and energy.

“I look forward to working with leaders across Texas to discover what our future looks like and how we strategize and partner for the sake of the Great Commission and the Great Commandment,” he said.

Listening to all Texas Baptists and reaching every facet of the Texas population  with the gospel requires church leaders to develop “cross-cultural competencies” and learn how to minister in varied contexts, he noted.

“It’s not rocket science,” Guarneri said. “Sometimes it’s just the awareness and the willingness to have conversations and the self-awareness to understand that not everybody looks at the world the way I do. And they can love Jesus and be about the same agenda, even when they think and process differently and when they prioritize certain things I may take for granted or assume.”

‘Hard to imagine’ not being a pastor

Guarneri grew up in a Christian home and made what he called a “clear and sincere” profession of faith in Christ at an early age, and he recommitted his life to Christ as a teenager. At age 16, while attending Hispanic Baptist Youth Congreso in Houston, he was inspired by the challenge to be part of a generation that could fulfill Christ’s Great Commission.

“That really was compelling to me,” he said. “As I was thinking about that, I felt God’s Spirit really tugging at my heart, and I felt God was calling me to surrender to ministry.”

After 13 years as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen—and previously 17 years as pastor at Iglesia Bautista Getsemani in Fort Worth—Guarneri confessed it is “hard to imagine” not serving in a pastorate.

“I’m confident my wife and I are going to find a good spiritual family when we move to the Dallas area, but it will be strange to look for a church,” he acknowledged. “We haven’t had to do that in decades.”

When asked what he would like Texas Baptists to know about the next BGCT executive director, Guarneri responded: “I want them to know I am very honored and humbled to get the opportunity to serve in this role. I want them to know that I love the Lord, that I am committed to the Scriptures and to the local church.

“I love Texas Baptists and the work of the BGCT. And I am committed to find ways to work together so that we can move forward in finishing the task.

“I hope that when history writes about the BGCT in this next era that they would say Texas Baptists were faithful to the Great Commission and invested in ‘all the interests of the Redeemer’s Kingdom’ to the glory of God.”

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.—As churches continue to navigate economic challenges in the United States, half of surveyed pastors say the economy is harming their churches as giving fails to keep up with inflation.

A Lifeway Research study of U.S. Protestant pastors found 50 percent say the current economy is negatively impacting their churches. Meanwhile, 40 percent say the economic circumstances aren’t having an effect. Fewer than 1 in 10—8 percent—say the current economy is a positive factor for their churches.

Last year was the first time since 2016 more than half of pastors felt the economy was impacting their churches negatively and the first time since 2012 fewer than 10 percent of pastors expressed belief the economy was positively impacting their churches.

Only twice in the study’s 15-year history—in 2018 and 2019—were pastors more likely to say the economy was having a positive impact than a negative one.

“The good news is the economy is not negatively impacting more churches than last year, despite persistent inflation and slower economic growth,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “The bad news is that most churches continue to feel pain and discomfort from current economic realities.”

Although pastors continue to report a negative economic impact, churches have maintained stable levels of giving near their planned budgets and comparable to last year’s giving. But in most churches, increases in giving have not kept up with inflation in 2023.

Around 7 in 10 U.S. Protestant pastors say since the beginning of 2023, giving at their church is at or exceeding budget, with 46 percent saying giving has been about what was budgeted and 22 percent saying it’s higher. Three in 10 say giving is below their 2023 budget.

Tough time to set a budget

“This was not an easy year to set a budget, as many predicted a softening in the nation’s economic well-being,” McConnell said. “Whether churches lowered expectations or not, most are meeting or exceeding their budget.”

Compared to last year’s actual receipts, 7 in 10 pastors say giving at their churches is at or above 2022 levels, including 38 percent who say it’s the same as last year, and 33 percent saying it’s above. Fewer than 1 in 4 (23 percent) say offerings are below 2022.

When asked by what percentage their churches’ offerings have increased or decreased, more pastors say giving is the same as 2022 or above. More than 2 in 5 (44 percent) say it has remained the same. Twelve percent of pastors say giving has increased less than 10 percent. Thirteen percent say it has increased 10 percent to 24 percent. Four percent say it has increased by 25 percent or more since 2022.

Around 1 in 5 report a decrease in giving, including 4 percent who say offerings are down by  less than 10 percent. Twelve percent say they are down 10 percent to 24 percent. Four percent say they have declined by 25 percent or more.

When the income experiences of churches are combined, the average church saw an increase of 0.79 percent in offerings from 2022 to 2023.

“Finances are not just difficult for those churches in which giving is down,” McConnell said. “Most churches are not seeing growth in offerings that keep pace with inflation (currently 3.7 percent annually according to the Consumer Price Index). So, many churches are still cutting spending and giving raises that are smaller than their pastors and staff need.”

Size matters

Although the economy’s impact on churches has remained stable compared to last year, small churches are still the most likely to face financial struggles. Small churches were some of the first to recover pre-pandemic levels of attendance after COVID-19, but many have struggled to face the economic challenges in the years since. Large churches are less likely to be struggling in the current economy.

Pastors at the largest churches—those with 250 or more in attendance—are the least likely to say the economy has somewhat or very negatively impacted their churches this year (34 percent). They are also the most likely to report that giving levels are above those in 2022 (57 percent).

Meanwhile, pastors of churches with attendance less than 100 are among the most likely to say offerings have been lower than budgeted this year and below 2022’s offerings.

“In a smaller church, if economic factors hurt even a couple of families, chances are the church feels it,” McConnell said. “There is no looking around expecting someone else to step up to cover it. It just hurts.”

The phone survey of 1,004 Protestant pastors was conducted Aug. 29 to Sept. 20. The calling list was a stratified random sample, drawn from a list of all Protestant churches. Each interview was conducted with the senior pastor, minister or priest at the church. Analysts weighted responses by region and church size to reflect the population more accurately. The completed sample is 1,004 surveys, providing 95 percent confidence the sampling error does not exceed plus or minus 3.2 percent. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.

ASHKELON, Israel (BP)—On Friday night, longtime Kentucky Baptist pastor and former Kentucky Baptist Convention staff member Alan Dodson walked on the beach in Ashkelon, Israel, as he met with U.S. ministry leaders planning future trips to the Holy Land.

Just a few hours later, a devastating barrage of 100 Hamas-launched rockets hit the city, beginning what many Middle East experts are calling the most serious conflict in the region since the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago this month.

Dodson now serves as the vice president for North American relations at an Israeli company specializing in Christian tours to Israel. Dodson and the people he was with are safe and unharmed, he said.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” Dodson said. “Pray that hostilities would end quickly. Many Israelis are lost and need to know the hope of the Gospel. The other side is in pervasive darkness. Pray for them as well.”

Dodson is among at least a half dozen groups of Baptists who were in Israel as the Palestinian terrorist group, Hamas, launched a surprise attack on Israel this weekend. In the attack, Hamas sent thousands of rockets and armed forces into Israel.

Ric Worshill, the executive director of the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship, noted the attack came on the last day of Sukkot, one of the holiest of days on the Jewish calendar. Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, is an eight-day festival that celebrates the harvest.

“It’s horrible,” Worshill said. “It’s just heartbreaking because this year has been the highest in anti-Semitism throughout the world since the Holocaust, and it’s really sad that they would pick the last day of a Jewish holiday to do all this barbaric stuff.”

Worshill asked Southern Baptists to unite in prayer for those involved in this conflict.

“We need to be one,” Worshill said. “We need to be one about everything. We need to be one about the Lord. We need to be one about politics. And we need to be one about being against the attacks of Satan in prayer. That’s the biggest thing I can say. There should be no division in the body of Christ. We, Southern Baptists, need to stick together.”

For such a time as this

Over the past five years, Texas Baptist Men has set up several feeding units in Israel, preparing for situations just like the one that is now unfolding.

John Hall, a spokesperson for TBM, said the ministry has been preparing for this moment since 2018 when it began a partnership in Israel. The group has multiple mobile kitchens in Israel, built specifically for situations like this. Volunteers are on the way to Israel to deliver food to people in need.

 “We know that there are two situations that create great need right now,” Hall said. “There are the communities that have been hit directly by the rockets and have lost their homes or cannot cook for themselves. But there are also entire communities that have spent much of their time inside, sheltering in bunkers. For safety’s sake, they don’t have access to a lot of food. They can’t really cook safely. So, we’re going to prepare meals for them and deliver them to them.”

Hall asked Christians to provide a “blanket of prayer” as TBM volunteers prepare to serve the hungry and displaced caused by the conflict in Israel.

“Pray for safety as we serve, as well as the safety of those that we’re serving,” Hall said. “Pray for peace. Pray for it to come swiftly and miraculously. Pray that needs are met, and we minister well.”

‘This is home for them’

Zach Terry, pastor of First Baptist Church of Fernandina Beach, Fla., arrived in Israel last week to lead a team of 54 people on a tour of Israel. Besides members of his church, he also has members of several other Southern Baptist churches in Florida and Georgia with him on the trip.

So far, Terry said the trip has stayed close to schedule despite the conflict. They’ve been able to see sites in Galilee, along with sites in Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, Masada and Jerusalem.

“When it first started, we were up near the Lebanon border, north of Galilee, right in the top areas,” Terry said. “We could throw a rock and hit Lebanon from some of the places we were at. Then, when we got word that it started, we started to kind of move away from Lebanon, move toward Jerusalem to see how it would develop and what the danger was.”

Jerusalem, he said, seemed like the safest location because their tour company owned a hotel there where they could stay if the situation worsened. He said Jerusalem has been fairly normal and quiet since they arrived.

Earlier on Oct. 9, Terry said the group heard one of the rockets got through Israel’s “Iron Dome,” and landed in Jerusalem. The Iron Dome is an Israeli air defense system. The group, he added, can also hear fighting in Gaza and see smoke on the horizon.

The plan was for the group to return to the states on Thursday, but they’ve been told it’s unlikely right now. They are trying to get at least some of the women back to the United States, but that has proved difficult.

Terry also urged Christians to pray.

“First, pray for the end of the conflict, that it would end peaceably, and quickly,” Terry said. “As far as our group is concerned, just pray that God uses our time here, that we’re able to be good representatives of the Lord.

“We’re trying to get out of here, but some of these other brothers aren’t able to. This is home for them. We’re very aware of that. We have a lot of brothers/sisters here in Israel. We’ve got brothers and sisters in Gaza. So, we just need to lift them up. And for everybody that’s involved, we don’t want any loss of life.”

Awakened by sirens

Just hours after Pastor Brent McDougal and his team from First Baptist Church of Knoxville, Tenn., arrived in Israel on Friday evening, they awoke to sounds of sirens in Tel Aviv. A missile struck a few miles from their hotel.

The team, McDougal said, was on a pilgrimage to Israel to see some of the biblical sites in the country. They plan to leave on Oct. 20, but they currently can’t leave out of the airport in Tel Aviv. They are looking into backup plans for departing if the fighting continues to escalate and they need a quick escape.

“We are so thankful that Southern Baptists are a people of prayer,” McDougal said. “We’re grateful that people can be praying for us, not only for safety, but also for wisdom and making good decisions about continuing or finding the best way home.

“We would also ask that Southern Baptists would pray for those who are suffering in Israel on both sides. We are deeply saddened by the violence that we have heard about and grief that families are experiencing. It’s been eye-opening to be in the center of this conflict that has been going on for so many thousands of years.”

McDougal asked Southern Baptists, as they watch the events unfold in Israel, to renew their efforts to be peacemakers at home.

“The conflict here has been a great contrast to the ways in which we can be so divided in the United States,” McDougal said. “We believe that God’s people are called to be not only people of truth, but also people of peace. So, we hope that Southern Baptists can be renewed in their fervent prayers, and in their discipleship of the one who was called the Prince of Peace.”

Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., also has a team visiting Israel at this time. Everyone on the trip is safe according to an email from the church.

First Baptist Church of Loganville, Ga., has a team of 40 people in Israel right now.

Nine members of a Dallas Baptist University group on a Holy Land tour remained in Israel as of Oct. 9. The three students, three alumni and three DBU administrators were part of a larger group of 18 who originally were scheduled to end their fall break trip to the Holy Land on Oct. 7.

Trained Texas Baptist Men volunteers headed to Israel Oct. 8 after the nation erupted into warfare the day before, preparing to provide meals both for Israelis and Palestinians.

Hamas surprised Israel with a barrage of at least 2,200 rockets Oct. 7, as well as ground troops invading southern Israel. Israel responded by shooting missiles into Gaza, where Hamas is based.

TBM volunteers, working in a secure location, will cook meals for Palestinians and Israelis in affected neighborhoods.

“Our volunteers have been training for five years to serve food in Israel in the event of any type of humanitarian crisis,” said Mickey Lenamon, executive director/CEO of TBM.

“Everyone on that team feels called to serve. So, now we are all called to meet needs in rocket-ravaged neighborhoods.“

John-Travis Smith, who coordinates TBM ministry in Israel, said: “People caught in the middle of this conflict are hurting. They’re scared. And they’re hungry. TBM is seeking to meet their physical needs and provide a reminder that God loves them.”

The deployment is the latest in a growing partnership with Israel’s Emergency Volunteers Project. Since 2018, TBM and EVP have trained volunteers to provide meals during crises and disasters. TBM volunteers previously served Ukrainian refugees in Israel shortly after Russia invaded their home country.

“This is an incredibly difficult situation,” Smith said. “Please pray for peace. Pray for the safety of families living in the middle of a war. Pray for TBM volunteers who are deployed to help those in need.”

TBM is working in Israel at the request of EVP, because the Israel-based group learned about TBM expertise in disaster feeding responses. EVP has trained TBM volunteers in food preparation consistent with cultural expectations within Israel. All of the volunteers now headed to Israel have already been to Israel for food preparation training.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  This article originally was posted Oct. 9. All members of the Dallas Baptist University group returned home safely from Israel on Oct. 11.

Nine members of a Dallas Baptist University group on a Holy Land tour remain in Israel, waiting to return home after the surprise attack by Hamas.

The multipronged attack on Southern Israel was far from where the group was located, but it disrupted their travel plans when airlines suspended all flights in and out of Israel.

The three students, three alumni and three DBU administrators were part of a larger group of 18 who originally were scheduled to end their fall break trip to the Holy Land on Oct. 7.

The group made alternative travel plans in response to airline cancellations over the weekend. Nine safely departed Israel, and the remaining nine expect to leave on Oct. 10 and arrive in Dallas the next day.

“All members of the group that are still in Israel are safe and accounted for,” the university announced.

Group leaders and DBU administrators are in communication with local contacts and U.S. government officials, and they are monitoring flight statuses.

“The leaders of the group continue to work tirelessly to ensure all individuals make it back to Dallas as quickly and safely as possible,” the university stated.

Jay Harley, DBU vice president for student affairs, is one of the three administrators still in Israel. In spite of the circumstances, he described the Holy Land trip as “transformative” for participants.

“Our group commented regularly that the visit to biblical and historical sites helped them more fully understand the background of the Bible,” Harley said. “Although we are certainly tired and ready to be home, our group is remaining in good spirits and are currently at a secure hotel.”

In addition to Harley, other administrators still in Israel are Brent Thomason, dean of the DBU Graduate School of Ministry, and Blake Killingsworth, dean of the Cook School of Leadership.

“Our thoughts and prayers have remained with our group and for this evolving conflict in Israel,” DBU President Adam Wright said. “We are praying our team home and have remained in constant contact with appropriate officials within the United States government regarding the safe return of our group.”