Texas Baptists and Southern Baptists are one year into a revised church planting agreement. The new agreement between the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board took shape in response to questions about funding Texas Baptist church plants.

New partnership process

Under the new agreement, when a BGCT-affiliated church begins the church starting process, it must indicate its desire to partner solely with the BGCT or with the BGCT and NAMB, what is being referred to as the Texas Baptists + NAMB Partnership Pathway.

The Texas Baptists + NAMB pathway is an eight-step process. “The steps include an initial inquiry, beginning the process, discernment and development, assessment, funding approval, entry into the funding process, funding flow, and ongoing development,” Texas Baptists’ Director of Communications Kalie Lowrie said. 

“[The process] can take from three to 18 months from interest to funding approval, and a church will receive funding from both Texas Baptists [BGCT] and NAMB,” she said. 

“Some planters are already on the path, and the [Texas Baptists] church starting team continues refining the structure to serve Texas Baptists well and fully implement this collaboration,” she continued. 

Half a dozen churches are in the initial stages of the Texas Baptists + NAMB Partnership Pathway, Lowrie said. “We will know more after churches have been planted and begin meeting,” she added.

In 2025, Texas Baptists had 101 churches in the Texas Baptists church planting process, including those involved in the Texas Baptists + NAMB pathway. 

Funding strategies

“Texas Baptists have modified funding strategies to mirror the NAMB strategy, regardless of the church planting pathway a planter and their sponsoring church choose to pursue,” Lowrie said. 

When asked how Texas Baptists have mirrored these funding strategies, Lowrie said a fourth year of funding for the Texas Baptists’ track was added, in addition to a digital inquiry form.

Texas Baptists also made additional investments in the church starting program, Lowrie explained. In 2025, Texas Baptists invested $2.8 million in church starting efforts, with an additional $1.1 million given through donor-designated funds and $660,000 through the Mary Hill Davis Offering, for a total of $4,560,000.

Additionally in 2025, BGCT churches sent NAMB $3 million through the Annie Armstrong offering and $2 million through the SBC Cooperative Program, which designates a percentage to NAMB. 

In total, BGCT churches invested $9.56 million in the church starting program in 2025, as confirmed by Texas Baptists’ CFO Ward Hayes.

In September 2024, the BGCT Executive Board passed a recommendation from the Missions Funding Council to increase the maximum amount that may be approved for any new church start from $75,000 to $125,000 to further resource new BGCT-sponsored church starts. 

The agreement between the BGCT and NAMB extends an annual $300,000 grant that supplements the BGCT’s annual investment in church planting. This grant has been in place for almost 15 years. Previously, it included $200,000 for church plants and $100,000 for evangelism. Under the new agreement, all $300,000 are exclusive to church planting.

How church plants are funded

“Texas Baptists provides monthly financial support to church plants for up to four years. The total support a church may receive can range up to $125,000 over that period,” Clay Jacobson, Texas Baptists’ director of church starting, said. “Support is provided monthly for up to 48 months,” he added.

“The exact amount varies by church plant based on its vetted and approved planting plan … rather than a uniform decreasing annual formula,” Jacobson said.

“Texas Baptists Church Starting staff recommends funding amounts for each church plant” to the Mission Funding Council, Jacobson explained. The council has independent oversight and “consists of lay leaders and Texas Baptist ministers, all approved by the Executive Board.”

The council determines and approves the specific annual amount each church plant will receive, and the amount “may vary by church plant,” Jacobson said.

Texas Baptists Church Starting staff reviews and renews the approved amount quarterly over those 48 months. “Any changes to the overall funding of any church plant must go before the Mission Funding Council for approval,” he said.

“Whether BGCT only or BGCT + NAMB, a church plant has access to the same funding levels,” Jacobson said. “These pathways do not determine a church plant’s monthly funding amount. The plant’s strategy determines that amount.”

For church plants supported by Texas Baptists and NAMB, “funding is shared equally” upon approval by both organizations, which includes approval by the Missions Funding Council.

All funds allocated in the 2025 budget for church starts went toward approved church starts, and “all of these projects and churches in 2025 were uniquely BGCT,” Jacobson said.

Training materials available 

“NAMB has provided Texas Baptists with funding strategies, criteria, building blocks, and training in addition to the resources already developed by Texas Baptists,” Lowrie said.

NAMB’s Training Map 3.0 church planting materials and training resources are part of Send Network resources and are made available at no cost under the new agreement between NAMB and the BGCT.

“Currently, the entire Texas Baptists church starting team is certified to deliver” this training, Lowrie said.

Reason for new agreement

The BGCT and NAMB developed this new agreement after a set of comments and discussions about the nature of their church-planting relationship.

During the May 2024 meeting of the BGCT Executive Board, BGCT Executive Director Julio Guarneri explained NAMB would only fund church starts “in Texas who are affiliated with [Southern Baptists of Texas Convention] either singly or dually.”

Guarneri said the reason NAMB gave him was “the BGCT has not adopted the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.”

During the 2024 SBC annual meeting in June, Dustin Slaton, pastor of First Baptist Church in Round Rock, said his church wants to start Southern Baptist churches in Texas in partnership with the BGCT and asked if his church’s financial investment in NAMB would be reciprocated.

In response, NAMB President Kevin Ezell confirmed Guarneri’s earlier comments: “We can partner with your church to plant a church anywhere in North America outside of Texas, because those states do affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.”

“My question has always been back the other way,” Ezell continued. “I would love for you to consider and for your state convention to adopt the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.”

During the 2024 BGCT annual meeting in November, Jeff Williams, pastor of First Baptist Church in Denton, made a motion to “affirm” the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. The motion failed.

Through subsequent conversation, a new church planting agreement between the BGCT and NAMB was developed. The BGCT Executive Board approved the agreement in February 2025.

Grateful for continued partnership 

Clay Jacobson, Texas Baptists director of church starting, expressed his gratitude in maintaining a partnership with NAMB: “We are grateful for our partnership … and for the resources they have provided to help strengthen this agreement,” he said. 

“It is encouraging to see churches already moving through the pipeline, and we are committed to working together to plant churches and see lives transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Jacobson continued.

“Across Texas, every gospel-centered convention and network must rise to the urgency of this moment to reach the more than 16 million people who do not yet know Christ. The greatest missionary moment in Texas is now, and the opportunity before us is too great to ignore,” Jacobson said.

For more information about Texas Baptists Church Starting, visit www.txb.org/churchstarting.

Santiago “Jimmy” García III, líder del ministerio hispano de Baptist General Convention of Texas y pastor durante muchos años, falleció el 18 de febrero. Tenía 76 años. Nació el 17 de julio de 1949. García obtuvo su licencia para predicar en la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Del Río en 1967 y fue ordenado al ministerio evangélico por la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Miles en 1971. Ese mismo año, se graduó de Howard Payne University con una Licenciatura en Biblia y Psicología. Posteriormente, obtuvo una Maestría en Divinidad de Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary y completó estudios de posgrado en Truett Theological Seminary de Baylor University. En 2001, recibió un Doctorado honorario en Divinidad de HPU. García dirigió el trabajo hispano de la BGCT durante 18 años, trabajando con iglesias, pastores y líderes en todo Texas. Tras su jubilación de la convención, se desempeñó como pastor de la Primera Iglesia Bautista Mexicana en Dallas de 2004 a 2007. A lo largo de su ministerio, se desempeñó como pastor de la Iglesia Bautista Calvario en Fort Worth, la Iglesia Bautista Calvario en Corsicana y la Iglesia Bautista Immanuel en Miles. También sirvió en la Primera Iglesia Bautista en Duncanville. Además, se desempeñó como director de misiones para Del Río-Uvalde Baptist Association y como director asociado de misiones para San Antonio Baptist Association. García también invirtió en la educación teológica. Se desempeñó como instructor adjunto en la Dallas Baptist University y Mountain View College y dio conferencias en Truett Theological Seminary y la Universidad Bautista de las Américas. También formó parte de la junta directiva de BUA y Valley Baptist Academy. En 2018, recibió el Premio al Servicio Distinguido Dr. José Rivas por su liderazgo ministerial. Le sobreviven su esposa de 54 años, Dolores García; sus hijos, Laura, Matthew y Anna; y sus nietos. El velatorio será el miércoles 4 de marzo en Laurel Land Funeral Home, 6300 S. R.L. Thornton Freeway en Dallas, de 9 a.m. a 10 a.m., seguido del funeral de 10 a.m. a 11 a.m. En lugar de flores, la familia ha solicitado que se hagan donaciones al Fondo de Becas Santiago y Delia García en beneficio de los estudiantes de Howard Payne University.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Dallas Baptist University student Emma Dilley saved a man’s life after performing CPR on him. He was suffering from an asthma attack.

According to KDFW-TV in Dallas, Dilley and her friends were driving through the Oak Lawn neighborhood in Dallas the night of Feb. 10.

A man was lying on the street with a crowd of people surrounding him at the intersection of Lemmon Avenue and Douglas Avenue.

“I figured I needed to put others before myself, and so I just hopped out and performed CPR,” Dilley said. “I got on the scene and checked his pulse, and it was very faint.”

Dilley performed CPR on the man until emergency personnel arrived.

Dilley told FOX 4 she’s known CPR since she was a high school freshman.

“I’m just glad I was there to help and be there for him,” Dilley said.

The man was revived and taken to a local hospital by Dallas Fire and Rescue.

Dilley is a pre-med biology major at DBU and says she wants to work as a doctor in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Sam Bunnell, senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Henrietta, first connected with the Millennial/Gen Z Network, also known as The Pastor’s Common, in August 2024, by attending a Preaching Lab advertised on Texas Baptists’ social media. 

“I did not know what The Pastor’s Common was [at the time], but I saw a post on social media and I thought: ‘Oh, Texas Baptists is putting on a preaching lab, and it’s in Dallas, that’s not too far [from Henrietta]. I can get down there and go see it,” Bunnell explained. 

While there, Bunnell learned a new technique for how to tell stories in sermons, and met The Pastor’s Common leaders David Miranda and David Foster, director of Millennial/Gen Z Network at Texas Baptists, and “just hit it off with those guys.” 

The next month, Bunnell attended a retreat hosted by The Pastor’s Common at First Baptist Church in Richardson, where he met Joseph Adams, pastor of First Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant and now Texas Baptists first vice president. He said they bonded over doing small-town ministry. 

“I was like, ‘Wow, I have actually made a genuine friend here today!’” Bunnell said. “[The Pastor’s Common] just became life-giving to me.” 

Bunnell said he “fell in love with [The Pastor’s Common] pretty fast.” 

“I’m a pastor’s kid, and I’ve been in ministry my whole life, and been around all different types of Baptist life and all this stuff and never found the community and the help [I’ve found with The Pastor’s Common],” Bunnell said. 

The Pastor’s Common is a Texas Baptists ministry dedicated to providing opportunities for emerging ministry leaders to be heard, resourced, and find community, launched in 2019 by then-Texas Baptists staff member David Miranda in collaboration with pastors David Foster, Jordan Villanueva, and Abraham Quiñones. 

Foster stepped into the director role for the Millennial/Gen Z Network in March 2025. He said leading The Pastor’s Common has shown him “the future of pastoral leadership in Texas Baptists is not brittle, but thoughtful, resilient, and quietly hopeful.” 

“These leaders are humble, collaborative, and deeply rooted in the local church. They value cooperation, learning from one another, and staying present in their communities rather than opting out when ministry gets hard,” Foster said. 

Bunnell said The Pastor’s Common has become very meaningful in his ministry: “Those guys have become friends. They’re guys I call or text when I’m having a bad day. They’re guys I’ve asked to pray for me, and they asked me to pray for them. It is a true family.”

Refreshed by The Pastor’s Common retreats 

The genesis of involvement with The Pastor’s Common for Izzy Mendez, co-pastor at Alamo Community Church in downtown San Antonio, was at a gathering at the 2021 Texas Baptists annual meeting in Galveston. 

“I’ve been involved in Texas Baptists’ life for, I want to say, 15 years now … [and] I’m a product of Texas Baptists, but finding places for younger ministers outside of Baptist Student Ministry is kind of hard to do. So, when I heard about this network for Millennial and Gen Z pastors, I was like: ‘How do I get involved? What can I do to help?’” Mendez explained.

Mendez said having “intentionally carved out time for hanging out and spending time together,” and hearing from “seasoned pastors or ministry leaders” at The Pastor’s Common retreats has been refreshing. 

“That carved-out time where we have two days or so, somewhere else, where we’re getting poured into, and then we’re also pouring into one another and getting to spend time together … I think those [times] have been really refreshing,” Mendez said. 

Mendez explained how he was most impacted by a retreat hosted by The Pastor’s Common that emphasized prayer, where he was challenged to “anchor your ministry in prayer.” 

“That reminder from seasoned pastors and ministry leaders caused me to think about: ‘How do I think about this in my own day-to-day life and ministry? What does it look like for me just to abide in God’s presence? What are some practical tools that I can use to do that?’” Mendez said. 

He said anchoring his ministry in prayer has not only impacted him, but also his congregation: “I encourage my church to operate in this way as well: ‘What areas of my life have I just been focusing on prayer as a means to get something rather than just enjoying God’s presence?’” 

“It’s one of those things you know intrinsically, but to hear them again and to be reminded with a group of peers was really beneficial at that time. It still is today. I [still] use some of those practices now … even two years later.”

Finding renewed strength and meaningful community

Israel Villalobos, groups shepherd at Fielder Church in Arlington, said he has also been impacted by The Pastor’s Common retreats. He said attending the Sabbath Retreat in October 2024 “refreshed me just by hearing [about Sabbath].” 

“About a year and a half ago, Jason Parades from Fielder Church was speaking on Sabbath, and I remember that workshop refreshed me just by hearing him [and] how he helped us understand Sabbath,” Villalobos said. 

“It really enriched my soul. It just blessed me, my wife, my family, and whenever I’m needing a refreshment, I go back to those notes.”

Villalobos said The Pastor’s Common has “proven to be a timely and dependable network for a new generation of pastors” by “providing much-needed fellowship through authentic relationships … steady encouragement [and] practical resources, particularly valuable for young Texas Baptists pastors.” 

“What’s being done [through] The Pastor’s Common is revolutionary,” Villalobos said. “This network stands as a genuinely unifying space where pastors can find renewed strength and meaningful community.”

Mendez said The Pastor’s Common leadership has “done a great job of highlighting and celebrating the diversity among Texas Baptists, particularly in Millennials [and] Gen Z.” 

“It matters a lot to walk into a room and say: ‘Is there anybody that looks like me? Sounds like me? Is thinking like me? Or on the other side of that, who thinks differently?”  Mendez continued. 

“[To ask], ‘How do we combine our resources and things to help one another out?’ I think that’s been one of the things I’ve celebrated a lot and benefited from seeing in our Texas Baptist life. I think it’s worth celebrating.” 

Foster said the most encouraging thing about working with the pastors and leaders in The Pastor’s Common is “their desire for faithfulness over flash.” 

“[These leaders] aren’t chasing platforms or shortcuts. They’re asking hard, honest questions about preaching the gospel well, loving their people faithfully, and leading with integrity in complicated moments in our culture,” Foster said. 

To learn more about The Pastor’s Common, visit thepastorscommon.com.   

John Litzler challenged Howard Payne University students to recognize and defend the Christian’s historic and ongoing role in protecting religious liberty.

Litzler was the featured speaker at the 18th annual Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics hosted by HPU.

Litzler, director for public policy at Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission and general counsel for Texas Baptists, addressed students during HPU’s chapel service on Wednesday, Feb. 4, and those who attended the lecture series Thursday evening, Feb. 5.

Campus challenge

Speaking from the theme, “The Modern Challenge of Religious Liberty: Protecting a Baptist Distinction from Extinction,” Litzler urged students to understand how Christian convictions have shaped religious liberty and to engage thoughtfully in public policy and advocacy.

“For the rest of this week—for the next couple of days—would you wrestle with the concept of religious liberty? Will you challenge

yourself on this topic in some way?” Litzler asked, speaking to students, faculty, and staff during chapel.

“That might mean finding one of your friends from another country—maybe an international student—and asking them what it’s like to live under different laws and the tension between following their country’s laws and God’s law,” Litzler continued.

“Or it might be spending time in prayer and reflection, asking yourself some challenging, introspective questions, like, ‘Would my views on religious liberty be different if I were part of a minority faith instead of a majority faith?’” Litzler added.

Litzler made a reference to Matthew 22:15, in which religious leaders attempted to trap Jesus by asking whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar.

He explained the question was designed to force Jesus to choose between Roman law and God’s law, illustrating the tension believers can face between earthly governments and divine authority.

Litzler described Jesus’ response as a framework for navigating dual citizenship in earthly kingdoms and the kingdom of God, arguing it highlights the importance of distinguishing between government authority and God’s authority.

Evening lecture

During the Thursday evening lecture, Litzler walked visitors and guests through the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, focusing on religious liberty.

Religious liberty, a historic Baptist distinctive, is being weakened when political leaders create carve-outs that limit how faith-based beliefs can be expressed in public life, Litzler contended.

“When people become deeply committed to a particular cause, religious liberty can quickly be treated as an obstacle,” Litzler said.

He said the First Amendment’s free exercise and establishment clauses were designed to protect all faiths and nonreligious beliefs, not only Christianity.

Litzler pointed to recent federal and state debates as evidence that both Democrats and Republicans have attempted to weaken religious liberty protections when they conflict with political priorities, including efforts to limit how religious freedom laws apply to issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion.

Litzler also cautioned Christians not to confuse the loss of cultural privilege with genuine religious persecution, noting Christians in other parts of the world face far more severe restrictions.

Texas Baptists has realigned the Center for Cultural Engagement as part of its GC2 Strong strategy to better equip churches for Great Commandment and Great Commission faithfulness.

The changes, effective Feb. 1, redistributed the center’s ministries across the organization to provide churches with more direct access to resources for church, minister, and missions support.

As part of the realignment, affinity ministries, chaplaincy relations, and the Christian Life Commission will now operate within separate teams to allow for greater focus and clearer alignment with Texas Baptists’ GC2 Strong priorities.

Affinity ministries—which serve and support cultural churches across Texas Baptists—will now be housed within the Relational Development/GC2 team.

These ministries include African American Ministries, Texas Baptists en Español, Intercultural Ministries, and Western Heritage. Together, affinity ministries represent nearly 48 percent of Texas Baptists churches.

“This move is taking place because we want to make sure that our GC2 Strong strategy is contextualized for all of our affinity groups through the Relational Development Team,” said Julio Guarneri, executive director of Texas Baptists.

“We want our cultural groups to be involved at every level of ministry across Texas Baptists,” he stated.

Affinity Ministries

The Relational Development/GC2 team, led by Sergio Ramos, connects with conventions, churches, and institutions across the state.

Carlos Francis, current director of African American Ministries, will assume a new role as director of Affinity Relations/GC2 Support. He will continue to lead African American Ministries and will also serve on the Texas Baptists Leadership Team, providing direct input to staff leadership.

“Our affinity ministries represent nearly 48 percent of our churches and play a tremendous role in advancing the GC2 initiative. Their impact is essential to who we are and where we are going,” Ramos, senior director of Relational Development/GC2 Initiative, said.

Guarneri emphasized the realignment is not a move away from cultural engagement, but rather a way to give each ministry greater focus.

“We are intentionally giving the Christian Life Commission, chaplaincy relations, and affinity groups more focus,” Guarneri said.

“Affinity groups can serve cultural churches by focusing on relational development and GC2 faithfulness. Chaplaincy relations will continue to endorse and resource chaplains, and the CLC can focus on engaging issues of advocacy and justice with the objective of serving churches,” Guarneri continued.

Christian Life Commission

The Christian Life Commission will return to its historic role as a stand-alone ministry focused on ethics and justice, advocacy, and public policy.

The CLC remains under the leadership of Katie Frugé, who will continue to serve on the Texas Baptists Leadership Team. Rebecca Treviño has transitioned from her role with the Center for Cultural Engagement to serve as policy analyst for the CLC.

Plans are underway for the CLC to produce new resources for churches in key areas.

“This realignment is an opportunity to support churches and ministers through clear access to key resources in the areas of affinity ministries, ethics and advocacy, and chaplaincy,” Guarneri said.

Frugé expressed confidence in the changes and the future of the CLC.

“I’m confident that each ministry is positioned well to continue the important work they have done so ably for Texas Baptists,” Frugé said.

Chaplaincy

Chaplaincy Relations has transitioned under the Office of the Associate Executive Director on an interim basis.

This ministry endorses chaplains serving in a variety of fields, including military, business, prisons, and hospitals.

Under the leadership of Todd Combee, chaplaincy will work with Craig Christina, associate executive director, to continue supporting chaplains in their ministry roles.

Future changes

Guarneri said there are no immediate plans to realign other ministry centers, including the Center for Church Health, Center for Ministerial Health, Center for Missional Engagement and Center for Collegiate Ministry.

However, he noted Texas Baptists leadership is continuing to evaluate how all ministries align with GC2 Strong.

“As part of the GC2 Strong strategy, every convention ministry will prioritize equipping churches for Great Commandment and Great Commission faithfulness,” Guarneri said.

“While there are no plans to realign other ministry centers at this time, there may be progressive changes over the next few months as we take a closer look at how every ministry supports the GC2 Strong strategy. Ultimately, we want to ensure that ministries are appropriately aligned to strengthen churches, ministers, and missions into the future,” he said.

Guarneri also noted the realignment will enhance the work of leaders within Intercultural Ministries.

“Mark Heavener, Rolando Rodriguez, and James ‘Mac’ McLeod, under the leadership of Carlos Francis, will be able to be involved in the GC2 Strong strategy and contextualize it to serve their churches in a more effective way,” Guarneri said.

“It will be a positive thing for these cultural groups, and they are all on board. First and foremost, we are making this move to equip churches for Great Commandment, Great Commission faithfulness.”