An executive-director-appointed task force assigned to study Cooperative Program giving trends among Baptist General Convention of Texas churches will send out a survey in the coming days.
BGCT churches can expect to receive an email soon from the Cooperative Program Task Force to the primary pastor or church email address on file with the convention’s information management team.
The email will include a survey link and brief message from task force chair and BGCT Executive Board vice chair Keith Warren. Warren serves as executive pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Weatherford.
English and Spanish language versions of the invitation email and survey will be made available to each recipient.
Warren and task force pursue ‘meaningful insights’
“I’m grateful for the work our task force has done over the past few months,” Warren said.
“We’ve had many thoughtful conversations, asked some important questions, and worked hard to develop a survey that stays true to the assignment we’ve been given. We’re looking forward to hearing candidly from as many Texas Baptist churches as possible.”
Warren noted the trends being studied by the task force were the result of complex factors.
“There’s no question that Cooperative Program giving among Texas Baptists has demonstrated remarkable resilience over the years. That’s something worth celebrating. At the same time, we can’t ignore the reality that years of steady decline have cumulatively affected our ability to do ministry together,” he said.
“These trends didn’t develop overnight, and we shouldn’t expect simple answers. But I believe there is value in looking beyond the trends to understand why we’re experiencing this pattern,” he noted.
Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays
He also stressed the importance of listening to BGCT churches throughout the process.
“I’m encouraged by the spirit in which our team has approached this work,” Warren said.
“We certainly don’t presume to have all the answers, but we believe listening carefully to our churches is the most important place to start,” he asserted.
“My hope is that this process will give us some meaningful insights and help us think deeply about how we can strengthen our cooperative work for the years ahead,” he said.
Directed to carry out ‘comprehensive study’ of giving
The Executive Board recommendation approved by members of the board in February directed the task force to “conduct a comprehensive study of Cooperative Program giving in Texas.” That study was to include Cooperative Program promotion, fund allocation, underlying rationales for church participation, and factors contributing to decline.
The task force also is tasked to propose “potential solutions” to “establish a positive trajectory” for future Cooperative Program giving in Texas. Texas Baptists Cooperative Program receipts through September 2026 were at 97.9 percent of the previous year’s giving.
Appointed members and key meetings
Texas Baptists Executive Director Julio Guarneri mentioned the task force in his November 2025 address at the Texas Baptists annual meeting in Abilene, and invited a diverse group of pastors, church leaders, church members, and ministry staff to serve on the task force leading up to February’s board meeting.
Task Force members approved by the Executive Board include:
- Keith Warren, chair, Northside Baptist Church, Weatherford.
- Delvin Atchison, Westside Baptist Church, Lewisville.
- Victor Castillo, Rio Grande Bible Church, McAllen.
- Maria Bridwell, Calvary Baptist Church, McAllen.
- Dillard Fisher, Cross Bearers Church, Copperas Cove.
- Tim Eng, Chinese Baptists Church, Houston.
- Michael Gossett, Green Acres Baptist Church, Tyler.
- Del Lopez, Hispana Baptist Church, Lubbock.
- Pete Pawelek, Cowboy Fellowship of Atascosa County, Jourdanton.
- Debbie Potter, BGCT president, Trinity Baptist Church, San Antonio.
Staff liaisons to the task force include: Ward Hayes, CFO; Joshua Minatrea, senior director of resource development; and Jeff Donnell, Cooperative Program director.
Since its creation, members of the group have exchanged emails and calls, met virtually, and met in person or in a hybrid format on two occasions, in Salado, in June, and in Dallas, immediately following the September Executive Board meeting. Warren, on behalf of the task force, provided a brief update to the board during that meeting.
Survey languages, length and other specifics
The task force’s survey includes five demographic questions about the survey respondent and his or her church and 10 questions related to the church’s views on Cooperative Program giving. Of the 15 total questions, 12 are multiple choice and three are open-ended.
Warren noted the survey is designed to take under 10 minutes for ministers to complete, but also adds sufficient opportunities for respondents to take more time to share as much as they wish with task force members.
“At the end of the day, we cannot act on what we do not know with certainty,” Warren said.
“Almost everyone has an opinion on what has caused the decline in [Cooperative Program] giving. We’ve heard many anecdotal stories here and there, but these opinions and anecdotes can’t drive decision-making. For that, we need data.”
In addition to open-ended questions, survey respondents also have the option to indicate they would like to receive an invitation to participate in a virtual focus group with task force members.
“My prayer, and the collective prayer of our task force,” Warren continued, “is that this survey receives the highest rate of submissions Texas Baptists has ever seen. Every voice will help shape our understanding of a very complex issue. With candid, thorough feedback, our team can develop recommendations that will direct our future ministries in important ways.”
Survey data handling
Survey data will remain strictly confidential. While the BGCT’s information management team will verify each respondent is connected to an affiliated church, the team will not store responses in its system and will provide an anonymized report to the task force. Only one response from each affiliated church will be collected.
Once information from the survey data is compiled by the information management team, the task force will conduct a thorough analysis and present findings and related recommendations to the Executive Board.
Survey duration and invitation
Initial plans are for the survey to remain open for approximately two to three weeks, depending on initial response rates. Multiple reminder emails will be sent to those who do not respond.
If a church does not receive a survey invitation in the next few days, they are encouraged to contact the BGCT’s information management team at [email protected]. Upon verification, they will be sent a link to participate in the survey.
“We hope that every Texas Baptist pastor will take the time to share their insights and experiences with us,” Warren said.
“We want to hear directly from you,” he stressed.
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.