Molina to lead National Hispanic Baptist Network full time
February 11, 2025
DALLAS (BP)—The National Hispanic Baptist Network has elevated its executive director, Bruno Molina, from a part-time role to a new full-time role to oversee the organization’s diverse offering of support to Hispanic churches and leaders across the Southern Baptist Convention.
“I’m thrilled that, after two years of serving in this role on a part-time volunteer basis, I can focus full-time on reaching the Hispanic community and through them realizing our vision ‘that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God (1 Kings 8:60),’” Molina said.
Jesse Rincones, chairman of the network’s board of directors, said he is glad the network now has Molina serving as executive director on a full-time basis.
“He not only had the vision of what [the National Hispanic Baptist Network] can and will become, but his life-long service to Hispanic Baptists will serve him well as he serves Hispanic Baptists all across the United States,” said Rincones, who also is the executive director of the Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas and the pastor of Alliance Church in Lubbock.
“The work of the National Hispanic Baptist Network is needed now more than ever. The 3,400 Hispanic churches in the SBC need a network like this at the national level. It’s exciting to see how God is already working to bring unity, collaboration, and culturally contextualized resources and experiences that is so needed in our churches,” Rincones said.
Molina added: “I’m grateful to God for a grant from the Lilly Foundation, in collaboration with the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, that has made my full-time service possible, along with our communications coordinator, David Inestroza, Hispanic consultant for the Alabama Baptist Convention.”
Molina will oversee the network’s daily operations. This includes its 11 current ministry teams: prayer, evangelism, discipleship, missions mobilization, emerging leaders, revitalization, finance, education, women’s ministry, pastoral care and church planting.
He served bivocationally with the Navigators ministry, and for the last 16 years Molina has been the language and interfaith evangelism associate for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.
In addition to being a former pastor, church planter and human resources manager, he is an adjunct professor of apologetics, theology and world religions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He also teaches at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, taught at Louisiana Baptist University, the Baptist Seminary in Havana, Cuba, and Baptist Seminary in Nogales, Mexico.
Molina earned his bachelor’s degree from New York University in International Relations and Spanish, and both his Master of Arts in Theology and Ph.D. in World Christian Studies from Southwestern Seminary.
George Liele: The world’s first Baptist missionary
February 11, 2025
George Liele, a former slave, not only was the first ordained African American Baptist preacher in America, but also was the world’s first Baptist missionary.
In 1750, shortly after the end of the Great Awakening in America’s British-controlled colonies, Virginia Loyalist Henry Sharp’s slave, Nancy, gave birth to George, a son who took his slave father’s name, Liele.
Baby George became one of Virginia’s 101,000 African slaves, a result of the 1705 Virginia General Assembly Declaration.
Slaves were “real estate” to their Virginia owners, and they suffered a life of cruelty and punishment—whipping, branding, severing ears, maiming and hanging. If a slave’s “correction” caused death, the master was declared “free of all punishment … as if such accident never happened.”
America’s African slave trade proved prosperous during the 1730s and 1740s, a time of spiritual revival encouraged by ministers like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, David Brainard and others.
The religious movement awakened the colonists’ declining lukewarm faith, bringing them face to face with a living, personal Christ and triggering an avalanche of Baptist growth.
Sometime before 1770, Henry Sharp moved George with him to St. George’s Parish (later Burke County) in Georgia. In 1735, the British prohibited black slavery there, but on Jan. 1, 1750, the House of Commons decided to permit slavery.
In fewer than 30 years, Georgia’s slave population grew from 500 slaves to 18,000. The slaves’ hard work made the Lowcountry’s white plantation owners wealthy.
Answered God’s call
In Georgia, Sharp became a deacon in the Buckhead Creek Baptist Church, a white congregation led by Pastor Matthew Moore, who encouraged George to attend worship services.
During one Sunday service in 1773, God touched the 23-year-old’s heart, calling him to a life of love and ministry to the other slaves on Master Sharp’s plantation. George enthusiastically gave his life to Jesus and answered his call to Christ’s ministry.
Moore baptized George, accepting him into the church. Sharp’s plantation became George’s new mission field. He taught the slaves to sing hymns, share the Bible and explain the gospel’s saving message.
Impressed by George’s innate ministry skills, Buckhead Creek Baptist Church licensed him to preach, and Henry Sharp granted him freedom from slavery.
George soon became a minister and preacher to slaves in Silver Bluff, S.C., south of Augusta, Ga., forming a 30-member congregation of new African American believers. In December 1773, Liele organized the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga., the oldest Black church in North America.
Four of his converts—Andrew Bryan, Hannah Bryan, Kate Hogg and Hagar Simpson—formed the church’s early membership. When Liele was ordained, he became the first ordained African American Baptist preacher in America.
A few years earlier, on March 22, 1765, Britain passed the Stamp Act, imposing unfair taxes on angry colonists. When British troops landed in Boston to enforce the act, their actions resulted in the 1770 Boston Massacre, a deadly incident that triggered America’s rebellion against Britain.
Five years later, on April 19, 1775, the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The British freed tens of thousands of Black slaves who agreed to fight against the colonists.
Journey to Jamaica
George’s former owner, Henry Sharp, fought with the British, dying of battle-sustained injuries in 1783. Fortunately, Sharp had given Liele his manumission papers, documentation that saved Liele from long-term imprisonment when Sharp’s children tried to re-enslave him.
Moses Kirkland, a British colonel, helped him after his release from prison. A grateful Liele repaid Kirkland by working for him as an indentured servant. When Kirkland escaped to Jamaica in 1782-1783, George, his wife Hannah and their four children accompanied him.
Kirkland and the Liele family landed in Kingston, Jamaica, where George discovered a ripe mission field of hundreds of thousands of African slaves working the sugar cane plantations. The slaves suffered with cruel owners, back-breaking work and little food. Thousands were starving to death.
George planted a church, baptizing hundreds of professing converts in a nearby river every three months. He never accepted payment, supporting his family through farming and hauling goods by wagon.
For “preaching sedition” and “agitating the slaves,” George frequently was imprisoned by Jamaican authorities, once for three years.
By the end of his life, George Liele, referred to as “the Negro slavery’s prophet of deliverance,” helped found three Baptist churches: First Bryan Baptist Church and First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga., and the first Negro Baptist Church in Jamaica. He also established schools to educate Jamaica’s slaves.
Liele encouraged and taught his new converts to preach the gospel to the world.
Author David Shannon wrote: “The Christianity practiced by Liele was not limited to one nation, colony, or ethnic group, but was a faith found and spread through interaction with colonists and national leaders in the Americas and England.
“In turn, this broad vision of Christianity shaped and spread a variety of Christian experience that became widespread and influential in black, white and integrated congregations in Georgia, South Carolina, Jamaica, Nova Scotia, Sierra Leone and beyond.”
Liele died in 1828 in Kingston, Jamaica, and is buried there in an unmarked grave.
Baptist missionary William Carey often has been called “the father of the modern missionary movement.”
But George Liele left America to preach Christ in Jamaica a decade before Carey departed from England to preach in India, earning the title of “the world’s first Baptist missionary.”
FORT WORTH (BP)—The loss of a rule that prevented officials from entering churches to arrest immigrants accused of being in the United States illegally has hurt the church’s witness, the National Hispanic Baptist Network said Jan. 29 in calling for the rule’s reinstatement.
The network, a group representing more than 3,300 Southern Baptist churches, released its statement in Spanish and English nine days after the Department of Homeland Security overturned a 14-year-old rule that had prevented such arrests at and near sensitive locations including churches and schools.
Attendance at Hispanic congregations already has declined since Homeland Security revoked the protections Jan. 20, National Hispanic Baptist Network Executive Director Bruno Molina said.
“People are rightly concerned. They think they’re going to get arrested at church,” Molina told Baptist Press. “That’s why we’re asking DHS to revoke the revocation, as it were, because people should be allowed—even if they are considered criminals—to seek spiritual guidance.
“And there’s no reason why, if they are looking to arrest somebody, they can’t wait until they exit the Bible study or church service and arrest them at least a block from the church location.”
Allow churches to fulfill ‘God-given mission’
A statement posted on the network’s website says the National Hispanic Baptist Network recognizes a need for community safety, proclaims a biblical authority of law enforcement and concurrently embraces the religious liberty Southern Baptists also extol.
“We recognize that, on the one hand, government ‘does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil (Romans 13:4).’ On the other hand, we also recognize that God is ‘not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9),’” the statement reads.
“Consequently, it grieves us deeply that our churches are no longer protected and that anyone would be denied their opportunity to receive spiritual guidance in our churches for fear of being arrested. We respectfully and strongly exhort DHS to reinstate the ‘Sensitive Locations Protections’ for churches so that we can fulfill our God-given mission to minister to the least of these and the stranger among us.”
‘Fix the system’ without hindering the gospel
Brent Leatherwood, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, has said that while the immigration system needs revisions, the revocation of the sensitive locations protections causes problems that are best avoided.
“No church that I’m aware of harbors criminal actors, whether they’re here legally or illegally, and no church leader wants that,” Leatherwood told Baptist Press shortly after DHS revoked the protections.
“President Trump is right to fix our broken immigration system—something we’ve long called for—but it must be done so without turning churches into wards of the state or expecting pastors to ask for papers of people coming through their doors.
“The unintended impact of this change will be that many law-abiding immigrants will be fearful to attend our churches, and our central mission of gospel proclamation and biblical formation will be inhibited.”
Leatherwood also offered general remarks on a better way to achieve intended goals.
“The best way to go about this is a comprehensive approach that rids our country of dangerous illegal criminals, sets up strong protections at our borders and welcomes those who are fleeing persecution,” Leatherwood said.
“Not only can this be done in a way that respects religious liberty, it is something that would be strongly supported by our churches.”
Leatherwood described the revocation of sensitive locations protections as “the type of move that leads to more questions and confusion than anything.”
‘It’s a kingdom issue’
Molina appreciates Southern Baptists are hearing the concerns that more adversely impact Hispanic churches.
“We’re all Southern Baptists,” he said. “I think this is something that needs to be brought to the forefront so that, first of all, it’s addressed because it’s a kingdom issue—our ability to get the gospel out—and also so that Hispanic Southern Baptists particularly who are disproportionately impacted by this know that the denomination does have their back.”
Molina described the Homeland Security revocation and the applicable protocol as very fluid, with some national news reports indicating law enforcement officers are looking only for individuals with outstanding warrants for criminal charges, and others indicating they simply are looking for those suspected of being in the country illegally.
Documented immigrants “are also anxious,” Molina said, “because you see the reports on TV, on both English and Spanish networks, where the people who are detained are sometimes even citizens or have legal status, but they get kind of caught up in the dragnet—they ask for their papers and things of this nature—and intimidated, and then they’re let go.
“But it has also raised the level of anxiety among legal immigrants.”
Southern Baptist messengers to at least six annual meetings have adopted resolutions on immigration, most recently the 2023 resolution “On Wisely Engaging Immigration.”
While no resolution has necessarily broached the subject of arrests during worship, a clause in the latest resolution states that messengers “commend the good work of Southern Baptists among immigrants and refugees and encourage pastors and their congregations to continue sharing the gospel and providing Christlike care for the countless men, women, and children in harm’s way.”
Jeff Dalrymple to lead SBC sexual abuse response
February 11, 2025
NASHVILLE (BP)—Jeff Dalrymple of Jacksonville, Fla., has been named to lead the office within the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee dedicated to Southern Baptists’ long-term efforts in sexual abuse prevention and response.
Jeff Dalrymple of Jacksonville, Fla., has been named to lead the office within the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee dedicated to Southern Baptists’ long-term efforts in sexual abuse prevention and response.
When he is introduced formally at the SBC Executive Committee’s Feb. 17-18 meeting, several sexual abuse prevention and response initiatives will be announced in order for those to be in place by the time of the 2025 SBC annual meeting in June, Executive Committee President and CEO Jeff Iorg said.
“During our multiple interviews, I was consistently impressed with Jeff’s breadth of technical knowledge as well as his calm and reasoned demeanor about these sensitive issues,” Iorg said.
“He has the informational background and strength of character needed to take on this strategic new position.”
Dalrymple, 49, comes to the Executive Committee after serving as executive director of the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention, which works to set national standards to protect vulnerable groups. He also is owner and president of The Hospitality Project, a leadership consulting firm.
The SBC Sexual Abuse Prevention and Response Department will be funded in its initial stages by about $1.8 million remaining from the $3 million gift by Send Relief in June 2022 toward the convention’s sexual abuse response.
Iorg cited Dalrymple’s work through the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention and his Southern Baptist background as critical to his being named to the position.
“This organization sets national standards and provides certification in sexual abuse prevention and response for all kinds of ministry organizations,” Iorg said. “Through this experience, Jeff has developed a broad understanding of issues related to sexual abuse prevention and response.
Previously, Dalrymple was a vice president at Southern Seminary for nine years and with the Kentucky Baptist Convention for two years, where he led Crossings Camps.
“He understands how to work with and among Southern Baptists—including our polity and denominational structures,” Iorg said.
Southern Baptist Convention President Clint Pressley commended both Iorg and Dalrymple.
“Dr. Iorg is a man of vision and action as evidenced by his creating the office of abuse prevention and response and appointing Jeff Dalrymple to lead it,” said Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C.
“I know Jeff to be a godly and wise leader that will act with discernment and respond with compassion. I’m thankful for Jeff’s willingness to serve the SBC, as I’m certain he will do so with care and professionalism.”
Contextualized approach
Dalrymple will name an assistant in the coming weeks and become familiar with other SBC Executive Committee staff while beginning work “to expand our sexual abuse prevention and response efforts incrementally and as needed,” Iorg said.
“Our goal—as I have stated repeatedly—is a robust response in this important ministry challenge. While we are moving deliberately, we are also moving consistently and purposefully toward workable solutions,” he added.
Dalrymple credited the SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force in “charting a course forward to help Southern Baptists.”
“We’re going to build on that foundation, using the Essentials curriculum and other resources to help Southern Baptists,” he said.
That approach will be grounded in contextualization, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all mentality.
“Context is key, with two areas in particular—programmatic and jurisdictional,” Dalrymple said.
“Programmatic” refers to the types of prevention measures used by an organization such as a church or school. “Jurisdictional” points to laws throughout the country that may vary, even if slightly, in areas such as mandatory reporting.
The Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention began in 2019 with more than two dozen experts in areas such as child protection, risk management, insurance industries and practitioners serving in Christian schools and churches. Those voices developed the organization’s standards and compliance programs.
“We’ve tried to strike a balance—and I’ll be honest with you, it’s not easy—in a compassionate response and tone towards survivors who have experienced sexual abuse … and at the same time, very real legal and stewardship considerations,” Dalrymple said. “We have worked hard to navigate between those.”
Dalrymple and his wife of 22 years, Kristil, have four children. The innate desire of a father to protect his children is strong enough to champion stronger protocols against sexual abuse, but words from Tom Stolle, executive director of the Maryland/Delaware Baptist Convention, struck Dalrymple personally. Stolle has urged the church to protect individuals with disabilities from abuse.
“I have a special needs daughter who is 17,” Dalrymple said. “From Tom, I learned the shocking statistics of sexual abuse in the disabilities community and was abhorred and appalled.
“As a father, I want to do everything I can to help Christian ministries maintain their Christ-centered witness and to continue to do Great Commission work we’ve been called to do, making sure that predators are far, far away from our Christ-centered ministries.”
Daniel Ritchie nominee for SBC first vice president
February 11, 2025
APEX, N.C—Evangelist and author Daniel Ritchie will be nominated for first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention during the 2025 SBC annual meeting in Dallas.
Matt Capps, lead pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Apex, N.C., told the Biblical Recorder he plans to nominate Ritchie.
“Daniel Ritchie is among the most faithful, consistent, and passionate witnesses for Christ that Southern Baptists have seen raised up in this generation,” Capps said.
“I am eager to see our convention recognize this gospel servant and unapologetically champion the vital ministries of vocational evangelists like Daniel by electing him to serve as first vice president.”
A native of Greensboro, N.C., Ritchie previously served as a student pastor at churches in North Carolina and Arizona before answering a call to become a vocational evangelist and speaker.
For the past 20 years, Ritchie has traveled the country speaking to churches, schools, camps, conferences, colleges, corporations, sports teams and more, according to his website.
Ritchie also preached during the 2022 SBC Pastors’ Conference in Anaheim, Calif.
Ritchie has written two books—My Affliction for His Glory: Living Out Your Identity in Christ and Endure: Building Faith for the Long Run. He also has been a contributing writer to other online ministry outlets and publications.
In My Affliction for His Glory, Ritchie shares his life story, which includes being born without arms and struggling with a sense of value and worth while growing up. After placing his faith in Christ during a church youth event at age 15, Ritchie discovered God had a plan and purpose for his life.
“A man with no arms was never going to fit in a world where everyone has two arms,” Ritchie wrote. “But God had more in store for me than to be a victim of a life defined by the things that I was never going to be.”
Ritchie’s life story and testimony have been featured on Fox News, Focus on the Family and other media outlets.
Ritchie holds a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies from the College at Southeastern, now known as Judson College. He currently is pursuing a master of divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Ritchie has been married to his wife, Heather, 18 years, and they have two children. The Ritchies reside in Raleigh, N.C., where they are members of The Summit Church, a multisite congregation in the Raleigh-Durham area.
According to the most recent data available, The Summit Church reported an average worship attendance of 7,891 and 448 baptisms in 2023. The church reported $810,000 (2.45 percent) given through the Cooperative Program based on $33,061,224 in undesignated receipts. The church also gave $368,500 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and $154,000 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering.
“As a model husband, father, ministry leader, and church member, Daniel Ritchie lives the gospel he preaches, calling hundreds of thousands every year to follow Jesus by both his life-changing testimony and his determination to make Christ known through a bold preaching ministry,” Capps added.
The 2025 SBC annual meeting is scheduled June 10-11 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
National Baptists’ new president seeks to be inclusive
February 11, 2025
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS)—Boise Kimber officially was installed as president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., during the midwinter board meeting of the predominantly Black denomination—which he hopes will become more inclusive of women and young leaders.
A marker memorializes Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Carol Denise McNair—four girls who were killed by white supremacists in the terrorist bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham on Sept. 15, 1963. (Photo / Ken Camp)
National Baptists and guests filled the 2,000-seat sanctuary of the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., for a three-hour service Jan. 13. About 500 people planned to attend a sold-out inauguration ball on Tuesday.
Kimber, pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven, Conn., was greeted by officers of other Black Christian organizations, including the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention, the Conference of National Black Churches and Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship.
He was installed into his new role by his predecessor, Jerry Young, who reminded Kimber of the importance of having a strong spiritual life as a leader.
“You can’t lead Black Baptists without orders from Jehovah,” Young, who concluded two five-year terms, advised his successor. “That’s all I got to say. Just spend your time with God.”
The installation service was held in the church that was bombed by members of the Ku Klux Klan more than 60 years ago, resulting in the deaths of four girls readying for a Sunday church service. Kimber, 65, also chose the church as the location for his 2023 announcement to run for the top role of his denomination.
Kimber outlines goals
“My main goal now is, one, to restore our headquarters in Nashville, Tenn.; two, to focus on Christian education, which our convention was founded upon,” Kimber, the former president of the Connecticut State Missionary Baptist Convention, said in an interview hours before his installation.
“Three is to have a better and a greater relationship with our young people of our convention; four is to have women to become a part of the administrative parts of our convention.”
National Baptists gathered at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex for sessions to handle denominational business and participate in worship services and planned to conclude the gatherings Jan. 16 with a mental health workshop on “trauma-informed ministry.”
Kimber was elected in September in a contentious election process, where he was the sole candidate on the ballot after officials determined the Connecticut pastor had received the necessary 100 endorsements from member churches and other National Baptist entities to qualify to run for president.
He won 69 percent of the vote at the National Baptist Convention, USA, annual session in Baltimore, with 31 percent voting “no.”
Alvin Love, a Chicago-area pastor and one of the four other ministers who had wanted to be on the ballot, said his concern was with the election process and not Kimber.
“He’s a good guy. I have no issue with him,” said Love, joining others in welcoming Kimber’s emphasis on including younger and newer pastors and women leaders in positions in his administration.
“I don’t know if it’s moving as fast as it should or is going as high as it ought,” said Love, who would have liked to see a woman named vice president. “But he’s doing much more than anybody before him ever did in that area.”
‘We’re making progress’ regarding women in leadership
Asked about the lack of female vice presidents in the National Baptist Convention, USA, Kimber responded in the interview: “We will get to that. We’re making steps. We’re making progress, and so we will continue to work towards that goal.”
Michael Charles Durant, 64, the new chairman of the convention’s board of directors, said there has been an expansion in women’s leadership roles.
“In the past, there were areas of concentration, say in Christian ed, the women’s auxiliary, missions, but this will be far broader,” he said.
During the installation service, Valerie Thompson, pastor of a Columbus, Ga., church and a new member of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Executive Committee, said a prayer.
Nicole Guns, one of several people appointed as assistant secretaries, introduced the convention’s officers as they processed into the church. Shevalle T. Kimber, co-pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven, sat next to her husband, the new president, not far from the pulpit where speakers took turns congratulating him during the installation service.
Guns, 43, said in an earlier interview she was enthusiastic about being part of Kimber’s cabinet, along with other millennials.
“In the Black Baptist church you can be 60 years old and considered young,” said Guns, who was one of the preachers at a young adult revival held on Sunday at the Birmingham church.
Be ‘intentional about creating space’ for young leaders
Christopher Davis, the new convention general secretary, said under Kimber’s leadership there are deliberate efforts to give younger clergy spaces to preach on the main stage of National Baptist meetings or teach in its workshops and classes.
“In a few years, they will ultimately transition into leadership as some of those of us who have been around for a while begin to age out,” said Davis, 52. “If you’re not intentional about creating space for them, then what incentive do they have to stay? And if they all leave, then there’s no one to lead the work after we’ve passed off the scene.”
Beyond choosing people for his administration and convention committees, Kimber issued a statement marking the death of former President Jimmy Carter, whom he cited as an example of “living one’s faith through action.”
He also announced the convention would send “10 truckloads of supplies to aid in the recovery efforts, a small but meaningful step to bring comfort and support to those in need” after the wildfires in California.
Talk about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
On the day of the installation, Kimber announced that he had created an economic development committee to meet with politicians and major corporations that have been rolling back their initiatives to address diversity, equity and inclusion.
“Many of our people buy from Walmart, Target, McDonald’s, and so those people certainly would have to come to the table to talk about the diversity and talk about the inclusion of Blacks in their business,” he said in the interview.
The committee will be led by Chicago philanthropist and businessman Willie Wilson, who began at McDonald’s as a custodian and later became a franchisee of the fast food restaurant.
Kimber signed a memorandum of understanding with Gamaliel National Network to support the National Baptists’ work on social justice.
Kimber said he was pleased to see the range of people in the halls of the convention center as the midwinter gathering began its four-day series of meetings on Monday.
He said the denomination is still recovering from the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic, which “really hurt the American fiber of business and religious institutions,” leading to losses in membership.
“We are rebuilding what we’ve lost and bringing people back to our denomination and to our local churches,” he said, as he headed to his next meeting.
“A lot of young people and pastors are here, and so we’re excited. A lot of women are here. A lot of seniors are here. There’s a variety of people here at our board meetings.”
Texans on Mission join California churches in fire response
February 11, 2025
LOS ANGELES—A four-person Texans on Mission team is in California working to multiply the ministry of churches and chart a long-term relief effort in the area devastated by raging fires.
The four-member advance team of Texans on Mission serving in Southern California is (left to right) Mitch Chapman, director of Texans on Mission Water Impact; Ann and Curt Neal, volunteer disaster relief coordinators; and Rand Jenkins, chief strategy officer. (Texans on Mission Photo)
“The situation here is heavy,” said Rand Jenkins, a team member and chief strategy officer for Texans on Mission. “We’re striving to find a way to multiply efforts to meet needs in the name of Christ.”
About 150,000 people have evacuated as a result of the fires already, and 50 mph to 65 mph winds are forecast in the area this week. More than 99 percent of those people have taken shelter with family or friends or are staying in hotels.
“Texans on Mission is partnering with local churches to meet needs,” Texans on Mission Chief Executive Officer Mickey Lenamon said in a letter to supporters. “As these families left their homes, they had no idea what they would return to. Even if their house isn’t burnt to the ground, it’s highly likely it will be so covered by ash that it will need rebuilding.
“Working through these church partners, the strike team is discovering ways to meet expanded physical, emotional and spiritual needs. The weight of the fire literally hangs in the air everywhere these families turn.”
Lenamon said the government has “designated regions that have been burned as hazardous areas and have significantly restricted access for safety.”
“We expect our fire recovery teams will not get access to the area for at least four weeks. It may be longer. If you remember, there was a similar waiting period after the Maui fires,” he stated.
‘A beautiful image of the body of Christ’
Chief Mission Officer John Hall noted that Texans on Mission has been “working on these California church connections for over a year, thinking about how we could help them respond to a disaster. Now, the time has come.”
The local churches are saying: “We want you to train us how to do the fire recovery. We want to do this together” Hall said. “It’s a beautiful image of the body of Christ.”
Texans on Mission is focusing on an “area that is varied economically,” he said. “A lot of people, even more well-off ones, have had their fire insurance coverage dropped. Needs are and will be significant for a long time ahead.”
The Texans on Mission team now in California is working specifically on possible needs regarding water filters, meals, showers and laundry, and fire recovery.
“As we always do, we’re taking a step of faith,” Hall said.
Lenamon, in his note to Texans on Mission supporters, said: “We are early in this disaster. The situation is evolving each day.”
He asked people to pray specifically for:
A swift end to the fires.
Those who have been affected by the fires.
Strength for the firefighters who are valiantly serving.
The churches serving with Texans on Mission to minister to people impacted by the fires.
The clear proclamation of the gospel.
To give financially to support Texans on Mission disaster relief, click here.
New Orleans ministers respond after terror attack
February 11, 2025
NEW ORLEANS (BP)—In an eclectic New Orleans ministerial mix, a second line jazz band belted gospel favorites in the footsteps of pastors prayerwalking Bourbon Street hours after the carnage of a New Year’s Day terrorist attack was cleared.
Southern Baptist pastors and chaplaincy leaders were among clergy who joined city elected officials in the 10-block procession at noon Jan. 2, praying for New Orleans after an attacker drove a truck past barricades and into a crowd of predawn New Year’s celebrants, killing 14, injuring at least 30, and himself dying from police gunfire.
Vieux Carre’ Baptist Church, meeting at 433 Dauphine St., was one block over from the attacker’s path and perhaps only yards from where the truck came to rest after it barreled three blocks down Bourbon Street, an area packed with revelers in the city known for its ability to host large parties.
Police identified the attacker, now deceased, as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas who served in the military and praised ISIS in advance of the attack.
Vieux Carre’ Baptist Church Pastor Alex Brian, who participated in the prayerwalk, was awaiting the opportunity to check on his church’s meeting location when he spoke with Baptist Press Jan. 2.
There’s no indication members of Vieux Carre’ were injured in the attack, Brian said of the congregation that serves the community that spans the homeless and the wealthy, but that could change.
“Thus far, no one in the ministry of the church has been affected, although our church has historically been deeply involved in work in the homeless community, and word there travels more slowly,” he said.
“And we’re trying to figure out who if anybody connected to the ministry of the church was affected by the attack, and of course praying and mourning for all those who were affected, even if they weren’t connected to the church.”
Supporting the ministry of chaplains
Col. Page Brooks (left), state command chaplain for the Louisiana National Guard and pastor of Canal Street Mosaic Community Church, at the Jan. 2 Bourbon Street prayerwalk with chaplains Ken De Soto, center, and Larry Johnson, pastor of Celebration Church. (Photo from Page Brooks)
Brian is praying for and supporting chaplains in the locked-down area around the scene of the attack. They include those under the command of Col. Page Brooks, state command chaplain for the Louisiana National Guard and pastor of Canal Street Mosaic Community Church, a Southern Baptist congregation that collaborates with Brian on various ministry outreaches.
The National Guard deployed 100 soldiers and two chaplains in response to the attack, said Brian, who was walking the streets of the French Quarter to provide counseling and check on soldiers and first responders.
“It’s been tragic for them,” Brooks said. “Many of them live here in the New Orleans area, and so I think it’s the shock having an incident happen like this in New Orleans. We’re so focused on Mardi Gras and tourism … you wouldn’t think anything would happen like a terrorist event down here in the French Quarter. That’s been a lot of my conversation.”
Much of the chaplaincy ministry has been focused on the soldiers and police who have responded to the scene, he said.
“Most everyone kind of in the area is still in shock,” Brooks said. “I think people feel secure because there’s a lot of police presence down here, but I think people are still just in shock at what has happened.
“I try to tell them that God is still in control,” he said. “And, of course, none of this took him by surprise.”
Celebration Church Senior Pastor Dennis Watson (bowing at far left) and Shiloh Christian Fellowship Pastor Michael Raymond (standing at left) place yellow roses on Bourbon Street in advance of a noon prayerwalk Jan. 2 after a terrorist attack killed 14 and injured at least 30 before police killed the suspected attacker. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell stands at center. (Photo from Page Brooks)
Still, Brooks expressed surprise at the many tourists who still crowd the parts of the Quarter that remained open to traffic in advance of the Sugar Bowl, postponed until 3 p.m. Thursday from an original game time of 7:45 p.m. Jan. 1.
Brooks and Brian will hold a joint service Sunday at 10 a.m. at Canal Street Mosaic Church dedicated to healing in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Former Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter was among prayerwalkers, pleading for the peace of God to permeate the city.
“We did not have any members directly impacted by this tragedy,” said Luter, senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church. “However, our entire city has been impacted because of this terrorist attack.
“New Orleans is used to hosting major events like the Super Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Mardi Gras, all without incident,” Luter said, lamenting the attack “where a number of people have been killed and injured. Therefore, prayers for our city and the families who lost loved ones are truly needed.
“This incident will only draw our public officials and citizens together to continue to make New Orleans a popular tourist destination for people from around the world.”
Brooks also participated in the prayerwalk, which together with the second line created a vibe he described as unique to New Orleans.
“We had a second line band behind us, that as we were praying they were singing, ‘I’ll Fly Away’ and ‘When the Saints (Go Marching In),’” he said. “In New Orleans, it’s that weird mixture of lament, but also joy in the middle of things like this.
“It’s the lament of the death that’s happened and the people that have passed. But it’s also the strength of coming together as a city that is symbolized in that very act of” prayer accompanied by a second line.
“This is part of the rhythm of New Orleans.”
UMHB students serve NC disaster survivors
February 11, 2025
A life on mission must begin somewhere. For several University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students, it began this December with Texans on Mission in North Carolina.
“For a few years, I’ve wanted to go on a mission trip,” sophomore Dani Rye said. “When I saw the global outreach stuff at UMHB, this looked like an awesome opportunity. I wanted to go and serve people. It seemed like a good experience to get out of your comfort zone and help people who need it.”
Student volunteers from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor serve with Texans on Mission in North Carolina. (Texans on Mission Photo)
Rye was one of several UMHB students who took their first mission trip this December. They served disaster survivors in North Carolina, which has been hit hard in recent years by flooding and most recently Hurricane Helene.
A few months ago, a group of UMHB students signed up to go on a mission trip through the school’s Global Outreach program. They learned later in the semester where they would go after an interview process and prayer.
Working through Texans on Mission, the team of eight built wheelchair ramps, stuffed backpacks for students and prepared food boxes for those in need. Winter weather made the service crucial. Temperatures hovered in the low 20s as the students ministered.
“These students are some of the hardest working individuals I have had the pleasure of working alongside,” said Sabrina Pinales, director of missions and discipleship with Texans on Mission.
“Despite freezing temperatures, they completed several outdoor projects and blessed multiple families. The impact they have made will bless families for years to come.”
Something as simple as a wheelchair ramp is life-changing, said Jonah Sizemore, UMHB’s resident director who led the team.
“It’s their way in and out of the home. If they don’t have it, they can’t leave. They have to have people carry them out. This helps them live their life better.”
Efforts like this help students see the impact they can have if they live out their faith, Sizemore said. Small and large acts of service transform lives and give people the opportunity to share their faith. Mission work takes a variety of forms.
Student volunteers from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor serve with Texans on Mission to install a wheelchair ramp at a home in North Carolina. (Texans on Mission Photo)
“This is a good starting point for kids who want to get into missions but have never been on a trip before,” he said. “This takes pressure off them. It’s a good starting point for them to see the physical work we can do.”
“Missions aren’t necessarily going to third world countries to share the gospel with people who haven’t heard it,” Sizemore continued. “It’s working here with people who need help. That can be missions for us.”
The experience made Rye want to look for more ways she could live on mission.
“On the way back from the airport, I thought this was really such a great experience,” she said. “I’ve already applied for the spring break and the summer trips. I have an interview next week!”
The mission service in North Carolina, it appears, is just a start.
State conventions rethink Cooperative Program allocations
February 11, 2025
NASHVILLE (BP)—The Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program stands at a crossroads as its 100th birthday approaches.
Messengers to the Tennessee Baptist Convention’s Summit felt that reality this fall. They voted reluctantly to decrease the SBC percentage of the Tennessee convention’s Cooperative Program allocation from 47.5 percent to 45 percent and retain 55 percent for Tennessee ministries.
“When we started moving toward 50/50 distribution of Cooperative Program giving, that was overwhelmingly approved by our messengers,” said Randy Davis, president of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
However, Cooperative Program giving “over the past decade has remained flat” in Tennessee, he noted.
“When you couple that with an inflation rate over the last decade of 24 percent, you can see the dilemma we’re in” to fund Tennessee ministries, Davis said.
Originally, the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board recommended allocating 40 percent of the 2025 Cooperative Program budget for SBC causes, 55 percent for Tennessee ministries and 5 percent directly to the International Mission Board.
The proposal was intended to funnel the same percentage of Cooperative Program dollars to the IMB that it would have received through a 50/50 split of receipts.
But Tennessee messengers amended the distribution to a straight 45/55 split, fearing a 5 percent gift directly to IMB would hurt other SBC entities by decreasing their allocations.
State conventions face funding dilemma
Tennessee isn’t the only state Baptist convention facing a funding dilemma. Multiple state and regional conventions this fall sought to cope with a stark reality. They cannot keep giving more to SBC causes when they are receiving less from churches.
“Giving to the Cooperative Program is impacted by many factors—including economic pressures on churches and conventions—as well as competing funding requests from many other Christian organizations,” said Jeff Iorg, president of the SBC Executive Committee.
“Southern Baptists still believe in cooperation, and a new generation must decide how to prioritize Cooperative Program giving to assure the long-term stability and fiscal health of our global efforts.”
(Photo/GWImages/Shutterstock.com)
The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ unified mechanism for funding missions and ministries in North America and around the world. A local church gives through the Cooperative Program by sending money to its state Baptist convention. The state convention, in turn, decides a percentage of Cooperative Program receipts to use for in-state ministries and a percentage to forward to the Executive Committee for distribution among SBC causes.
All appears well with the Cooperative Program when considering funds forwarded from state conventions to the SBC. Twenty years ago, state conventions forwarded $175.5 million to SBC ministries. Ten years ago, the figure climbed to $183.4 million. For 2022-23, the most recent year for which complete statistics are available, it was $187.4 million.
No longer sustainable
But state conventions have been forwarding more money to the SBC even as they receive less from churches. Twenty years ago, churches gave a total of just over $501 million through the Cooperative Program.
It dropped to $482 million 10 years ago and $449 million last year. That means state conventions forwarded $12 million more to CP last year than they did two decades ago, even though they received $52 million less.
Southern Baptist leaders have wondered for years how long that trajectory can be sustained. For some state conventions, the answer is not any longer.
The California Southern Baptist Convention voted this fall to restructure its formula for distributing Cooperative Program funds. The convention adopted an in-state Cooperative Program budget of $3.85 million and a “CP gifts objective” of $5 million.
That means from the first $5 million given through the Cooperative Program next year, 2 percent will go to California Baptist University, 1 percent to the Baptist Foundation of California and $3.85 million will be used for budgeted California ministries. The rest will go to SBC causes. All Cooperative Program receipts over $5 million will go fully to SBC causes.
If California Cooperative Program receipts come in at $5 million, that would mean 20 percent forwarded to SBC causes. Cooperative Program receipts of $5.2 million would mean 25 percent to SBC causes, and $5.4 million in receipts would mean 30 percent to SBC causes. The California convention’s 2024 budget of $6 million allocated 35 percent to SBC causes.
As Cooperative Program receipts from churches decreased from $5.85 million in 2022 to a projected $5.1 million this year, “we have been doing budget cuts and cutting staff,” California Baptist convention executive director Pete Ramirez said.
“Our executive board had been discussing this new [Cooperative Program] formula for a couple of years. They finally said: ‘We don’t want you to continue to be cutting staff. We want you to be able to continue to do the ministry in California.’”
Leaders of SBC entities have been sympathetic about the California Baptists’ budget adjustment, Ramirez said, because everyone understands the real challenge of the Cooperative Program is inspiring churches to give more.
“We are at a crossroads where the Cooperative Program might not be what it was in the past,” Ramirez said. “The way this younger generation gives to missions is different than the previous generations. We’re going to have to figure out how do we do things different in our states to continue to do the great work we do as Southern Baptists.”
Six convention decreased CP percentage to SBC
California was one of six state and regional conventions this fall that decreased the percentage of Cooperative Program receipts allocated to SBC causes. Five state conventions increased their percentage to SBC causes, with the biggest jumps coming in at 1 percent in Indiana and the Baptist Resource Network of Pennsylvania-South Jersey. Twenty-seven conventions kept their SBC allocations the same.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Baptist General Association of Virginia offer churches various giving plans for supporting out-of-state ministries, with the Cooperative Program among the options.
Ten years ago, the picture was different. In 2014, 23 state conventions increased their percentage of Cooperative Program receipts to SBC causes.
Nevada was among the states to reduce its SBC allocation this fall, going from 50 percent in 2024 to 25 percent in 2025. But Nevada Baptists have a plan to boost giving from local churches and money forwarded to SBC missions and ministries.
“We had a 10-year stint of being a 50/50 state and were proud of that,” said Damian Cirincione, executive director of the Nevada Baptist Convention. But when he assumed his current role three years ago, “we had already been operating in a deficit and pulling out of reserves.”
The 75/25 allocation adopted this year will both fund increased efforts to assist Nevada churches and facilitate the work of a task force to strengthen Cooperative Program giving.
About five years ago, transitions at the state convention and in local churches resulted in hundreds of thousands fewer dollars coming into Nevada’s Cooperative Program. Cirincione is optimistic giving can increase again.
“Though we’ve had to pivot slightly, we remain confident,” he said, noting Nevada Baptists continue to enjoy a warm relationship with all the SBC entities. “We are working with our churches to build out a strategy that will strengthen our giving in the coming days and our generosity in our contributions to CP as we engage and educate.”
For state convention leaders, the present state of Cooperative Program giving marks an opportunity rather than a discouragement. Over the past 20 years, undesignated giving to Southern Baptist churches has increased by nearly $3 billion, according to SBC Annuals. That’s a huge pool of potential money that could be given through CP.
“We must cast a vision for what’s needed and the difference 2 or 3 percent could make in Cooperative Program giving,” Davis said.
Iorg agrees. As he attended more than a dozen state convention annual meetings this fall, he witnessed an enthusiasm for Southern Baptist ministries that stands ready to be channeled into CP giving.
“My core message has been ‘Southern Baptists are a force for good,’” Iorg said. “And the response to that message has been very positive, including standing ovations in a few places, which was more about resonating with the message than applauding my presentation.”
Red Letter Christian Tony Campolo dead at age 89
February 11, 2025
(RNS)—Tony Campolo, an American Baptist minister and sociologist who spent decades trying to convince evangelicals and other Christians that their faith should motivate them to address social ills like poverty and racism, has died. He was 89.
Tony Campolo speaks at Wild Goose Festival 2019. (Video screen grab)
A native of Philadelphia, Campolo was known for his charismatic preaching and sense of humor, which made him a popular speaker at college campuses, churches and Christian conferences—and equally at home giving an altar call or social commentary.
“Putting religion and politics together is like mixing ice cream with horse manure,” he told the comedian and television host Stephen Colbert in 2006. “It doesn’t hurt the horse manure; it ruins the ice cream. And I think that this merger of church and state has done great harm to religion.”
The author of 35 books, Campolo held degrees from Eastern University, Palmer Theological Seminary and Temple University. He taught sociology first at the University of Pennsylvania and then for decades at Eastern Christian College, where he was named professor emeritus.
He also served as an associate pastor at Mount Carmel Baptist, a predominantly Black church in Philadelphia, and in 2019 was named a co-pastor of St. John’s Baptist.
Inspired young people to be world changers
Starting in the 1980s, with books such as It’s Friday but Sunday’s Comin’, A Reasonable Faith, Who Switched the Price Tags and The Kingdom of God Is a Party, Campolo showed a knack for reaching young people with the Christian gospel and then inspiring them to go out and work to change the world. In the process, he often challenged the religious right.
In 1985, he lost a speaking gig at Youth Congress, a national event in Washington, D.C., after critics complained his book A Reasonable Faith was heretical. A panel of evangelical theologians then “determined that Tony Campolo cannot rightly be called a heretic,” according to Christianity Today.
He eventually became a spiritual adviser to then-President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Campolo also founded a nonprofit called the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, which worked in several countries, including Haiti, from the early 1970s to 2014.
Ryan Burge, a former American Baptist pastor and an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, said Campolo carried forward the legacy of the social gospel.
“Tony Campolo was one of the most talented and sought-after preachers in the United States for several decades. He was able to speak to audiences from all corners of American Christianity—reminding them of the radical grace and forgiveness that is found in the gospel,” Burge said.
Passion for justice rooted in early family life
The child of Italian American immigrants, Campolo said his belief that Christianity could change lives in this world—as well as saving people’s souls—grew out of his childhood.
In a 2016 online interview, he told the story of how a Baptist mission changed the course of his family’s life.
“My father couldn’t find a job and they were totally impoverished, and a Baptist mission in South Philadelphia reached out to them, got my father a job, got them a place to stay, put their feet on solid ground and really saved them from despair and destitution,” he recalled.
“People often ask me: ‘Where did you get your social consciousness? Where did you get your commitment to the poor, before it was ever fashionable?’ My mother and father saw in the way they were treated by a group of Baptists that this is what Christianity is about. It’s not about getting a ticket to heaven, it’s about becoming an instrument of God to transform this world.”
In 2007, Campolo, along with author and activist Shane Claiborne, founded Red Letter Christians, a challenge to the conservative evangelical voting bloc. The name came from the practice of Bible publishers printing the words of Jesus in red ink and highlighted the social and ethical teachings of Jesus. In 2012, Campolo was given a lifetime award from the National Youth Workers Convention for his work inspiring young people.
“As a result of Tony’s life of ministry and leadership he has left a legacy of encouragement and hope to youth workers and students everywhere,” the award read, according to an official bio of Campolo.
Campolo suffered a stoke in 2020, which partially paralyzed his left side. He suffered a previous stroke in 2002.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has influenced evangelicalism more than Tony Campolo in the last 50 years,” Claiborne told RNS at the time.
Campolo is survived by his wife Peggy, son Bart and daughter Lisa.
Matt Queen resigns pastorate after guilty plea
February 11, 2025
GREENSBORO, N.C. (BP)—Three weeks after pleading guilty to a charge of making false statements to federal investigators as part of a sexual abuse investigation stemming from his time as a seminary administrator, Matt Queen has resigned as pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church, the church announced Nov. 8.
In a press release, the church said: “Dr. Matthew Queen is stepping down from his role as Lead Pastor at Friendly Avenue Baptist Church, effective immediately. While this has been a challenging season, we continue to trust in God’s sovereignty and remain focused on our mission. As we move forward, we encourage our congregation and the wider community to stay focused on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”
Queen pleaded guilty to making false statements to federal investigators on Oct. 16 after he had previously pleaded not guilty to federal charges in May.
Sentencing for Queen is set for Feb. 26, 2025.
Church leaders placed Queen on administrative leave after his initial plea of not guilty in May. After Queen changed his plea in October, church leaders said in a statement that they were “reviewing these recent developments as it works to complete its investigation and submit a recommendation to the church membership concerning Dr. Queen’s status and relationship with Friendly Avenue Baptist Church, all in accordance with the church’s governing documents.”
Prior to being called as pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in February, Queen served as interim provost at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
During Queen’s tenure at Southwestern, the seminary was part of a broader investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct involving the Southern Baptist Convention and its entities.
The investigation included Southwestern Seminary’s handling of a report of an alleged sexual assault by a student. Investigators said Queen provided false information to them in the form of written notes in a notebook during the investigation.
Following Queen’s guilty plea in October, Southwestern issued a statement that said, in part: “From the beginning, Southwestern Seminary has fully cooperated with the Department of Justice in its investigation of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention. We remain resolute in our commitment to continue to do so.”
The statement said the seminary is praying for “victims of sexual abuse and remains committed to doing everything possible to protect all members of the seminary community from sexual abuse and harassment.”
The statement also offered prayers for “Matt Queen and his family, as well as for others who have been involved in this process.”