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Messengers to Texas Baptists’ annual meeting soundly defeated a motion affirming the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, the Southern Baptist Convention statement of faith that limits the role of pastor to men.
“Can God trust you?” if you are called to pay a price for following Jesus, an American pastor who was imprisoned in Turkey asked.
When 2019 saw a surge of displaced people at the United States’ southern border one Waco church didn’t see a problem with the people.
Carla Cochrane said she first felt a call to learn more about asylum seekers in May 2019.
More than 25 Texans on Mission teams—supplemented by local volunteers and out-of-state church mission teams—have focused on meeting needs in parts of Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina after Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
Texans on Mission sent key disaster relief equipment to Florida this week in advance of Hurricane Milton’s landfall. The Dallas-based ministry now is seeking more volunteers to respond to what has become a two-hurricane disaster.
Texans on Mission deployed mass feeding, chainsaw and flood recovery teams—among others—Sept. 30 to meet needs after the second deadliest hurricane in U.S. history.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board voted to take initial steps to create a Texas Baptist insurance program to enable churches to secure affordable property and casualty, liability and similar insurance coverage.
For 38 years, Mission Arlington has existed to “take church to the people,” founder and director Tillie Burgin explained.
An April report from the Survey Center on American Life claims young women have overtaken men in disaffiliation from their formative faiths.
Pastor Michael Evans of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield will be nominated for registration secretary of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary returned to its birthplace at First Baptist Church in Waco for an Aug. 27 convocation marking 30 years of spiritual formation and preparing students for ministry.
Baptist General Convention of Texas and North American Mission Board representatives met at the Texas Baptists’ offices Aug. 15.
A Ukraine-born Houston Baptist layman is seeking to help his homeland rebuild its health care system by offering young Ukrainian medical professionals continuing education opportunities in the United States.
After nearly 30 years with their pastor, Crestview Baptist in Georgetown decided on a novel approach to moving forward with a successor.
Baylor regents adopted a recommendation to make the board more representative of Baylor’s personnel, student body and expanded motto.
Sergio Ramos will join Texas Baptists to further develop and direct the emerging network of GC2 churches and ministries in Texas and beyond.
The Baptist World Alliance entered its “collaborative mission era” with the adoption of a new constitution and bylaws at the BWA annual gathering in Nigeria.
Baptists from around the world discussed peace and peacemaking during the Baptist International Conference on Theological Education prior to the 2024 Baptist World Alliance annual gathering in Lagos, Nigeria.
Joseph Adams, pastor of First Baptist Church in Hughes Springs, will be nominated for second vice president of the Baptist General Convention at Texas Baptists’ annual meeting, Nov. 10-12 in Waco.
In the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the number of abortions performed in Texas has dropped dramatically. But a study published in a medical journal revealed infant deaths increased since the Texas Heartbeat Act became law.
Since the oldest members of Gen Z began entering adulthood in 2014, studies have shown a pessimistic, struggling generation.
A constitutional amendment barring churches that employ female pastors from the Southern Baptist Convention failed to receive the necessary two-thirds approval at the SBC annual meeting.
Executive Director Julio Guarneri announced a new position related to the Pastor’s Common during his Executive Board meeting address May 20.
A spokesperson for the SBC North American Mission Board asserted “nothing has changed, and nothing is new” regarding its policy to grant church-starting funds only to state conventions that have affirmed the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board affirmed the creation of a study group concerning out-of-state churches that want to affiliate with Texas Baptists’ GC2 network.
Storms have taken a toll across Texas in recent days, and Texans on Mission deployed disaster relief volunteers into several communities in May‑—San Marcos, Conroe, Rising Star, Huffman and Kingwood.
People of faith must move beyond tribalism and identify with human suffering experienced by those on “the other side,” a Baptist minister involved in promoting multi-faith relationships said.
Six months is the allotted time for refugee assistance to those resettled in the United States, said Helen Cingpi director of Project: Start.
Baptists’ emphasis on “the personal” may be the greatest gift they offer in the 21st century, ethicist Russell Moore, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, told a group at Dallas Baptist University.
Pastor Felix Treviño knew the metric stating a healthy church should have one baptism per year for every 15 people in average worship attendance, but First Baptist Church of Mathis simply was not seeing God move in that way.
Coryell Community Church welcomed around 600 guests to its Gatesville campus for an Eclipse at the Crosses watch party on April 8, to anticipate and experience together the awe of totality.
Bear Creek Baptist Church is seeing growth—the kind of growth many churches dream of, with 60 baptisms since the beginning of 2024.
Adam Greenway, who was forced out as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in September 2022, filed a personal injury lawsuit against the seminary and the past chair of its trustee board.
Debbie Potter, children’s pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, will be nominated for first vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Ronny Marriott, incumbent president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, will be nominated at Texas Baptists’ annual meeting for a second term.
Texans and Ugandans on Mission are bringing clean water and living water to one village at a time in rural Uganda.
Adam Pardue, pastor of Highland Baptist Church in Lubbock, will be nominated for second vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Rather than focusing on the size of obstacles, Texas Baptists should trust in God who is capable of overcoming any obstacle, Executive Director Julio Guarneri told the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.
Texas Baptists’ executive director search committee announced Julio Guarneri, lead pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen, as its nominee for Baptist General Convention of Texas executive director.
Josh and Devon Fults’ world changed seven and a half years ago, when their daughter Hadley had to be rushed to the emergency room with a severe headache and stomach distress.
More than 100 Texas chaplains—including at least 34 Baptists—signed an open letter to all school board members in the state, urging them to reject government-approved chaplains in public schools.
Kyle Henderson said God doesn’t often wake him up with a definite sense of calling to a specific task. But when it happens, he pays attention.
Randel Everett recently told the board of 21Wilberforce he plans to retire at the end of the year as the organization’s president.
Middle and high school students give a week of their summer vacation learning about and serving church plants through Bounce Student Church Planting.
Trauma survivors sit in practically every church pew and stand behind many pulpits, licensed professional counselor Katie Swafford told a workshop at Texas Baptists’ Family Gathering.
When asked to approve a motion calling on the BGCT to help churches “interested in calling and employing women in ministerial and pastoral roles,” messengers to the BGCT annual meeting instead adopted an amended motion referring to “women in ministry and leadership roles.”
A move to exclude churches with women pastors on staff from the SBC could disenfranchise Black Southern Baptist churches, the president of the National African American Fellowship stated.
Two universities affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas became the first educational institutions accepted as member partners of the Baptist World Alliance.
At 8 p.m. on June 21, an EF-3 tornado hit the western part of Matador, claiming four lives and injuring 15 people. First Baptist Church quickly became a hub of relief ministry to the community.
All of Octavia Uribe's family survived last week’s EF-3 tornado in Perryton. Others weren’t that fortunate.
Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting voted overwhelmingly to affirm the expulsion of three churches—two congregations that allow women to serve as pastors and one church that allegedly tolerated sexual abuse by a minister.
From 2002 to 2022, annual operating expenses at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary rose 35 percent while full-time-enrollment figures dropped 67 percent.
Author and longtime pastor Rick Warren released the first in a series of videos and an open letter to Southern Baptists in the days prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting.
Southwestern Seminary trustees voiced support for board leadership and castigated two trustees who had called for greater transparency and questioned leaders’ integrity.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas voted to create a task force to study and recommend responses to sexual abuse issues in Texas Baptist churches.
When former members of the youth group at Highland Baptist Church in Waco gathered for a recent reunion, old friends "picked up conversations where they left off" 50 years ago, Jimmy Dorrell said.
More than 2,000 community residents and guests gathered at Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen to mourn, pray and comfort one another after a mass shooting at a nearby mall.
Trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee overwhelmingly rejected a search committee’s nominee for president and CEO of the agency.
The Texas Senate passed a bill that would require public schools to post the Ten Commandments prominently in every classroom.
Six Texas Baptist Men volunteers journeyed to Turkey to put together simple shelters for families who had lost their homes to an earthquake.
The Easter promise of new life holds special meaning for members of a persecuted Chinese church who arrived in Texas on Good Friday, in preparation for resettlement with the help of Tyler-area churches.
A tornado plowed through Arkansas west and north of Little Rock Friday afternoon. The next day, more than 80 Texas Baptist Men volunteers from 15 units across Texas started arriving to help.
One month after a spontaneous revival at Asbury University, a 72-hour prayer event at Baylor University resulted in more than 20 baptisms, public commitments to Christ and even reports of healing.
More than nine out of 10 single parents enrolled in Buckner Family Pathways complete the program—an achievement that not only improves their lives but also helps break the cycle of generational poverty.
When Wes Brown planted a church on 16 acres of Collin County farmland, there wasn’t much nearby but wide-open spaces. Fifteen years later, suburban sprawl approaches the Cowboy Church of Collin County.
A Grayson County court withdrew the April 5 execution date for Andre Thomas—a paranoid schizophrenic prisoner who gouged out both his eyes—to allow his legal team time to demonstrate their client is not mentally competent.
Two high-capacity Texas-made water filters are providing clean water for earthquake survivors in Turkey, and more will be used both in Turkey and Syria in coming days, thanks to a Texas Baptist Men-led team.
Pastor Leonid Regheta had planned to enjoy a sabbatical last year. The Russian invasion of Ukraine turned the past 12 months into anything but sabbath rest.
White evangelicals who fail to stand against racism and injustice need to read their Bible, Beth Moore told a crowd at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary.
Life Restored Church made radical adjustments to focus on San Antonio’s poorest residents for one simple reason. Pastor Alex Fleming believes God told him to do it.
B.H. Carroll Theological Institute is becoming B.H. Carroll Theological Seminary and will be embedded in East Texas Baptist University.
Texas Baptist Men volunteers responded quickly after a series of tornadoes swept across Southeast Texas from the Houston area to Orange.
When Mary's House recently opened its doors to provide a residence for a missionary family, it marked a dream come true for Texas WMU and the World Missions Center at Southwestern Seminary.
Protecting public schools that serve all children is a fight for "the soul of democracy," panelists told a crowd of activists and public education advocates in Southlake.
Dustin Benac believes the church has a future, and he wants to help congregations get ready for it.
When the 88th Texas Legislature convenes Jan. 10, Texas Baptist public policy watchdogs believe state lawmakers will resist intense pressure to expand gambling and approve some form of vouchers for private education.
Gov. Greg Abbott is seeking an investigation of nongovernmental organizations he believes may have assisted with illegal border crossings.
Christian nationalism “provides cover” for white supremacy by offering racists a veneer of respectability, Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, told a Congressional hearing.
The past president and former general secretary of the Kachin Baptist Convention in Myanmar was detained by the Burmese military junta and is being held.
The U.S. Senate voted 61-36 to approve the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill to codify same-sex marriage as law, but faith groups differed on whether the amended bill includes adequate religious liberty protections.
At Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas, focusing on meeting needs in the community has reshaped the congregation's sense of mission.
Texas Baptists will explore the creation of a residency program that would enable young ministers to work alongside and learn from experienced ministers.
The first time Pastor Dana Moore set foot behind the walls of a prison was to visit a Texas Death Row inmate.
Religious persecution in China today is worse than it has been in decades, former Chinese dissident and longtime international human rights advocate Bob Fu told a gathering at Dallas Baptist University.
By utilizing a large turnout of local volunteers, Texas Baptist Men is multiplying the ministry’s impact in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES, Fla.—Hurricane Ian is gone, and its floodwaters have receded. But devastating evidence of its presence remains throughout Naples, Fla., where Texas Baptist Men disaster relief volunteers are serving. Random...
Southwestern Seminary announced Adam Greenway resigned as president. O.S. Hawkins and David Dockery will head the interim leadership team.
A new estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau asserts Hispanics make up a larger segment of the Texas population than any other group—a demographic reality particularly significant to Texas Baptists.
Ken Starr, the former independent counsel in the Clinton administration Whitewater investigation who later became president and chancellor of Baylor University, died Sept. 13 at age 76.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas executive director search committee is asking Texas Baptists to pray daily for their work and to participate in web-based regional listening sessions in November to help shape a position profile.
Elmin Kimbol Howell Jr., founding director of Texas Baptists’ River Ministry along the Texas-Mexico border, died Aug. 29 at Elysian Fields, near Marshall. He was 92.
Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director David Hardage acknowledged "missteps" in the development of the GC2 statement of faith, and he suggested Texas Baptists press the "pause" button before taking further action.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas is seeking to "review and consider changes" to the special agreement that defines its relationship with Baylor University.
Terry Joe Solley, an inmate in the general prison population who devotes 12 to 14 hours a day visiting otherwise-isolated prisoners, is committed to turning Death Row into "Life Row."
Texas Baptist Men disaster relief volunteers have provided water and meals to firefighters who have battled wildfires in parched Texas. Now, TBM is responding to floods that have ravaged much of eastern Kentucky and parts of Missouri.
One Texas child out of five faced hunger in 2020, and the threat of hunger was most significant for Black and Hispanic Texans, new information from Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap report reveals.