Articles by Teresa Young

In just three and a half years, the Pave program has seen a major wave of growth not only in their participant numbers but in the churches involved in the revitalization effort. And that impact was celebrated in a workshop held Monday at the Texas Baptists Convention in Waco.

“I love seeing from the Pastor’s Coalition more of these churches get involved because it's not all about our church and what we're doing; it's about seeing the kingdom of God is growing and going forth into a community, and Jesus' name being known.”

“We’re no longer a 60 and older church, we’re actually a four-generation church, which is exciting but challenging that I’m preaching to the five-year-old in the room and I’m preaching to the 90-year-old,” said McNeal.

Since Pave launched in May 2022, 125 pastors have joined cohorts. Eighty-five percent of Pave pastors reported "significant revitalization progress" after year one of Pave. Sixty-eight percent of Pave pastors are reporting an increase in baptisms in their first year of Pave.

“Strong perfume and casseroles” is just one of many memorable responses Dr. Katie McCoy, director of Women’s Ministry for Texas Baptists, receives when she asks women what comes to mind when they hear the phrase “women’s ministry.”

Pastor Felix Treviño knew the metric stating a healthy church should have one baptism for every 15 people in average worship attendance per year, but the First Baptist Church of Mathis simply was not seeing God move in that way.

Despite being a vibrant part of the San Antonio community for 102 years, Saint Luke Baptist Church appeared to some to be dying.

When Alan Grisham reached out to Texas Baptists almost two years ago, he understood changes were necessary. 

If your church is declining in attendance or plateauing for several years, there is good news: You are not alone. But the better news is you don’t have to stay that way, said Dr. Jonathan Smith, Director of Church Health Strategy for Texas Baptists.

Is it possible we can become so focused on doctrinal purity and correctness and agreeing 100% with every jot and tittle of interpretation that we forget about our love relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; we forget about our love relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ; we forget about our passion for reaching the lost?