Articles by Meredith Poe

Church leaders from across the state gathered Tuesday morning at the Texas Baptists Annual Meeting for a GC2 Awakening workshop.

“My hope for the future of our convention is that we will take advantage of the opportunity to show the unity of 5,300 churches. That we can be diverse, we can disagree, yet we still love each other and work towards the common goal to strengthen every Texas Baptists church, to carry out the Great Commission and the Great Commandment as God has created them to do,” said Marriott. 

“We are in some challenging times, but the good news is that when the dust settles it will be alright,” Atchison said. “When the dust settles, the victory will be secured … When the dust settles, God’s honor will be vindicated. When the dust settles, all of us will be able to join in the chorus … and say all hail the power of Jesus. Crown him!”

“Finishing well means being more in love with Jesus at the end than in the beginning, being more passionate about the mission than their own at the end and being more sacrificial of their time, talent and treasure at the end,” explained Abbott.

“It’s hard to live in the unknown, but every month we’ve had everything we needed. Abundance shows up when God is in every moment,” he said, noting thankfulness to other churches who have sponsored the work to help them get established. “He constantly provides, no matter what the budget looks like.”

Elijah Brown, CEO and general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), urged Texas Baptists to follow the five paths of the first church in Acts 2 as they seek to win the world for Christ during his Monday evening message to the convention. 

In a Monday afternoon session titled “Awakening the Church’s Heart: Igniting Mission Through Six Transformative Ps,” Lowin both provided ideas for congregations and introduced some current mission work that shows the power of missional churches.

“Discipleship and evangelism are not just things we should do, but it is disobedience if they are not happening consistently with believers. Leadership is stewardship, and we’re going to be held accountable,” Smith noted. “Our faith is not private but a public matter as we display the very goodness and glory of Christ to those who do not know him.”

Julio Guarneri, Texas Baptists executive director, gave a report to the attendees at the 2025 Texas Baptist Annual Meeting on Monday evening.

During the Monday morning business and worship session of the 2025 Texas Baptists Annual Meeting, messengers elected Convention officers, heard reports, passed recommendations and introduced motions during miscellaneous business.