Church leaders gather to explore 3-step discovery process for new GC2 Strong initiative

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

The meeting was conducted by the recently-formed GC2 Design Team, led by Sergio Ramos, senior director of relationship development, and was opened in prayer by Noe Treviño, director of the Center for Missional Engagement. 

History of GC2 in Texas Baptists life 

Joshua Minatrea, senior director of resource development for Texas Baptists, began with a brief history of GC2.

GC2 is an abbreviation for the Great Commandment and Great Commission — the two GCs — given to believers by Christ in Matthew 22 and 28. 

The term was first coined in 2014 by then Executive Director David Hardage and has shaped Texas Baptists life in a variety of ways since. Conceptions of the GC2 emphasis have included a movement of God’s people to share Christ and show love, a developing structure to support that movement, pathways and partnerships for those outside the state and more.

“In the midst of this evolution, there has been some ambiguity … newly elected executive director Julio Guarneri sought to bring clarity,” said Minatrea. 

Since it formed in April 2025, the GC2 Design Team has worked to create a draft GC2 Discovery Process, which is an evolving and collaborative plan to help churches grow their Great Commission, Great Commandment work.

“In all that we do, we begin with prayer, and we remain focused on the Spirit’s leading. We are not asking God to bless the plans that we bring to this effort; rather, we are genuinely asking that he would reveal his plan to us,” said Minatrea. 

The GC2 Discovery Process

GC2 Strong is a reimagining of the years-long GC2 emphasis and an intentional, urgent and collaborative initiative to equip churches who desire to strengthen their Great Commandment and Great Commission practice.

Minatrea broke down the 3-step discovery process for those in attendance. 

• Step one is to learn and pray — in which churches are invited to learn about and prayerfully consider engaging in the discovery process.

“Learn will look like a structured meeting with a TXB representative and supporting resources to help potential participants learn more about the discovery process,” explained Minatrea. “Pray will look like a self-guided prayer experience to help potential participants prayerfully consider whether to engage.” 

• Step two is to assess and reflect — where churches that desire to participate are invited to consider and reflect upon their GC2 practice.

“Assess will look like a relatively short, digital and/or print survey to be administered to the leaders and members of an affiliated church and designed to assess their Great Commandment and Great Commission practices,” he said. 

“Reflect will look like an in-depth, structured meeting with a TXB representative, including a summary and detailed report and supporting resources to help church leaders receive and process assessment results,” he continued.

• Step three is pathway pursuit — in which churches will be invited to select and pursue next steps to strengthen their GC2 practice based on the results of their assessment.

“Select will look like a follow-up meeting between the church leader and TXB representative to select next steps from a menu of options,” said Minatrea. 

He emphasized that a church’s pursued pathway will vary depending on the context of the church. The GC2 Discovery Process is not meant to create one-size-fits-all approaches but customizable next steps for each church. 

In this final pathway step, Minatrea outlined how churches will be assigned a “TXB navigator” to be a rich human resource and to mentor, counsel, coach and consult with a church as it works to grow its GC2 practices. 

Why now? And how to get involved

“Before us there is an incredible problem, but even more importantly, there is a possibility,” said Jonathan Smith, associate director for the Center for Church Health. “The problem we are trying to address with GC2 Strong is lostness.”

Smith reminded church leaders that about half the current population of Texas — around 15 million people — does not know Jesus.

The Texas population is also expected to nearly double to some 56 million residents by the year 2050. 

“When you consider these variables: population growth, church decline and church closures — it’s evident to us, and we think and pray it’s evident to you, that the status quo simply will not work for us in the future,” said Smith. “Time is of the essence … Jesus proclaimed the gospel message is an urgent message. There is a sense of urgency to the work we are doing.”

Smith shared that the timeline for this initiative is to launch a 4-month pilot test with around 25 churches in early 2026. Through collaboration and feedback, adjustments and improvements will be made to the process in this pilot stage. 

The initiative will launch to the broader Texas Baptists family later in 2026, with a goal of having 200 churches engaged in the process in some way by the 2026 Texas Baptists Annual Meeting. 

Texas Baptists churches are invited to get involved in several ways: 

• Give voice to the shaping of the process — the GC2 Design Team wants to hear your input and is planning a series of listening sessions around the state.
• Consider being a pilot church — the GC2 Design Team will soon release a set of criteria for strong pilot church candidates. If you feel your church would be a good fit, let the Team know.
• Commit to praying for this effort — and for a GC2 awakening across the state. 

“At the end of the day, this effort … is about helping churches by equipping them to be faithful to what God has called them to do,” Minatrea stated.

For help getting involved, to contact Sergio Ramos who leads the GC2 Strong initiative,  or to sign up for email updates on the GC2 Strong initiative, visit txb.org/gc2.