Cooperating together for the sake of the gospel

It has been a couple of weeks since the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) held its annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. The Baptist General Convention of Texas was considered a co-host for this event along with GuideStone and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the two SBC entities in Texas, and the Southern Baptist Convention of Texas.

In Isaiah 51:1, God’s people are called to ‘look to the rock from which [they] were cut and the quarry from which [they] were hewn.’ It is good to reflect on our heritage as Baptists, as diverse and as complex as our history might be.

Historically, Baptists have cherished the principles of soul competency, the priesthood of all believers, local church autonomy and voluntary cooperation. There is a delicate but important balance between our liberty in Christ and our commitment to relate to each other as a denomination, upholding those things which we hold in common.

While we have things in common, it is good to remember that we do not have to agree on everything to cooperate together. It is also good to remind ourselves that the resolutions and motions acted on at the annual meeting reflect the opinions and convictions of those particular messengers and may not reflect those of all Southern Baptists.

Furthermore, we believe that a New Testament church is an autonomous local body of baptized believers. For Baptists, the local church is the headquarters of our denomination. We are not hierarchical. Local churches relate through local associations, through state conventions and with national conventions or bodies.

Texas Baptists is a convention of churches. We are not an agency of the Southern Baptist Convention or of any other Baptist body. Yet, a significant number of our churches relate to the SBC. They may do so in various degrees of involvement.

Accordingly, Texas Baptists engaged in various ways around the SBC’s meeting in Dallas. One of the most exciting was the involvement of our people in Crossover Dallas 2025, the weekend leading up to the SBC’s annual meeting.

With the leadership of Pastor Greg Ammons of FBC Garland and the coordination of Oza Jones, Texas Baptists director of evangelism, and in partnership with the North American Mission Board and the Dallas Baptist Association, Texas Baptists churches and volunteers participated in events serving people in Christ’s name and sharing the gospel.

Among other events, Freedom church ministered in a Euless apartment complex where 1,000 bags of groceries were distributed, resulting in 200 gospel conversations and 27 people praying to receive Christ as Savior. Through TellGate grills, 1,500 hot dogs were distributed, and the gospel was shared. Cumulatively, Crossover Dallas was the work of 89 churches and 2,935 volunteers partnering to have 17,033 gospel conversations that saw 711 souls saved!

Additionally, on the Monday night before the SBC’s general sessions, approximately 200 Texas Baptists ministers and spouses gathered for a dinner. Participants worshipped in song, enjoyed a good meal and fellowship around the table, heard an update about GC2 Strong and prayed over Larry Mayberry, pastor of Queens Church in New York and newly elected director of the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association, both with whom Texas Baptists partner.

Texas Baptists staff received several hundred guests at our state-of-the-art exhibit, where we had the opportunity to share about the work we do together and to share the GC2 strong vision.

On Tuesday, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission hosted a lunch. It included a panel discussion on how Baptist state conventions are partnering with the ERLC.

Randy Davis, executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, Nathan Lorick, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and yours truly, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, discussed how both states filed amicus briefs alongside the ERLC in Supreme Court cases for 2025 to protect children.

These were some of the various ways in which Texas Baptists made their presence known during the SBC’s annual meeting in Dallas. We are thankful for the opportunity to serve our churches, to cooperate together for the sake of the gospel and to represent BGCT.