Elijah Brown urges Texas Baptists to follow the first church’s paths to further the gospel

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. 

Brown said as the 2,000th anniversary of Christ’s resurrection, Pentecost and the birth of the church looms in 2033, Baptists around the world should be focusing on the same things as those early believers to see a clear impact for the gospel. 

“In a world filled with wars and persecution, poverty and hunger, we want to live like that church in Acts 2. Our mundane can become God’s miraculous. The church should believe the word of God is powerful and alive, even when it is counter-cultural,” he said. “What if for the glory of Jesus we prayed, ‘Lord, what you did 2000 years ago, would you do it again? We have heard of your fame and are in awe of your deeds. Repeat them in our day.’”

Calling on churches to pursue “an unprecedented, Holy Spirit-directed, global collaborative mission,” Brown outlined five paths that the early church in Acts 2 followed that BWA believes will make a gospel impact.

The first is the witness path. Brown challenged Texans to be part of 450 million testimonies shared, giving every person an opportunity to hear the gospel. He noted that the BWA family has grown 32 percent worldwide, with a church in the slums of Kathmandu, Nepal, starting 11 other churches. This work is only possible through the sending of missionaries and sharing testimonies.

“If every BWA Baptist would share one time every nine years, they can be part of 450 million testimonies,” Brown noted.

The second path is the Bible path, focused on helping translate the holy word of God into the 1,159 languages that currently have no translation. The hope is that by 2033, every language would at least be represented in John 3:16, with an aim of 120 languages having a full Bible by that year. 

Brown said the third is the care path, featuring the home-based hospitality that was a hallmark of the early church, along with generosity to others. The BWA called for one billion intentional acts of service, which Brown said averages to every Baptist helping three people per year. 

“There are wounds of persecution, abuse, hunger, prisoners, refugees and addiction, but we believe the wounds of Jesus are deep enough to heal the wounds of the world,” Brown said. 

The fourth path, the freedom and justice path, Brown said was a bold commitment to religious freedom, and a new covenant as such is being developed with an aim for one million signatures. 

“Our commitment is to religious freedom for people of all faiths or no faith, and faith can only flourish if not tied to nationalism,” Brown said. 

The final path is the neighbor path, aimed to raise up one percent of BWA Baptists as lay chaplains for their neighborhoods, or 500,000 people. 

“We’re calling Baptists to walk their streets, pray for their neighbors and bless them in Jesus’ name,” said Brown. “The gospel spread rapidly in the early church as they intentionally cared for each other.

“Let us pick up the cross of Jesus and follow Jesus in a global revival. Would you share your testimony one time a year, read one Bible chapter per day, care for three people a year and show support for religious freedom?”

Brown noted the movement emphasis will be from April 12 to May 24, 2026, with materials and information available online at www.acts2movement.org. 

The worship service also included music led by Jeff Walsh and the worship team from First Baptist Church in Midland. Scripture and prayer were given by David Slover of HighGround Advisors, longtime convention sponsors. 

Tamiko Jones, executive director/treasurer of WMU of Texas, gave a brief report on the ministry, noting that the mission to reach the world with the gospel has not changed over its nearly 145 years. She noted that 36 Christian Job Corps sites have produced 1,665 graduates and hundreds of new Christians. Additionally, $3.28 million was raised through the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions, and the 15th house was completed in South Texas through the Women’s Build. Remarkably, Jones said, WMU of Texas responded to 369 requests to start mission groups at churches. 

“We want to see every believer compelled to live missionally,” Jones said. “And we emphasize disciple-making. Our core strategy leads us to include all age groups and empower God’s people.”

Mickey Lenamon, CEO of Texans on Mission, also reported on his agency’s work, which played a large role in recovery in the Texas Hill Country after the July 4 flooding. He thanked Texas Baptists churches for both financial support and volunteer support, then shared a video of the work in the Hill Country.

Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, also brought greetings and thanks for the support of the Cooperative Program by Texas Baptists churches. 

Julio Guarneri, Texas Baptists executive director, recognized churches that have made a significant impact through CP. 

A special missions offering for the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering was collected.