Leighton Flowers named new Evangelism Lead for Texas Baptists

DALLAS– We would like to share the exciting news that Leighton Flowers has been named Evangelism Lead for Texas Baptists effective April 2. No stranger to Baptist life, Flowers has served on staff with the Convention since 2003, overseeing key evangelistic ministry initiatives including Super Summer, Youth Evangelism Conferences, Hot Hearts, See You At the Pole, [un]Apologetic conferences and more.

“Leighton Flowers is the right person to lead Texas Baptists in Evangelism at this time,” said David Hardage, executive director. “I'm excited about his heart for the lost and is ability to communicate the Gospel. I'm grateful for the leadership Dr. Delvin Atchison, Great Commission Team director, has shown in filling this vital role for our BGCT family.”  

Please congratulate Leighton in his new leadership role with Texas Baptists. 

Passionate about the local church and equipping individuals to effectively share their faith through compassion and love for others, Flowers has garnered two decades of ministry experience across Texas Baptists life. In this new role, his vision is to challenge, equip and train Texas Baptists, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to passionately fulfill God’s call to reach all people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Leighton is one of the brightest stars in Texas Baptist life,” said Delvin Atchison, director of the Great Commission Team. “He grew up in the BGCT. He is the pride of our past and the promise of our future. We are fortunate to have him as our Evangelism Lead.”

While many church leaders view evangelism as a key component of their congregation, a study conducted by LifeWay Research in 2012 reported that 61% of Christians had not shared their faith in the previous six months. Two years later, that number rose to 78%.

“The reason so many people see their churches as being evangelistic, despite the facts, is that there are programs, themes, slogans and talk on the stage about evangelism and the need for it, but there is very little practice of personal evangelism,” Flowers said. “The focus has to shift back to the individual–calling the individual to compassion for the lost, to connection with the lost and to a long-term commitment to see the lost come to know Christ.”

The Evangelism Team serves as a resource for Texas Baptists churches in training and equipping believers to share their faith. Flowers’ team will connect with churches to provide evangelism consultation, encouragement and training including Super Summer, Congreso, Pray 4 Every Home and Take the 4xFour Challenge.

Flowers also intends to ensure apologetics is seen as an indispensable aspect of evangelism. Just as Paul engaged in persuasion throughout much of the New Testament, Flowers sees the importance of 21st Century believers engaging in similar strategies.

“Sometimes we can over-spiritualize things, saying it’s our job to proclaim the truth and let God do the rest,” he said. “That’s not what Paul thought because he didn’t act that way. He acted as if it depended on him being persistent and committing himself to sharing that truth in a persuasive way and helping win people over. The concept of ‘winning the lost’ versus ‘proclaiming the truth to the lost’ is a really important aspect that needs to drive how we do evangelism.”

As an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University, Flowers noticed students came alive when the topic of soteriology was discussed in class. Several students asked for additional resources to study the doctrine of salvation and he would make those available through online learning platforms. At the suggestion of a student’s urging, Flowers turned some of the course materials into a podcast entitled “Soteriology 101.” Now, this weekly YouTube and iTunes podcast averages 10,000 downloads per episode.

Flowers’ ministry experience includes serving as student minister at University Baptist Church in Abilene; senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Era; student minister at Colonial Hills Baptist Church; and interim preaching rolls at Hunters Glen Baptist in Plano, The Oaks Baptist in Grand Prairie, Culleoka Baptist in Princeton and First Baptist Church of Richardson. He has also served as a speaker at numerous camps, retreats and training events.

Flowers earned a bachelor’s degree from Hardin-Simmons University, a master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctorate from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Laura, and their children, make their home in north Garland.