What a wonderful time we had as a Texas Baptists family at our annual meeting in Abilene earlier this week! I am thankful for the convention officers, the executive board, the various committees, the staff, volunteers, choirs, musicians, program participants and the production team for all of their work and dedication.

The Texas Baptists communications team did an outstanding job of reporting on the general sessions, rallies, meal functions and workshops, including an excellent recap. You can also find twenty-five news stories giving further details about the various events that took place.

I must pause here to express my gratitude to my dear wife, Monica, for her unwavering support, her willingness to take care of so many things while I am away for convention business and her excellent leadership of the ministers’ spouses fellowship.

I had the privilege of presenting the executive director’s report. With a Back to the Future theme, I shared how we need to go back to the way the early church lived out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

Referencing demographic information about the growth of Texas and the number of people who do not follow Jesus in the state, North America and the rest of the world, I stated that the problem GC2 is attempting to address is lostness.

When we consider the fast population growth, the percentage of churches that are declining in membership and attendance and the number of churches that are closing their doors each year, we realize we are in desperate need of a GC2 awakening!

I invited annual meeting participants to imagine an alternate future in contrast with one of the status quo and lostness. What if in five years, by 2030, we had 2,030 churches praying for the lost on a regular basis … 2030 churches loving God through obedience and surrender to his will … 2030 churches showing love for neighbors through intentional ministries … 2030 churches making disciples who make disciples?

What if, by 2030, we could see 2,030 pastors and ministers in cohorts, networks and residencies that strengthen their spiritual, mental, familial, physical, financial and ministerial health? Can we imagine 2,030 students in theological education as part of a leadership pipeline preparing for service in Texas Baptists churches, campus ministries, missions and Texas Baptists institutions?

What if, within the next five years, we had church-driven strategic mission engagements: Each year, 203 churches starting a new church, 203 churches adopting a missionary through MAP, 203 churches adopting an unreached people group, 203 churches engaged in a Bible translation project, 203 churches sending and/or supporting a missionary?

What if, by 2030, we could turn the 20-year downward trend of Cooperative Program giving and increase it by 20.3%? All of these are possible if the Lord does it among us. We must pray for a GC2 awakening! That’s what our GC2 Strong process is designed to address.

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

It is church focused. GC2 Strong is geared toward serving and resourcing our existing local churches. We believe that when churches choose to do so, there will be church multiplication, missions advancement and kingdom expansion.

Texas Baptists will launch a pilot project of the GC2 Strong process at the beginning of 2026 with around 20-25 churches, with a goal by the end of the year to have engaged 200 churches in the process.

Churches are invited to engage in a 3-step process: (1) Learn and Pray (2) Assess and Reflect (3) Pathway and Pursuit. All of this would be based on reflection of six domains: (1) loving God, (2) loving people and (3) making disciples of all nations; and (4) the church’s health, (5) pastoral and leadership health, (6) the strength of the church’s missions engagement.

Meanwhile, the Texas Baptists staff will reorganize around three focuses — churches, pastors/leaders and missions.

I also introduced the Bless App as a tool to help Texas Baptists churches pray for every person in the state of Texas and in the areas where we have TXB/GC2 churches outside of Texas by our annual meeting in 2026. I will expound more on this in upcoming weekly updates.

For now, I invite you and your church to pray for the lost, download the app, consider increasing your giving through the Cooperative Program next year and reflect on when and how you want to engage the GC2 Strong Process.

Living out GC2