Texas Baptist Missions Foundation celebrates 40 years of impact with donor testimony

Amid an atmosphere of celebration for 40 years of supporting God’s work, attendees at the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation (TBMF) luncheon got to hear a word of encouragement from one of the earliest and most generous supporters. 

Drayton McLane, Jr., chairman of the McLane Group and a longtime Baptist churchman from Temple, served as keynote speaker for the luncheon hosted by Hendrick Health System in Abilene, which provided the meal.

McLane, whose family has been in the grocery distribution business for decades, was approached by the first TMBF director, Bill Arnold, to share the vision for the foundation’s earliest goal: raising $30 million to establish 2,000 churches over five years for Texas Baptists. That one conversation was pivotal, resulting in the foundation’s first million-dollar gift.

“I didn’t really understand what was going on, but after many discussions, we decided to make a gift. He spoke about starting churches in South Texas, and that thrilled our soul,” said McLane. “I want to encourage (the foundation) because you don’t know how powerful you are. We can inspire and come up with big ideas, but you all in development work are creating something that is not there.”

McLane mentioned motivation to support the foundation, noting that the number one reason is to develop new churches and ministries. He said giving also improves the life of the donor and others, and that the impact of what is being built is immeasurable.

“Texas is not the same if you hadn’t been here,” he said of the foundation’s importance, noting he still has a connection through director Jerry Carlisle, who was his former pastor. 

He then shared about the family’s decision in 1992 to purchase the Houston Astros and the challenges that came with that, which he welcomed. After talking to several key people in his life, he and his wife, Elizabeth, decided to make the deal, wanting to transform the program positively.

“I thought it would be a good challenge, and we wanted them to be a highly successful team. We also wanted to display our Christian faith, show integrity and honesty and get the players involved in community development,” he recalled. “We tried to use the platform of the Astros to impact the community, and it lifted the players up and improved the image. When you have the opportunity, let your light shine.”

Wrapping up his time, McLane shared four principles he learned from the dean of the Graduate School of Business at Michigan State University as he was finishing an MBA there, tying them to donors and philanthropic work. 

“Dare to dream. It’s free. Also, operate out of your imagination and not your memory. What’s clogged in our memory is our mistakes, but your imagination is unlimited,” he said. “In everything you do, seek adversity. The lines are shorter. There are always easier things you can do, but you miss the lessons. Finally, find the elephants that will help shake things up with you.”

Carlisle shared a bit of the foundation’s history, noting that Dr. Bill Pinson, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas at the time, started the fundraising effort to gather resources for those 2,000 new churches. Once that goal was reached, they opted to keep the momentum going and started the foundation in 1985. 

“We’re celebrating 40 years of generosity. We wanted to celebrate Jesus and the multiplication of the gifts that were given. We have the privilege of working with generous people, who are a lot more fun than stingy people,” Carlisle laughed. “The number of donors through the foundation has grown by 30 percent, and those funds go through us to the ministries of Texas Baptists. We reduced the cost to raise a dollar from twelve cents to two cents.”

Carlisle noted that recently completed projects include funds for a new Baptist Students Ministries center at Baylor University and one at Texas Tech University, and a new facility at West Texas A&M is in the works. Through a partnership with FreeWill to provide an opportunity for every Texas Baptists to create a free last will and testament, Carlisle said $267 million has been left in bequests to the convention or Texas Baptists churches.

“There’s nothing more loving than giving generously,” he said. “So we’re celebrating donors.”

Arnold deflected any praise for his own involvement as TBMF director for 35 years, repeating Carlisle’s thoughts: “We’re grateful for the donors. The difference you’ve made for Christ is because of you. I’m glad I got to watch.”