Texas Baptists Center for Cultural Engagement realigned to better serve churches

DALLAS – In an effort to better align Texas Baptists ministries to equip churches for Great Commandment, Great Commission faithfulness, convention leadership is realigning the Center for Cultural Engagement, effective February 1. The ministries under the center will be redistributed to other teams across the organization to provide churches with more direct access to church, minister and missions resources. 

“This realignment is an opportunity to support churches and ministers through clear access to key resources in the areas of affinity ministries, ethics and advocacy and chaplaincy,” said Julio Guarneri, executive director of Texas Baptists. “I am thankful for the outstanding leadership of Katie Frugé, who has overseen the Center for Cultural Engagement, and I look forward to her continued leadership over the Christian Life Commission.”

The Christian Life Commission (CLC) will return to its historic role as a standalone ministry aimed at resourcing churches and focusing on the areas of ethics and justice, advocacy and public policy. The CLC will remain under the leadership of Dr. Frugé, and she will continue to serve on the Leadership Team. Rebecca Treviño will transition from her role as the specialist for the Center for Cultural Engagement to Policy Analyst for the CLC. Plans are underway for the CLC to produce helpful resources for churches in key areas.   

“I’m confident that each ministry is positioned well to continue the important work they have done so ably for Texas Baptists,” said Frugé. “I look forward to continuing to lead the Christian Life Commission and am thankful for Dr. Guarneri’s ongoing commitment to the important work of the CLC and its historic role within the convention.”

Affinity groups that work with cultural churches will now be part of the Relational Development/GC2 team. This office, under the leadership of Sergio Ramos, connects with conventions, churches and institutions. Carlos Francis, current director of African American Ministries, will assume a new role as director of Affinity Relations/GC2 Support. He will continue to direct African American Ministries and will also serve on the Texas Baptists Leadership Team providing direct input to Texas Baptists staff leadership. Affinity groups will include African American Ministries, Texas Baptists en Español, Intercultural Ministries, and Western Heritage. 

"Our affinity ministries represent nearly 48% of our churches and play a tremendous role in advancing the GC2 initiative,” said Ramos, senior director of Relational Development/GC2 Initiative. “Their impact is essential to who we are and where we are going. I am excited to see Carlos Francis lead this important area and look forward to working alongside him and each of our affinity group leaders as we move together toward the fulfillment of the GC2 vision."

Chaplaincy Relations will be under the Office of the Associate Executive Director for an interim time. This ministry serves to endorse chaplains in a variety of fields, including military, business, prisons, hospitals and more. Under the leadership of Todd Combee, chaplaincy will work with Craig Christina, associate executive director, to continue to serve chaplains in ministry roles.