Cooperative Program Stories

Pastor Carlos Quijada first heard about Pastor Strong through lunches at the San Antonio Baptist Association and joined his first cohort in 2025. Pastor Strong is a 5-month journey designed to strengthen a pastor’s ministry and personal resilience. Cohorts meet once a month to work through soul-care, leadership development and building habits for a strong life and ministry. Some of the most impactful parts for Quijada were exploring personalities through the Enneagram and forming friendships with other pastors. The hiking retreat to Colorado was also a highlight for Quijada, which sparked a personal health journey. In the last year, he has lost 50 pounds and inspired his family and church to collectively pursue better health together. Quijada was so impacted by his first Pastor Strong Cohort that he is participating in a second cohort this year and invited his wife and other pastor friends to join him.

When Damon Sullivan and his wife, Katracy, moved to New Braunfels to plant a church in 2019, they didn’t know anyone or anything about the area. They only knew God had called them to minister there. Today, Sullivan is multiplying his ministry by not only serving as pastor of the growing Impact Family Church, but also by being a recognized mentor to young men at Canyon High School. In fact, the Comal Independent School District recently presented Sullivan with the 590-Mile Award for his positive influence on at-risk students and commitment to them.

Midwestern State University BSM saw over 50 salvations during the Spring 2026 semester. A focus on evangelism training helped the BSM see salvation growth. The BSM began hosting evangelism training sessions twice a week to help student members learn how to better share their faith. After training, BSM students went out on campus in pairs to make connections with students and share the gospel together. BSM leader Natasha began discipling Sarah on the volleyball team to grow in her faith as part of the evangelism focus. With Natasha’s help, Sarah led two other girls on the volleyball team to Christ. The four girls met through the end of the semester to continue growing their faith.

Pave is a Texas Baptists ministry that helps churches evaluate their church health and engage their community with the Gospel to grow God’s Kingdom. Wesley Brown, pastor of Cowboy Church of Collin County, participated in 2025 and was challenged to do a sermon series on baptism. The series explored the “why” behind scriptural, believer’s baptism as an expression of faith. This emphasis on baptism led to a wave of individuals expressing their faith through baptism—over 30 people were baptized in 2025. Brown began to spread out baptisms to extend the celebration and create a continual emphasis. The church also began recording brief testimonies from each person being baptized to play in both church services. Most importantly, Brown began viewing baptisms as an evangelism event where friends, family, and neighbors come to celebrate and see an expression of faith.

Mike Vasquez, senior pastor at First Baptist Church Hondo, was already considering church revitalization before learning more about Texas Baptists’ church revitalization strategy at an associational meeting. He joined a Pave cohort and began the process in March. The first principle of Pave Vasquez instituted at FBC Hondo was the baptism plan.

Over 6 million people visited Texas for the FIFA World Cup this summer. The Texas Baptists Evangelism Team launched an initiative called "Sharing Christ at the Cup" that saw 150 churches engage in outreach opportunities and more than 500 salvations during the five weeks of games. Texas Baptists Evangelism Director Oza Jones and Texas Baptists en Español Director Rolando Rodriguez both said the initiative’s goal is expected to surpass 1,000 salvations by the end of the year.