sbtexas.com/reachtexas THE SOUTHERN BAPTISTS OF TEXAS CONVENTION Supported by Cooperative Program Giving

sbtexas.com/reachtexas THE SOUTHERN BAPTISTS OF TEXAS CONVENTION Supported by Cooperative Program Giving

WHAT IS THE REACH TEXAS OFFERING? The annual state missions and ministry offering of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. A way to start more churches and reach more people for Christ. A way for you and your church to participate in the Great Commission strategy for Texas. A way to change lives! STATEWIDE CHALLENGE GOAL: $1.1 MILLION 25 % Evangelism Ministries/Strategies 75 % Missions Ministries/Strategies HOW TO USE THIS BOOKLET As a personal or family daily devotional guide for the REACH TEXAS Week of Prayer or another time of missions emphasis at your church. As a special Bible study for your missions group. As a resource to emphasize the REACH TEXAS Offering in worship services and small groups. As a reminder throughout the year to pray for the Great Commission work in Texas. Check out the many ministries and resources of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention sbtexas.com JOIN WITH US TO REACH TEXAS 2 3

GOD LOVES THE CITY. That doesn t mean he doesn t love the country, villages, or small towns, for he certainly does. There is something exciting and challenging, however, about the city. The density of the population, the diversity of the people, the centers of government, education, culture, and business all make cities exciting and attractive. On the other hand, the pollution, the crime, the excessive speed of living, the sometimes dog eat dog atmosphere at times repel and create challenges for living and for ministry. But, God loves the city. In this passage from Jeremiah, God is promising the restoration of the great city of Jerusalem. In the New Testament, we find Paul traveling and planting churches in the great cities of the known world. One of the wonderful promises of Revelation is the new heavenly city. God also loves the great cities of Texas, several of which are already great global cities. They are growing, they are diverse, they are changing, and they are centers of power and influence. They are also increasingly godless and lost, especially the core or the heart of the city. The top five Texas cities (the cities THEN THIS CITY WILL BRING ME RENOWN, JOY, PRAISE, AND HONOR BEFORE ALL NATIONS ON EARTH THAT HEAR OF ALL THE GOOD THINGS I DO FOR IT. JEREMIAH 33:9A proper, not the metro areas) contain 27% of the state s population. The heart of these cities ( inside the loop in most cases) have over 2.5 million people. So, how do we reach the city for Christ? When land is expensive, when neighborhoods are changing, when racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle diversity is ever increasing, what will it take to transform the cities for Christ? The city, for all its good and bad, is the location from which great changes in society flow. Reach the city for Christ, and the state, the country, and the world will be impacted. Reach the cities and they will bring God renown, joy, praise, and honor before all nations. Your Reach Texas state missions offering assists SBTC churches, church planters, missionaries, and volunteers in doing ministry all over the state, in cities, in towns, and in rural areas. Our thematic focus this year, however, is the great cities of Texas. As you read through the daily devotionals, lift up Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, and El Paso. In particular, lift up the core or the heart of the city in each one of these. Read the stories, learn from the Quick Facts, and pray about going on mission to the city. DAY 1 What do you do when you find one converted Asian Indian man who has a passion to reach his people no matter what it takes? You equip him as a church planter and turn him loose on the growing Hindu population in the Dallas area! Samuel (to protect his witness we have changed his name) gave up a lucrative career in structural engineering to plant a church, sponsored by Prestonwood Church. A little about this amazing man: He is completing his graduate studies at a local seminary He speaks four languages He and his family have started a ministry in an apartment community He sponsored a health fair which resulted in the gathering of 40 Hindus He has started Bible studies in five different Dallas area cities He is hosting Bible studies for some of the Sikh Hindu Temple leaders As a result of his faithfulness, several people have received Christ, have been baptized, and lives are being transformed One definition of the Hindu word guru is revealer of light or the enlightened one. Samuel, who is an evangelist at heart, is distributing the Gospel of John in the Punjabi language and helping Asian Indians understand and know that Jesus Christ is the True Light of the World. Far more than an enlightened one, Samuel is sharing with them that Jesus alone is the Way and the Name above all the other gods they may be worshipping. Now other Asian Indian families are joining with Samuel in the work and the hope is that similar evangelistic churches will be planted in several Dallas area suburban cities. Your sacrificial giving through the Cooperative Program and to the REACH TEXAS state missions offering helps prepare, train, and deploy church planters like Samuel. Whether in the country, in small towns, or in the big city areas like Dallas, church planters like Samuel are reaching their corner of Texas and touching the world. A STORY ABOUT CHURCH PLANTING Please ask our Father to call out more men like Samuel to reach the growing Hindu population in our state. Pray that these men will find favor with sponsor churches and with those in the communities they seek to reach. Quick Fact: There are an estimated 200,000 Asian Indians living in Texas. 4 5

2 A STORY ABOUT MISSIONS MOBILIZATION As churches start thinking about doing missions in Texas and beyond, sometimes the task can seem overwhelming. Where to start? What to do? What not to do? Inglewood Baptist Church in Grand Prairie has prayerfully and intentionally addressed this challenge by developing a balanced Acts 1:8 strategy. As a result, they are going to be a missions focused church driven by Sunday School classes developing their own Acts 1:8 strategy for missions involvement. This approach is exciting for several reasons: It takes the Acts 1:8 strategy all the way down to the family and individual level, since they are the ones who make up each Sunday School class It involves praying, giving, and going Each class can customize their strategy, because some are already involved in missions projects and because they will have their own passion and calling At the same time, through training and accountability, all class strategies will fit within the missions interests of the entire church It helps each class, and the church as a whole, make the best and the most strategic decisions in choosing where they will work and who they will partner with Our default answer, of course, is that there are no better or more effective opportunities than those provided by our own Southern Baptist missions agencies and by SBTC strategies! Still, some churches need a way to evaluate requests, church members interests, and the multiple opportunities that come their way. Working through the process as a congregation to develop a balanced Acts 1:8 strategy is a start. Checking out the doctrine, purpose, goals, and effectiveness of all the potential good causes a church can be involved in will help the church be involved in the best. Here s the application your faithful giving through the Cooperative Program and to the REACH TEXAS state mission offering goes a long way to support Southern Baptist and SBTC missions and ministries in Texas and beyond. But doing missions is more than giving for others to do and go, as important as giving is. It is also each church prayerfully and purposefully asking God what they are to do and how they are to do it. Your SBTC missions team is ready, willing, and able to walk with you through that process. Pray for God s direction for you, for your family, and your church. What is he calling you to do in evangelism and missions? What is he calling you to do in your community, in Texas, and beyond? It allows the SBTC missions team to come alongside the church to serve as consultants in developing the best ways to do what God has called the church to do How can your church be most effective in doing missions, locally, statewide, and even around the world? With so many good ministries, missions agencies, and opportunities, how does a church choose? How can a church develop an effective strategy to reach Texas? Quick Fact: About 14% of SBTC churches have sponsored a new church plant. Some have sponsored several plants. By 2020 we hope to see 30% of SBTC churches involved in church planting. Are you ready to take that challenge? 6 7

3 A STORY ABOUT EVANGELISM DAY 4 A STORY ABOUT CHURCH PLANTING Reaching the diverse cities of Texas begins with learning how to share the gospel. One of the primary emphases of the SBTC Evangelism team is language evangelism; that is, training and providing resources for churches who speak languages other than English and who are reaching those who don t speak English. After one such training event, the pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Fort Worth wrote: Thank you so very much for your conference. The event was worth it for me and many of our members for it reassured us of what God expects from us as Christians. We wished it was longer. This event motivated our prayer groups to invite other members who are not participating and it brought one new person to God through the One-Verse witnessing. We expect to have more brothers and sisters put this into practice. Another emphasis of the Evangelism Team is student evangelism. In 2010 the first M3 Week camp was started at Highland Lakes Baptist Encampment. While at camp students learn about evangelism and missions, but more importantly learn how to do evangelism and missions. During that week there were 625 students in attendance, with 80 giving their lives to Christ and fifteen surrendering to ministry. Due to that success, this year the camp has been extended to two weeks with over 1,500 in attendance! The response has been so great that a third week of camp has been added for 2011. Your continued giving through the Cooperative Program and to the REACH TEXAS state missions offering helps this kind of language and student evangelism training take place. More important than just receiving the training, however, is that these non-english speakers and students are doing evangelism and are reaching their cities and schools for Christ. Pray for the hundreds of thousands of non-english speakers in Texas. Pray that they may hear the gospel in a way they can understand and respond. Pray for students as they grow up in a challenging world, that they may understand what and why they believe and how they can take a stand for Christ. What and who has been successful on the international mission field can also bring fruit in reaching Texas. Homer and Sharon Hawthorne retired from the International Mission Board after serving in Brazil, Belize, and Mexico. They may have retired, but they did not quit being on mission. Homer and Sharon are now planting Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Travis, sponsored by Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth. Over the last couple of decades, the urban area around Travis Avenue has become predominantly Hispanic. The church has started successful Hispanic churches and ministries several times. This new congregation was started with the vision of becoming a multiplying church that will train planters and plant many other churches. Starting out, Homer s outreach is simple, biblical, and the one he used in Latin America. He practices, models, and teaches Oikos or relational evangelism. Rather than a program, this approach is a way of life. As he reaches a person for Christ, he then teaches that person to identify his or her sphere of influence, and then share the gospel with those individuals as they do life together. Rather than a broad marketing strategy, this is a networking approach that works well within the Hispanic cultural context. The result has been evangelistic growth -- the conversion and baptism of new adult believers. Your generous giving through the Cooperative Program and to the REACH TEXAS state missions offering helps retired missionaries like Homer and Sharon get the support and encouragement they need as they come home and continue to use the vast experience they gained on the international mission field. Pray that more retired missionaries with a desire to keep doing missions will find a place of continued service and be able to apply their experience in reaching Texas. Pray for the growing Hispanic population of Texas. Ask God to call out more and more church planters with a heart to reach the hundreds of thousands who live in the core cities. Quick Fact: Texas is now officially about 36% Hispanic, which translates into over 8.5 million people. Many of the urban areas of Texas cities are becoming predominately Hispanic. For example, Houston s core is 46% Hispanic, in their respective core areas, Dallas is 48%, Fort Worth is 45%, Austin is 43%, and San Antonio 77% Hispanic. 8 9

5 A STORY ABOUT DISASTER RELIEF Missions strategies can highlight and emphasize the big cities. Disasters, however, aren t so choosy! They happen anywhere and at any time. Starr County, in south Texas, gets very little rain. Cactus, scorpions, and tarantulas are more plentiful than mud puddles and flowing streams. When it began raining there in the summer of 2010 and the reservoirs filled up, people were happy. But then the unthinkable happened it kept on raining, did not stop raining, and the river continued to rise, flooding areas that no one could remember ever flooding before. By mid-july hundreds of homes, farms, and ranches in Starr and Hidalgo counties were under water, some areas for over a month. On top of that, the damage occurred in a community that is consistently rated among the poorest in the country. Pastor Bob Alderman of FBC Rio Grande City worked with Starr county officials in emergency response, even being asked by the County Judge to coordinate an SBTC disaster relief response. One phone call later to the SBTC DR Director and volunteer teams from both Texas and Oklahoma began responding. Some one hundred volunteers completed work at forty-six ministry sites. They prepared 1,164 meals, provided 490 showers, did 270 loads of laundry, and led sixty three people to faith in Jesus. This disaster response, and the amazing coordination of effort and unity of spirit, is just one example of how God uses SBTC churches in taking the Hope of Jesus Christ to people experiencing crisis. Your faithful giving through the Cooperative Program and to the REACH TEXAS state missions offering makes recruiting, training, and deploying thousands of volunteers possible. Pray that God will call out more volunteers willing to be trained to respond in times of disaster to both lend a helping hand and to share the Hope of Jesus Christ. Quick Fact: The SBTC has trained over 3,000 disaster relief volunteers. However, because only 10% can mobilize at any given time, another 5,000 are needed! 11

6 A STORY ABOUT TEXAS MISSIONS INITIATIVES SBTC s People Group Missionaries work as catalysts and mobilizers among peoples of Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim backgrounds, with the goal of planting New Testament churches. Two of these missionaries are serving among Sunnis, Shiites, and Ismaili Muslims in two key Texas cities, working to share the hope and truth found only in Jesus Christ. Miriam (name changed) is one of these missionaries. She is using her testimony as a former Muslim to lead women to leave Islam and choose Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. She was asked last year by one of her Muslim friends to begin a Bible study and answer some questions about Christianity. It was a difficult journey as the Muslim friend tried to understand Islam and Christianity. She expressed her fear to Miriam that she might choose incorrectly. While studying the Old Testament and its relationship to the New, the missionary showed how the promises of the Old are fulfilled in Christ. Every time they spoke, the Lord allowed the missionary to inject His truth in a way that the Muslim woman could understand. During a recent discussion, the missionary asked her friend, once again, where she was on her spiritual journey. This time the Muslim lady said, You know, there is no way around it. I know I m a sinner, and I know my good deeds are not good enough and I know I need a Savior. Miriam asked her, Do you believe that Christ is the only Savior and He s the One you can trust for salvation? The Muslim friend said, Of course. She then confessed that she s no longer a Muslim but now a follower of Jesus Christ! Another missionary, John (name changed), is using his experience of living in North Africa to connect with Muslim men. He regularly visits the nine mosques in his city looking to build relationships and find persons of peace. During one visit he met a man from Algeria. They connected instantly as they discussed the current turmoil in North Africa. John invited this man to lunch, and this man in turn invited another friend of his to go along. While they were talking about North African history and culture, John moved the conversation toward the Bible. He shared how the Bible proves that Jesus, or Isa as he is called in Arabic, is more than just a prophet. He explained that even in the Quran Jesus is mentioned 44 times, which is more than even Muhammad himself! By asking questions of these Algerian men, John has built a platform for becoming his new friends personal Jesus expert. Our Father is opening doors for the Bible to be taught to Muslims in Texas. He is providing missionaries with opportunities to share Him with Muslim men and women. Thanks to your faithful giving through the Cooperative Program and to the REACH TEXAS state missions offering, missionaries like these are being identified, trained, and resourced to reach Muslim communities in our cities. Pray for the continued protection of these and other People Group Missionaries. Pray that there will be a spiritual awakening in Muslim communities all across Texas as they discover that they can pray to God as a loving Father. Quick Fact: No one is quite sure of the exact number (because the census does not ask about religion!), but it is estimated there may be at least 500,000 Muslims in Texas. 12 13

7 A STORY ABOUT MISSIONS MOBILIZATION Every year the SBTC hosts the SENT missions conference. Although the conference includes times for worship and inspiration, its primary purpose is to give practical, hands on missions training to those who are mobilizing for missions in their home communities and around the world. Chris King, Director of Missions for Bannockburn Baptist Church in Austin shares his experience: In 2010 I had a friend recommend that I go to the SENT Conference. I m not big on conferences but I thought I would give this one a chance. I invited a friend and we set out on our adventure. Little did I know what God had in store for me that weekend. As a new missions director for my church, I did not know what to expect or how, or even if, I would implement any of what I would hear. Speaker after speaker and session after session opened my eyes and heart to God s direction for missions at my church. I was also surprised by the openness of the exhibitors and other attendees to share their knowledge and expertise about what God had taught them. I left the first day a bit overwhelmed but excited for day two. That night I was up most of the night poring through notes and conversations trying to capture it all in my mind. Day two was more of the same...god pouring out wisdom through His servants for me to take and use. I left the conference that year with 67 pages of notes!! This year, I brought 13 people from my church and 5 from other Austin area churches. Needless to say, they had a very similar experience to mine. They best thing about this year was being able to sit down with my team before, during and after the conference to share thoughts, dreams and insights from the sessions attended and all the people we met. What an amazing time to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us as individuals and corporately as a team. We have had several debrief sessions since returning and we are still filtering and praying through all we heard and saw. Without a doubt we will return next year with even a bigger team and bigger dreams! 14 The SENT conference is for pastors, staff members, and church members interested in learning about and doing missions. Whether your heart is for your local community, your state, North America, or the world, SENT has something for you. Thanks to your generous giving through the Cooperative Program and to the REACH TEXAS state missions offering, people like Chris can focus his and his congregation s passion for missions in effective ways. Pray about your participation in the next SENT Conference. Ask God to show you and all those who attend how he wants to use them in his Kingdom work, both in Texas and around the world. Quick Fact: The 2012 SENT Conference will be held April 27-28 at First Baptist Church of Euless. You can check out details at www.sbtexas.com/sent. SENT Collective is a gathering of missional networks engaging the nations & living SENT. It is important to be well prepared for sharing our faith in Biblically correct and culturally appropriate manners. That is where the SENT Collective can offer training in missiological leadership, research and engagement. Please join us as we engage the harvest fields! SENTCOLLECTIVE.org itunes podcast: SENT Collective

8 WHEN IT ALL COMES TOGETHER! DISASTER RELIEF, CHURCH PLANTING, MOBILIZATION, AND EVANGELISM Two years ago Chuy and Maria Avila moved to Laredo as SBTC s Church Planting Missionary. His task was to prayer walk and map the city, develop a strategy for church planting, train church planters, and mobilize churches to partner in specific communities. Today, new churches have been planted, dozens of churches have been to Laredo on vision and mission trips, a training institute has opened, and God is transforming the city. We thank God for what He is doing through Chuy and all the partner churches. One specific story among many, however, stands out. In the summer of 2010 the Rio Grande flooded, leaving several cities and communities under water. One such community was Rio Bravo, a small town just down the river from Laredo. SBTC disaster relief volunteers quickly mobilized to lead out in clean-up efforts. While they were there, Chuy took advantage to develop relationships in that town and minister to the town, including city leaders. When the DR volunteers left, Chuy continued to visit the town regularly, often stopping by City Hall to pray with the mayor... at her request. Chuy recognized how God had opened a door. Not too long after the flood, Chuy and co-workers from other churches held a block party to celebrate the disaster recovery. People responded. Later the city itself held a community festival and invited Chuy to bring in his equipment and help out, the only religious group invited to do so. The culmination of that evangelistic outreach was a Team Impact event held April 17th coordinated by SBTC s evangelism department. Over 4,500 people attended the event at the Laredo Energy Center, and over 750 names were reported on decision cards to be followed up by new church planters. Your continued giving through the Cooperative Program and to the REACH TEXAS state missions offering allows this kind of cooperative ministry to take place in Texas. Although Laredo is not among the largest urban areas in Texas, it is densely populated and is one of the most unreached cities in America. The good news is that God is at work in Laredo! Ask God to call out more planters and more church partners for Laredo. Ask him to show your church whether you should adopt a community in Laredo and come alongside a new church planter. In the meantime, Pastor Hervin Antonio came down from Tennessee to visit Chuy and help out in Rio Bravo. While there, the Lord spoke to Hervin and his wife they were to move to Rio Bravo and plant a church. They obeyed and now are living in Laredo starting two churches, one in Laredo and one in Rio Bravo. And, as pastor Hervin continued to visit and share the gospel with the mayor of Rio Bravo, she gave her life to Christ! During Spring Break several churches from around the state came together to hold block parties in Rio Bravo and around Laredo and to take the gospel to the entire city. Eighteen churches cooperated that week walking the city and leaving a gospel presentation in English and Spanish in almost 50,000 homes. Quick Fact: Laredo has a population of about 230,000. Only.015% of the population attends a Southern Baptist church, while fewer than 15,000 attend an evangelical church on any given Sunday. 16 17

Quick Fact: Dallas-Fort Worth is the fourth largest Metro area in the U.S. Houston is the sixth. STATEWIDE CHALLENGE GOAL: $1.1 MILLION 25 % Evangelism Ministries /Strategies 75 % Missions Ministries/Strategies READY TO TAKE PART? TAKE THE NEXT STEP... To receive more information or to be involved in ministries supported by the REACH TEXAS Offering, connect with the following leaders: About REACH TEXAS or the Missions Team: Terry Coy, Director of Missions tcoy@sbtexas.com Missions ministries & strategies such as: Direct new church plant support Urban/core city church planting strategies; Borderlands strategies Texas Missions Initiatives people group missionaries, multihousing ministries, Mission Service Corps Planter and partner equipping Disaster Relief Missions Education Assisting churches for direct missions involvement in Texas and beyond 0 % Administration Evangelism ministries such as: Printing and publication of new evangelism resources Direct evangelism training, consultations, and events with churches and associations Annual Empower Evangelism Conference Student Evangelism Quick Fact: The top ten largest cities in Texas make up 33% of the total population. About Church Planting: About Missions: About Evangelism: Quick Fact: Because Texas is the second largest state in population, we also have the largest rural population of all fifty states! According to the U.S. census, more than 3.6 million people are considered rural dwellers. Barry Calhoun, Church Planting Team Leader bcalhoun@sbtexas.com David Alexander, Church Planting Associate dalexander@sbtexas.com Chuy Avila, Laredo Church Planting cavila@sbtexas.com Jim Richardson, Disaster Relief Director jrichardson@sbtexas.com Tiffany Smith, Missions Mobilization Associate tsmith@sbtexas.com Chad Vandiver, Missions Strategies Associate cvandiver@sbtexas.com Don Cass, Director of Evangelism dcass@sbtexas.com Jack Harris, Associate for Personal & Event Evangelism jeharris@sbtexas.com Jared McIntire, Associate for Student Evangelism jmcintire@sbtexas.com Bruno Molina, Associate for Language & Ethnic Evangelism bmolina@sbtexas.com 18 19

sbtexas.com/reachtexas THE SOUTHERN BAPTISTS OF TEXAS CONVENTION Supported by Cooperative Program Giving 4500 State Highway 360 Grapevine, Texas 76051 P.O. Box 1988 Grapevine, Texas 76099 Voice (817) 552-2500 Fax (817) 552-2520 Toll Free (877) 953-SBTC