March 10, 1999
GRACE & PEACE:
Home missions has been
a vital factor for Texas Baptists
___"After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them" (Acts 16:10).
___Baptists in Texas are in many ways the product of home missions. The first Baptists who came here were restricted in starting churches and preaching the gospel because Texas was a part of Mexico, which had a government-supported church. This lack of religious freedom was one of the factors that led to the Texas Revolution and the establishment of the Republic of Texas in 1836. The republic guaranteed religious freedom, and immediatelyBaptists began openly to preach the gospel and to establish churches.
William M. Pinson Jr.
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
___However, the Baptists were few in number, and their resources were small. The American Baptist Home Missionary Society helped by sending missionaries. They aided Baptist leaders who had come to Texas earlier in establishing churches and developing the first Baptist association of churches. When Baptists in the United States split in 1845 over slavery, the new Southern Baptist Home Mission Board also sent missionaries.
___Thus Texas Baptists owe much to home missions. Missionaries aided in developing churches as well as the first Baptist association, schools and state convention. As a result of the blessings of God and the faithfulness of early Texas Baptists, the Baptist General Convention of Texas has grown to be the largest Baptist body of its kind in the world and has become a major supporter of home missions in other parts of North America.
___Churches, associations and organizations related to the BGCT cooperate in numerous home mission efforts in addition to sending millions of dollars each year to the SBC North American Mission Board. For example, the BGCT Texas Partnerships office coordinates partnership efforts with Baptists in areas such as the Northwest and Washington, D.C. The BGCT Mission Service Corps office aids in enlisting, training and placing volunteers in numerous places in North America. BGCT-related hospitals assist in medical ministries in Mexico. Texas Baptist Men aid in constructing church buildings in many states as well as the Baptist seminary in Canada. BGCT Baptist Student Ministries each year facilitates student missionaries in numerous home mission areas. For decades, the BGCT has maintained a strong partnership with the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention.
___In addition to extensive home mission ministry outside of Texas, the Baptists of Texas continue to pray and labor to reach the Texas mission field. Texas is one of the largest and most challenging of the mission fields in our country with its large, complex and rapidly growing population.
___Perhaps this extensive home mission effort is one way of expressing gratitude for those early Baptists from the United States who came "over to Macedonia"--to Texas, then a foreign land--to aid in developing Christian witness here.
___Please pray for home mission efforts by Southern Baptists. Pray for generous gifts to the Annie Armstrong Offering and the Cooperative Program to support financially home missions efforts. Pray that indeed the people of our nation will come to Christ.Frontpage / Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!