January 26, 2000
State Missions Commission hires first African-American evangelism staffer
___The Baptist General Convention of Texas' State Missions Commission hired its first African-American evangelism staff member and voted to change the name of the Sunday School/discipleship division at its winter meeting, Jan. 20 in Dallas.
___Kenneth Blake, senior pastor of Westside Baptist Church in Lewisville, was elected as the African-American church strategy consultant in the evangelism division. It is a part-time position; he will remain as pastor of the church.
___"This is one of the finest young men I have come across in a long, long time," Evangelism Director Bailey Stone told commissioners.
___Blake will help all kinds of Texas Baptist churches, providing his unique insight into meeting needs, Stone added.
___The new position is intended to expand the effectiveness of sharing the Christian gospel with about 2.5 million African-American Texans and to assist the growing number of African-American Texas Baptist churches with evangelism strategy.
___Blake has been pastor of Westside Baptist Church since 1989. During that time, the church has grown from 30 members to nearly 1,000 members. The congregation is a perennial leader among African-American churches in contributions to the Cooperative Program unified budget of the Texas and Southern Baptist conventions.
___He also has been associate pastor and interim pastor of that church, youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Greens Bayou in Houston and associate pastor at Starlight Baptist Church in Houston. Additionally, he has been an engineer with Exxon and Frito-Lay.
___Blake is a graduate of Prairie View A&M University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to the former Venita Punch.
___The name of the Sunday School/discipleship division was changed to "Bible study/discipleship division."
___The name-change was prompted by recommendations, particularly from younger pastors, as well as the results of a statewide survey, reported Bernie Spooner, director of the division.
___"We're not talking about a change in the name of the program in our Texas Baptist churches," Spooner stressed, noting the term "Sunday School" will remain "very visible in what we do."
___"Many pastors, especially younger pastors, say they have trouble getting younger adults interested in Sunday School," he said. "Most other denominations think Sunday School is for children," and that concept creates a communication problem with adult converts from those denominations, as well as with many formerly unchurched people.
___The survey revealed "a clear indication of a preference for a name change," Spooner said. "Only 39 percent preferred that we maintain the current designation, while 61 percent suggested a different name."
___The majority of respondents who preferred a name change recommended "Bible study" replace "Sunday School," he said.
___"Bible study" actually is more descriptive, he added, noting many churches also offer Bible study at times other than the traditional Sunday School hour on Sunday morning.
___"Bible study is the issue that has caused Sunday School in Baptist churches to flourish," he said. Churches that have opted for book reviews and topical studies have seen Sunday School go "down the tubes," he added.
___"The words 'Sunday School' will continue to be used interchangeably in projecting the Sunday morning ministry, and it will continue to be prominent in the various listings in the division's name," he said.
___The commission also presented the first "Texas Baptist Missions Award" to Bill Pinson, the retiring executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and his wife, Bobbie.
___Throughout his tenure, Pinson stressed that Texas is a mission field as well as a base for supporting worldwide missions.
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