Texas Baptists has realigned the Center for Cultural Engagement as part of its GC2 Strong strategy to better equip churches for Great Commandment and Great Commission faithfulness.

The changes, effective Feb. 1, redistributed the center’s ministries across the organization to provide churches with more direct access to resources for church, minister, and missions support.

As part of the realignment, affinity ministries, chaplaincy relations, and the Christian Life Commission will now operate within separate teams to allow for greater focus and clearer alignment with Texas Baptists’ GC2 Strong priorities.

Affinity ministries—which serve and support cultural churches across Texas Baptists—will now be housed within the Relational Development/GC2 team.

These ministries include African American Ministries, Texas Baptists en Español, Intercultural Ministries, and Western Heritage. Together, affinity ministries represent nearly 48 percent of Texas Baptists churches.

“This move is taking place because we want to make sure that our GC2 Strong strategy is contextualized for all of our affinity groups through the Relational Development Team,” said Julio Guarneri, executive director of Texas Baptists.

“We want our cultural groups to be involved at every level of ministry across Texas Baptists,” he stated.

Affinity Ministries

The Relational Development/GC2 team, led by Sergio Ramos, connects with conventions, churches, and institutions across the state.

Carlos Francis, current director of African American Ministries, will assume a new role as director of Affinity Relations/GC2 Support. He will continue to lead African American Ministries and will also serve on the Texas Baptists Leadership Team, providing direct input to staff leadership.

“Our affinity ministries represent nearly 48 percent of our churches and play a tremendous role in advancing the GC2 initiative. Their impact is essential to who we are and where we are going,” Ramos, senior director of Relational Development/GC2 Initiative, said.

Guarneri emphasized the realignment is not a move away from cultural engagement, but rather a way to give each ministry greater focus.

“We are intentionally giving the Christian Life Commission, chaplaincy relations, and affinity groups more focus,” Guarneri said.

“Affinity groups can serve cultural churches by focusing on relational development and GC2 faithfulness. Chaplaincy relations will continue to endorse and resource chaplains, and the CLC can focus on engaging issues of advocacy and justice with the objective of serving churches,” Guarneri continued.

Christian Life Commission

The Christian Life Commission will return to its historic role as a stand-alone ministry focused on ethics and justice, advocacy, and public policy.

The CLC remains under the leadership of Katie Frugé, who will continue to serve on the Texas Baptists Leadership Team. Rebecca Treviño has transitioned from her role with the Center for Cultural Engagement to serve as policy analyst for the CLC.

Plans are underway for the CLC to produce new resources for churches in key areas.

“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,” Guarneri said.

Frugé expressed confidence in the changes and the future of the CLC.

“I’m confident that each ministry is positioned well to continue the important work they have done so ably for Texas Baptists,” Frugé said.

Chaplaincy

Chaplaincy Relations has transitioned under the Office of the Associate Executive Director on an interim basis.

This ministry endorses chaplains serving in a variety of fields, including military, business, prisons, and hospitals.

Under the leadership of Todd Combee, chaplaincy will work with Craig Christina, associate executive director, to continue supporting chaplains in their ministry roles.

Future changes

Guarneri said there are no immediate plans to realign other ministry centers, including the Center for Church Health, Center for Ministerial Health, Center for Missional Engagement and Center for Collegiate Ministry.

However, he noted Texas Baptists leadership is continuing to evaluate how all ministries align with GC2 Strong.

“As part of the GC2 Strong strategy, every convention ministry will prioritize equipping churches for Great Commandment and Great Commission faithfulness,” Guarneri said.

“While there are no plans to realign other ministry centers at this time, there may be progressive changes over the next few months as we take a closer look at how every ministry supports the GC2 Strong strategy. Ultimately, we want to ensure that ministries are appropriately aligned to strengthen churches, ministers, and missions into the future,” he said.

Guarneri also noted the realignment will enhance the work of leaders within Intercultural Ministries.

“Mark Heavener, Rolando Rodriguez, and James ‘Mac’ McLeod, under the leadership of Carlos Francis, will be able to be involved in the GC2 Strong strategy and contextualize it to serve their churches in a more effective way,” Guarneri said.

“It will be a positive thing for these cultural groups, and they are all on board. First and foremost, we are making this move to equip churches for Great Commandment, Great Commission faithfulness.”

Back in 2021, a group of evangelical families, including the founders of Hobby Lobby, began funding a new ad campaign, hoping to help skeptical Americans give Jesus a second look and to convince people to be a little kinder to one another.

The website for the campaign describes the mission this way: “Our hope was that more people could encounter love. More joy. More peace. A greater sense of purpose.”

Jesus’ humanity a key focus 

Known as “He Gets Us,” the campaign, which launched in 2022, focused on the human side of the Christian Messiah, with billboards and black-and-white video ads showing people with loneliness, anxiety, and other struggles, and ending with the claim Jesus understood those struggles. 

Other ads showed Jesus as an immigrant or a rebel against the status quo, who loved those he disagreed with.

An ad for the 2023 Super Bowl, titled “Love Your Enemies,” featured images of Americans at each other’s throats and in each other’s faces, as English singer Rag’n’Bone Man’s hit song “Human” played.

“Jesus loved the people we hate,” the ad claimed.

For the 2024 Super Bowl, “He Gets Us” offered an ad with a series of foot-washing tableaus, each featuring an unexpected pairing: an older woman washing the feet of a young girl, a cowboy the feet of an Indian, and a white Catholic priest the feet of a queer Black person.

Last year’s Super Bowl ad continued the “let’s all get along” theme, showing Americans from different walks of life helping each other, including a man in a John 3:16 hat embracing another man at a Pride march, with the tagline “Jesus showed us what greatness was.” The ad also featured Johnny Cash’s cover of “Personal Jesus.”

Americans still polarized

Yet four years—and more than $700 million—after the launch of the ad campaign, Americans remain just as polarized. Few seem convinced Jesus can bring the country together or feel a need to love their political enemies. 

And while the decline in religion in America has paused for now, that decline will likely be short-lived, according to long-term polling data.

That reality, along with pushback from evangelicals claiming the ad campaigns were too “woke,” has led the “He Gets Us” campaign, now run by a nonprofit called Come Near, to shift course.

In the last few months, and leading up to the 2026 Super Bowl, a new set of ads, known as “Loaded Words,” focuses less on social conflicts and more on the pressures and noise of modern life. One online ad, called “Don’t,” which has been viewed more than 68 million times, starts with a close-up on a newborn, with a mother’s voice saying, “Don’t be afraid.”

That’s followed by a host of other voices, giving warnings like “don’t mess up,” “don’t make a scene,” and “don’t you dare let us down.”

“What if the only expectation was love?” the ad asks. “Jesus doesn’t expect us to earn it.”

Another ad, called “Do,” looks at the pressure to do it all—to be popular, to be beautiful, to be a team player, to be the best. 

Ads use a ‘neighbor-led’ approach

Simon Armour, creative director for Come Near, told RNS in an interview the ads were developed using what he called a “neighbor-led” approach, built on research that asked Americans about their spiritual needs and life experience.

That research, said Armour, revealed Americans felt pressured to be busier, to acquire more stuff, to gain more recognition, so life would then be meaningful.

“What we kept hearing was that was failing them. Their life is not turning out how they wanted,” he said. “They’re in this place where the noise is constant, with digital media, social media, and our phones.”

Adweek, an industry publication, summed up the new take on “He Gets Us” this way: “In its fourth Super Bowl appearance, He Gets Us is getting personal.”

Campaign generates billions of views 

In the four years since “He Gets Us” launched its first campaign, the videos have been viewed nearly 10 billion times, while 56 million visitors have clicked on the HeGetsUs.com website, which has averaged about 700,000 visits a week since the “Loaded Words” campaign launched in December.

This year’s Super Bowl Ad, titled “More,” takes on the noise of modern life, with images of online influencers taking selfies and of a race car driving in circles and getting nowhere.

“The spot is really showing the thing we all feel, which is the absurdity of where things are at,” Armour said. “We’re chasing our tails, we’re going fast, but going nowhere.”

Armour hopes the new ads will connect with the spiritual needs of viewers.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, where you’re at in a spiritual journey,” he said. “Jesus has something relevant for you. He gets you. He sees you. He knows you.”

For the campaign’s fourth Super Bowl, Armour said, the “He Gets Us” ads were due for a new direction. He said brands often evolve. Otherwise, the message gets stale.

“After a period of time, people can see it coming,” he said. “It’s less surprising. It doesn’t cut through as much.”

The “He Gets Us” ad isn’t the only faith-based message that will air at the Super Bowl. The Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, a campaign to combat antisemitism and other forms of religious-based hatred, will also air an ad, called “Sticky Note,” during the NFL championship. 

  The campaign was founded by Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots. The Patriots will play the Seattle Seahawks for the Super Bowl title on Sunday, Feb. 8. 

Project sparks controversy

The “He Gets Us” ads have been controversial from the start, in part because the project was funded through The Signatry Foundation, a Christian donor-advised fund which has also donated to anti-abortion and anti-LGBT groups and had ties to conservative donors. 

Conservative critics, including the late Charlie Kirk, claimed the ads presented a distorted version of a Jesus who didn’t care about politics or who tolerated sinners, or the ads were too weak and woke.

“The marketing group behind ‘He Gets Us’ has done one of the worst services to Christianity in the modern era,” Kirk said in 2023, after the foot-washing Super Bowl ad aired that year. “The Green family are decent wonderful people who have been taken for a ride by these woke tricksters. So sad!”

Millions invested into the ad campaign

The ads have been costly.

According to disclosures filed with the IRS, the Signatry Foundation spent $429.8 million on “He Gets Us” from 2021 to 2024. Come Near, the nonprofit that took over the project in 2024, is organized as a church and does not disclose its finances. 

However, the nonprofit projected it would spend $345 million on the campaign between July 2024 and June 2026, when it applied for tax-exempt status. A spokesperson for Come Near said those figures “represented a reasonable and good faith projection of future finances.”  

Organizers told RNS in the past the goal was to spend a billion dollars on the campaign. 

Ads intended to speak to outsiders 

Nicole Martin, a member of the Come Near board of directors, said “people have a lot of opinions” about the “He Gets Us” ads. She said the ads aren’t aimed at people who already believe in Jesus and go to church. Instead, she said, they are meant to speak to outsiders.

“This is for people who just need to believe in something, and Jesus is the way to reach them,” she told RNS in an interview. “That’s why I am involved.”

Martin, who was recently named president and CEO of Christianity Today, a prominent evangelical publication, said the ad campaign has made Jesus part of the public conversation around the Super Bowl. 

That’s especially important in a time when religion in America has been on the decline, and many young people don’t know as much about Christianity.

“I think the goal is to try and shift that trend by a few degrees, so there would be a generation who wouldn’t grow up without knowing Jesus. That’s what I think they’re trying to do,” Martin said.

She hopes the new ad will remind people there’s more to life than the noise of social media and online debates. And to take a break from the hectic pace of life.

“I’m hoping this commercial will give us a chance to breathe,” she said.

The Palestinian Christian presence in the West Bank continues to be threatened by Israeli settlers. Once a flourishing population in the region, Palestinian Christians now make up only 1 to 2 percent of the population, numbers that have dwindled significantly since the 1900s. 

In 1948, Christians in Gaza and the West Bank accounted for 10 percent of the population, with over half the Christian population in Gaza leaving within the past 10 years due to ongoing conflict and restrictions.

Palestinian Christians under Israeli occupation—which enforces restrictions on travel to holy sites, checkpoints, confiscation of land, destruction of homes, and more—are also subject to restrictions posed by the separation barrier, a long wall constructed by Israel in June 2002. 

The barrier runs through occupied territory in the West Bank, breaking up contiguous Palestinian rural blocs and laying the groundwork for de-facto annexation of settlements along the barrier’s route.

Growing settler movement 

Israeli occupied territory has increased in recent times due to Israel’s growing settler movement, the establishment of Israeli communities in Palestine with the objective of establishing a Jewish homeland. 

These settlements are deemed illegal under international law, as Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states an occupying power [Israel] cannot transfer its civilian population into occupied territories. 

The settlements not only pose issues of legality. Palestinian Christians face assaults and violence connected to West Bank occupation, resulting in higher rates of forced displacement. 

On Feb. 1, the Palestinian Presidential Higher Committee for Church Affairs sent a letter to churches worldwide, urging an appeal against escalating illegal Israeli settler violence. 

Biggest challenges facing the community 

In an interview with Baptist Standard, Khalil Jeries, executive director of the Agora Initiative nonprofit in Washington, D.C., an organization seeking to educate the public on Israeli occupation in Palestine, commented on what is happening to Palestinian Christians in the West Bank. 

“It has always been bad and difficult because of the occupation there, the system of checkpoints, segregation, and permit regimes that the Israelis have imposed. That restricts freedom,” Jeries said. 

As of 2023, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs identified 565 movement obstacles in the West Bank, including 49 checkpoints staffed by Israeli forces or private security companies, 139 occasionally staffed checkpoints, and over 300 roadblocks, earth mounds, gates, and other barriers. 

Palestinians with West Bank IDs are required to have permits from Israeli authorities to enter East Jerusalem through three checkpoints, with exceptions for men over age 55 and women over age 50. 

The permits exist as part of the Israeli military’s permit regime put in place in 2003 requiring Palestinians to obtain permits in order to enter the “seam zone,” or areas within occupied Palestinian territories. 

Despite the existence of the permit regime, Jeries links the biggest challenges facing the Christian community in the West Bank to settler terrorism. 

“These settlers are backed by the Israeli government. [They have] committed and are still committing acts of violence and terrorism against the Christians,” he said. 

“They come, they burn houses, cars, properties that belong to Christians. The military comes and protects them [the settlers],” Jeries added. 

Jeries cited a recent example of settler terrorism that occurred on Jan. 24, where an elderly woman was attacked and critically injured in her home by Israeli settlers. The attack took place in Birzeit, a predominantly Palestinian town north of Ramallah. 

“When the Israeli military came, they arrested the Christians trying to defend their home,” Jeries said. He claims the settler movement is a driving force behind Palestinian emigration. 

“The settlement[s] will be a driving force to ethnic[ally] cleanse more Christians from Bethlehem. Already, the numbers of Christians in the Holy Land generally are decreasing, especially in Bethlehem,” he said. 

Impact on churches in West Bank

Fares Abraham, founder and CEO of Levant Ministries, a gospel ministry operating in the West Bank, described the situation for churches operating in the West Bank. 

“[Church] numbers are shrinking rapidly, driven by lived realities. Movement restrictions, checkpoints, the separation barrier, land confiscation, and settlement expansion severely limit freedom of movement, economic opportunity, and access to family land, jobs, and education,” Abraham said.

“Young Christians struggle to find meaningful work, obtain permits … or envision a viable future. … This fuels emigration, which further weakens the community and threatens the continuity of Christian presence,” Abraham added. 

Christian churches in the West Bank have been further subjected to vandalism and attacks as a result of “price tag attacks,” a violent strategy conducted by Israeli settlers in which they exact a “price” against Palestinians and their property in response to Israeli authorities dismantling settlement outposts. 

The number of violent attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinians, including Christians, and their property, has risen by about 150 percent each year since 2008. 

These attacks hinder Christian ministries in the West Bank, contributing to shrinking congregations out of fear and lack of resources.

“The pressure is overwhelming and relentless,” Abraham said. “Growing insecurity turns daily life into a calculation of risk. 

“Churches are not being shut down overnight, but they are being steadily and, I would argue, systematically weakened, forced to shift from vision and growth to survival and crisis care. Over time, this brings hopelessness,” he said. 

Abraham stated pastors act as shepherds within their communities, increasingly offering support to those feeling trapped, unseen, and uncertain whether they and their families have a future in the land. 

A worsening situation 

When asked if the situation in the West Bank has worsened since Nov. 2025, Abraham emphasized conditions are worse than they were in the past. 

“Overall, the situation for Christians in the West Bank is worse than it was in Nov. 2025. While many of the structural pressures remain the same [movement restrictions, economic hardship, emigration], the level of insecurity has increased,” he said.

Abraham highlighted the rise in recent settler violence and harassment affecting Christian families. “There is little sense of accountability, as seen in recent attacks where victims were detained rather than protected. This has deepened fear.” 

Saleem Anfous, justice advocate and partner with Musalaha, a faith-based organization that teaches and facilitates reconciliation between diverse ethnic groups, linked some of the worsening conditions to U.S. lawmakers. 

“The support from some U.S. lawmakers often uses Christian language to justify these policies. This can be deeply challenging for Palestinian Christians, as it feels like their faith is being co-opted to support injustice,” Anfous said. 

Anfous stated such language causes confusion and distress for Palestinian Christians, putting them in a defensive position. “They feel the need to constantly clarify their Christian faith does not support oppression or colonialism, which adds an emotional and social burden.” 

Anfous expressed the negative impact of U.S. pastors and religious leaders meeting exclusively with Israeli politicians. On Jan. 29, the U.S. Congress hosted another meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who thanked them for their support of Israel. 

“This one-sided approach can be frightening and feel like a denial of [Palestinian Christian] existence and experiences,” Anfous said. 

“In essence,” he said, “these factors combine to create a challenging environment for Palestinian Christians, both in terms of physical security and the integrity of their faith and identity.” 

NASHVILLE (BP)—A recently-released list of three commitments by trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission to Southern Baptists was drafted over the last month, chairman Scott Foshie told Baptist Press, but marks the latest step in a longer process.

Those commitments were approved at a special-called trustee meeting Jan. 30 and published Feb. 2.

The ERLC commits “to robust engagement and strong relationships with churches, local associations, state conventions, and SBC entities.”

Acknowledging an erosion of trust among some Southern Baptists, the ERLC commits to rebuilding trust with Southern Baptists.

Continuing its commitment “to representing Southern Baptists well in the public square,” the ERLC “will provide effective advocacy in Washington, D.C., by focusing on issues where Southern Baptists have strong consensus.”

The ERLC identifies issues for advocacy “primarily [using] the Bible, the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (amended 2023) and recent SBC resolutions.”

ERLC staff “will also be available to assist Southern Baptists at the state and local levels on matters of public policy, working closely with state conventions and local associations.”

Trustees also announced the number of presidential candidates has been halved to eight.

An update from the search team will come at the next regularly scheduled trustee meeting in March.

Hopes are for a final candidate announcement in late spring who will be presented at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., in June.

The Dallas meeting

Foshie was an Illinois pastor in 2018 when he accepted a nomination to serve as an ERLC trustee.

That year’s SBC annual meeting in Dallas was the first of several in subsequent years—including a return to Dallas in June 2025—to attempt to abolish or defund the entity.

“A lot of us had concerns when I became a trustee,” he said. “I just wanted to learn and was overjoyed with the hard work of the staff, but I did have concerns. I wanted to see the president relate better; that there wasn’t just encouragement, but oversight. We’ve worked relentlessly at that.”

Although the votes went in favor of the entity, Foshie sees them as signals from messengers who wanted to ensure the ERLC heard their concerns.

He asserts trustees did.

In 2023, bylaw revisions addressed the relationship between the president and the board. The next year brought a list of advocacy questions outlining the entity’s process for engaging with a public policy issue.

Foshie gave much credit to former president Brent Leatherwood for such steps.

“It’s been a journey for the board, a great one, really,” said Foshie. “When Brent became president, even before, when he was acting president, he was committed to working with trustees.

“We had forward-facing concerns,” Foshie continued, “[and] wanted to improve the relationship between the president and board, to discover best practices and live those out, and Brent was really supportive of that.”

Last fall’s approval of retired South Carolina Baptist Convention Executive Director Gary Hollingsworth as interim president accompanied the development of a presidential profile.

“We’ve tried to deeply engage with the pastors we serve, with local association leaders, state convention leaders and fellow national entity leaders. We’ve tried to listen to the Lord through them. I think that’s important,” Foshie said.

The “robust engagement” promised in the first of the three commitments means personally engaging Southern Baptist churches “of all sizes and different cultures.”

“We’re going to expect [the ERLC president] to be out helping us advocate, but he needs to spend a lot of time in churches with pastors, with local association leaders, and with state convention leaders,” Foshie said.

A different perspective

Foshie will get a different perspective after the June annual meeting, when he will rotate off the ERLC board and officially begin his new role as executive director for the Illinois Baptist State Association.

“I would like the ERLC president to not just be accessible to me, but to my pastors I serve here in Illinois and the local association leaders. I expect the team to continue to be responsive,” Foshie continued.

“And if there are issues with a range of opinions, maybe convene Southern Baptists with different perspectives. Encourage understanding and dialogue and remind them where we have agreement on carrying out the Great Commission together, even if we have different opinions,” Foshie said.

Foshie also told Baptist Press that Jon Nelson has resigned as a trustee after accepting a staff position with a non-SBC church.

Commitment to ERLC

Mariano Sarabia, student pastor of First Baptist Church in O’Fallon, Ill., was selected by trustees Friday to replace Nelson until Southern Baptist messengers vote on a permanent replacement.

The just-released three points of commitment are “a clarifying moment,” he added, for Southern Baptists as well as the next president.

“First of all, we wanted Southern Baptists to know of our commitment to them,” Foshie said. “But it also gives clarity to the candidates. They know what to expect and understand the posture we’re expecting them to have.”

Furthermore, the commitments establish an objective standard through which the search team and board can evaluate candidates.

“That’s important for us, too. The board believes in the ERLC as an important place in Baptist life, and we are thankful for the trust we have. We know we still have work to do with some and want them to know we hear their concerns, and we’re committed to earning their trust.”

Last month, Atlanta pastor Jason Dees wrote an open letter to ERLC trustees published in The Christian Index calling for the ERLC’s dissolution.

Today’s political landscape, he wrote, creates an environment where effective representation of Southern Baptists even among “core moral convictions” is “simply impossible.”

“I don’t sense that has been something the trustees have brought up,” said Foshie. “If anything, there’s more need for the ERLC than ever. We have a [presidential] administration that is extremely open to input from Southern Baptists. And whether an administration is open or not, Southern Baptists need and want an entity that can represent them in the public square.

“I think the issue has been some Southern Baptists have felt they can’t trust the entity, and we want them to know they can. Trustees have been focused on making sure the ERLC is trustworthy and effective for the future.”

With additional reporting by Baptist Standard Reporter Kendall Lyons.

Brandon Harrington to Central Baptist Church in Carthage as pastor, from New Liberty Baptist Church in Garland, where he was family pastor.

Ministry is a tough calling. It demands more than sermon preparation and hospital visits. It requires the whole person.

Pastors are expected to give spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically, often without a clear system of care for their own well-being.

Recognizing that gap, Bobby Contreras and several ministry peers helped launch a ministry designed not just to serve churches, but to serve the people who lead them.

That vision became The Whole Pastor, a growing effort focused on helping pastors and ministry leaders pursue health in every area of life.

What began as a shared concern among Texas Baptist leaders has become a central hub of encouragement, resources, and advocacy for holistic pastoral health.

For Contreras, the mission is professional and personal.

His own experiences in ministry, along with seasons of illness and recovery, shaped his conviction that caring for pastors must extend beyond spiritual checklists to include mental, relational, physical, and financial well-being.

According to its mission, The Whole Pastor exists “to help pastors, families, and communities find a more holistic way to be healthy.” The organization’s work is rooted in the belief that the health of a pastor directly impacts the health of a church and its surrounding community.

“The easy math says a healthy pastor plus a healthy pastor’s family equals a healthy church community,” Contreras said.

Studying the problem

That conviction was reinforced through a collaborative study involving Texas Baptists, San Antonio Baptist Association, and Baptist Health Foundation in San Antonio.

The findings challenged assumptions about pastoral well-being—especially during a season when many pastors were stretched beyond capacity.

“The Whole Pastor Blog was my response to a team of folks from Texas Baptist, San Antonio Baptist Association, and the Baptist Health Foundation San Antonio coming together to study and find out that pastors aren’t as healthy as we thought,” Contreras said. “And the crux of this study was done right in the middle of COVID.”

The pandemic intensified existing pressures on pastors, highlighting burnout, isolation, and emotional strain. For Contreras and others involved, the data confirmed what many had been experiencing anecdotally for years: pastors were carrying heavy loads with limited support for their own holistic care.

A shared effort

Contreras and his colleagues launched The Whole Pastor to address those gaps by creating a space focused on the full spectrum of pastoral health. The ministry emphasizes five key areas: spiritual, physical, mental, relational, and financial well-being.

“The Whole Pastor Blog began as a dream shared by a group of Texas pastors who care deeply about spiritual, physical, mental, financial, and relational health,” Contreras said. “Our aim is to help pastors, families, and communities find a more holistic way to be healthy.”

Rather than functioning as a single program, The Whole Pastor serves as a platform and resource hub—offering encouragement, reflection, and practical tools designed to help pastors sustain long-term ministry.

Contreras noted, while many organizations are now emphasizing holistic approaches to ministry health, The Whole Pastor is part of a broader movement rather than a stand-alone solution.

“One note is that many groups have been and are now focused in on this holistic approach too. This isn’t exclusive to just us,” he said.

Personal wholeness

Still, for Contreras, the work took on deeper meaning through personal experience.

“Coming out of my cancer season, this holistic awareness was very real for me,” he said. “The physical side of things were great during recovery, but the spiritual and mental side of things lagged.”

That season reinforced the importance of addressing all dimensions of health, not just the ones easiest to measure. It also shaped his passion for advocating for pastors who may be strong in one area but struggling silently in others.

Contreras has been lead pastor of Alamo Heights Baptist Church in the Alamo Heights community of San Antonio for the last seven years. He and his wife, Hannah, have lived in that community for 18 years.

He also has served on the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board, including two years as board chair, and the board of the Baptist Health Foundation in San Antonio.

Contreras’ passion for ministry started when he was in elementary school in El Paso. By middle school, he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

The Whole Pastor

At its core, The Whole Pastor is about helping pastors remain in ministry for the long haul. Contreras sees it as a way to advocate for sustainability, resilience, and long-term faithfulness.

“Simply put, The Whole Pastor, as I see it, is a central hub of encouragement for pastors and ministry leaders, their families, and their church communities,” he said. “I want pastors and ministry leaders, young and old, to be in their called craft for the long haul. But we must stay holistically healthy to accomplish that. The Whole Pastor is a way I can advocate for this.”

The Whole Pastor also works in tandem with other initiatives connected to Contreras’ ministry life, including The Daily Gaze and a newer podcast venture.

“The Daily Gaze and The Whole Pastor run in tandem with each other,” he said. “The Daily Expectation is a new … podcast that me and Layton, our associate pastor, record weekly, Wednesday mornings at 5 a.m. Yes, 5 a.m! The Daily Expectation is based on Psalm 5:3.”

Together, these efforts reflect a broader commitment to spiritual formation, encouragement, and daily rhythms that support healthy leadership.

For Contreras, The Whole Pastor is more than a blog or a resource. It is a response to real needs, real data, and real stories of pastors who are exhausted, hurting, and still called.

By centering the whole person, Contreras hopes to help reshape how churches and denominational partners think about pastoral care—moving from crisis response to proactive, holistic support.

In a time when many ministry leaders are questioning how long they can continue, The Whole Pastor offers a different message: Pastors are not just called to serve. They are also called to be cared for, in every part of life.

The Daily Gaze

The Daily Gaze started more than 16 years ago, a form of outreach Contreras began while serving in student ministry. He wanted to engage students in such a way so they knew “the most profound and important thing that they could carry with them every day is God’s word,” Contreras said.

“The Daily Gaze comes from Psalm 27:4: ‘One thing I ask of the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple,’” Contreras said.

“It started with a group of about seven teenage boys … who were in my small group. So, I just started every single day sending them a Bible verse and a photo,” Contreras said.

“I’m kinesthetic in my learning. I’m very hands-on, very visual. So, for me, when I pair a photo with the Bible verse, it kind of helps me, one, to remember it, but it also helps me to look up and to see the world around me and think, at least, ‘What does God have for me today?’”

Contreras’ weekday mornings consist of individually sending at least 265 people The Daily Gaze, a text message with a photo, Bible verse, and a short message to reflect on the Scripture of the day.

While others say it seems inefficient, Contreras’ desire is to be intentional, as he often prays for specific people and writes specific messages for some recipients.

A calling since childhood

“I’ve known probably since the eighth grade, for sure, that I wanted to be in some form of ministry,” Contreras said.

“My parents accepted Christ when I was in the third grade.”

From then on, his parents served in the children’s ministry, men’s ministry, and women’s ministry of Cielo Vista Church in El Paso. His father was a deacon.

“My brother and I were always in church with them. … When the church doors were open, I was there,” Contreras said.

His time spent in the church, engaging in ministry with his family and among ministry leaders, caused a love for the Lord, the church, and God’s people to grow.

The church poured into Contreras throughout his childhood and youth. He noted people like his youth pastor, James and his wife, Becky Robertson; Sally McWaters, a missionary to Costa Rica; Mary Mueller, a women’s ministry director at his church; Randy Voor; associate pastors John and Jolene Willoughby; and his parents.

“All these people … were extremely influential,” Contreras said, calling them a “great cloud of witnesses” in his life, referencing Hebrews 12:1.

“As an adult now, as a husband, as a father, it matters who I surround my family with, knowing that they will be influential for my kids, for my marriage. And the same speaks true for our congregation. It matters the village that we are a part of. Influential people matter,” Contreras said.

In fifth grade, during a mission trip to Arizona with high schoolers, he knew what he wanted to do with his life.

“Why [my parents] would let a fifth grader go with a bunch of high schoolers, I don’t know, but I vividly remember being on that reservation in Arizona and knowing … I wanted to be a part of this,” Contreras said.

Contreras didn’t know yet he would be a pastor. He just knew he wanted to share Jesus with others and enjoyed the relational aspect of ministry.

Contreras gave his life to Christ at age 13. By eighth grade, he knew he wanted to be in ministry vocationally.

It shouldn’t be such a strange thing for kids to decide early, like he did, Contreras said.

South Carolina pastor Josh Powell will be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention president at the 2026 SBC annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

Tennessee pastor Jay Hardwick told Baptist Press he intends to nominate Powell this summer.

“I’ve known Josh as a close friend for 30 years, and the word I use to describe his character and relationship with God over these 30 years is consistent,’” Hardwick said.

Powell is the lead pastor of Taylors First Baptist Church in South Carolina. He has served the church since 2021.

“He is a man of integrity, he loves God’s word, and he is diligent in his personal pursuit of growth as a disciple of Jesus,” Hardwick said. “He is humble, approachable, and wise, all qualities that stem from his walk with the Lord.”

In 2025, Taylors First Baptist Church received $5,794,403 in total receipts, according to the church. They gave $438,259 [7.6 percent] through the Cooperative Program, $273,673.79 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, and $52,414.49 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. They reported 1,667 people in weekly worship attendance and 56 baptisms.

A pastoral legacy

Powell has a long legacy of pastors in his family as his father, grandfather, father-in-law, and grandfather-in-law have all served as Southern Baptist pastors. 

Hardwick says he has personally experienced the consistency of Powell’s leadership as he was a part of a church in South Carolina Powell helped revitalize.

“I had a front row seat as Josh led that church through a wonderful season of revitalization that was centered on the word of God and focused on the mission of God. That church is thriving today in large part because of how God used Josh and his family,” he said.

“Josh loves people, he loves preaching, and he loves being present and engaged in the community his church is serving. He is a consistent and effective preacher, and his ministry bears the fruit of his commitment to shepherd, disciple, and reach people with the gospel.”

Powell previously served Lake Murray Baptist Church in Lexington, S.C., and First Baptist Church Fairdale in Fairdale, Ky.

Powell’s personal story

Powell and his wife Allison have been married for 27 years and met at North Greenville University.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from North Greenville University and a Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

They have four children: Wilds, Levi, Macy Grace, and Paton. Their three older children are pursuing a call to ministry, according to Powell.

He told Baptist Press he has been on dozens of mission trips across five continents and served as an independent missionary in South Asia from 2009-2014.

In 2023, he spent a night in jail for publicly preaching the gospel during a mission trip, as told in a 2025 Baptist Courier story.

Powell has served as president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, a trustee at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, including serving as the trustee chair, and on the board of North Greenville University where he also served as chair.

Hardwick said Powell is a “product of and example of the great things God has done and is doing through the SBC.”

“I believe we need leaders who love Southern Baptists, who embody the best of who we are as Southern Baptists, who love and are personally invested in our SBC family and mission, and are leading their churches to be heavily invested in our cooperative efforts,” Hardwick said.

The 2026 SBC annual meeting is set for June 9-10 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor announced a new free tuition program for eligible first-time freshmen and new transfer undergraduate students beginning with the fall 2026 class. The UMHB Promise is open to students with annual family incomes of $65,000 or less who qualify for the federal Pell Grant. Participants must be first-time freshmen or new transfer students, reside on campus, and meet academic requirements: incoming freshmen must rank in the top 50 percent of their high school class or, if from a non-ranking school, have a minimum ACT score of 21, SAT score of 1070, or CLT score of 67, while transfer students must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0.

Howard Payne University has created a waitlist for the Chris Tomlin concert scheduled April 15. HPU will host the public for an outdoor night of worship with the Grammy-award winning musician at the Brownwood Event Center’s outdoor stage. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the event beginning at 7 p.m. Those who made group reservations but no longer need their full number of tickets are requested to revise their reservation orders by emailing communications@hputx.edu.

Baylor University has named Randall Bradley its 2026 Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year. Bradley is the Ben H. Williams Professor of Music and director of the church music program and Dunn Center for Christian Music Studies at Baylor.

Wayland Baptist University has named alumna Elexia Ruiz head coach of its revived competitive dance program. The competitive dance program, paused following the COVID-19 pandemic, will take the floor in fall 2026.

East Texas Baptist University is celebrating record-breaking enrollment for spring 2026, marking the highest spring enrollment in the university’s history. With a total enrollment of 1,709 students, ETBU experienced a 6 percent increase over spring 2025, surpassing the previous spring record of 1,657 students set in spring 2024.

Houston Christian University’s Narrative Arts Conference will be held on Feb. 7 in HCU’s Belin Chapel and Hinton Center. This year’s conference, “Process & Purpose,” will feature presentations by a wide array of guest speakers who will explore the craft of storytelling in fiction, film, and video games. Click here for details on the guest speakers, schedule, and registration.

Christians in Burma/Myanmar continue to suffer systematic violations of religious freedom carried out by the military junta known as the Tatmadaw, according to a Jan. 29 briefing hosted by the Burma Research Institute.

Christians affected are in Chin, Kachin, Karenni, Karen states (those inhabited by the Karen ethnic group), and the Sagaing region. Systematic violations include church bombings, imprisonment of pastors, and killings of Christian leaders.

Robin Stoops, Burma Research Institute board chair and former associate general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA, and Zo Tum Hmung, Burma Research Institute president and CEO conducted the briefing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.

The immense violence in the region has resulted in the U.S. State Department designating Burma/Myanmar a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for discrimination against Christian and Muslim minorities every year since 1999. 

Examples of attacks on religion

Attacks by the Tatmadaw on houses of worship and religious communities continued to increase throughout 2025, Vicky Hartzler, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom chair, noted.

Tatmadaw refers widely to the Burma/Myanmar military and is used commonly to refer to specific forces that inflict harm on Christians and civilians.

Hartzler shared the story of an ethnic Chin pastor fleeing from religious persecution at the hands of the Tatmadaw. 

“The military council told him to cease any religious activities, including preaching and worshiping. He had no choice but to flee Burma with his wife and children,” she said.  

Hartzler described the junta’s plan to host a sham election on Dec. 28, claiming the junta reportedly encouraged Christian churches in Kachin state townships to conduct Christmas celebrations prior to Dec. 20 to prevent election interference. Airstrikes were carried out by the junta on Christmas day. 

According to Hartzler, the Tatmadaw is using deliberate tactics to demoralize the Christian communities in the country, noting the examples she shared “are just a few of the many atrocities committed against religious communities throughout Burma.” 

USCIRF’s “mandate is to monitor religious freedom worldwide using international standards and to make policy recommendations to the U.S. president, the secretary of state, and Congress,” Hartzler explained.

USCIRF has urged the administration to designate Burma/Myanmar Temporary Protected Status, she said. 

“Furthermore, we have recommended that Congress reintroduce past legislative efforts, such as the BRAVE Burma Act, to bring targeted sanctions against members of the junta and limit its ability to use military aircrafts,” Hartzler added. 

Report on religious persecution 

Roughly 6.2 percent to 8 percent of the population in Burma/Myanmar is Christian, with this religious concentration primarily in Chin, Kachin, Karen, and Karenni states, according to a report on severe violations of religious freedom in Burma/Myanmar presented by Zo Tum Hmung, president and CEO of Burma Research Institute. 

Chin state has the largest proportion of Christians, with roughly 85 percent of the population identifying as Christian. Many humanitarian concerns exist in these areas due to high levels of displacement, Hmung emphasized.

“As of the end of Dec. 2025, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 3.63 million people were [internally] displaced and 1.1 million [people] slept outside Burma as refugees,” Hmung stated.

According to figures on the UNHCR website, as of Dec. 31, 2025, Burmese refugees and asylum seekers number nearly 1.6 million. 

Christian churches destroyed 

Between 2021 and 2025, Burmese Research Institute estimates 343 Christian churches and buildings were damaged or destroyed by the Tatmadaw, Robin Stoops, BRI board chair, emphasized. 

Data pulled from Open Doors International stated 149 Christians had been killed and 218 imprisoned for faith-related reasons. Among these are 11 Christian pastors who have been killed and 21 arrested, with 13 still actively detained. 

Stoops explained how, despite Burma/Myanmar’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern, little action has been implemented to make a difference.

“BRI concludes the attacks on churches, clergy, and Christian communities constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes,” Stoops said. 

“International humanitarian law prohibits intentionally harming civilians and religious buildings that are not military objectives,” she continued.

BRI urges three actions

Burma Research Institute recommends three actions, Hmung explained.

The Trump administration needs to make a formal determination that crimes against humanity have been committed against Christians by the Tatmadaw, Hmung said. 

Also, “press for the release of Christian pastors and other clergy and for political prisoners,” he continued.

As recently as Jan. 4, 2026, Myanmar’s military granted amnesty to over 6,000 prisoners nationwide. Since the 2021 coup, the military has detained over 30,000 political prisoners. 

Hmung called for the redesignation of Burma/Myanmar’s Country of Particular Concern status and the enforcement of accountability by imposing sanctions against the regime and others responsible for atrocities. 

“The U.S. Congress needs [to use] funds to support the pro-democracy movement and resistance organizations in Burma,” Hmung said.

He also called for the Trump administration to “unfreeze” 1 billion dollars of Myanmar central bank reserves being held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

“Make [this money] available … for nonlethal assistance to pro-democracy groups and resistance organizations,” Hmung said.

He called on the administration to condemn and reject the sham elections and their results and to appoint a special policy coordinator for Burma/Myanmar.

Burma and Texas Baptists

“The war in Burma does matter to Texas Baptists,” Mark Heavener, director of Texas Baptists’ Intercultural Ministries and advocate for Burmese communities within the U.S. and abroad, stated in an email to Baptist Standard.

“That conflict impacts the members from 36 [Texas Baptist] congregations. Please engage in praying for peace, justice, and the love of Jesus to change Burma,” Heavener added.

Today, there are over 150 Burmese Baptist congregations in the U.S. 

For years, leaders of the Evangelical Immigration Table have summed up the Bible’s view of immigration in three words: Welcome the stranger.

In Bible studies, sermons, videos, and other resources, the coalition of denominational and nonprofit leaders has sought to remind churchgoers to see immigrants as their neighbors and people worthy of love and support.

They’ve advocated for reforms that ensure America’s borders are secure, keep immigrant families intact, and provide a pathway for undocumented immigrants to gain legal status.

Zach Szmara, an Indiana pastor and longtime supporter of EIT, said the Bible, not politics, should shape how evangelicals see the issue of immigration.

“Evangelicals may have room for disagreement, but we have to start with the fact that we are called to love and welcome immigrants, not view immigrants as threats or burdens,” Szmara told RNS in a recent interview at a church conference in Chicago.

When Szmara founded Immigrant Connection, a church-based network of legal clinics that assist immigrants, in 2014, some churches wanted to get involved, others said it was a good idea, and there was little resistance, he said.

Now, he said, critics treat his work as anathema and ask him if he’s lost his faith.

Divide over immigration

Support for immigration reform has become a flashpoint among evangelicals in recent years.

Last fall, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, known as the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, broke ties with EIT, due in part to pushback in the denomination that the group had become too liberal on immigration.

The break was notable because Richard Land, a legendary SBC figure who led the ERLC for decades, had been one of EIT’s founders and had long promoted immigration reform.

That split highlights tensions among evangelicals over immigration that have grown during the Trump era of mass deportations—including in Minneapolis, the current epicenter of immigration enforcement.

Public polling shows evangelicals, in general, support reforms that would lead to secure borders and provide legal pathways to citizenship.

But a 2025 study from Lifeway Research, an evangelical firm, showed evangelicals are deeply divided in how they view immigrants.

According to the study, 44 percent of evangelicals said they see recent immigrants as a drain on the country’s resources, while 43 percent see those immigrants as a threat to the safety of Americans.

Over a third (37 percent) said Christians have an opportunity to show love to immigrants, while the same percentage said recent immigrants are a threat to law and order.

Most (80 percent) wanted Congress to pass immigration reforms last year.

EIT’s members include prominent organizations like World Relief, an evangelical humanitarian group that resettles refugees, and the National Association of Evangelicals.

Suspicion growing

Meanwhile, critics argue Christians are called to love immigrants, but that call to compassion and love has been misused.

“What we’re learning now is that illegal immigration is not compassionate. In fact, it’s not only bad for Americans, but it’s bad for people who are migrating illegally,” said Willy Rice, a Florida pastor who is running for SBC president, during a recent podcast from the Center for Baptist Leadership, a group that believes the SBC and other evangelical groups have become too liberal.

Carl Nelson, president of Transform Minnesota, an evangelical church network, said he’s seen support for ministry to immigrants and refugees decline in recent years.

“I see a moving away from being generally compassionate and favorable towards immigration—immigration that’s done lawfully and orderly, and particularly refugee resettlement—towards much, much more suspicion and resistance,” Nelson said.

Within Transform Minnesota’s network is Arrive Ministries, a Minneapolis-area refugee resettlement agency affiliated with World Relief.

Nelson said, to outsiders, the Twin Cities may look chaotic, while inside the cities, people are worried about their neighbors.

“The dissonance between those two viewpoints, I think, has deepened,” Nelson said, adding he also sees a divide between Christians in rural areas and those in urban areas.

Nelson said he has heard some Christians talk about what’s known as the “sin of empathy,” which views having compassion for others as suspect.

That suspicion is meant to put a firewall between compassion and action, he said.

As an evangelical, he said he was raised to believe the role of the church is to be salt and light in the world, a reference to the Sermon on the Mount, a well-known New Testament passage.

Cities Church, Minneapolis

Evangelical responses to immigrants and refugees vary even within the same church.

For example, while one of the pastors at Cities Church, a St. Paul Southern Baptist congregation targeted by activists, works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, that church has also been involved in welcoming refugees, Nelson said.

Several organizers of a protest at the church were arrested for disrupting the worship service earlier this month.

On Friday, Jan. 30, journalist Don Lemon, a former CNN anchor, and another independent journalist, who livestreamed the protest, were arrested in connection with it.

Youth from Cities Church have volunteered with Arrive, and some church members signed on to a 2017 EIT letter promoting immigration reform. Last year, a pastor at Cities Church used the idea of refugee resettlement to talk about the way Christians will be welcomed by Jesus into heaven.

“It’s like a refugee getting the exciting news from Arrive Ministries saying: ‘We’ve got a placement for you. It’s been secured. There’s a home here reserved for you,’” Cities Church pastor Max Kozak told worshippers in May 2025.

A spokesman for lawyers representing Cities Church said the congregation has no official ties to Arrive Ministries and has not given any money to the ministry.

“The church is still prayerfully exploring next steps following the Jan. 18 disruption of its worship service and is thankful that the Department of Justice has responded,” the spokesman told RNS, before news broke about the arrests of journalists.

Criticism of evangelical advocacy

Eric Teetsel, CEO of the Center for Renewing America, a nonprofit that seeks to “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God,” said evangelical leaders focused on issues like immigration because those issues were socially acceptable, but they aren’t the issues that matter most to the average evangelical sitting in the pews.

Those folks care about religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and in what he called “traditional marriage.”

“Those were ignored and downplayed, and they ought not have been,” Teetsel told RNS in an interview last year.

Teetsel said evangelicals want their leaders to focus on issues the Bible is clear about, rather than issues like immigration, where Christians can disagree.

“It’s my contention that there is very little in Scripture that guides us towards immigration and border security policy in the 21st century,” Teetsel said.

He accused Democrats of defying the Bible’s beliefs, while evangelical leaders stood idly by and focused on other issues.

“These so-called evangelical institutions that do public policy are focusing their scarce resources on a question like immigration and border policy, rather than these more foundational, significant, and clear issues of life, marriage, and religious freedom,” Teetsel said.

Outside Chicago though, evangelicals have been involved in protesting against ICE, including taking part in efforts to track federal agents’ movements and in protests at an ICE detention center.

Broader effects

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has also affected evangelical churches where immigrants make up a large percentage of congregants, including Southern Baptist churches in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

“There are Hispanic churches that are not meeting right now because they are afraid of what’s happening in our part of the world, in part, because of the interaction between the federal government and the state government,” Trey Turner, executive director of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention, told RNS recently.

Some of the current debates about immigration have made evangelicals wary of ministry to immigrants, which Szmara said is unfortunate.

“I think we have to remind the church sometimes, when you love an immigrant, regardless of their status, you know you’re not breaking the law,” he said.

This article has been edited for length.