LUFKIN—So far, enough Texas Baptist churches have stepped forward to ensure that each household in a dozen Texas counties has a Scripture presentation.
With 665,000 homes accounted for, organizers of Texas Hope 2010—a Baptist General Convention of Texas initiative to share the hope of Christ with every person in Texas by Easter 2010, fight hunger and bathe the state in prayer—want to find enough leaders to head Bible distribution efforts in 242 more counties.
Andy Pittman, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lufkin, was the first to commit his church to placing Scripture in each home in a county. The congregation will lead the effort to place the gospel in each of the 32,742 homes in Angelina County.
The Lufkin congregation is partnering Scripture distribution with an intentional effort to connect with non-Christians in the community, Pittman explained. More than 79,000 people live in Angelina County, many of them not connected to any church. The pastor hopes that statistic will change through Scripture distribution and outreach.
“What I’m wanting to see are lives changed through the gospel message—lives changed by Jesus, families saved, husbands and wives and children that are saved,” Pittman said.
In addition to seeing people come to faith, Pittman believes the evangelism emphasis will help reinvigorate the faith of his church members. They will see the gospel changing lives, which will increase their eagerness to reach out.
“I believe so strongly in the power of the gospel, especially in the words of Scripture, I believe God’s word will not come back void,” Pittman said.
Ron Herring, director of the BGCT congregational leadership team, is recruiting Texas Baptist pastors to lead distribution efforts in each county. Through a partnership between the BGCT and Faith Comes By Hearing, compact disc audio copies of a portion of the Gospel of John are available for $1 each. The convention also can connect churches with Bibles sold at a discounted rate.
The BGCT can help county organizers with the effort, but Herring expects each county’s outreach to be tailored. Some organizers may choose to mail CDs to each household in a county. Other Texas Baptists may chose to go door-to-door handing out Bibles.
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“Texas Baptists are creative,” Herring said. “I expect them to utilize a variety of methods to engage their respective counties. As a result of their willingness to share the gospel, I believe many people will come to know the Lord through this massive distribution effort.”
Pastor David Becker of First Baptist Church in Granbury agrees. When he heard BGCT Executive Director Randel Everett present the opportunity for churches to adopt a county for gospel outreach, Becker immediately volunteered. He offered to help lead the effort in Hood County, sending Everett an e-mail before he even finished his sermon during the BGCT annual meeting.
“It’s going to take not just First Baptist Church, but all of us working together to accomplish that task,” Becker said. “Realistically, I think we will encounter some difficulties along the way, but at the same time, I think it will be something that we can see people coming to Christ.”
For more information about adopting a county through the Texas Hope 2010 partnership, call (888) 244-9400 or visit www.texashope2010.com.
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