The Baptist General Convention of Texas’ Executive Board adopted a new agreement with the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board regarding church-starting in Texas and approved the initial reserve investment, officers and board for the Texas Baptist Insurance Program.
Last May, Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Julio Guarneri told the Executive Board NAMB no longer would fund church starts in Texas of congregations uniquely aligned with the BGCT, since the state convention did not affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message. The 2000 version of the SBC confession of faith limits the role of pastor to men.
In response to a question from a BGCT pastor at the SBC annual meeting in June, NAMB President Kevin Ezell reiterated NAMB would not fund church starts in partnership with the BGCT unless Texas Baptists changed their statement of faith.
When a messenger to the 2024 BGCT annual meeting in Waco made a motion for the convention to affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message, messengers soundly defeated it.
After the annual meeting, BGCT and NAMB leaders met to negotiate a new agreement regarding church-starting in Texas. The NAMB board approved the agreement two weeks before the BGCT Executive Board met.
The approved agreement states:
- NAMB will make available church planting materials, training resources and coaching identified in other states as “Send Network” resources in a “white label” format.
- NAMB will provide a $300,000 a year grant to the BGCT exclusively for church planting and will consider the application of any SBC-affiliated church in good standing. Church planters who receive funding will complete an approved assessment process. The church plants will be expected to affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message.
- NAMB and the BGCT will explore the possibility of conducting planter pathway training events.
- NAMB and the BGCT will work together to “make sure that pastors, churches and associations have reliable, true and updated information as to how BGCT churches can relate to NAMB.”
Guarneri pointed out NAMB funds represent about 10% of what the BGCT invests in church starting. The BGCT wants to double the number of church starts in 2025 from 2024, he added.
The agreement means if a Texas Baptist church that affirms the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message wants to start a church with NAMB funding, they can do so as a congregation singly aligned with BGCT.
Guarneri said he wanted to “go on record stating that when I started this inquiry, it was not necessarily about asking for more money, but about making sure that our BGCT churches had access to resources without having to join another state convention.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Ken Camp and Calli Keener and originally published by Baptist Standard.
