Texas Baptists and Southern Baptists are one year into a revised church planting agreement. The new agreement between the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board took shape in response to questions about funding Texas Baptist church plants.
New process
Under the new agreement, when a BGCT-affiliated church begins the church starting process, it must indicate its desire to partner solely with the BGCT or with the BGCT and NAMB, what is being referred to as the Texas Baptists + NAMB Partnership Pathway.
The Texas Baptists + NAMB pathway is an eight-step process. “The steps include an initial inquiry, beginning the process, discernment and development, assessment, funding approval, entry into the funding process, funding flow, and ongoing development,” said Kalie Lowrie, Texas Baptists’ director of communications.
“[The process] can take from three to 18 months from interest to funding approval, and a church will receive funding from both Texas Baptists [BGCT] and NAMB,” she said.
“Some planters are already on the path, and the [Texas Baptists] church starting team continues refining the structure to serve Texas Baptists well and fully implement this collaboration,” she continued.
Half a dozen churches are in the initial stages of the Texas Baptists + NAMB Partnership Pathway, Lowrie said. “We will know more after churches have been planted and begin meeting,” she added.
In 2025, Texas Baptists had 101 churches in the Texas Baptists church planting process, including those involved in the Texas Baptists + NAMB pathway.
Funding strategies
“Texas Baptists have modified funding strategies to mirror the NAMB strategy, regardless of the church planting pathway a planter and their sponsoring church choose to pursue,” Lowrie said.
When asked how BGCT have mirrored these funding strategies, Lowrie said a fourth year of funding for the Texas Baptists’ track was added, in addition to a digital inquiry form.
Texas Baptists also made additional investments in the church starting program, Lowrie explained. In 2025, Texas Baptists invested $2.8 million in church starting efforts, with an additional $1.1 million given through donor-designated funds and $660,000 through the Mary Hill Davis Offering, for a total of $4,560,000.
Additionally in 2025, BGCT churches sent NAMB $3 million through the Annie Armstrong offering and $2 million through the SBC Cooperative Program, which designates a percentage to NAMB.
In total, BGCT churches invested $9.56 million in the church starting program in 2025, as confirmed by BGCT CFO Ward Hayes.
In September 2024, the BGCT Executive Board passed a recommendation from the Missions Funding Council to increase the maximum amount that may be approved for any new church start from $75,000 to $125,000 to further resource new BGCT-sponsored church starts.
The agreement between the BGCT and NAMB extends an annual $300,000 grant that supplements the BGCT’s annual investment in church planting. This grant has been in place for almost 15 years. Previously, it included $200,000 for church plants and $100,000 for evangelism. Under the new agreement, all $300,000 are exclusive to church planting.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Faith Pratt and originally published by Baptist Standard.
