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TBC Newsletter | |
| March 2006 |
BGCT DISBURSES STAFF MEMBERS ACROSS TEXAS |
DALLAS - The Baptist General Convention of Texas has named most of its congregational strategists, staff members who will live and minister to churches in designated areas, and all of them will begin serving by March 1.
The convention has filled nine of the 10 strategist positions, and leaders anticipate hiring a person for the East Texas region soon. After a short training period, the strategists will begin serving.
Most of congregational strategists will work out of their homes, and each of them is expected to follow a plan for strategically ministering to every church in a particular area.
Strategists can be called upon to provide help of any kind, said Andre Punch, who directs these strategists. Staff members will be trained to meet a variety of ministry needs and will be prepared to offer customized assistance to churches.
Each staff member will work with a church starter and consultants for affinity groups such as African American, Hispanic and Western Heritage congregations.
The new strategy comes as a result of Texas Baptists repeatedly asking the BGCT to have staff members located across the state where they can meet needs quickly and efficiently.
Every church—large or small, rich or poor—has needs, Punch said. Some leaders simply need encouragement. Others require more tangible assistance. Congregational strategists will be able to meet both needs and everything in between.
“We will be a convention that will be near the local church, and we will be able to respond to local church in a meaningful way,” Punch said.
Area strategists enable the BGCT to better cultivate relationships with churches and understand how to best serve them, said Ron Gunter, BGCT chief operations officer/associate executive director.
“The point of what we’re doing is to connect us to the local church,” he said. “We’re here to serve the local church. “We will touch every church in Texas at its point of need. We will help churches become all that God wants them to be.”
Charles Davenport is the strategist for the Panhandle. He will work with Church Starter John Silva, who also will serve far West Texas. Robert Cuellar is the strategist for far West Texas. Mateo Rendon will help minister to Hispanic congregations in the Panhandle.
Noe Trevino will minister in the Rio Grande Valley as a church strategist, and Fred Ater will do the same in a region that encompasses an area the stretches from the south edge of San Antonio to Corpus Christi. David Tamez is the church starter for both these regions.
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Strategist Ben Hanna and Church Starter David Guel will minister in Houston. Cathy Dundas will continue to serve a variety of ethnic groups in Houston, and an African American consultant will serve the city in the near future.
Tim Randolph is the strategist for Central Texas north of San Antonio. He will be teamed with Church Starter Marty Mosher.
Jim Furgerson will be the congregation strategist for San Antonio.
A congregational strategist will team with Church Starter Randy Gilchrist to minister in East Texas. The strategist has not yet been hired.
Church Starter Roy Cotton and Congregational Strategist Richard Mangum will team together to minister in Dallas and the areas to the north and east of the city.
Paul Atkinson has been named a congregational strategist and will work with Abe Zabaneh in Fort Worth and the area north and west of the city.
Ron Nolen will serve Western Heritage congregations, commonly called cowboy churches, across the state. Michael Evans will do the same with African American churches, and Patty Lane will minister to what has been called the intercultural group statewide.
Frank Palos will give leadership to the BGCT’s work with Hispanic congregations statewide, and Bob Ray will focus on bivocational and smaller membership churches across Texas.
Each of the strategists was chosen specifically for his strong relational skills and familiarity with specific areas, Punch said. Most have roots in or currently reside in their assigned area. They already know many church leaders in an area and can build upon those relationships.
Punch believes the convention’s efforts to provide local customized assistance could help revolutionize the spiritual landscape of Texas. The process of creating the congregational strategists model and selecting the strategists themselves has been bathed in prayer. He believes God is working in this new method of ministry.
“I am very thankful God put me here at this point in time for a reason,” he said. “If I know I’m where God wants me to be and I’m making myself available to Him, the possibilities are endless.
“I see Texas Baptist churches being the salt of the earth and light in the darkness, transforming lives by shining the gospel.”
