BAPTI S T GEN ER A L CO N V E N T I O N O F T E X AS 13 9T H ANNUAL
VOLUME 139, NO. 2 | WACO | NOVEMBER 12, 2024
guarneri shares clarified calling during executive director’s report Julio Guarneri, executive director of Texas Baptists, gave his report to the 2024 Texas Baptists Annual Meeting messengers and guests during the evening worship session on Monday, Nov. 11. He shared an update from the study group comprised of Texas Baptists staff, pastors, lay people and institutional leaders who had been working over the past year to clarify Texas Baptists’ calling and values. Guarneri shared that the new missional theme is “strengthening a multiplying movement of churches to live out the Great Commandment and Great Commission in Texas and beyond.” With that new theme, Guarneri introduced seven values to guide the work of Texas Baptists in the near future. He also clarified that the study group created the theme and values with the acknowledgment that everything Texas Baptists does is to support local churches. “We understand that the headquarters of our Convention is the local church. We also see our institutions and our missional partners as extensions of the local church and the kingdom of God… Together, we carry out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission,” he said. With that in mind, Guarneri outlined the
seven values: biblically-faithful, gospelcentered, historically-rooted, futurethinking, beautifully-diverse, servanthearted and kingdom-collaborating. “These are the values that will inform our work. They describe our unique identity as Texas Baptists,” he said. “We want to be known by what we value.” Guarneri also outlined a new, twopronged approach for the GC2 Initiative. GC2 Pathways will focus on churches— meeting them where they are and working together for the kingdom of God—and on connections—working to connect churches to the resources they need to continue their development. Resources may include Texas Baptists programs or ministries or networking with like-minded entities in Texas and beyond. This approach is centered around meeting churches at whatever stage they are at. Guarneri identified four stages in the church life cycle: plant, thrive, expand or multiply. The clarified mission, values and GC2 pathways are all to help Texas Baptists continue meeting the needs of a growing state. Guarneri shared that by 2050, Texas’ population is projected to double.
“A multiplying movement of GC2 churches is not an option, it’s a must. We must reach the nations within Texas… Will you be a part of a multiplying movement of GC2 churches?... Will you adopt God’s kingdom agenda?” Guarneri asked.
Motions 1
Jeff Williams, messenger from First Baptist Church, Denton, brought the following motion: “I move that the Baptist General Convention of Texas affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message.”
2
Steve Vernon, messenger from First Baptist Church, Belton, brought the following motion: “I move that the Baptist General Convention of Texas authorize the Executive Board to review and act on its behalf regarding the change of the Baptist University of the Américas’ status from a single-member corporation to a nonmember corporation as registered with the Secretary of State through its Certificate of Formation.”