Church planting can feel incredibly isolating sometimes.
Most days, you’re carrying weight that few people see. You’re preaching, leading, fundraising, discipling, solving problems, loving your family, and trying to faithfully reach your city with the gospel, often while feeling under-resourced and exhausted.
That’s one reason gatherings like the SBC Annual Meeting matter so much.
Every year, thousands of pastors, missionaries, church planters, and ministry leaders gather together around one mission—getting the gospel to every person, in every city, and every nation. It reminds us that we are not planting churches alone. We are part of a family of churches cooperating together for the Great Commission.
Southern Baptists commissioned 63 new IMB missionaries to the nations, a powerful reminder that our cooperation is ultimately about getting the gospel to people and places still unreached.
Messengers approved a Cooperative Program budget that sends 51% of national CP receipts to the International Mission Board, reemphasizing our shared commitment as Southern Baptists to reach the nations together.
Messengers gave first approval to the Truth and Unity Amendment, bringing greater clarity around biblical fidelity, pastoral office, and the convictions that define our cooperation as Southern Baptist churches.
There was a renewed emphasis on caring for the vulnerable, especially through conversations around special needs ministry, disability ministry, and protecting adults with disabilities from abuse.
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Moments like these remind us that our local ministry is connected to something much larger. The challenges we face are real, but so is the opportunity before us. |
The next generation of planters and pastors needs to be in that room.
Stay committed. Press in. Lead with gospel urgency.
The work you are doing in your community is not disconnected from what God is doing around the world. It’s part of it.
Thank you for faithfully laboring where God has called you. Your work matters more than you know.
For the King,
Adam Muhtaseb, Baltimore Send City Missionary and Lead Pastor of Redemption City Church
QUICK LINKS
→ Why the SBC Annual Meeting Matters for Church Planters
→ How to Build the Right Team for Your Church Plant
→ 6 Things That Will Outlast Your Best Sermons