If you’ve been around GTBN long enough, you are familiar with our PLAN, the four strategic priorities that drive network ministries. But what do you know about our values, the guiding principles supporting the PLAN?
In his book, Values Driven Leadership, Aubrey Malphurs describes core values as the character of an organization, explaining why we do what we do. They explain why this certain set of congregations choose to network together. You can find a brief description of GTBN’s five values by clicking here.
The question I pose to you here, which we will consider through the next several posts, is do we really value our values?
We’ll start with the first, cooperation. The value statement says, “We value being and doing more for the cause of Christ together than we can being alone.” It’s a basic principle for all denominational ministry, that a group of congregations working together accomplish more for the Lord than they would otherwise do individually.
Evidence indicates that like minded Baptists began associating together as early as 1644, with the first formal association meeting in 1650. In the USA, the Baptist churches in and around Philadelphia formed their association in 1707. The entity we now call GTBN formed in 1888. All this, as I’ve shared before, was meant to follow the example given in the New Testament.
Leaders of these congregations knew the isolation pastors and Christians felt amidst an unbelieving world. Here in SETX, the lack of gospel centered churches amidst the population boom following Spindletop led churches to work together and deploy missionaries into the oil field settlements, campaign for moral restraint, plant churches and grow disciples. As much as they valued local church autonomy (a value we will discuss later), they were fully convinced that God’s people must work together to assure every person had the opportunity to hear the gospel and follow Christ.
Today’s GTBN stands on this heritage. We live to help each church realize its God ordained purpose, but we do so with the conviction that no single congregation can fully meet the ministry needs of southeast Texas. We’re better together.
I confess this is an easy value for me, given my role. My work depends on our cooperation. On the other hand, today’s ministry landscape makes it easy for churches to draw into themselves. Just sustaining ministry in one local church consumes so much energy and many resources.
But when we actually value the value, we understand cooperation as significant to each church. We sincerely believe that, when we cooperate, the Lord works through us. Consider as examples the help given one another after recent storms, our efforts to assist struggling congregations, and our partnership to equip pastors in Belize. Upcoming efforts to engage our local corrections facilities, and partnering with sister churches for things like Night to Shine and Beast Feast likewise make this point.
I suppose, if one worked at it, he could find reasons to disengage. Cooperation, after all, requires effort and a degree of patience due to our diversity (another value we’ll consider). But I am fully convinced that the Savior is glad when you and I, along with our sister congregations, work together.
Thank you for sharing this value, and for your participation in our cooperative work.
Bro. Jim