Today it’s hard to be a baseball fan, at least when you grew up rooting for the Astros, as their play this season has been frustratingly inconsistent. For every game matching the championship spark from last year, there have been others where they’ve played like an old church softball team. But they played. And even with all its variables, baseball has one absolute: you can’t win if you don’t take the field.
The same is true of our family of churches. Of course, there’s more than a game at stake. The churches of GTBN share a mission to make disciples across southeast Texas. And while I believe every local congregation has everything it needs to be faithful to the Lord today, there’s great value in our cooperative partnership.
How so?
One way is by energizing and encouraging ministry leaders. Read the blogs, posts, and periodicals dedicated to pastoral leadership and you will find numerous references to the stress pastors and staff experience. Obviously the encouragement we give to one another is vital. But more than that, not a single one of us in ministry knows or sees everything. We all have our blind spots, and we don't know what we don’t know. In this case God’s provision often comes through the colleague or congregation across the network.
Another way our cooperation brings value to churches is by helping one another to discover and take our best next steps, clarifying ministry pathways for greater fruitfulness. The challenge of post-Christendom coupled with the recent pandemic weighed heavily on all of our churches, but none so much as those congregations that were struggling beforehand. But through our interconnectedness, we are able to channel learning, coaching, and resources to help willing partners “get back into the game.”
Finally our cooperation brings value by leveraging the strength of collaboration. Whether it is through a fostering relationship wherein a stronger congregation helps a sister church for a season or the many collaborative efforts like Hot Hearts or Bill Glass Behind the Walls, we experience the reality of Ecclesiastes 4:9 that “Two are better than one because they have good return for their labor.”
What I’ve just described summarizes the GTBN strategy. There’s more in the details which you can read in the strategy document posted here. Church Planting, leadership development, replanting and revitalization are all there.
But here’s the point: It’s all about you and your church. The best that GTBN has to offer comes from our pastors, church staff, and the congregations they serve.
A ball player can think of many reasons not to take the field. “I’m in a slump… The team let me down last time… It’s no use, we’ll never win… What does it matter?” But he will never experience what the team offers until he gets into the game.
In the same way, the best way to experience the value of partnership is to engage. Step up to the plate. Help us to foster connections that empower the disciple making potential of every church.
And join us at Fellowship Baptist Church, Nederland, Texas for our annual meeting, Sunday, Oct. 22 at 6:00 PM, with dinner at 5.
I look forward to seeing you.
Jim