Growing As a Body of Christ
ALVARADO, TEX. – The Texas Conference is proud to be one of the leading conferences in the North American Division for church planting. The dream to intentionally plant churches in our territory began more than 12 years ago and more than 123 new congregations have been planted that are still in existence today.
Ten new congregations were added to the sisterhood of churches in the Texas Conference in 2020, and 12 new congregations were formed in 2021. The most amazing part is the variety of cultures, ethnicities and languages planting new congregations, which included: Burmese, Congolese, English, Korean, Nigerian, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai and Tongan. All of them are engaging and enjoying the beautiful diversity of the Texas Conference.
To achieve our goals and be successful in church planting and preparing new congregations to receive newcomers, our committee created five principles for church planting in the Texas Conference. First, Jesus has to be the center. Second, nothing is more important than an unsaved person. Third, love and compassion have to reign. Fourth, young people must be in church leadership. Fifth, there must be a focus on serving the community. We feel these principles are the bases for a healthy new congregation, the foundation of a long-lasting structure and the pillar of a church that will give birth to a healthy daughter (another church plant).
The church plants are White Settlement Mission Group, Bryan-College Station Spanish Church, DFW Myanmar Seventh-day Adventist, McAllen Infinite Life Seventh-day Adventist Church, Houston Brazilian Mission Group and Richardson Unity International Mission Group. We pray for God’s continued guidance and wisdom as we work to enhance the Kingdom of Heaven.
By Robin Lopez
Pastor, Church Planting and
Volunteer Lay Pastor Director