By Alison Rogers | Contributor
The Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) held a three-day preaching conference this week at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary, inviting various speakers to share about their experiences in ministry.
Craig Christina, associate executive director of the BGCT, said he was excited for Baylor students to attend.
“I think students would be amazed at all of the ministry taking place through the cooperation of Texas Baptists all the way from river ministry to theological education to campus ministry,” Christina said.
Christina said there are opportunities for students to connect with nonprofits and ministry groups that have partnered with the BGCT, and that he hopes students would be able to learn about the different ways that they could engage in Christian ministry and gain materials for personal spiritual growth.
“Any Christian would benefit from the ability to see what is happening across Texas and also what tools and resources are available to help them grow spiritually,” Christina said.
The conference included speakers such as Beth Moore, Duane Brooks and Compassion International CEO Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado. Brooks, the pastor of Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston, challenged attendees to proclaim the gospel, and Mellado spoke about his ministry.
Moore’s sermon, meanwhile, addressed recent criticism over her role as a woman preaching Christ and stressed the importance of differentiating between the Jesus of the Bible and the Jesus of contemporary culture.
For Meghan Hendrickson, who prayed on stage before Moore preached, the sermon was an opportunity to hear from a woman whose vocation reflected her own. Hendrickson said she feels called to preaching, and that “it can take a little bit of courage to walk in that calling as a woman.”
Hendrickson is studying at Truett Seminary, and she spoke at an opening dinner on Sunday about the ways that the seminary has equipped her to follow that call. She said that Truett has always welcomed women in ministry, and that in many ways the seminary is a place that women can consider their own.
She also said that she considers Truett a place that has given her a voice and celebrated her journey, and that they have given her the clarity and confidence to share Jesus with others.
Dr. Dennis Horton, a Baylor religion professor, said he was impressed by Hendrickson’s speech.
“Truett does such a great job in forming their students’ character growing in Christ,” Horton said. “It’s just a fantastic spiritual formation as they’re going through their academic pilgrimage at Truett.”
Horton also said that much of the focus at the dinner was related to giving back to Truett through fundraising.
“My main takeaway was that Truett is on a very firm foundation,” Horton said. “A lot of seminaries are really struggling right now because enrollments at so many schools are going way down – but Truett is flourishing and they have excellent professors. The quality of students is very high and they would like for all of us to help support those students.”
For Hendrickson, the takeaway from the conference was inspiration. She said she came away feeling prepared to “go back out and scatter and shine the light of Christ.”
For more information on Baylor’s Truett Seminary, visit the Baylor web page.
