The 5 Ps

By David Montoya

The last four years of ministry can be summed up with five words: People, Partners, P.A.R.L., Policy and Praise.

People—Our conviction here at the Texas Conference is that every person is important and special. After our relationship with God, our most valuable treasure is the people God created in His image.

It is a joy to report that this human treasure in the Texas

Conference has grown during this past quadrennium. We celebrate God for this increase! We need to remember that those digits represent real individuals of great worth, persons who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and are part of God’s wonderful family.

All of our brothers and sisters in Christ gather in their respective congregations. We ended 2022 with 255 churches, 66 companies, and 34 groups, giving us 355

62,243 members

63,154 members

64,295 members

65,934 members congregations! Ours is a very diverse family. This is evident by the various languages in which church services are conducted.

Burmese: 1

Korean: 5

Tonga: 1

Ukrainian: 1

Igbo: 1

Portuguese: 3

Akan: 1

Creole: 1

Vietnamese: 1

Zomi: 1

French: 1

English: 173

Spanish: 165

Partners—Ministry work is performed by human beings who have been saved by the grace of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit. God calls us to partner with Him and each other in carrying out the Gospel Commission. We are grateful to God for the following partners:

—Our 434 local church clerks and assistants ensure, through their faithful monthly reporting, that every church member is included. Of those 434 clerks, 315 use eAdventist, our online membership database system.

—Our 188 educators represent Christ every day in our schools.

—Our 160 pastors, 39 associate pastors, 28 lay pastors and three interim pastors all work together to lead Texas Conference churches.

—Our 33 workers who retired between Jan. 1, 2019, and Dec. 31, 2022, offered many years of combined service. We delight in helping them transition to their next phase of life.

—Our Texas Conference office staff work tirelessly to support the growth of local congregations.

P.A.R.L.—Another very important

Baptisms

6,228 ministry of the Secretariat department is Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, or P.A.R.L. We work closely with the Southwestern Union Conference, the North American Division, and the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to ensure religious accommodations for our members. In the past four years, we provided 152 Sabbath accommodation letters to church members or students required to work or take a school exam on the Sabbath.

Policy—The Texas Conference Constitution and Bylaws help us operate in a focused and effective manner in fulfilling the church’s work. Coordinated by Secretariat, the Constitution and Bylaws committee will periodically review this important document and propose any necessary changes to ensure that we comply with policies set by the North American

Division and the General Conference. These changes are adopted and implemented when voted on by the delegates at a constituency session.

Praise—All of the aforementioned would not be possible without the Almighty Jehovah! He has given His Holy Spirit to lead, empower and enlighten us as we proclaim the three angels’ messages in Texas and beyond. I would like to borrow the words of king David and the apostle Paul, respectively, to express our gratitude to our great God for His faithfulness during these past four years:

“Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The Power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all,” 1 Chronicles 29:10-11.

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen,” 1 Timothy 1:17.