ARE YOU FOCUSED ON WHAT LIES AHEAD?

We are now closer to 2050 than we are to 2000. Let that sink in, and consider this: What gospel impact will you and your church have in the next 25 years?

I vividly remember 2000. Perhaps you also remember the excitement and anticipation of the new millennium mixed with the fear of “Y2K.” It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago, yet no one argues that we now live in a very different world.

This milestone isn’t a call to reflect on what’s happened since 2000. We can’t lead for tomorrow looking into a rearview mirror.

Pointing out the milestone is an urgent call to faith for the Church. It’s a reminder that while time and the world marches forward, the Church, too, must march forward. Equipped with the unchanging gospel and the mission of God, we can advance into the future together with faith and purpose.

Our theme for this year’s Summit, the annual gathering of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, is “All Aboard: Advancing Together.” The idea of “advancing together” is a double reminder that we are called to advance in fulfilling the Great Commission, and the best way to advance is together. Our theme is inspired by Acts 9:31. “So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.”

I long for this verse to be true of the church I serve and all 3,200 TBC churches. Every church, everywhere working together until every Tennessean hears the gospel. This is how we will embody our vision of being “a collaborative network of spiritually healthy churches reaching Tennessee and beyond for Christ.”

We must set our eyes forward on the horizon with unwavering faith if we are to realize the vision. How do we get there?

We must proceed with courage. Tennessee’s population grew 8.9% from 2010 to 2020, per U.S. Census data, and is projected to diversify further by 2050. People and businesses from all over the world want to be in Tennessee.

However, our population will be more statistically disconnected from Jesus and His church. This enhances the need for courageous leaders and churches who do not shrink from fear of growth and change, but who engage the harvest field that God is bringing us with gospel-centered eyes and hearts.

We must lead with creativity. While our mission (make disciples) and the message (the gospel) never change, adapting methods strengthens our timeless message. We need to ask questions like: How can we leverage new communication tools to reach our neighbors and the nations? How can we mobilize more believers to be marketplace missionaries? How can we build fresh leadership pipelines to disciple, train, and send the next generation of church leaders and missionaries?

We must stand with conviction. Conviction fuels courage and creativity. Conviction is a vital component. Our world is desperate for truth. We see it in our church, and I see and hear the desperation in churches around our state. I saw it this summer preaching at Fuge camp. But there is a spiritual awakening taking place and people are turning to Jesus.

People are exhausted by the unfulfilled promises of cultural idols and narratives that never satisfy and do not last. We do not need to soft-sell or water-down the truth of God’s Word or the hope of the gospel. Instead, we need to redouble the effort to build our Sunday services, discipleship pathways, and next generation ministries upon the Word of God. The gospel is still the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16) and the Word still never returns void (Isaiah 55:11).

There isn’t time to reminisce about the past or drift casually into the future. We live in an urgent day. People desperately need to hear the gospel. By faith and with resolve, we must move forward in courage, creativity and conviction.

And if 150-plus years of being a network of Tennessee Baptist churches has taught us anything it has taught us that we advance best when we advance together! B&R — Hardwick is senior pastor of Forest Hills Baptist Church, Nashville.