After travelling all over our great state for some time now and visiting with a large number of pastors, leaders and laypeople of Oklahoma Baptists churches, I have worked with our Leadership Team in shaping the vision, purpose, commitments and values of our state convention (shown below).
I am excited to share these with you as they express our deep commitment to serve and be a resource to every single church in every location; to making sure the Gospel and the local church are at the forefront of all we do; to pastor wellness and that of their families; and to an unashamed and unadulterated commitment to Scripture and the Great Commission. Our state convention was created BY churches for our ministries to be done THROUGH churches and to be a resource/support FOR churches.
The section “Our Commitments” encapsulates what I hear most from churches and pastors in how they want their state convention to help them. This was purely by accident, but when we wrote out these commitments, we happened to notice the first letter of each statement spells the word “Sherpa.” I thought that was very fitting.
Sherpas help the mountain climber reach their goal by providing support, encouragement and helping shoulder the load to accomplish the task at hand. Oklahoma Baptists wants to serve in this supportive, background role helping our churches and pastors accomplish the wonderful Kingdom tasks God has called them to do!
Our Vision: Advancing the Gospel Together
Our Purpose
To embody ministries with a Gospel-centered and church-focused approach.
To serve and support churches with resources for strength, health and effective Gospel ministries in their communities.
To encourage and equip pastors, church staff and other ministry leaders to fulfill God’s calling on their lives.
Our Commitments
- Strengthening mission engagement among churches
- Helping churches plant new churches
- Encouraging pastor and family wellness
- Revitalizing existing churches
- Prioritizing Next Generation ministries
- Assisting churches in building a culture of discipleship and evangelism
Our Values
To be committed to and focused on our message (The Word of God) and our mission (the Great Commission).
To honor Baptist polity in recognizing the autonomy and authority of the local church in our convention structure and operations.
To be good stewards of Cooperative Program funding to maximize its impact and effectiveness for missions and ministry.
To value the significance and contribution of every church—both large and small, in every location—both metropolitan and rural.
To value associations in serving churches through communication and coordination with associational leaders.
We are here to serve our churches to see the Gospel advanced in Oklahoma and the world.
