MIAMI—Florida Baptists will come together to sharpen, encourage and equip one another during the Challenge 2025 Gathering scheduled for Feb. 16 at First Baptist Church in Orlando.
Tommy Green, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention, called the event “an incredible regathering of the Florida Baptist family. Our focus will be on the mission of reaching Florida for Christ. I encourage our pastors to attend and be equipped by dynamic practitioners in many areas of ministry.”
Green set a five-year vision for Florida Baptists during the 2019 annual gathering of the Florida Baptist State Convention in Orlando. “Challenge 2025” will spur the state to attain a new level of commitment to reach the state with the gospel.
Green’s vision established five benchmarks for the state’s churches:
–increase church plants to 75 per year and church revitalizations to 100 per year;
–baptize 30,000 new believers each year;
–expand mission engagements to involve 12,000 Florida Baptists annually;
–increase annual giving through Cooperative Program to $33 million from $30 million; and
–elevate gifts to the Maguire State Mission Offering to one million dollars.
Accomplishing such will require a kingdom mindset, Green said. “We’re going to see God do miracles.”
The February event will be a time for pastors, church planters and church leaders to set their congregations’ challenges and address their ministry contexts and struggles, while equipping one another to reach their Challenge 2025 goals.
The gathering will feature two general sessions and two breakout sessions. In the first general session, attendees will hear Paul Chitwood, president of the International Mission Board, SBC, present a challenge of the nations. During the second session Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, SBC, will give a challenge of North America.
Erik Cummings, FBSC president and lead pastor of Miami’s New Life Baptist Church in Carol City, will bring a message focusing on the pandemic, while Green will introduce a Florida challenge during the day’s second general session.
Pastors and leaders will be able to attend two breakout sessions. Both sessions will offer identical breakouts for attendees to participate in two breakouts.
Challenge topics covered during the breakouts include:
-Brazilian contexts
-Hispanic contexts
-Haitian contexts
-urban contexts
-suburban contexts
-rural contexts
-missions
-church planting
-Next Gen: children and families
-Next Gen: students
-Next Gen: collegiate
-church revitalization
-technology
-financials
“As believers we are challenged to live out our faith in our daily lives through evangelism and discipleship,” Green said.
“As pastors, I know that you face intense challenges and hardships as you seek to advance God’s Kingdom right where He has placed you. We know as Florida Baptists we can do more together than we ever could alone,” he said.
“Baptisms, church plants, church revitalizations, mission engagements, Maguire State Missions Offering, and Cooperative Program giving–these are not just checklist items. They are indicators of the feet on the ground working for the glory of God. No one person, no one church can accomplish all that God has called us to,” Green said.
“I believe that God has great things ahead for Florida Baptists. Don’t miss this opportunity to join with others on Feb. 16 at First Baptist in Orlando.”
Cost to attend the one-day event is $20 for individual registrations; $100 for church leadership registration (includes all pastors, key leaders from single church). Use savings code C2025half for half price registration by Jan. 2, 2021.
For more information: flbaptist.org/challenge-2025/
Register HERE.