Not long ago, I visited the University of Central Florida with Brad Crawford, our Baptist Collegiate Ministry director there. He showed me something fascinating: The 50-yard line of the UCF football stadium was built on the same latitude as Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The university wanted the stadium itself to symbolize its connection to the space program — a launch pad for the next generation.

That image stayed with me. I believe Florida Baptists are called to be that kind of launch pad for the gospel, where God’s people are equipped, encouraged and sent out to take the message of Jesus farther than ever before.

The Mission that sends us

In Romans 10:14–15, the Apostle Paul writes:

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

Paul reminds us that the gospel advances when churches become sending centers for the good news of Jesus Christ. That is our shared calling as Florida Baptists. Everything we do must help propel the gospel forward through faithful witness, church planting, and cooperative mission.

Our work is guided by four mission imperatives that keep us focused on this calling.

Imperative 1: Evangelizing and Baptizing More Each Year

The first imperative keeps the Great Commission at the forefront: We must evangelize and baptize more people every year.

All around us are people who need to know Jesus, His love, His cross, His resurrection and His invitation to new life. As we share the gospel and baptize new believers, we experience visible evidence that God is still changing lives and that the Spirit of God is moving among us.

In 2024, Florida Baptist churches celebrated 30,701 baptisms, surpassing a longstanding goal. I’m praying that number continues to grow as we reach more people with the life-changing message of Christ. Every baptism reminds us that the gospel still lifts souls from sin and that our churches remain faithful proclamation points for new life in Jesus.

Imperative 2: Calling Out and Discipling More God-Called Leaders

The second imperative focuses on leadership multiplication: We must call out and disciple more God-called believers to fulfill the Great Commission.

The advance of the gospel depends on people who answer God’s call and are equipped to serve: pastors, missionaries, church planters and lay leaders. When we invest in training those leaders, we ensure that the mission continues through future generations.

Across Florida, churches are developing pipelines for ministry preparation. Baptist Collegiate and NextGen Ministries are discipling students deeply, while Florida Baptist missions mobilization provides hands-on opportunities for service. Each of these ministries helps prepare the next generation of leaders who will step forward when God says, “Go.”

Imperative 3: Planting and Revitalizing More Churches

The third imperative emphasizes where gospel witness takes root: We must plant new churches and revitalize existing ones.

New churches reach new people. Revitalized churches become renewed lights in their communities. Through Send Network Florida, our 50/50 partnership with the North American Mission Board, we are starting about 60 new churches each year. Yet, with Florida’s rapid population growth, the need only increases. The fields around us are ripe, and new congregations are needed to gather the harvest.

The local church remains God’s primary means for gospel advance. Every strong, healthy congregation serves as a liftoff site for mission, equipping believers to share the gospel in their neighborhoods and sending them to reach the nations. When we plant and strengthen churches, we extend the reach of the gospel to people who might never otherwise hear.

Imperative 4: Giving More Generously to Support Our Shared Mission

The final imperative is about resourcing the work: We must give more generously each year to sustain and expand our mission together.

Every dollar given through the Cooperative Program strengthens our shared capacity to send missionaries, plant churches and reach the lost. Giving isn’t merely about balancing budgets; it’s about fueling ministry so the gospel can go farther than any one church could take it

alone. Generosity becomes the spiritual fuel that powers every part of our shared mission.

When Florida Baptists give, we participate in a partnership that spans our state, nation and world. We give not simply to maintain what is but to launch what can be, with new ministries, new missionaries and new movements of God’s Spirit.

Launching toward a greater harvest

If we truly believe this mission matters, we cannot measure success by what we have already done but by what remains unfinished. We thank God for what He has accomplished, with hundreds of thousands baptized, churches planted and renewed, lives transformed. And yet, our work is not complete.

There are still people who have not heard, communities without a gospel witness, and generations yet to be reached. The horizon before us is vast, but so is the power of the gospel we proclaim.

So let’s continue to share the gospel and baptize, call out and train leaders, plant and revitalize churches, and give generously to our shared mission.

When we do, we will see God launch new movements of grace all across Florida and far beyond.

May our Florida Baptist family remain a launch pad for the gospel, faithfully sending preachers, missionaries and witnesses until the whole world hears that our God reigns and Jesus saves.