Eleven years ago, there were no Reformed Presbyterian churches in Texas, but today there are four, and we pray for more. The Lord Jesus Christ is building His church in the Lone Star state.

A Sense of the State of Texas

You might be familiar with the adage, “Everything is bigger in Texas.” Texas is 268,600 square miles in area. That is a lot of ground to cover for the sake of the gospel! Our highways and roads are quite large, and so are our vehicles. Our food, especially our BBQ, is excellent, and the portions are tremendous, so much so that gluttony is a real problem. Our geography is varied due to the size of our state. We have coasts as well as mountains and deserts. It gets hot in the summer, with several days over 100 degrees.

Texans are friendly and kind. At the same time, they are overly proud of their state. Texans are conservative politically, though that might change with incoming migration from states such as California. A major reason for this immigration is that our economy is booming, and well-paying jobs are plentiful. Many big businesses are relocating to Texas, with Tesla and Toyota as two high-profile companies to have done so recently.

The state has a large Spanish-speaking population. This presents both challenges and opportunities for the gospel: great challenges insofar as we do not have many RP ministers who speak Spanish, but great opportunities, too, in that many ensnared by Roman Catholicism are ripe to be set free with exposure to the biblical gospel. Reformed Presbyterians in Texas are taking the need seriously and are laboring to draw bilingual ministers into the RPCNA, as well as reaching this population with interpreters.

A State of Cultural Christianity

On one hand, it is refreshing to see Christianity have an influence in Texas. It is not uncommon to go to a restaurant for breakfast and find Bible study groups studying the Word. When our ministers preach in the open air, it is not uncommon to hear amens ring out from passersby.

On the other hand, the true gospel is rarely heard, and a form of godliness that denies the power thereof predominates. There truly is a great need for more Reformed Presbyterian churches. The difficulty in ministering in what is known as the Bible Belt is most who say they are Christians do not know the gospel of free grace for sinners. The Holy Spirit’s work in convincing lukewarm men and women they must be born again is a great need of the ministry in Texas.

A State That Needs Evangelism

Finding evangelism to be a pressing need, these congregations utilize several avenues for outreach. They try to maintain a robust digital presence on the internet—including on social media. In one congregation, an elder creates bite-size snippets of their sermons suitable for sharing to a variety of audiences, both churched and unchurched. These get wide circulation. The presence of all these congregations on SermonAudio has drawn many to worship with them.

But this is insufficient, and the gospel must be earnestly taken into the highways and hedges of Texas. So, the congregations regularly conduct direct evangelistic events. Dallas RPC has its minister preach in the open air as members of the congregation hand out tracts and converse with passersby and sing psalms. Living Way RPC has an annual clothing giveaway, where over a hundred people show up. The four congregations are in the habit of going door to door, handing out tracts and praying with people in the neighborhoods.

A State Where Presbyterians Struggle

The churches here can have struggles making inroads with those who profess to be Christians. All Presbyterian churches struggle a bit, as this is a Baptistic part of the country. Many are indoctrinated into thinking that infant baptism is Romish. This is often the great challenge for a Presbyterian church.

Even in churches that claim to hold fast to the Scripture, the predominant view of salvation is free will and Arminian, though Calvinism is experiencing a resurgence. It is a rare thing to find churches that sing any psalms, much less exclusively. While modern-day theonomy finds acceptance in some Baptist churches, the establishment principle and the mediatorial kingship of Jesus Christ are foreign truths. Many are deceived in thinking political conservatism is the same as Christianity.

However, the draw into Reformed Presbyterian churches is the Word of God faithfully preached and exposited. Christ’s sheep here are hungry to hear His voice. Many come to the Texas RP churches not interested in our distinctives but to hear sermons preached faithful to the biblical text. Then, they discover covenant theology, the regulative principle, psalm singing, and our Covenanter history. They give RP churches a fair hearing because they first see how greatly these churches treasure the Word of God, the glory of Christ, and the gospel of free grace to undeserving sinners.

A State with RP History

Many are surprised at this, but it is worth noting that the Reformed Presbyterian Church has had works in Texas before. From records provided by Rev. Bob McFarland, there were two church plants in the early 20th Century, both disorganized by 1920. There was a more recent church plant in Midland, Tex., begun in 1994 but closed in 1999. Almost 13 years would pass before the next RP church would be planted, when, in 2012, Living Way (Bryan, Tex.) RPC was begun. From that time, Christ has maintained a continual Reformed Presbyterian presence in Texas.

A State with Multiplying Congregations

Today, there are four congregations in Texas: Living Way (Bryan, Tex.) RPC; Dallas (McKinney, Tex.) RPC; San Antonio, Tex., RPC; and Houston, Tex., RPC.

Living Way RPC and Dallas RPC are fully organized congregations, while San Antonio RPC and Houston RPC are mission churches. Praise God for these thriving works! These four congregations are experiencing steady and healthy growth, to the point that the three ministers laboring here meet regularly and pray for a Texas Presbytery in God’s timing. Dallas RPC is ascertaining when God might lead them to plant a new congregation in the Dallas metro area as they experience growth.

To better knit these congregations together, they enjoy an annual fall picnic in Waco, Tex. Next year, Lord willing, there will be a theological conference and youth retreat planned for springtime to strengthen the flock and introduce others to the RP Church.

A State that Needs Prayer

These four congregations are all young, and, while there is an excitement over the interest they are attracting, they desperately need more laborers. They need more ministers of the gospel as well as ruling elders and deacons. They need the finances and resources to build more permanent meeting locations for the generations to come.

Rev. Jonathan Leach, the church planter in San Antonio, is hoping to retire in the next year, and they covet prayers for a man to be called to continue that work and labor alongside Rev. Leach. Living Way RPC could use prayers for their outreach ministry to local college students and for their door-to-door outreach ministry. Houston RPC covets your prayers for local ruling elders and the calling of a church planter. A Spanish-speaking minister currently in the PCA in Houston is looking to transfer his credentials into the RPCNA. Dallas RPC is in dire need for a new meeting place, as they have outgrown their current facility. Pray for conversions, that Christ would use these congregations to ingather His lost sheep. Pray that these congregations would edify Christ’s sheep who are languishing in charismatic and liberal churches.

If you are interested in kingdom extension in Texas, please come and help. For young men and women, there are several good universities near these congregations and well-paying jobs in virtually every industry. Above all, pray that Christ would be glorified and His fame would increase so that, coming into our congregations, souls would exclaim concerning Christ in a greater way than the Queen of Sheba did concerning Solomon, “Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard” (1 Kings 10:7).