As pastors at Bethlehem Baptist Church (BBC), we have gathered most weeks in 2025 to intentionally pray. We praise and thank God for His faithfulness and provision throughout the last year.
As John Bunyan wrote, “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.”
We pray for:
• God’s will to be done at His church at BBC.
• Obedience to His Word by His Spirit as a pastoral staff, deacons, teachers, workers, servants and members at BBC.
• For disciples and missionaries to be raised up at BBC.
• That we all grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord through Biblical teaching and intentional discipling relationships.
• For blinded eyes to be opened, and the lost to come to salvation.
• Comfort and healing in God’s will for the afflicted and hurting.
• True unity within the church.
• Provision to be made for the work and business of our local church.
• The Sweetwater Baptist Association and sister churches who work in partnership to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• The Southern Baptist Association and its mission arms such as IMB and NAMB.
• Missionaries and their families, local missions, organizations, and international churches we partner with for missions.
• Those serving in our military and their families.
• Our nation and her leadership.
As we look at the year ahead in 2026, the pastors, led by our Senior Pastor Zad Tomberlin, pray that the Lord continues to bless His work through His church at BBC.
We often think of New Year Resolutions as a checklist/bucket list or a set of goals we want to accomplish in the new year. We focus on being more productive, improving ourselves or having more success. As we look at 2026, our prayer is that we look to something much deeper than a list we might discard by the first week in February. Our prayer is that our lives are in alignment with the Savior Himself. That we are not driven by blind ambition, but it is affection that drives us. That our very souls burn with a love for Jesus that spreads to our families, church and community. We invite you to join us in prayer for this vision of 6 for 2026.
I. A Passion for Jesus and His Word
As a Christian, our very lives begin and end with Jesus. Not just to memorize facts about Him, or to mythologize Him, but to know Him. If we know Jesus we will walk with, delight in and love Him. The Apostle Paul captures this in his letter to the Philippian church, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Phil 3:8)
JC Ryle also records a similar thought about knowing the Savior: “To know Christ is the highest knowledge, and to know Him well is the best safeguard against error.”
If our passions are for Jesus, then they are found in, and defined by, His Word. It is His Word that teaches us to love Him, follow Him and to be conformed into His image. We pray for 2026 to be spiritually fruitful by our daily communion with Jesus in His Word.
II. A Christlike Heart
You have heard it said well that the Gospel brings about a supernatural heart transplant. Those who are born again are transformed and progressively shaped into the likeness of Jesus. His Word and the Spirit’s work in us will cause us to reflect his gentleness, humility and obedience. This is also the Apostle Paul’s call to the Philippian church by saying, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 2:5)
The good doctor, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, says this, “The ultimate test of our spirituality is the measure of our amazement at the grace of God.”
We do not grow by a self determination to do so, but by being amazed by grace. When we behold Jesus, and have a heart changed by Him, our desires, responses and actions will align with Him.
III. A Brokenness Over Sin
If we see the weight of our sin, we will be broken at the thought. Brokenness is more than a regret we momentarily feel, but a heartfelt pang that drives us to Calvary. When we think of our sin, we think of the cost of it. We remember the scourge, the beating, the nails piercing and the hanging of Jesus on the old rugged cross. It was our sin that placed and held him there. He paid the price for our sin with His life so that we could live a life free and forgiven in him. The gift of repentance comes from the enlightenment of the Spirit and The Word, causing us to mourn our sin, despise it, and forsake it.
Psalm 51:17 says this, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
If we are broken – we will be humble, and if we are humble, we will be dependent. Brokenness over our sin will remind us that we do not work for forgiveness, but we are forgiven because of Christ’s finished work.
IV. Love for One Another and the Church
Christ has redeemed a people from every tribe, tongue and nation. When we love Christ, we love His people, the Church.
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)
John MacArthur wrote: “The church is not a building or an event; it is the redeemed people of God, bound together in Christ.”
Love for the church is a commitment. We commit to bearing each other’s burdens, showing grace when our feelings tell us otherwise, serving faithfully and making peace, not just keeping it. Will there be moments of feeling uncomfortable? Sure. However, we commit to loving one another as Christ followers.
V. A Burden for the Lost
The delivered will proclaim. If we have been delivered, and have come into the light, we see eternity differently. The redeemed want to proclaim that Jesus is the only way for salvation. We need a compassion for souls, and this will be a natural response to gratitude for salvation.
Romans 10:14: “How are they to believe in him of whom they never heard of?”
Those who belong to Jesus desire to see others come to Christ. Our prayer is for the lost to experience the freedom and joy of being a child of the King.
VI. A Heart for Missions – Locally and Abroad
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is to be proclaimed near and far. The gospel we proclaim to our neighbors we carry to the nations. Just as at Pentecost, we carry the good news in the power of the Holy Spirit.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
God has chosen His own people to carry the message of His Son to nations. This may look different for a disciple. It may be through giving, praying, sending, or going, but each believer is called to participle in the mission.
It is our prayer that 2026 will be a year where:
• God is glorified
• Jesus is magnified in our lives and worship
• His church is strengthened through Biblical preaching and teaching
• We build discipling relationships
• Work is accomplished to further the Kingdom
• Sinners are brought to repentance and faith
• We meet the needs of those in our church and community
May God bless you and keep you. With Love in Christ to you all, the pastors at Bethlehem Baptist Church.