“Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands — establish the work of our hands!” — Psalm 90:17

As we step into a new year, this verse continues to guide my prayers. Throughout 2025, I asked God to “establish the work of our hands” across North Carolina — in our churches, our communities and in the lives of people who desperately need the hope of the gospel. 

God showed His favor in unmistakable ways. 

I believe we are standing in a moment of real momentum. God is on the move, and we get to join Him.

Celebrating what God has done

Last year we witnessed indicators of new life in Christ rising across our state. Church attendance grew. Baptisms increased. Last spring alone, nearly 2,000 people publicly professed Christ during the “Fill the Tank” baptism emphasis. Praise God!

We are seeing a hunger among the next generation unlike anything ministry leaders tell me they have seen in decades. Young people are asking questions and exploring what it means to truly follow Jesus. That was on full display through our camps and next-generation ministries. 

Across Caswell, Caraway and Truett, nearly 12,000 students gathered at our camps last summer. And God moved. We saw 467 salvations, more than 1,600 recommitments and over 500 calls to ministry. We want students to know that they are sent and that God has a purpose for their lives and a mission for them to join.

In 2025, God also strengthened His church through revitalization. We often say that we’re aiming for missional health. There’s no other kind of church health. By God’s grace, 142 churches walked through a revitalization process. Those efforts saw 24 churches replanted, and 56 strong churches helped revitalize others.

God is multiplying His kingdom, one church, one pastor and one community at a time.

We see the same momentum in church planting. Since SendNC launched in 2022, 212 new churches have been planted. At the end of 2025, we had 123 church-planting couples in the pipeline, but the need in North Carolina is so great that we must double that number. 

Through Baptists on Mission, N.C. Baptists continue to put love into action. In the wake of Hurricane Helene, your generosity and service has helped complete more than 630 home rebuilds, with hundreds more in progress.

Your faithfulness also extended to global missions. For the 21st consecutive year, N.C. Baptists led the nation in giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, giving more than $14 million. That is $2 million more than the second-highest state. Why? Because we, as a movement of churches on mission together, are committed to the Great Commission.

Looking ahead in 2026

We’re kicking off the new year with a renewed emphasis on helping churches engage in missions both locally and globally through a new missions engagement initiative that launched at November’s annual meeting. This new emphasis exists to help churches strategize, mobilize, care and connect, so that every church can take the next step in the Great Commission.

We’ll help churches build partnerships with the International Mission Board, Baptists on Mission and other like-minded groups. We’ll gather leaders monthly for missions roundtables. We’ll help churches send teams on global mission trips. And through initiatives like ServeNC, Coats for the City and Go2Years, we will mobilize people of all ages to live on mission.

We’ve also reintroduced Peoples Next Door, equipping churches to identify and engage unreached people groups now living right here in North Carolina. God is bringing the nations to us, and we want to steward that opportunity well.

At the center of all of this work is a simple conviction: Every missionary deserves consistent, Christlike care. In 2026, we want to connect every N.C. Baptist church with a missionary and every missionary with a church. Through PrayNC.org and the N.C. Baptist app, your church can join thousands of others praying daily for missionaries serving around the world.

Let’s keep praying boldly, giving generously and going in faith. The harvest is ready. The moment is now. Let’s go reach, train, send and serve as a movement of churches on mission together.

By Todd Unzicker, Executive Director-Treasurer

EDITOR’S NOTE— This article appears in the first-quarter 2026 edition of the Biblical Recorder magazine.