A Big Hairy Audacious Goal—and a Bigger God

Pursuing a Bold, God-Sized Vision

By Richard Cody

Each week Nicole and I sit down for staff meeting, usually on Mondays. Like most teams, we work from a standing agenda. One line item simply reads: “BHAG” — Big Hairy Audacious Goal.

If I’m honest, some weeks we glance at it and move on.

But it stays on the agenda for a reason.

The work of the Ellis Baptist Association cannot be limited to maintaining what already exists. Faithfulness includes imagination. It requires us to ask what God may want to do next, not just what He has already done.

Some ideas come and go. A few gain traction. Others get refined or quietly set aside. But one goal has remained because it simply will not leave:

For EBA to partner with churches and other groups to establish a Spanish Church Planting Residency.

Why This Matters

Ellis County and the greater DFW area continue to grow, especially within the Hispanic population. Research from the Pew Research Center has indicated that only 4% of Hispanics in the DFW area identify as Baptist. That number alone should cause us to think carefully.

Here in Ellis County, more than a quarter of our population is Hispanic. As our EBA Future Team has prayed and talked, it has become clear that part of our responsibility is to help churches establish new Spanish-speaking ministries and church plants.

This is not just an idea on paper. We are already seeing movement.

This past year we celebrated the launch of Tabernacle Español at Easter. Pastor Moises Fuenmayor was trained through the church planting residency at Champion Forest Baptist Church in partnership with the North American Mission Board’s Send Network. That residency model helped prepare him for the work God called him to do.

We are seeing that same kind of preparation happening closer to home.

Tim Ramos is currently serving in a residency at Remedy Church in Waxahachie. Tim is preparing to pursue a Spanish-speaking ministry or plant in partnership with Remedy. He will complete his residency this summer and begin building support for the new ministry. We are praying for him and watching closely as God shapes that next step.

Recently, I was with a church in the southern part of our county for the ordination of a new deacon. Spanish is his first language. As we laid hands on him and prayed, I could not help but wonder what the Lord may be preparing. We do not know yet what that might become, but we are paying attention.

Why This Is a Big Vision

This goal is not small.

It will require leaders. It will require churches willing to invest. It will require humility and perseverance.

Resources matter, but in my experience, the greater challenge is not funding. It is finding the right people who sense the call and are willing to shoulder the responsibility.

This kind of work demands ownership — not driven by ego or ambition, but rooted in prayer and obedience. If God is in it, He will raise up the right leaders at the right time.

How a Vision Like This Grows

Not through strategy alone.

It begins with prayer. With listening. With churches willing to say yes before all the details are clear.

Over time, the Lord begins to connect the right people and open the right doors. That is how big visions move from conversation to reality.

A Word of Invitation

We invite you to pray with us about this.

Ask the Lord what role your church might play. Ask Him to raise up leaders. Ask Him to make the path clear.

And be prepared. Sometimes when we pray for God to move, He answers by calling us to step forward.

May the Lord give us clear direction, steady faith, and obedient hearts for the days ahead.

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