By Jordan M. Tew, Executive Director, Baptist Publishing House
Dear friends, I wanted to write a brief letter to the churches of the BMA formally introducing myself and sharing a little about the ministry of Baptist Publishing House (BPH). As many of you probably know, I was elected to serve as the executive director of Baptist Publishing House at the BMAA National Meeting in Springfield, Mo. I am very happy and excited to serve you in this role.
I came to BPH in 2019 and became a full-time employee in the spring of 2020. Since that time, I have learned all the ins and outs of running the day-to-day business it takes to keep BPH operational. As you can imagine, there are many facets to this sort of work.
Before coming to BPH, I served the wonderful people of Eighth Street Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, Texas, as their pastor for six and a half years. My ministry roles before that were centered on youth and college ministries — primarily in Jacksonville, Texas (Craft Baptist and First Baptist). I was ordained to the gospel ministry at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Texas. I am currently a member of First Baptist Church in New Summerfield, Texas, where I teach Sunday School for our adult class.
I am blessed to say that I was able to study and graduate from BMA Seminary with my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. I am also currently enrolled in a business management training program to equip me to better serve the churches of the BMA.
My greatest blessings are my wife, Mary and daughter, Savannah. I met Mary while attending Jacksonville College. Her father is Dr. Greg Parsons, a long-time Hebrew and Old Testament professor at BMA Seminary. Mary is also kin to the Reddin and Leslie families. I often say that I “married up” in the BMA when God brought us together. Savannah is our “miracle baby.” We have three babies in Heaven, and Savannah’s birth almost did not happen. She is truly our pride and joy. We are a small, but very blessed family.
Before any of these things happened, I received a wonderful upbringing in a Christian home. My mom and dad taught me about Jesus and the Bible. They saw to it that I went to church and was raised in a distinctly Christian home. Growing up, my family served in many ministry capacities, and I served with them. I received the call to ministry at age 14. I know not everybody grows up in a home full of love for the Lord and one another, but I am very grateful that I did.
I was raised to have a strong devotion to the Word of God — a conviction that was only strengthened by my time in seminary and ministry as a pastor. I stand firmly upon the authority and the sufficiency of the Bible because God’s Word is perfect. This continues to be my theme as I lead the Baptist Publishing House.
We are devoted to the Word of God and helping people learn it. We will continue to stand upon the Bible. Devotion to Scripture is my primary goal for BPH. I am also dedicated to ensuring BPH supports and operates in line with the BMAA Doctrinal Statement. There are zero plans or efforts to write, print or distribute anything that is not in agreement with our Doctrinal Statement. As stated above, our primary goal is to promote the study of the Bible and supply churches with resources to help them achieve this. My plan is to continue the good work that was begun many decades ago by faithful men.
If you are wondering what direction the new director is going to take BPH, just go back 50 years and consider men like Dr. E. Harold Henderson, Dr. Joe Pendleton, J.E. Cobb and D.N. Jackson. Their devotion to the Word of God and being associational Baptists was clear, and I want to continue those things today.
I hope this letter has been encouraging to you and has helped you know more about who I am and what I value. I hope to see many of you in the coming months, as association meetings will take place this fall. I am here for you and will do whatever I can to be of service to you or your church. If you need anything or want to talk, please feel free to contact me at (800) 333-1442 or baptistpublishing@gmail.com.
