We Are One
By Tom Stolle
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:14, “For the body does not consist of one member but many.”
If you look at your right hand, what does it do? It picks things up, but it’s not just a hand. It has a thumb, fingers, and a palm. Inside are muscles, tendons, blood, and nerves — and the brain has to tell the hand to move. The hand couldn’t function without all those parts working together.
We have different gifts, different talents, and different thoughts — and yet God makes us one. Isn’t that amazing?
That’s what I see in our Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (BCM/D) family. The BCM/D isn’t just staff. It’s all of us — this partnership, this family, this network of churches that God has brought together for His purposes.
Over the past two days, you’ve heard how God is working through our teams and using them to equip and encourage churches.
Our mobilization and planting team partners with churches to help new works take root. The BCM/D doesn’t plant churches. Churches plant churches. People come out of your congregations and plant new ones. We simply partner with you to care for those planters and their families.
I’m grateful to serve in a convention that loves and supports church planters and their wives. Some of these planters step out in faith with almost nothing — no guarantees — except the conviction that they are called.
My home church, High Tide Church in Dagsboro, Delaware, began more than 20 years ago in our pastor’s living room. They didn’t think they’d make it three years. Today, the church has three services, draws 800–900 people each Sunday, and has ministries for men, women, youth, and those affected by disabilities and grief. God sustained High Tide Church. God provided money through NAMB, through the BCM/D, and through other churches. God provided people to love and serve. God’s a provider.
We’ve also been talking about church strengthening. Acts 15 tells us that Paul and Silas traveled “strengthening the churches.” God wants His church strengthened. That is clear from Scripture.
Our Women’s Ministry is leading the pace in some of this. More than 700 women have been gathering to be equipped, to worship, and to pour into one another at the annual Revive Conference. Our women are on fire for Jesus. I’ve seen firsthand how the BCM/D Women’s Ministry has impacted my home. My wife, Shelley, loves Jesus. Through this ministry, I’ve seen her walk with Jesus strengthened, her passion for the gospel grow even greater — and I believe that’s happening in women all over the BCM/D.
Men, too, are being equipped through our Men’s Ministry Refueled Conference. Real men love Jesus. It doesn’t take strength to go along with the crowd; it takes strength to stand up and say, “I love a God that died for me, and I’m proud to live it.”
This past August, men and women attended our first Christian Leaders Conference (CLC), and the response was incredible. We offered more than 30 quality breakouts on a variety of topics, all designed to strengthen, equip, and resource the local church. Attendees told us they learned so much they could take back home. This strengthens people. It strengthens churches. It impacts communities.
Speaking of strengthening the local church, the youth are so important. What’s happening at Skycroft is incredible. Year after year, young people come, get saved, and embrace the calling on their lives. God is raising up our young people. We’re working to establish a ministry pipeline for them because we want them connected to their calling — to connect young people with mentors who can help them as they follow God’s call to shepherd, plant, or serve the local church. Strengthening our youth ministries, leaders, and students is the reason the Next Gen Conference is coming in 2026.
Regarding children’s ministries, no one is too young to make a difference for Christ. At Severna Park Baptist Church’s VBS, kids raised $2,000 for The Blue Ribbon Project, which supports abused and neglected children. Kids at First Baptist Church of Pocomoke City gave $1,900 to purchase Spanish children’s Bibles for kids in Guatemala.
I believe that compassion ministry reflects the heart of God. Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:40, “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” How can any Christian read that and not take compassion ministry seriously?
In Maryland alone, about 30,000 people experience homelessness each year. Churches like Canvas Church in Salisbury are stepping up — feeding up to 50 people every Sunday, helping the homeless find jobs, and welcoming them into the church family. They’re not just accommodated — they’re part of the family. I believe that pleases Jesus.
We’ve also committed to ensuring our churches are safe. No one should ever experience abuse in a church and walk away thinking God hates them. That’s why BCM/D churches have adopted policies to protect children and vulnerable adults.
We’re refining our BCM/D Ready Disaster Relief processes and partnering with Send Relief and other conventions to serve better together.
And we continue to focus on disability ministry — because people affected by disability are the world’s largest unreached group. We know the severity of disability is nothing compared to the power of God. Berlin First Baptist Church shows this beautifully through their disability ministry — celebrating individuals, throwing birthday parties, and making sure they know they are loved and included.
Listen, this is really important to me. My son, who is affected by severe autism and associated disabilities, is more than a ministry opportunity. He’s a human being with a soul.
We are also prioritizing transformation and pastoral care so every BCM/D pastor has a pathway to grow in health. Reaching out for help isn’t weakness; it’s strength. We see you, and we love you.
Does God want us to be healthy? Yes. Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” In his book “Just Like Jesus,” Max Lucado writes, “God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.”
It takes a lot more strength to be humble than to be proud. We provide counseling resources because we want you to have the option to take them. The more we are transformed into the image of Jesus, the better, stronger, and wiser we become.”
The Bible says in Ephesians 4:16, “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
We are the BCM/D. We are one. God uses the many members with many gifts and different personalities and different tendencies to complete the body. Together we are one.
Tom Stolle serves as the BCM/D Executive Director
This article was adapted from Tom Stolle’s executive director’s report at The Gathering 2025.
Visit our website to learn more about the BCM/D and how we can serve your church! You can also read the reports from all of our teams on our Gathering landing page.