n this special episode, we’re bringing back a familiar feature — 7 Questions.

It’s been a while, but it felt like the right moment to sit down and let you hear directly from the two men elected to serve our convention this year. First, we spend time with Vice President Grant Bennett, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Bakersfield. You’ll hear his heart for prayer, revival, shepherding, and daily faithfulness before we turn to our President, Port Wilburn, Director of Missions for Bridges Bay Area. Port shares about connection, testimony, and why he believes California has 35 million reasons to stay focused on the gospel.

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The CSBC Executive Board just wrapped its first meeting of the year, and there’s a lot to be encouraged by. In this Board Recap episode, we share key highlights from board week: reports from our partner institutions (CBU, Gateway Seminary, and the Baptist Foundation of California), the launch of a new CSBC missions and ministry endowment, and a clear snapshot of where we landed financially for 2025. We also break down how the board is structured, why regional representation matters across California, and what’s ahead as the board advances new policies to serve the Convention with long-term faithfulness.

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In this episode of The GC Collective, we sit down with one of our own California-born, California-sent IMB missionaries serving in Central Asia—sharing his story under an alias for security reasons. After more than a decade of gospel work in one of the most unreached regions of the world, he was unexpectedly barred from returning to his country of service, leaving his family, church, and ministry behind in an instant.

We talk about the long obedience of missions work, the slow process of discipleship in Muslim contexts, the real cost of baptism for new believers, and how suffering fits within God’s sovereign will. We also explore the vital role California churches play in holding the rope through prayer, Cooperative Program giving, and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. If you’ve ever wondered what missions really looks like, wrestled with the idea of a “missionary mindset,” or just need a reminder that faithfulness matters even when outcomes are unclear, this episode will strengthen your heart.

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