DALLAS — A podcast for and about Native Americans that premiered this spring was announced at the recent annual meeting of the Fellowship of Native American Christians (FoNAC).

It was standing room only June 9 at the three-hour event at the Omni Hotel adjacent to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Conference Center, the day before the start of the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting.

“I felt good about the turnout, the reaction, the response,” FoNAC Executive Director Gary Hawkins told Baptist Press. “We had good reports from across the board.”

The “Victory Call” podcast, “The Hope” video showcasing Natives on Northern Plains reservations, a pastors’ conference this fall in Bixby, Okla., and an upcoming onsite visit to remote villages in Alaska were among topics discussed at FoNAC’s annual meeting.

The “Victory Call” podcast is hosted by FoNAC board member Josh Leadingfox, pastor of Immokalee First Seminole Baptist Church on the Immokalee Reservation in Southwest Florida.

“We’re under the FoNAC umbrella,” Leadingfox told the 70 or more attendees at the Natives’ fellowship.

The 30-minute podcast first aired audio-only in mid-April with an explanation for its existence — Leadingfox heard of a Florida congregation on the Miccosukee reservation in South Florida continuing to meet though unsuccessful in replacing their longtime pastor who had died.

Leadingfox, who knew how hard it is to find a Native pastor, had learned how to produce a podcast during the COVID shutdown and thought he could help by giving the congregation something to listen to from a Native perspective.

The title of his second podcast a week later: “Why is Native American ministry so hard?” Since then, Leadingfox has interviewed a Native pastor each week.

A description of the podcast on its website invites listeners to “dive deep into the heart of Native American communities and reservations that are in desperate need of spiritual leadership and pastoral support.

“Each episode features inspiring stories from local leaders, challenging messages from pastors serving in our native communities, and discussions on the importance of faith and unity,” it says.

Next up for discussion, “The Hope” video series. These are 80-minute films in 70 languages “of God’s epic story of redemption as revealed in the Bible, from creation through the promised return of Christ,” according to the Mars Hill Production’s website.

School to the Nations, a Missouri nonprofit ministry founded by Randy Copeland, reached out to FoNAC for its help crafting several Native American-specific adaptations and supporting materials of “The Hope” that provide cross-cultural and missions training to equip churches to adopt the unreached.

“For us, this means if it’s focusing on the Northern Plains, there would be scenes with buffalo, and for the Navajo, scenes of those red rock landscapes seen in so many Western films,” Hawkins said. “We’re not just trying to make videos for Native Americans, but reflective of them. … I really believe it will open doors for us to be participants in these endeavors.”

The third annual Native Voices Preaching Conference is to take place Sept. 26-27 in Bixby, Okla., with financial support from North Carolina Baptists.

Hawkins, Leadingfox and several other Native leaders plan to travel in July to Anchorage, Alaska, and from there to remote villages to connect with Natives from several tribes.

“We serve as a ‘catalyst’ for ministries connected with Native America,” Hawkins told Baptist Press. “FoNAC aims to lend both voice and visibility to the 574 tribes of the United States — including 227 in Alaska alone — and 634 recognized First Nations governments or bands in Canada.”

FoNAC works by initiating partnerships with individuals, churches, associations and state conventions interested in Native ministry.

“Our vision is to be an integral part of developing a network of people, places and partnerships working together to see a movement of God in North America, then extending to the indigenous people around the globe,” Hawkins said.

Next year’s $85,000 budget was approved by attendees, as was a motion to give the executive director a 3% raise each year.

Officers remain unchanged from last year. Jordan Kanuho is president of FoNAC’s board, pastor of Belvin Baptist Church in Okmulgee, Okla., and vice president of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.

Board member Steve Strickland is director of missions for the Burnt Swamp Baptist Association in North Carolina. He also serves on the trustee board for the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina.

Board member Warren “Junior” Pratt is pastor of Cushing (Okla.) Indian Baptist Church and head chief of the Pawnee Nation.

Board member Josh Leadingfox is pastor of Immokalee First Seminole Baptist Church on the Immokalee Reservation in southwest Florida.

“Time was, the question was, ‘How will the church accept me as a Native person?’,” Hawkins said. “Today the question is, ‘How will my people accept me if I become a Christian?’ Please join us in praying for knowledge and wisdom as we endeavor to balance contextualizing the gospel message without compromising it.”

Despite the loss of his wife and children’s mother, Christa, several months ago, Pratt and his three older (of five) children — Cora, 17; Andy, 11; and Issac, 10 — performed together several times in Native attire in the SBC exhibit hall as the “Tribe of Judah,” dancing and singing Pawnee style.

Cora Pratt spoke at FoNAC’s gathering of how her parents’ faith guided her as she dealt with her mom’s death.

“The faith I learned from them helped me to keep going, to rely on the faith I learned from them,” the teen said. “It’s my faith now.”

Junior Pratt, a pastor and evangelist for 33 years, brought the annual message on the Macedonian call.

“On reservations and in cities, our people are saying, ‘Come and help us,’” Pratt preached. “We need people willing to answer the call.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Karen L. Willoughby is a national correspondent for Baptist Press.)