NASHVILLE (BP) – Baptist Global Response (BGR) is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in a big way -- with a campaign to raise $100,000 for people in need. A woman in Lesotho celebrates when Baptist Global Response distributes bags of seed in her village. Since 2007, the humanitarian aid organization has been partnering with Southern Baptist donors to fund disaster relief and community development projects around the world. And, BGR hopes to celebrate the milestone in August by … [Read more...]
Church begun in 1794 holds 1st Vacation Bible School
SPARTA, Ga. (BP) – Island Creek Baptist Church joined in for the first time since its founding in 1794. The church had a Vacation Bible School. Over time, folks from Atlanta-area communities had bought retirement homes on the shores of Lake Sinclair and found a church home at Island Creek near Sparta, Ga. What they didn't find too much of was children, which had been a years-long concern of pastor Arthur Gunn and others. "We wanted to grow the children's ministry because we … [Read more...]
Oregon to make abortion coverage free for all
SALEM, Ore. (BP) – Oregon health insurers and taxpayers will soon be paying for abortion, contraceptives and sterilization under a new law Gov. Kate Brown has vowed to sign. The newly-passed Reproductive Health Equity Act forbids health insurance plans from imposing "a deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or any other cost-sharing requirement" for abortion, STD screening, prenatal care, post-natal care and all forms of contraception. Churches and religious nonprofits will be exempt … [Read more...]
Fight against trafficking gains House support
WASHINGTON (BP) – A deeply divided U.S. House of Representatives has found at least one issue it can agree on across the board – combating human trafficking. The House has approved more than a dozen anti-trafficking bills in recent weeks, with only three votes total against the proposals. Leading a trio of three measures passed July 12 was the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Act, comprehensive legislation authorizing more than $500 million for four years … [Read more...]
‘Chaplain of Bourbon Street’ dies at 89
NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Famed New Orleans evangelist Bob Harrington, known by many as “the Chaplain of Bourbon Street,” passed away of kidney failure on July 4 in Stigler, Okla., where he had lived the last seven years with family. He was 89. Harrington became a well-known evangelist during the 1960s and 1970s following his conversion to Christianity at age 30 in his hometown of Sweet Water, Ala. He was a popular guest on national television shows including Phil Donahue, Merv Griffin and The … [Read more...]
Hobby Lobby to forfeit Bible artifacts, pay $3M
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (BP) – Hobby Lobby Stores will forfeit thousands of improperly acquired ancient biblical artifacts and pay a $3 million fine in a civil settlement the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced July 5. The settlement closed a federal investigation of the store's 2010 purchase and subsequent importation of more than 5,500 artifacts from dealers who did not disclose the items' Iraqi origin. Hobby Lobby paid $1.6 million for the artifacts, including Assyrian and Babylonian … [Read more...]
Willow Springs pastor calls for orphan, widow Sunday
PHOENIX (BP) – Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention proposed 11 motions during two 15-minute scheduled segments of the 2017 annual meeting in Phoenix. Messengers approved one motion, presented by James Forbis of First Baptist Church in Willow Springs, Mo., for referral to the SBC’s Executive Committee. Forbis, an associate pastor at FBC Willow Springs, moved that the SBC adopt a special emphasis day called “Orphan and Widow Care Sunday” in the 2018 SBC calendar. “I’ve always … [Read more...]
Charles elected as Pastors’ Conference president
PHOENIX (BP) – The 2017 SBC Pastors' Conference proved historic on many levels including the unanimous election of H.B. Charles Jr., pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., as the conference's first black president. The election took place during the afternoon session of the conference at the Phoenix Convention Center, June 12. In addition to the historic nature of the officer elections, this year's lineup of speakers included pastors of smaller to … [Read more...]
Allen reports on MBTS’s ‘sweet season of growth, health & vitality’
PHOENIX (BP) – Presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention’s six seminaries noted growth in ministry, enrollment and financial support in their reports to messengers June 14 at the SBC annual meeting in Phoenix, including Jason Allen of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. Allen’s report to the messengers at the 2017 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting reflected on God’s goodness to the institution over his now nearly five-year tenure in Kansas City. “In Kansas … [Read more...]
‘God has shown us favor,’ Rainer reports to SBC
PHOENIX (BP) – The newly released Christian Standard Bible gives Southern Baptists an unparalleled opportunity to uphold the fidelity of God’s Word, reported Thom S. Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, to messengers at the 2017 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. “We, the Southern Baptist Convention, will be the stewards of this translation,” Rainer said during his report on June 14. “God has shown us favor.” Faithful stewardship of God’s Word has been … [Read more...]
Yeats elected to 21st term at SBC post
PHOENIX (BP) – John Yeats, the executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention, was reelected without opposition as the Southern Baptist Convention’s recording secretary, a position he has held for the past two decades. With no other nominees, first vice president Doug Munton cast the ballot of the convention. Yeats, was nominated by Riverview Baptist Church, Osage Beach, Spencer Plumlee. Tennessee pastor Steve Gaines was reelected by acclamation to a second term as president of the … [Read more...]
Churches up in 2016, baptisms decline
NASHVILLE (BP) – Southern Baptists experienced growth in the number of churches that cooperate with the SBC in 2016, according to the latest Annual Church Profile report (ACP). However, other key measures declined in 2016, including membership, baptisms, average worship attendance and total giving, according to the ACP compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources in cooperation with Baptist state conventions. The number of churches cooperating with the Southern Baptist Convention grew by … [Read more...]
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