BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Danger and risk for a family member sharing the gospel would be troubling, but that is what is happening to the persecuted church. “These are our brothers and sisters in Christ,” Trent Young, DOM for Gasconade Valley Baptist Association, said. “They are our family, and they are risking their lives every day sharing the gospel of Jesus with others in their community.” Young and his wife, Dana, organized a group from the Gasconade Valley Baptist Association to … [Read more...]
Let’s support Annie
Each year as we approach Easter, we have the unique opportunity to support the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. As you likely know, this offering helps support 2,900-plus North American Mission Board (NAMB) missionaries serving across the United States and Canada. Every dollar given is used towards evangelism, church planting, and providing relief to those who are hurting. It’s truly an offering worth supporting. Annie Armstrong passed away in 1938 at the age of 88, so many today are … [Read more...]
New mothers among refugees find support from MBC church members
Fellowship of Wildwood builds partnership with Oasis International ST. LOUIS – A new mom has many questions about her pregnancy, but that is intensified when she is forced to give up her country, extended family and familiar surroundings. Fellowship of Wildwood (FOW) – a Missouri Baptist church here – and Oasis International have partnered to make that transition a little less lonely for some new moms. “Our refugees come here, and the new moms need everything, especially if it is their … [Read more...]
Missouri lay pastor uses ‘borrowed time’ to help start rural church
CHULA (BP) – John Parks’ niece has a name for him – cat of nine lives. To look back at his last decade, one would have to agree. About 12 years ago, Parks had a heart attack, then a cancer diagnosis. In 2020, he was in the hospital for months with COVID-19. Not long after his recovery, doctors told him the cancer had returned. This time it was malignant. The prognosis wasn’t good. Half of those with a similar diagnosis die within a year. Usually, the other half die within the following … [Read more...]
Hedger to step aside as MBC multiplying churches director, begin ministry with Ridgecrest, Springfield
SPRINGFIELD – Rick Hedger, longtime director of the Multiplying Churches group of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC), is following the Lord’s call to a new church-planting ministry through Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield. Hedger and his wife, Sandee, begin their new assignment March 10, starting multiple churches in the greater Springfield area over the next five years, as well as involving Ridgecrest members in global mission opportunities. Hedger’s final days with the MBC are … [Read more...]
First Baptist O’Fallon offers missions training, trips
O’FALLON – Following the completion of a building partly designed for the purpose of housing mission teams, First Baptist O’Fallon (FBCO) now offers lodging and training for weeklong or weekend mission trips. For years FBCO has sent mission teams out across the US and the world. Now, it’s ready to expand its efforts in proclaiming the gospel by accepting groups looking for low-cost missions opportunities, according to Brandon Kiesling, First Baptist’s associate pastor of gospel … [Read more...]
Lostness abounds in the United States
Pray for North American missions, March 3-10 Nearly a dozen years ago, I spoke with Southern Baptist missionaries who at that time served in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece – that is, the home of the biblical Thessalonians, one of the first cities the apostle Paul visited on his first missionary journey to the European continent. Before moving to Thessaloniki, these same missionaries had served on mission at the edge of the world – namely, in the Russian city of Petropavlovsk, lying on … [Read more...]
Greene County churches equip new leaders with ‘Timothy Sunday’
SPRINGFIELD – Just like Paul raised up and trained early church leaders behind him, churches in the Springfield area intentionally poured into new preachers for what they’re calling “Timothy Sunday.” The idea began three years at Springhill Baptist Church here, and spread to churches in Greene County Baptist Association, with Feb. 4 being a Sunday to intentionally challenge and equip those who are new to ministry – from door greeters and ushers to Sunday School leaders and nursery workers, … [Read more...]
Historic rural church building, empty for five years, houses new Missouri congregation
CHULA, Mo. (BP) – Amanda Hicks knew there were bees inside the building that once housed Chula Baptist Church. Everyone in the small Missouri town knew that. The old church had been sitting empty for nearly five years, the last of four churches that once served the small community of Chula, Missouri. While it sat empty, bees had made a home inside it, but everyone thought the bees were hiding in the walls. However, last July, as Hicks, her husband, and a friend ventured into the old … [Read more...]
One pastor’s plan for cooperative ministry
When the search committee for FBC Mayfield contacted me in December of 2010, one of my first requests was for a copy of the church budget. I wanted to see what the church members prioritized and what they valued. I wanted to evaluate how much was budgeted for internal matters, such as fellowships, versus how much was budgeted for evangelism and missions. I believe you can tell a lot about a church by looking at its budget. FBC Mayfield has a long history of faithfulness. It’s where I was … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptists generously give to state missions
JEFFERSON CITY – For the second straight year, Missouri Baptists gave more than $900,000 to state missions through the Rheubin L. South Missouri Missions Offering (MMO), continuing a decade-long trend of rising financial support to statewide projects ranging from foster care to prison ministry. MMO receipts in 2023, which are disbursed in 2024, totaled $926,010, far outpacing the goal of $750,000. Further, 2023 marked the 11th straight year of MMO receipts above $700,000. The number of … [Read more...]
Gates elected to serve as next president of Missouri Baptist Children’s Home
BRIDGETON, Mo. – Pastor Juston Gates of First Baptist Church, Forsyth, Mo., has been elected by the Missouri Baptist Children's Home (MBCH) board of trustees to serve as the MBCH's next president. The MBCH is a Cooperative Program (CP) supported entity of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC). "On Jan. 23, the MBCH board selected Juston Gates to lead, guide, and steward this ministry," an MBCH press release stated. "During this search process, it became clear to the MBCH board that … [Read more...]
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