UKRAINE (IMB) – Olga wanted to go to church for years, but her husband forbade it. He didn’t believe in God and didn’t want his family dabbling in a faith he understood to be false. After Russia invaded Ukraine in the spring of 2022, Olga, her daughters and grandchildren fled and were welcomed at the border of Moldova by Christians from Dancu Baptist Church in Dancu, Moldova. Moldova shares an eastern, southern and northern border with Ukraine and a western border with Romania. When news … [Read more...]
Oregon church grows through evangelism
EUGENE, Oregon (BP) – Alan Gayle keeps several “hooks in the water,” he says, in his quest to lead the church he’s pastored since 2004, Fairfield Baptist, to share God’s love with the people around them and throughout the world. One of those is a six-week, new-member class Gayle leads every two months. During it (and during church services throughout the year) he talks about the Cooperative Program, the way Southern Baptists work together in missions and ministry in the United States and … [Read more...]
Short-term student missionaries make impact in the Philippines
PHILIPPINES – Across the 2,000 inhabited islands of more than 7,600 that make up the Philippines, is a vast spiritual darkness. People are not only trapped by the islands, but trapped in their sin — separated from God because many have not yet heard the life-saving gospel. International Mission Board missionaries Jess and Wendy Jennings committed their lives to bringing the gospel to these islands. The Philippines is their home, the place where they raised their three children, who are … [Read more...]
Lessons from a letter writer
When I was much younger, I had the opportunity to be part of a team transcribing unopened Charles Spurgeon letters. Charles H. Spurgeon, the renowned “Prince of Preachers,” was reported to pen up to 500 personal letters per week. Over the course of his ministry, hundreds of his letters were deemed undeliverable for one reason or another. Many ended up in the “dead letter” bin of London’s General Post Office. Given Spurgeon’s popularity, most of these letters were preserved and eventually … [Read more...]
160 years in the making: The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon project completed this fall
KANSAS CITY – While working on his Ph.D. in London in the early 2010s, church historian Christian George had no idea he was about to stumble upon a goldmine of academic and spiritual material, let alone that it would all end up at a Baptist seminary in Kansas City. It was a cold January day, more than 160 years earlier, when the 16-year-old Charles Haddon Spurgeon began preparing to write his first sermon for the congregation at St. Andrews Baptist Church in Cambridge, England. The year … [Read more...]
FBC St. Charles ‘refuels’ during mid-week service
ST. CHARLES – Sundays have always been a time to gather for worship and Bible training to energize the week. But First Baptist Church, St. Charles, has found a way to invigorate members midweek. “Refuel” is the Wednesday worship service with lunch that FBC St. Charles offers. “This service has grown more that 50% since our start up,” Jerry Dudley, associate pastor, and speaker at the Wednesday service, said. “After COVID, we looked at ways to build in more Bible study and push the … [Read more...]
Destitute and crying, Central Asian man makes desperate plea
By Tessa Sanchez CENTRAL ASIA – Damir sat by the side of the road, destitute and crying. He prayed God would either help him or let him die. His employer hadn’t paid him; he couldn’t pay his rent and his family disowned him because they remembered the days when alcohol ruled his life. Damir just graduated from an alcohol rehabilitation program in Central Asia that helped him kick his crippling habit, but he struggled to get on his feet after he left. After dropping his car off at … [Read more...]
There’s more to MBC resolution 3, ‘On Loving Your Neighbors,’ than meets the eye
EDITOR'S NOTE: David L. Burton serves as chairman of deacons at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield. He submitted Resolution 3, "On Loving Our Neighbor," at the Missouri Baptist Convention in St. Charles, Oct. 24-25. I was at the Missouri Baptist Convention this year and was ready for the debate during the resolutions portion of the meeting. I was ready to argue in favor of Resolution 3 on "loving our neighbors and in support of Missouri Good Neighbor Week (Sept. 28 – Oct. … [Read more...]
Southern Baptist ERLC offers guide for pastors on LGBT issues
EDITOR'S NOTE: Read about further resources, compiled by a Missouri Baptist pastor, here. NASHVILLE (BP) – Southern Baptist pastors and churches have a new theological and practical guide to help them address issues involving sexuality and gender. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) published the document “A biblical resource for pastors on gender and sexuality”on its website (www.erlc.com), Oct. 11. The guide is intended to assist pastors and other ministry leaders in … [Read more...]
BRKC’s Hammer leaves a Kansas City Baptist legacy, takes on new ministry
KANSAS CITY – As 2022 draws to a close Rodney Hammer, executive director of the Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association (BRKC), prepares to leave that work to move full time in 2023 into leading an organization he founded at the association – Restoration House. Rebranded this year as REHOPE, this ministry works to help adults and children who have survived sex trafficking. REHOPE (formerly Restoration House) was spun out of the association and is now a stand-alone ministry. “It’s been … [Read more...]
What does the Bible say about marijuana?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Read more about this issue here and here and here. On Nov. 8, Missouri voters chose to legalize recreational marijuana possession and use. Christian proponents argue that marijuana should be decriminalized because it is naturally created by God and allows for freedom of conscience. As Christians, how should we view the legalization of marijuana? Does the Bible speak to cannabis use? Though the literal words for marijuana aren’t in Scripture, the applicable principles are. … [Read more...]
Robayna named IMB’s Hispanic church mobilization strategist
RICHMOND, Va. (IMB) – The International Mission Board announces Annel Robayna as the new Hispanic church mobilization strategist, serving with the mobilization department. In his role, Robayna will work with 3,390 Hispanic congregations across the Southern Baptist Convention to mobilize pastors and church members to reach the nations with the gospel. “Annel Robayna serves IMB's Revelation 7:9 vision by focusing on our mission to serve Southern Baptists,” D. Ray Davis, manager of the … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- …
- 219
- Next Page »