KANSAS CITY – Many churches observe the Lord’s Supper in preparation for Easter, but at Northland Baptist Church here, things are going to look a little different on Good Friday as the congregation “breaks bread.” Instead of what has become tradition for many Baptists – crackers and grape juice served in silver trays – that congregation will literally sit down for a communion meal. Co-pastor Rustin Umstattd, who also teaches theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said the … [Read more...]
MBC’s Yeats headlines Capitol rally
JEFFERSON CITY – More than 50 people gathered in the Capitol’s rotunda March 28 to pray specifically for Missouri’s lawmakers as they enter into the final month of the legislative session. John Yeats, executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention, was the featured speaker at the event dubbed “Show Me Your Glory,” a call to pray for those in government. “We live in difficult times — times darkened by moral relativism, intellectual negligence, spiritual apathy, and erotic … [Read more...]
Movie Review: ‘The Case for Christ’ makes case for best ‘Christian’ movie yet
I’ve been on a classic movies kick lately, spending my evenings watching cinematic masterpieces like Casablanca, North by Northwest and Lawrence of Arabia. What makes these films endure throughout the decades isn’t so much the story (Casablanca and North by Northwest have major plot holes, and Lawrence of Arabia doesn’t have much of a story at all); it’s a director’s deft touch and high-quality acting. For too long, so-called “Christian” movies have been on the opposite end of the skill … [Read more...]
Mo. attorney general targets human trafficking
ST. LOUIS – Missouri’s attorney general is taking a novel approach to combating the growing threat of human trafficking. In April 3 comments made at an undisclosed human trafficking rescue site in the St. Louis area, Joshua Hawley likened human trafficking to modern day slavery, noting that each year, thousands of young women and girls are forced into commercial sexual exploitation – forced to provide sex for money. “We need a new abolitionist movement to confront this oppression … [Read more...]
HLGU adopts $22M budget, looks to future
HANNIBAL – Anthony Allen said he is pleased with the progress Hannibal-LaGrange University has made during his five years as president, but he told trustees at their March 16-17 board meeting he is much more focused on the future of the institution. “I can’t say that I was the magic bullet, but I can say that we have made a great deal of progress and are moving in the right direction,” he said. Allen offered trustees seven strategic points he has identified to help keep HLGU a “viable, … [Read more...]
Church revitalizers focus strategy in KC
KANSAS CITY - More than 40 revitalization leaders from 13 state Baptist conventions met March 20-21 at Midwestern Seminary to focus on best practices and strategies to collaborate with churches seeking new life or replanting. Gary Mathes, who works in area of church revitalization for the MBC, said that everyone there was all too familiar with the statistics that say 80-85 percent of churches are either plateued or declining. “We all have a great desire to change that trajectory,” he … [Read more...]
Pray across Missouri
KENNETT – If you see a silver minivan cruising Missouri’s highways eblazoned with a “Pray Across Missouri” logo on the side, you might as well follow it to the county courthouse. The van is making stops at 45-minute prayer meetings set at the courthouse of every one of Missouri’s 114 county seats in 2017-18. The Pray Across Missouri initiatave is a cooperative effort of Missouri Baptists to engage in prayer for the transformation of lives and communities with the gospel, according to MBC … [Read more...]
Disaster Relief showcases CP, MMO at work
JEFFERSON CITY – The word “missionary” typically conjures up images of a church planter, tattered Bible in hand, plodding through the jungle to bring the Gospel to some unreached people group. But there are 1,743 vetted and trained volunteer missionaries in yellow shirts working in Missouri who are equally at home toting a chainsaw or prepping tens of thousands of hot meals. Few ministries show Missouri Baptists’ cooperation at work like Disaster Relief. The Cooperative Program (CP) funds … [Read more...]
Bible Drill seeks to up kids’ scriptural literacy
SPRINGFIELD – Don Wilson has seen the difference the Word of God makes in childrens’ lives. The volunteer from Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield is the go-to person for Bible Drill in Missouri. “The thing I’ve always loved about Bible Drill is it teaches kids to use the Bible,” he said. “They open it, they learn key passages, they learn where things are. If they stay in it, in three years they’ll learn 30 key passages that they can find at any time. They learn the books of the … [Read more...]
Legislature considers bill protecting student groups
JEFFERSON CITY – A bill sits in committee that would protect leadership requirements of student groups on Missouri’s public college campuses. Introduced by Rep. Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain Grove), House Bill 642 says in part that “no public institution of higher learning shall take any action or enforce any policy that denies a religious student association any benefit available to any other student association or that discriminates against a religious student association with respect to such … [Read more...]
Stier: Believers must ‘dare to share’
SPRINGFIELD – There is no room for timidity when it comes to sharing the good news of Jesus. That was the message of Greg Stier, the founder of Dare 2 Share evangelism resources, during the Great Commission Conference at Ridgecrest Baptist Church here Feb. 25. Stier and his entire extended family are Christians today because someone shared the gospel with one of his uncles, quite literally on a dare. “I don’t come from a typical, religious, hymn-singing, pew-sitting family,” he said. “I … [Read more...]
Sen. Lankford: Answer God’s call
SPRINGFIELD – Sen. James Lankford knows a little bit about experiencing a call from God. He also knows a little bit about resisting that call to be obedient. “For all of the disciples, Jesus used one simple phrase to call them: ‘Come follow me,’” Lankford said during a Feb. 25 session of the Great Commission Conference (GCC) at Ridgecrest Baptist Church here. “It wasn’t a calling to an occupation, to a place or a task. It was a calling to a person, and each of them had to make a decision … [Read more...]
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