GLADSTONE – There is irony in a church building under renovation and a King James reference to God’s people. The Grove Church is remodeling a former International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) lodge for a place of worship. Several New Testament KJV passages call believers “peculiar people.” To the world, Christians may seem ‘odd,’ but to believers of churches like the Grove, it’s about aligning with Jesus Christ, not the world. The Grove is still in some ways a church plant, starting five … [Read more...]
Seven college students build homes in Mexico, weather blizzard in Texas
MEXICO – A global pandemic has stopped a lot of things, but it hasn’t stopped people from needing homes, and it hasn’t stopped MBCollegiate Campus Missionary Scott Westfall from helping build them. From Dec. 26 - Jan. 2, Westfall led a team of seven students and three other adults on his sixth trip to Mexico since March with Casas Por Cristos. As usual, the team spent a week building a house for a family in Mexico, constructing not just walls but a bond that lasts well after the trip is … [Read more...]
Jesus as the firstborn over creation
This is another in a series of excerpts from “What Every Christian Should Know About the Trinity,” available through Amazon and other booksellers. As we have seen in previous columns, the Bible declares Jesus the eternal Son of God. Even so, why does the apostle Paul depict Jesus as “the firstborn over all creation” (Col. 1:15)? Jehovah’s Witnesses have a disturbing take on this. Consider how the Watch Tower renders Colossians 1:15-17 in its New World Translation: “He is the image of … [Read more...]
Baptist Builders project helps repair decades-old church rift
INDEPENDENCE – Baptist Builders from several churches are helping revamp the facility of Beverly Hills Baptist Church, a nightmare of deferred maintenance and upkeep. Despite the physical labor and financial savings the construction mission is proving for the church, God has also used the group to help facilitate a different sort of restoration. Physical Repairs In the eight years Brian Grout has served at Beverly Hills, the maintenance and upkeep costs have been through the roof – … [Read more...]
Five years after ‘reset,’ IMB sees bigger missionary pipeline on the way
RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – The five years after what was termed a historic financial and operational “reset” for the International Mission Board have brought two of the highest Lottie Moon Christmas Offerings ever, but also room for growth in accordance with the goals of Vision 2025. In August 2015 then-IMB President David Platt and senior leadership announced a plan to address revenue shortfalls within the organization. The decision to do so, Platt said in a town hall presentation, followed a … [Read more...]
Bates City church volunteer clerk has served since 1973
BATES CITY – A pot-belly stove was the first opportunity for Delores Turner, member of Concord Baptist Church near Bates City, to serve Christ when she was only ten. “My sister and I would walk to church,” Turner said, “and we would be the first to arrive. So, we always got some coal and fired up the stove so that it would be warm when the others would arrive.” With her history of service, it was not surprising that she became the volunteer church clerk in 1973. She worked to keep the … [Read more...]
Heroes of history, heroes of faith: Christian authors introduce new generation to historic men, women
JEFFERSON CITY – For more than two decades, Janet Benge and her husband, Geoff, have made the past come alive for new generations of children through dozens of biographies published in Youth With a Mission’s (YWAM) “Heroes of History” and “Christian Heroes” book collections. With roughly 208 million books in print across the globe, in 22 different languages, they have written about Christian missionaries like Adoniram Judson, Rachel Saint, Hudson Taylor, Eric Liddell and Amy Carmichael, as … [Read more...]
Church to stream services into jail
PLEASANT HOPE – COVID-19 has changed the way many churches do ministry, and that goes for jail ministries as well. Now, after months of being barred from physically visiting inmates and navigating through officials and red tape, Shepherd’s Way here is looking to begin streaming worship services in the Polk County Jail. Jacob Miller, the pastor/planter of Shepherd’s Way, said the goal is to stream services into each of four pods in the jail in the next two to four weeks. “Originally we … [Read more...]
Fusion program trains up ‘world Christians’
KANSAS CITY – According to the International Mission Board, 4.5 billion people live among more than 7,000 people groups unreached by the gospel. Preaching in chapel at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS), Jan. 20, Provost and Professor of Historical Theology Jason Duesing told students, faculty and staff that every Christian should play a role in reaching these people groups with the gospel. Though not every Christian will be a career missionary, Duesing said, every Christian … [Read more...]
Church revitalized, sees growth amid pandemic
HIGH RIDGE – When Reggan Jett came from West Virginia in May, 2019, to pastor in Missouri, he knew Fellowship Baptist Church needed work. Since then, God has obviously done a work. “It’s been crazy. I don’t know how to explain it other than God (is at work),” Pastor Jett said. Fellowship saw 19 families join during the pandemic in 2020; church attendance has more than doubled; and church facilities have had renovation. “My first contact with Fellowship was in December 2018 on a visit. I … [Read more...]
Peanut-sized faith: George Washington Carver leaves legacy of faith in the Creator
DIAMOND – Faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains, the Lord Jesus once said. In the early years of the 20th century, walking through the countryside near Tuskegee , Ala., Professor George Washington Carver sought for a peanut-sized faith – and he hoped it would prove a boon for poor southern farmers. The boll weevil, a beetle ruinous for the cotton plant, was moving north from Mexico and threatening the southern United States, where farmers depended primarily on cotton. For … [Read more...]
International students hear gospel at Truman State
KIRKSVILLE – When asked if his ministry at Truman State has always focused on reaching international students, Campus Missionary Greg Xander laughs. “Not intentionally,” he says. When he took over as BSU Director 11 years ago, reaching international students was not on his radar. “I grew up in Edina,” he says. “Population: all white.” Neither he nor his wife, Stacey, had overseas experience, nor had they known any international students when they attended Truman Gene Austin, now the … [Read more...]
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