• Contact Us
  • Classifieds
  • About
  • Home

Pathway

Missouri Baptist Convention's Official News Journal

  • Missouri
    • MBC
    • Churches
    • Institutions & Agencies
    • Policy
    • Disaster Relief
  • National
    • SBC Annual Meeting
    • NAMB
    • SBC
    • Churches
    • Policy
    • Society & Culture
  • Global
    • Missions
    • Multicultural
  • Columnists
    • Wes Fowler
    • Ben Hawkins
    • Pat Lamb
    • Rhonda Rhea
    • Rob Phillips
  • Ethics
    • Life
    • Liberty
    • Family
  • Faith
    • Apologetics
    • Religions
    • Evangelism
    • Missions
    • Bible Study & Devotion
  • E-Edition

More results...

Marshall wants to help alma mater any way he can

September 22, 2005 By The Pathway

Marshall wants to help alma mater any way he can

NOBTS graduate still holds deep affection for stricken seminary

By Allen Palmeri
Staff Writer

Septmeber 20, 2005

SPRINGFIELD– John Marshall, pastor of the 6,400-member Second Baptist Church, Springfield, received the Distinguished Alumni award from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) in 2004. Now he wonders every day about what the future holds for his alma mater, flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and tenuous in terms of its long-term prognosis in an evacuated city.

“I think the best way to put it is I’m just stunned,” Marshall said.

“It’s a very heart-wrenching and a very sad situation for me. I hope they’re going to come back with full guns blazing and rebuild that campus, and I hope that we at Second will be right in the middle of it.”

Marshall said he would love it if his church decided to adopt the seminary during this time of crisis. For now, Second is doing all that it can, as part of the greater Southern Baptist effort, to send as much relief as possible to the hurricane-ravaged area. On Sept. 4, $53,000 was collected in a special offering for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. And church members are doing more than just writing checks, Marshall said.

“We’re going to send a (disaster relief) team once a week for the next month into McComb, Miss.,” Marshall said.

It is important right now for Missouri Baptist churches to find a way to get in touch with the hurricane victims, Marshall said. For example, Second has adopted First Baptist Church, Covington, La., as a means of putting a face on the crisis to remember it once it starts to fade from daily prominence on the news broadcasts. Second is sending food and other items to First Covington so that the Louisiana church can be strengthened as a distribution point for disaster relief.

“I would really recommend that churches find a specific church to help,” Marshall said. “Then you have someone you’re dealing with directly, and all of a sudden the tragedy becomes personalized. You now have a face and a name to it. That will motivate your people to keep going.”

Marshall said he has no doubt that God’s people will do everything they can to minister in the midst of the suffering as ambassadors of hope.

“Christianity shines in the time of crisis,” he said. “We’ve always been the first ones to respond. We do the most and we stay the longest, and I’m sure this will be no different this time.”

Comments

Featured Videos

Lick Creek Fellowship - A Story of Cooperation

A declining rural church faced closure after years of dwindling attendance and aging members. But after the doors closed, a small group stepped in to build something fresh from its legacy. Watch this video to hear this story of cooperation and new life.

Find More Videos

Trending

  • Eight resolutions proposed for 2025 SBC Annual Meeting

  • IMB trustees appoint new missionaries, elect first woman chair

  • Missouri lawmakers approve bill allowing school chaplains

  • Tornado strikes St. Louis, Missouri Baptists quick to respond

  • Southern Baptists to vote on Business and Financial Plan that emphasizes trustee governance

  • Amendment on role of women in pastoral ministry fails to achieve 2/3 vote

Ethics

Supreme Court unanimously sides with Catholic Charities in religious liberty case

Timothy Cockes

The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a Catholic benevolent ministry qualifies for a tax exemption granted to churches.

Pro-life, pro-adoption bill awaits Missouri governor’s signature

Timothy Faber

More Ethics Stories

Missouri

SBU to host higher ed panel at 2025 SBC annual meeting

Southwest Baptist University

Southwest Baptist University will be hosting an expert panel of higher education leaders at the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Dallas to discuss the value of and challenges facing Christian colleges and universities.

Copyright © 2025 · The Pathway