ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – A group of students in Calgary had the opportunity to share their faith with another student and saw him come to Christ. The next week, another team of students, 3,400 miles away in Puerto Rico, led a grandmother to Christ. In New York City, an unexpected subway detour led a student to a gospel conversation with a Muslim man. All summer long, students participating in Send Relief's GenSend program have been living "on mission" in 19 cities across North America by … [Read more...]
Reaching Africa in Minneapolis: Nigerian missionaries serve with NAMB to plant churches in Midwest
MINNEAPOLIS – Philip Nache could have given in to despair. Boko Haram, the jihadist militant group located in Nigeria, had threatened his life, martyred a convert to Christianity and continued to intimidate Christians. But despite the danger, Nache expected to return and serve the people he’d spent nearly 20 years ministering to, pastoring and planting churches among. He had come to the United States to attend Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a moment of divine timing that coincided … [Read more...]
NAMB church planter takes gospel into Miami’s complex culture
MIAMI – Full of color, life, beauty and disparity, Miami is a city where “you can lose yourself and find yourself all at the same time,” said church planting missionary Muche Ukegbu. Miami’s spectrum of economic, ethnic and cultural diversity generates a complexity that Ukegbu and his family have been navigating since moving to the city to start their church, The Brook Church, which launched in the April of 2015. As residents in Miami attempt to find themselves, they experience a certain … [Read more...]
Santiago rebuilds communities in Puerto Rico
COMERIO, Puerto Rico – When Jorge Santiago left Puerto Rico as a young man, he never thought he would return. His family sent him to the U.S. mainland in a last-ditch effort to shake him loose from a lifestyle of doing and dealing drugs. “I never thought that I was going to come back to Comerío,” recalled Santiago of his home town, “and I didn’t want to come back.” In 2007, Santiago left behind a community that was struggling economically, whose people wrestled with hopelessness. Santiago … [Read more...]
Baptist promoted to Air Force Deputy Chief of Chaplains
WASHINGTON (BP) – The U.S. Senate confirmed the promotion of U.S. Air Force Chaplain Colonel Ronald M. Harvell to the rank of Brigadier General on Aug. 20. With the promotion, Harvell, a Southern Baptist, becomes the Air Force's 26th Deputy Chief of Chaplains. He has been serving as the Air Mobility Command Chaplain based at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Harvell will now transition to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., for his new pastoral leadership responsibilities. "My wife and I … [Read more...]
Army chaplain Squires cleared of all charges
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (BP) – The U.S. Army has dropped its investigation against Southern Baptist chaplain Jerry Scott Squires, fully exonerating the major of all charges, Aug. 24. "This is great news for both Chaplain Squires and all of the military chaplains who are serving our men and women the U.S. Armed Services," said Gen. Douglas Carver, executive director of chaplaincy at the North American Mission Board (NAMB). "It is a significant victory for all who support and defend the freedoms … [Read more...]
Green light given for Puerto Rico relief
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – The North American Mission Board's Send Relief ministry has been asked to manage the disaster response on behalf of the Convention of Southern Baptist Churches in Puerto Rico. "We have officially requested Send Relief to coordinate the disaster relief response in Puerto Rico," said Jorge Alvarez, who leads the Puerto Rican convention. "The needs here are unprecedented, and we need our entire Southern Baptist family to help Puerto Rico during this tragic time." David … [Read more...]