EDITOR'S NOTE: This story originally appeared in The Alabama Baptist. ABBEVILLE, Ala. (BP) – An overnight fire at First Baptist Church, Abbeville, Ala., consumed most of the church’s facilities, according to Pastor Ricky Sowell. Church members gathered there this Wednesday (Dec. 4) to share memories and “trust God with what’s next,” he said. “It’s almost a total loss,” Sowell said. The worship center and Sunday School spaces burned in the fire, the cause of which is undetermined so … [Read more...]
Faith Community brings gospel to north St. Louis
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Annie Armstrong Easter Offering provides half of the North American Mission Board’s annual budget, and 100 percent of the proceeds go to resource missionaries. The offering’s theme this year is “United,” based on Romans 15:5-6. The 2022 Week of Prayer for North American Missions is March 6-13. ST. LOUIS (BP) – Michael Byrd went back to his old neighborhood to plant a church knowing ministry there would be challenging. So, when he met and befriended an unmarried couple … [Read more...]
‘Rise up,’ Floyd urges churches at inauguration
NASHVILLE (BP) – At more than 47,000 churches strong, Southern Baptists can have a massive spiritual footprint -- they just have to harness the power of prayer and their resources for the sake of the Gospel, Ronnie Floyd said. "God has blessed us greatly," said the new president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. "We must rise up." Floyd sounded that clarion call Sept. 16 at the end of his inauguration service. He told the crowd of several hundred Southern … [Read more...]
So. Baptists respond to ‘horrific’ acts of violence
EL PASO, Texas (BP) – As two mass shootings over the weekend brought the total to three such tragedies in just over a week, Baptists prayed, met needs and called for an urgent look at how white supremacy can "fuel" violence. The shootings – all committed by young men – took the lives of 34 people across three cities. In El Paso, Texas, a 21-year-old man is in custody after a shooting in a Walmart left 22 people dead and 26 others injured on Saturday (Aug. 3). Then early Sunday morning … [Read more...]
Military draft ruling a ‘blow’ to gender equality
NASHVILLE (BP) – A federal judge in Texas has ruled the all-male military draft unconstitutional, a move that some Baptist leaders say is a blow to gender equality, not a win for it. Judge Gray H. Miller of Federal District Court in the Southern District of Texas said earlier this week that the "time has passed" for debate on whether women belong in the military. In 2015 the Pentagon lifted all restrictions for women in service, making them eligible for combat. It follows that if … [Read more...]
Losing yourself for the lost
TANZANIA – Larry Pepper was on a trajectory. He was a NASA flight surgeon who was good at his job, active in his church, involved as a dad—and possibly headed for space. It wouldn’t be long before he ended up as a candidate finalist for a space mission. But God interrupted his plans. As Larry thought more and more about his life and its eternal significance, he felt God saying, “You’ve committed everything to me except your job.” It soon became evident God was drawing him to walk away. “I … [Read more...]
Stranded flood victims in India prompt Bapt. response
INDIA (BP) – Local partners with Baptist Global Response are responding to stranded flood victims in southern India's Kerala state, an area facing its "worst flooding in recent memory." Tim Patterson, BGR area director for Central and South Asia, said BGR responders face immense challenges as they try to get aid to two isolated districts that are currently unassisted. "The roads and bridges there have been washed away," Patterson said, "and the loss of electricity, communication and … [Read more...]
Satanists erect statue outside Ark. Capitol
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (BP) – A group from The Satanic Temple temporarily erected a goat-headed, winged statue on the Arkansas State Capitol grounds on Thursday (Aug. 16) to protest the Ten Commandments monument already placed there. "If you're going to have one religious monument up then it should be open to others, and if you don't agree with that then let's just not have any at all," said Satanic Arkansas cofounder Ivy Forrester, a rally organizer, according to AP. The 7.5-foot-tall … [Read more...]
Collegians in NYC witness ‘the sadness, the lostness’
NEW YORK CITY (BP) -- Reagan Grisham said she's visited nine countries in her lifetime and left a piece of her heart in each one. But when she landed in New York City for Passport New York, she said God did something unexpected -- He gathered all of those pieces up. "I thought it would be just another short-term trip," said Grisham, a senior at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas. "But it turned out to be life-changing. There are people here from all of those countries that I … [Read more...]
‘JESUS’ film, at 1,500 languages, reaches millions
ORLANDO, Fla. (BP) -- For one morning a week for quite some time, both women had been nothing but consistent. Riah* had been faithfully working to help keep up the home of Yvonne Cantwell*, an IMB missionary in Southeast Asia. And Cantwell had been faithfully sharing the Gospel and Bible stories with her as they built a relationship. "She is from a UPG [unreached people group]," Cantwell said. "I speak her national language but not her heart language." Riah was "friendly and open … [Read more...]