ST. LOUIS – Vacation Bible School has a new missions education opportunity this year through Pennies for Pupils, a project that aids a Kenyan school founded by Missouri Baptist layperson George “the Shoeman” Hutchings. The program connects children with children through participatory missions and teaches that no amount is too little in the hands of God, he says. Hutchings is the president of the Juanita School for Girls in Kenya. Pennies contributed by VBS students add up one by one to … [Read more...]
Vision ministries focus on evangelism
ARNOLD – Two Missouri vision ministries, working in partnership, are clearly focused on evangelism through improving sight in their eyeglass clinics in the U.S. and Central America. Steve Smith, director of Focus On Missions, founded the organization about 20 years ago. For a time, he worked with pastors and churches in Mexico on other projects. Ten years ago, Smith—a member at First Baptist Arnold—began focusing exclusively on eyeglass clinics in the United States when he noticed a need … [Read more...]
NAMB picks St. Louis as 17th SEND Relief City
ST. LOUIS – The North American Mission Board (NAMB) recently tapped St. Louis as its 17th Send Relief city, putting at the head a familiar face in the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association: Kale Uzzle. Uzzle directs the George Liele Center, the short-term missions division of the association. His role in planning and executing compassion-oriented ministry projects in the area lines up perfectly with Send Relief’s compassion ministry goals. “The Liele Center trains and deploys teams … [Read more...]
Ridge Church pursues ‘kingdom growth’ via multiple campuses in eastern Missouri
VILLA RIDGE – When The Ridge Church paid off its debt in 2016, Pastor Roger Johnson shared with members that he was uninterested in “adding more buildings” to the current campus. The congregation had already adopted smaller churches to help revitalize, and changed its name from First Baptist of Villa Ridge to emphasize the partnership. He wanted to continue revitalizing struggling churches. “I felt like God wanted us to think more in terms of kingdom growth,” Johnson says. “God began to … [Read more...]
CLC educates Christians on biblical view of gender, sex
JEFFERSON CITY – Among several conferences on different contemporary ethical issues the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Christian Life Commission (CLC) has presented, its gender and sexuality meeting generates the most interest, according to the group’s chairman, Timothy Faber. “It’s really struck a chord with our people, he says. “Many Christian people are struggling to understand the issues, as well as how to best to relate to friends and family who are caught up in this.” The CLC held … [Read more...]
Super Summer resumes in 2022 on two MBC university campuses
JEFFERSON CITY – After a modified schedule in 2021, preceded by cancellation in 2020 due to COVID, Super Summer week-long camps for middle and high school students resume this summer on two MBC university campuses. The first takes place at Hannibal LaGrange University, June 13-17. Southwest Baptist University hosts the second June 20-24. Bob Caldwell, an independent contractor for the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Making Disciples team, is facilitating the camps this year. He says through … [Read more...]
Recycled Bible study materials get second life
Two Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) churches have found new uses for their former Sunday School and other Bible study materials, while also supporting international mission activities. New Florence Baptist in eastern Missouri sends volunteers each year to Love Packages. “We’ve been going there for 8 years,” Pastor Brian Larkin says, “and I have never heard an adult or a youth say they would never go back there again. Even though the work can be physically demanding (our folks)…are … [Read more...]
Troy church has record attendance for Christmas drama
TROY – “Beautiful weather” was attributed for record attendance at Troy First Baptist’s outdoor Christmas presentation, Journey to Bethlehem, according to church member Diane Campbell. “We had 1,737 people come through this year,” says Campbell, co-director of the presentation. Journey to Bethlehem is an interactive presentation with visitors passing through various stage sets on their way to Bethlehem at Christ’s birth. Campbell said the church presents the gospel story as an outdoor … [Read more...]
Franks mentors new generation of HLGU musicians
HANNIBAL – A love of music born as a young student inspired Kendra Franks in her passion for music and leads her in teaching and mentoring Hannibal-LaGrange University students today. Franks joined the university’s faculty this year as Assistant Professor of Music. She is the wife of Missouri Baptist Foundation President Neil Franks. She says her “path into music education was forged from a family that provided piano lessons for me, a dad who led as interim music minister often at … [Read more...]
Campers on Mission help Milo church stretch dollars
MILO – Campers On Mission rolled out of Milo Baptist recently after contributing labor to an ongoing project that will add a multi-purpose building to the church. Six couples from the volunteer organization spent two weeks at Milo, camping on the church grounds in RVs, to help the church complete its project without incurring debt. “Campers On Mission go around to different churches and do construction work,” says Milo layperson and general contractor Jim Wilson. “Six of them came to Milo … [Read more...]
Twin Rivers Baptist Association makes plans for Montana church partnerships
HELENA, Mont. – Under a broad vista of Montana sky with mountains for a backdrop live people with a spirit of self-reliance, self-determination, and individualism. Missouri Baptists who recently visited the state to explore missions partnerships heard those comments repeatedly. They also heard that Montanans suffer the same hurts, heartaches, and addictions as people everywhere – and have the same need for Christ. Pastors there look to Missouri Baptists for reciprocal missions activities. … [Read more...]
Churches merge in ‘ministry adoption’
HAWK POINT – A declining congregation of less than a dozen members in a small, rural community in eastern Missouri faced a terrible option a year ago – should it close the church? That church, Hawk Point Baptist (HPBC), answered with a bold step of faith to continue its 150-year-old evangelistic mission in a new way. The Hawk Point community has less than 700 souls. It’s barely one-third of a square mile in area. There are two gas stations, a bank branch, and a handful of small … [Read more...]