HANNIBAL – Equipping for the harvest is the focus of Plant Midwest and its new offshoot, Plant Rural. On Tuesday, Jan. 26, the new group held its first quarterly meeting in Hannibal. Plant Rural is a gathering to encourage and equip pastors and ministry leaders to lead, revitalize, plant and replant Gospel-centered churches in rural communities outside of St. Louis and beyond. Sam Byers, pastor of First Baptist Church, Elsberry, is heading the committee organizing this group. “Since we … [Read more...]
‘A library expands our reach’
RAYTOWN – Librarians are matchmakers. Debbie Atwood, media director at Spring Valley Baptist Church in Raytown, quoted S.R. Ranganthan’s Five Laws of Library Science, “Books are for use,” she said. “Every reader has a book, and every book has its reader.” “A library is only as valuable,” Atwood continued, “as the ability to find what’s in it.” Atwood has 17 years of library experience and when she became the volunteer librarian at Spring Valley, she could see that it would take a lot of … [Read more...]
Camp reaches out to deaf youth
WARSAW – Hugs and laughter usually signal a fun reunion, but this is especially true of the campers attending the Deaf Youth Camp. This Missouri Baptist Camp serves deaf and hard of hearing children and teens from Missouri, Oklahoma and Illinois. “Because they come from a wide geographical area,” Vivian Crowley, business manager and assistant director, said, “they love to be reunited when they see their friends from previous years.” The Deaf Youth Camp was established in 1982 after Leslie … [Read more...]
Slater, Marshall churches build homes in Mexico
ACUNA, Mexico – Acuna, Mexico is a border town just across the Rio Grande River from Texas. Families use scrap materials and anything that they can find for shelter. First Baptist Church, Slater, and First Baptist Church, Marshall, found a way to minister to this need. “In October, we caravanned to Mexico,” Paul List, FBC Slater pastor, said. “We worked with Casas por Cristo to build a house for a family of five. We were able to meet this tangible need while strengthening the … [Read more...]
Floyd calls for Great Commission vision
ST. CHARLES – Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, shared a sobering statistic with the Missouri Baptist Annual Meeting audience. “Seventy five percent of the people in the United States are unable to testify to faith in Christ,” he said. “That means 329 million people are in desperate need of Jesus Christ. 7.7 billion across the globe don’t know Jesus as Savior.” “The vision of Jesus Christ,” Floyd continued, “is for us to reach … [Read more...]
MBC President Muniz declares, ‘Jesus saves’
ST. CHARLES – The challenge was clear. Jeremy Muniz, president of the Missouri Baptist Convention, chair of the Executive Board and senior pastor of Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield, shared the need for more evangelism. “God is moving in hearts for evangelism,” he said. “We may be mediocre, but God is not. Look at the common fishermen God used to turn the world upside down. The Spirit of God must fall on us from on high.” Muniz used the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) to … [Read more...]
Faithful service the watchword for Farber Baptist church pastor
FARBER – Faithful service is the watchword for the ministry of Jerry Ostrom, pastor of Farber Baptist Church. Ostrom was ordained at Rock Port Baptist Church on August 14, 1960, shortly after he began serving the church as pastor. “I was so green when I started after graduating college (William Jewell) and seminary (Southern),” Ostrom said, “but God guided us along.” Ostrom and his wife, Jackie, recently celebrated their sixty-third wedding anniversary. She agreed with her husband, “God … [Read more...]
Fellowship Baptist Church, Lesterville, exceeds Annie Armstrong offering goals
LESTERVILLE – Fellowship Baptist Church of Lesterville has a history of working together and having fun doing it. Collecting this year for the Annie Armstrong offering was no exception. In fact, they had so much fun collecting that they shot past the goal of $6,000 to $10,824.41. “I’ve served as WMU director for the last five years,” Terry Bryant, member and financial secretary, said, “and I was asked to head up the collection.” “We’ve had a tradition of competition of teams for the … [Read more...]
Church honors Lesterville’s first responders
LESTERVILLE – The sirens were silent as the emergency personnel arrived at Fellowship Baptist Church of Lesterville on June 27. The group of first responders was invited to enjoy a meal of appreciation. “This dinner was originally planned for March; we wanted to reach out to them,” Daniel Sparks, pastor, said. “Then, when COVID hit, we had to postpone the dinner. Now, first responders are given a black eye and we need to lift them up and care about them and to appreciate what they … [Read more...]
Salt River Association fosters Christian education
CURRYVILLE – One-on-one interaction is a secret ingredient for the education of the students at Pike County Christian School. “My passion is for one-on-one encouragement,” Rose Land, third and fifth grade teacher, said. “I try to make learning fun for them by being active.” Frank Welch, director of missions for the Salt River Association, said that the school was formed for that reason. “In 2006, the association began studying the feasibility for starting a school and a camp,” he … [Read more...]
FBC Clinton treats special needs families as ‘Kings and Queens’ at March 6th ball
CLINTON – The glam of the red carpet and paparazzi brightened The Benson Center thanks to the Kings and Queens Ball held by FBC Clinton, March 6. The Kings and Queens Ball is a prom for special needs young people. FBC Clinton worked with a national organization previously to offer “Night to Shine,” but this year, because of scheduling, they decided to offer the special event on their own. “This is our third year,” said Bethany Festervand, the children’s minister at FBC Clinton. “We … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptist pastors honored for work with black community in St. Louis area
ST. LOUIS – Unity is an important focus for St. Louis pastors and their congregations. Two pastors, Bill Friese, senior pastor, Oak Hill Fishers of Men in Ferguson, and Jim Walker, lead pastor, Hazelwood Baptist, were recognized for their leadership in the community. Friese is also Second Vice Chair on the Missouri Baptist Foundation board of trustees. Dr. Sam Page, St. Louis County Executive, presented the Betty L. Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award to the pastors. The award is named … [Read more...]
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