I was in fifth grade when my mother, who is now a 50-year-plus member of the First Baptist Church choir in Monticello, Kentucky, was singing in the Community Christmas concert at the large Nazarene church in our town. There were over 120 choristers; and for our small town, that was a huge deal. Mama Lela (grandma), my Dad and I were in the congregation. There was definite electricity in the air that night in worship. There came a point in the service when my Uncle Norman, who directed the … [Read more...]
FBC Warrensburg to host ‘Church Security’ training
WARRENSBURG – First Baptist Church, Warrensburg will host “Church Security and Intruder Response Training” Jan. 5-6. The training will be conducted by Kansas City-based Strategos International, a church security firm that has been partnering with Missouri Baptist Convention churches for several years. Day one of the training begins at 8 a.m., and lasts until 4:30 p.m. Issues covered the first day include intruder response, medical response, armed versus unarmed security, nursery security, … [Read more...]
Concealed carry gun law may shield churches if passed
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is printed with permission from the Lake Expo news service (LakeExpo.com) in Osage Beach. JEFFERSON CITY (Lake Expo) – In the wake of the horrific church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Missouri State Representative Rocky Miller says he’s taking action to help keep local congregations safer. Miller has filed a bill for the 2018 legislative session that would remove the liability for churches if their members opt to carry a weapon on the premises. Read the … [Read more...]
Concord Baptist to host annual prayer service for state officials
JEFFERSON CITY – Lawmakers and citizens will gather for what has become a Jefferson City tradition when Concord Baptist Church, in conjunction with the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Christian Life Commission, hosts the 13th annual Prayer Service for Missouri Government Leaders, January 3, 2018, at 9am. “We will be seeking God’s blessing for Missouri’s legislative, executive and judicial leadership,” said Monte Shinkle, Concord’s senior pastor, former president of the Missouri Baptist … [Read more...]
Congolese believers gather to form French-speaking church in Kirksville
KIRKSVILLE – A French-speaking congregation was formed November 19th at First Baptist Church, Kirksville. Joel Kabamba, a 2015 immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the pastor of the new mission church. Pastor Jason Marlin, pastor of FBC Kirksville, said “Congolese people started coming to the church. There are a lot of them out there.” They are moving to northern Missouri to work in two pork processing plants in Kirksville and Milan. Carolyn Chrisman, director of … [Read more...]
Daughter joins mother in Mission: Dignity gratitude
DALLAS (BP) – Growing up as a preacher’s daughter, Estela Rangel had only one request of her husband David when they married: “Never become a pastor.” As a child, she had felt pressure to be perfect in the eyes of the church, and she wanted a different life as an adult. “But God had His plans,” Estela said. After five years of marriage, David began to talk with her about the call he felt to become a pastor. The two were volunteering in the bus ministry of the Hispanic mission church where … [Read more...]
HLGU’s John Francis: Give thanks!
Baptists are Baptists because of worship. Our predecessors, the English Particular Baptists, claimed worship as their early distinctive from every other Christian denomination in the world. Understand that their idea of “worship” were two principle concepts or ordinances, “Baptism” and “The Lord’s Supper.” This new people group wanted desperately to be “people of the Word.” In doing so they sought to worship as those in the earliest church did with a desire to take everything back to their … [Read more...]
Celebrating 200 years of Mo. Baptist history
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth of several articles commemorating Baptist history in Missouri, written by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Historical Commission. As we celebrate 200 years of Missouri Baptist History it’s amazing to see how Baptists migrated across Missouri through the development of associations and church plants. In the 1840’s the west central part of Missouri was mainly plains and prairie without a large population. Several Baptist Churches were planted in … [Read more...]
Rock & Roll church, historic Red Star merge
CAPE GIRARDEAU – To say God is doing a new thing with two merged churches is an understatement. The former Rock and Roll Church merged with the historic Red Star Church in March to become the Church of the Rescued and Redeemed. Pastor Billy Garner said the former Rock and Roll church met for seven-and-a-half years in different Cape storefronts and in his home. “We prayed for a building for a few years. Nothing,” Garner said. “The spirit led me to make some hard choices in our music … [Read more...]
During annual meeting, Iowa Baptists note church growth, increased giving
AMES, Iowa (BP) – The 2017 Baptist Convention of Iowa annual meeting was held in conjunction with a two-day "For the Church" micro conference in partnership with Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Four hundred participants attended the Nov. 3-4 conference, which included featured speakers Jason K. Allen, MBTS president; Jared Wilson, MBTS director of content strategy; Jeff Dodge, lead pastor at Cornerstone Church in Ames; and Rechab Gray, teaching pastor at Cottage Grove Church in … [Read more...]
From the Archives: Firearms in church?
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been edited and updated, having run previously in the Oct. 8, 2013, edition of The Pathway. NORWOOD – Pastor Stephen Fugitt believes that churches have the right to arm themselves for the day when a gunman enters their buildings to do harm. Yet no one had time to open fire against a gunman who aimed his .357 magnum revolver at Fugitt as he preached to his congregation at the First Baptist Church, Norwood, July 21, 2013. Instead, one church member grabbed … [Read more...]
Does the Bible support self-defense?
The mass shooting earlier this month at Sutherland Springs Baptist Church in Texas left 26 people dead, made a hero of a civilian who confronted and shot the murderer, and raised lots of security-related questions for Christians: Should I buy a gun? Does my church have a security plan? Is it ok to defend myself, or my church family, when threatened? How do I reconcile Jesus’ instructions to buy swords with His rebuke of Peter for using one? What would Jesus have done in … [Read more...]
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