JEFFERSON CITY – This month, MBC-affiliated churches and associational offices are receiving a soft-cover copy of the 2024 Generosity Report. The report highlights the many ways Missouri Baptists invest in missions across our state, throughout North America, and around the world. The report replaces both the Annual Giving Report, inserted each spring in The Pathway, and the mid-year report in August. The 2024 Generosity Report is available now online at mobaptist.org/gr and will be shared … [Read more...]
MBC names Rob Pochek to lead prayer and evangelism ministries
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptist Executive Director Wes Fowler has named Rob Pochek, senior pastor of First Baptist Church on Park Street, Charlottesville, Va., as team leader of Prayer and Evangelism, effective July 1. In his new role, Pochek is responsible for developing, implementing, and promoting a comprehensive strategy to help MBC-affiliated churches and associations prioritize prayer and evangelism. This includes engaging Missouri Baptists in a statewide prayer initiative, as … [Read more...]
Christian forgives would-be killer, leads her to Christ
IMB missionaries testify to power of prayer by Emily Hall When Ruth visited Fran in summer 2023, Ruth didn’t expect to end up in the hospital, fighting for her life. International Mission Board missionaries Wade and Catherine Hampton have seen God work in Southeast Asia, but they don’t always see Him work through an attempted murder. This story is one they shared with Southern Baptists, asking for prayer. Ruth met Fran at a park earlier that year, and despite Fran’s initial … [Read more...]
FBC Bonne Terre mission team shares gospel, needed resources in Kenya
KENYA, Africa – The First Baptist Church of Bonne Terre, Mo., has engaged in several villages in Kenya to share the Gospel and provide needed resources for the people. Pastor Alan David said they go to “educate and encourage the pastors.” But he added there are so many needs for resources there that they raise funds and provide food, Bibles and arrange to have wells dug to provide clean water. This is the eighth time David has led a trip to the East African nation in the past 10 … [Read more...]
Churches aim to welcome guests by different methods
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (Lifeway Research) – Every church aims to welcome guests in some way. Those efforts may just look different in different churches and may have changed over the last decade. According to a Lifeway Research study of U.S. Protestant pastors, more than 99% of churches welcome visitors in at least one of 11 ways. Fewer than 1% say they don’t do any of the almost one dozen efforts. Still, several methods are more popular among certain congregations. “There is more to welcoming … [Read more...]
The simplicity of evangelism
Recently, I took Tara on a “date” to a hardware store. Doesn’t that sound romantic? Although it may not be how most define a date, we enjoy walking around Lowe’s or Menards and simply browsing the aisles, even when we don’t really need anything. On this occasion, we found something small to purchase, and as we checked out, a young employee noticed Tara’s sweatshirt and said, “I really like your shirt!” He was referring to a Scripture on her shirt, so he proceeded to share his testimony, … [Read more...]
Florissant church serves neighbors after March tornado hits community
FLORISSANT, Mo. – After sunset on Friday, March 14, 13 tornadoes took aim at metro St. Louis. The widest one was three-fourths of a mile wide, and it took aim at the Hazelwood/Florissant area. But, on the following Sunday morning, the members of Cross Keys Baptist Church, Florissant, less than a mile from the destruction, saw an opportunity to serve. “We decided to use our local missions offering to provide meals,” Raymond Cabello, lead pastor, said. “We put up a sign-up sheet online … [Read more...]
Missouri church’s ministry in Senegal grows
by Chris Doyle Seth Shelton’s life took a dramatic turn years ago when he embarked on a short-term mission trip to Nicaragua. While there, he felt an unmistakable call from the Lord to ministry. He believed he and his wife, Amy, were going to be missionaries, and then through the next 10 years, the Lord refined his plans. Instead of pursuing international missions, Shelton found himself planting a church in Springfield, Mo. Seventeen years later, he remains the pastor of The Way … [Read more...]
MODR remains active; an Easter season prayer for protection
Missouri Disaster Relief (MODR) remains active this month. Not only are volunteer MODR teams still responding to the March 14th tornadoes, but they’ve been active in recent months responding to fires in California and last fall’s hurricane on the East Coast. They have worked, literally, from coast to coast. Then, early this month, tornadoes hit the state again. On April 4, MODR sent the following update about tornado response via email: “As many of you know, we’ve experienced significant … [Read more...]
MODR responds to March tornadoes
JEFFERSON CITY (MODR) – Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (MODR) demonstrated the love of Christ, March 14, bringing help, hope and healing to Missouri communities following a night of death and destruction caused by tornadoes. Hours after the storm’s aftermath, MODR volunteers met to assess needs and plan a course of action. Soon afterward, they set up response units in Rolla, Des Arc and Arnold. Heading the teams were Ann Stevenson, Tom Malott and Toby Tucker, respectively. Disaster … [Read more...]
USCIRF urges State Department to call out nations for violating religious liberty
WASHINGTON (BP) — The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) continues to call for Nigeria, Afghanistan, India and Vietnam to be added to the U.S. list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for religious liberty violations. Conditions in Afghanistan and India continued to deteriorate and remained poor in Nigeria and Vietnam, USCIRF commissioners said March 25 in its 2025 Report on International Religious Freedom, calling out countries where Christian minorities … [Read more...]
First Person: ‘Blessed by CP’
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Andy Chambers serves as provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at Missouri Baptist University (MBU), as well as professor of Bible. He has taught more than 4,200 students during his time at MBU. ST. LOUIS – I’ve been blessed by Cooperative Program (CP) ministries my entire life. Raised in a Missouri Baptist church, I learned at an early age that Baptists can accomplish more when we cooperate than when we work alone. I learned to give joyfully each year … [Read more...]
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