PLANO, Texas – More than 35 percent of the registrants at the 2013 Send North America Conference signed up for one of five ethnic ministry tracks. The final tally of registrants included 1,526 participants for the ethnic tracks, which included Hispanic Leadership and Mission, Black Church Discipleship and Development, Reaching People from a Muslim Background, Korean Leadership and Development and Leadership Development for Kingdom Development in Chinese Churches. Registrants from other … [Read more...]
Missourians glowing about Send excitement, crowds
PLANO, Texas – Missourians were among the record crowds at Prestonwood Baptist Church here, and they say the excitement and passion seen there is encouraging. “It was extraordinary,” said Rick Hedger, Missions/Evangelism/Discipleship team leader for the Missouri Baptist Convention said. “I think the Send momentum is really buildilng.” John Mark Clifton, lead pastor of Wornal Road Baptist Church in Kansas City, said the event was different from previous North American Mission Board … [Read more...]
Macedonia Project speeds missionaries to field
RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — You’ve recently finished college — or maybe you’re a mid-career professional -- and you sense an urgent call to follow Christ into long-term mission service. You have the practical skills to make an impact. You have the motivation. You’re ready to respond to the Lord’s call in obedience -- right now, as the Apostle Paul responded when he dreamed of the man pleading, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9). But you need the theological training required for … [Read more...]
New name for World Hunger Fund
EDITOR’S NOTE: Southern Baptists will observe World Hunger Sunday Oct. 13, and Southern Baptist congregations across North America will receive offerings for Global Hunger Relief (formerly the World Hunger Fund). NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – When it comes to people in need, big numbers can hide the human faces they represent. Statistics tell us that more than 1 billion people around the world are hungry more often than not, and about 24,000 people – over half of them young children – die every … [Read more...]
Because you give … the gospel goes to Japan
At the close of World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur appealed to Western Christians to mobilize 10,000 missionaries to Japan, which he described as a “spiritual vacuum.” The Lord used MacArthur’s appeal to awaken hearts in America to the spiritual condition of this small, densely populated nation. Today, Southern Baptist missionaries like Missouri’s Liz Welsch devote their lives to sharing the love of Christ with people steeped in Shinto, Buddhism and other Eastern religions. For Welsch, … [Read more...]
Waynesville beginning to dry out
Disaster Relief volunteers clear out 100 - plus saturated homes WAYNESVILLE – Seven inches of rain poured on a 10-square-mile area of Pulaski County in a single, two-hour period Aug. 5. Add that to the other 15 inches of rain that fell over the previous two weeks, and the resulting flash floods led to a mud-out response from Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (DR) and ongoing hard work by local churches. “Everything was saturated,” said Dwain Carter, Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptists to share 1 million Bibles
JEFFERSON CITY – Over the next two years, Missouri Baptist churches will distribute one million Bibles through service and one-on-one encounters. At least, that’s the goal of Light Up Missouri, the thrust of God’s Plan for Sharing (GPS), an ongoing joint initiative by the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) and the North American Mission Board (NAMB) for 2014 and 2015. Over all, the goal of GPS is to spread the gospel to every person in Missouri by 2020. The idea is to get outside the church … [Read more...]
Students impact cities, prepare for missionary service
NEW YORK CITY- Student missionary Season Helms can pinpoint the day in July of 2012 when she began to look at New York City and urban ministry differently. Traveling with friends on the subway, Helms spotted a young woman dressed less than modestly. As Helms looked beyond her clothing to the puffy eyes, scrapes and bruises, she saw a young girl obviously in pain. Helms and her friends soon discovered the girl had been attacked at Coney Island and her phone, money and extra clothing had … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief responds to floods
WAYNESVILLE — Heavy rains and subsequent floods from the Gasconade and other rivers soaked much of central Missouri over the past week, leading to road closures and churches opening their doors to victims. Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency Aug. 6, as Mark Twain National Forest and many roads, including main north-south artery Highway 63 were closed. More than a foot of rain fell over a few days in the Waynesville area, flooding more than 100 homes. The Red Cross opened a … [Read more...]
MMO seeds produce overflowing
Missouri Missions Offering Remember growing something from seeds as a science experiment in school? In most of those science experiments, as in most of our own planting of flowers or fruits, the seed pack has a picture of what is produced by the seeds we plant. The Bible promises us that the seeds we sow in faith for the kingdom of God will also produce a crop. We don’t always know what that kingdom crop will look like. The faithful men and women who are planting churches and doing … [Read more...]
From Missouri to Africa and back again: Freshwater answers call to plant churches
BOLIVAR – In 2009, Joshua and Tish Hedger moved to Bolivar to plant a church. They were hired by Second Baptist Church of Springfield to do so. When Hedger asked the leadership of Second Baptist what they desired this church to look like, they gave one simple requirement: to be a church plant that plants churches. Hedger and Freshwater have taken this seriously. In their first three-and-a-half years of existence Freshwater has planted or is in the process of planting 12 churches in … [Read more...]
Hannibal woman goes from storm victim to DR volunteer
HANNIBAL – Sandy and Earl Cox’s property was among many where trees were down in the yard. A large part of a maple tree hit the corner of their house. But it wasn’t until after Sandy Cox had paid $700 to a professional tree service company, did she learn about some that would have taken the tree down without charge – Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (DR). She dutifully took pictures for insurance and personal scrapbooking, and then got on the computer. Cox, a member of Calvary Baptist … [Read more...]