IZMIR, Turkey (BP) -- American pastor Andrew Brunson has been indicted in Turkey on charges of terrorism. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) claims the charges amount to an admission "that Turkey considers sharing the Gospel an 'act of terrorism.'" "The 62-page indictment, wholly lacking merit, provides no evidence regarding criminal action by Pastor Andrew, which comes as no surprise," the ACLJ stated in a March 20 news release. "Pastor Andrew, who has lived in Turkey for 23 … [Read more...]
FBC Elsberry pursues ‘meaningful membership’
ELSBERRY – The rich 135-year history of FBC Elsberry has included overflow crowds. One service for the funeral of Congressman Clarence Cannon, member, was attended by former Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Harry S. Truman. But, in recent years, the church saw a decline. In fact, eleven years ago, the church was reduced to only about 15 members. “We’ve been through lots of transition,” Redonda Heitman, a member since 1970, said. “Back when we had a slim crowd and a skeleton crew, … [Read more...]
‘Shorty’ the church bus: An unlikely evangelism tool
MUSKOGEE, Okla. (BP) -- Many churches now operate a bus ministry which usually involves transportation of members and visitors from the church to their home and vice versa. However, Timothy Baptist Church in Muskogee, Okla., has an interesting bus ministry that takes the church into the community. "Shorty is a small, old school bus that I kind of had the idea for and shared it with some people in the church," said Kelly Payne, the church's pastor. "The idea was to find a bus that we … [Read more...]
‘The most unreached place in North America’: Springfield family plants churches in Montreal
MONTREAL, Canada – Soon after James Copeland, the former missions pastor at Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Springfield, moved his family to Montreal, he met a self-described atheist named Michael. Over time, Copeland’s friendship with Michael grew. And nearly five months later Michael admitted that he’d been watching the worship services at Renaissance Church online – an English-language congregation near the heart of Montreal where Copeland serves as the lead pastor. Today, Michael attends … [Read more...]
Opera singer from Brazil sparks Vienna house church
VIENNA (BP) -- When Maria* began to feel God nudging her to share Christ with Persians, she didn't know exactly what a Persian was. (There's no Persian language and no Persia on the map.) But within a week Maria met a girl from Iran. When Maria asked what language she spoke, the girl said "Persian," so Maria invited the young lady to study the Bible. Maria didn't set out to start a new Persian church. She was just obeying God. But that Bible study has now grown to over 100 people -- a … [Read more...]
Social-media coaching available from LifeWay
NASHVILLE (BP) – LifeWay Christian Resources recently launched an online coaching service to help Christians manage social media and other digital platforms from a biblical perspective. This subscription-based service, known as LifeWay Social, is designed for churches, nonprofits and individuals who want to discover more effective ways of using social media to grow God’s kingdom. Chris Martin, author development specialist for LifeWay, sees social media as more than just a means to … [Read more...]
Crossway experiments with online video, chat
SPRINGFIELD – Watching a church’s worship service online can be a way for those who are sick to still participate and feel like they are part of church. But Crossway Baptist Church here is taking streaming video to another level in an effort to harness social media for the gospel. Using a service called Church Online Platform, Crossway will not only broadcast its services over the internet, but the church’s media team can chat privately back and forth with viewers while the service is … [Read more...]
Parents, churches called to ‘connect’ in digital age
JEFFERSON CITY – Mobile phones and social media bring many advantages, but they’ve also unleashed dangers on the young. That’s what “Connect,” the latest documentary film by Christian actor Kirk Cameron, claims. And, with the support of churches, parents must take up the challenge to reconnect with their children, according to Southern Baptist youth ministers and experts across Missouri and around the nation. “We’re the first generation to parent these ‘digital natives,’” Kathy Koch, the … [Read more...]
Baptist Ridge Camp finds new camp manager, vision for multipurpose building
WARSAW – The gates at Baptist Ridge Camp, a facility of Fellowship Baptist Association (FBA) located in Warsaw, have opened on a new chapter as newly hired camp manager Randy Festervand, and his wife Melissa, assume the position upon the retirement of Jim Andrews, and his wife Jean, who served in this position for 16 years. Festervand has a master’s degree in theology, and is currently working on his doctorate. His education, experience as a pastor and previous camping career will help … [Read more...]
Collegians in NYC witness ‘the sadness, the lostness’
NEW YORK CITY (BP) -- Reagan Grisham said she's visited nine countries in her lifetime and left a piece of her heart in each one. But when she landed in New York City for Passport New York, she said God did something unexpected -- He gathered all of those pieces up. "I thought it would be just another short-term trip," said Grisham, a senior at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas. "But it turned out to be life-changing. There are people here from all of those countries that I … [Read more...]
Understanding the Trinity
This is the third in a series of articles contrasting Allah and Yahweh. The doctrine of the Trinity sets Christians and Muslims apart. In fact, to suggest to a follower of Allah that God has a Son, or that God exists in tri-unity, is to commit the unpardonable sin of shirk, which damns a soul to hell. Islam is unwavering in its belief in Allah as a singular being – monolithic, distant, and unknowable. He only relates to people in acts of the will, not out of an eternal nature that is … [Read more...]
SBC scholar Kostenberger delivers Midwestern Seminary’s Sizemore Lectures
Noted New Testament scholar Andreas Kostenberger delivered Midwestern Seminary’s annual Sizemore Lectures on March 13-14, emphasizing the importance of rightly studying biblical theology. Kostenberger, who has served for more than 20 years as senior research professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, focused his two-lecture series on the topic, “The Promise and Practice of Biblical Theology.” In the opening lecture, Kostenberger set … [Read more...]
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