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...]
Is support of Israel waning among younger evangelicals?
NASHVILLE (BP) – Older American evangelicals love Israel, but many younger evangelicals simply don't care, according to a new survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research. Three-quarters (77 percent) of evangelicals 65 and older say they support the existence, security and prosperity of Israel. That drops to 58 percent among younger evangelicals, those 18 to 34. Four in 10 younger evangelicals (41 percent) have no strong views about Israel. Fewer younger evangelicals (58 percent) have an … [Read more...]
Jesus as the firstborn
Jehovah’s Witnesses have a disturbing take on the apostle Paul’s description of Jesus as the “firstborn over all creation.” Consider how the Watch Tower renders Col. 1:15-17 in its New World Translation: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on earth, the things visible and the things invisible, whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All other things have … [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...]
Fund future ministry
I have been asked more than once, “Why?” “Why did I leave the best church in the world (with the best preaching by the way) to take a position with the Missouri Baptist Foundation?” “Why did I leave Branson?” I mean, it is Branson, for goodness sake, with Silver Dollar City just down the road, lots of lakes and trees and hills, and the land of outlet shopping malls? “Why would I uproot my family after ten years of developing deep and meaningful relationships?” On many levels, I admit, … [Read more...]
Hems of Grace ministry tailors love of sewing for gospel outreach to the people of Kenya
ANDERSON – When Pastor John and Elizabeth Beck moved to southwest Missouri last year to serve at First Baptist Church, Anderson, they brought their three teenage children. But they also brought a missional desire to evangelize in the East African nation of Kenya. For several years Elizabeth Beck has partnered with ladies back in her home state of South Carolina to combine a love of sewing with a desire to reach Kenyans for Christ on annual mission trips. Elizabeth’s friend, Mandy Joye, … [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...]
IMB’s Platt: When we pray, God works
RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- No matter what the story is, whether it's a family planting a church in a doctor's office in Japan or a young man sharing truth over coffee with university students in Mexico City, International Mission Board president David Platt says two things are true: God is at work through missionaries around the world and praying for them matters. "This isn't just a rushed or mechanical exercise. God has ordained our prayer as a means to accomplish His purpose in the world," … [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...]
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