This is the 12th in a series of excerpts from the new MBC resource, What Every Christian Should Know About Salvation, available at www.mobaptist.org/apologetics. When believing sinners entrust their lives to Christ, the Father seals them with the Holy Spirit, placing His divine mark of ownership on them, thus ensuring His everlasting presence and their eternal security. As the Father’s imprint on the surrendered heart, the Spirit reminds followers of Jesus they are secure as coheirs with … [Read more...]
St. Louis author watches over kids like a ‘Mama Bear’
BALLWIN – Thirteen years ago Julie Loos was getting ready to send her oldest son off to middle school. The question came to her: “How will I help him prepare for exposure to different worldviews? Like any good mother, she was watching over her kids carefully and she described herself as “kind of a Mama Bear.” That led her to speak with some folks in her family’s church, First Baptist Church of Ellisville, which is now called the Fellowship of Wildwood. There she learned more about the … [Read more...]
When the Father adopts you
Adoption is an act of God making born-again believers members of His family. The Greek word for adoption stems from two words: huios, meaning “son,” and thesis, meaning “a placing.” Thus, the word huiothesia conveys the idea of “placement into sonship.” This biblical term is meant to include both males and females. From a first-century legal perspective, adoption meant taking a person from another family and making him or her legally a child in a new family. The son’s or daughter’s former … [Read more...]
IMB’s Chitwood: ‘Your state convention helps churches reach your state, our world for Christ’
EDITOR'S NOTE: Paul Chitwood serves as president of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board. To learn about the Missouri Baptist Convention's state missions offering, visit https://mobaptist.org/mmo/. To learn about the Cooperative Program, visit https://mobaptist.org/cp. My first international mission trip took place on a farm in central Kentucky. As a new pastor in the community, I found myself interacting often with migrant workers from Central and South … [Read more...]
God’s work of sanctification
Sanctification is the work of God making Christians more like Jesus. As Millard Erickson puts it, “Sanctification is a process by which one’s moral condition is brought into conformity with one’s legal status before God. It is a continuation of what was begun in regeneration, when a newness of life was conferred upon and instilled within the believer. In particular, sanctification is the Holy Spirit’s applying to the life of the believer the work done by Jesus Christ.” Sanctification may … [Read more...]
IMB workers pray for more baptisms of believers they don’t know
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is written by Caroline Anderson, a writer who serves with IMB in Central Asia. SOUTHEAST ASIA—William and Nancy Potter,* IMB workers who serve in Southeast Asia, love hearing about baptisms of people they don’t know. News of strangers being baptized means there has been generational growth of Christians in their area. The “generational growth” — people who lead people, who then lead other people, to Christ — first began 18 years ago when they met Ary Keo* … [Read more...]
Reluctant missionary now leading many to Christ in Peru
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is written by Melanie Clinton, a writer for the IMB who lives in Sub-Saharan Africa with her husband and two children. PERU—When Peruvian couple Caleb and Devora Quispe got married, Devora was a new believer. Caleb longed to become a missionary, but Devora preferred to stay home and help run the family sewing business. Caleb strongly believes that when a couple marries, they become one. “What God has put in my heart, he will put in your heart, too,” he … [Read more...]
South Asian believer carries on husband’s ministry legacy
EDITOR'S NOTE: Madeline Arthington, who wrote this article, is a writer who serves with IMB in Central Asia. SOUTH ASIA—Shreya’s* grief is raw. Only a few months ago, her husband was alive. Now he is dead. They were such good partners. They ministered together in their church, where he was a pastor, and in the surrounding villages. She was devoted, always accompanying him in ministry, sitting on floors with poorer women, and making food for guests. But all it took was a day of … [Read more...]
What is baptism in the Holy Spirit?
This is the ninth in a series of excerpts from the new MBC resource, What Every Christian Should Know About Salvation, available at mobaptist.org/apologetics. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the means by which God places new believers into the body of Christ. As the Holy Spirit regenerates and indwells our human spirits, bringing us new life and ensuring our everlasting fellowship with God, the Spirit also immerses us into the universal church. New believers share the common bond of the … [Read more...]
Central Asian believer shows love to the ‘unlovable’
CENTRAL ASIA (IMB) – The Luli Gypsies mainly work as beggars and struggle to rise above prejudice and poverty. They are treated as untouchables by countrymen, even by many believers. But God is at work bringing many to Himself through the efforts of a few who are showing love and acceptance across the cultural barriers. In one city, 40 to 50 Luli came to faith in one year. They quit begging, seek legitimate employment, and have been welcomed into fellowship by local Christians. In … [Read more...]
Deaf Thai ‘ladyboy’ learns to be a man of God
EDITOR'S NOTE: Nicole Leigh, who wrote this article, is a writer for IMB. She lives with her family in Prague. THAILAND—Aroon* was once a ladyboy. In Thai culture, little boys age 2 or 3 who show any inkling towards femininity are labeled a “ladyboy” and raised to believe that even though their outside gender is male, their spirit is female. Ladyboys are never given a choice to be who they want to be. They often struggle to find jobs, and they are treated as less than other men and … [Read more...]
Singer looking for identity shares love she found in Christ
EDITOR'S NOTE: Lucy Campbell, who wrote this article, is a Journeyman serving in Eastern Europe. EUROPE—Tanya* is a ball of energy with laugh lines deeply engraved at the corners of her eyes. She is one of millions living in an Eastern European metropolis, but one of only a few pastors’ wives in her city. A few years ago, she and her husband moved to the city to start their now-thriving church of 30 to 40 members. They are part of a church planting movement of at least six new … [Read more...]