VICKI STAMPS/contributing writer BOISE, Idaho – Naghmeh Abedini’s life has been turned upside down. Her husband, Saeed, an Iranian-born pastor who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, is imprisoned in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, known by human rights watchdog groups as one of the most brutal in all the world. Saeed was arrested a year ago at his parents’ home in Iran by five Revolutionary Guards who charged the house. He was sentenced to eight years in prison for threatening “national … [Read more...]
Ethnic ministry tracks popular at Send gathering
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...]
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...]
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...]
Missionary to Chile uses crafts, helps to reach others
MAYWOOD – Jackie Bursmeyer uses creative ways to reach people in Santiago, Chile, for Jesus Christ. These include making crafts, unique Bible stories over tea, and even walking her dog, Molly. Bursmeyer, a Southern Baptist missionary for 35 years, is on furlough with family in St. Louis. She spoke to the Mt. Salem/Wyaconda Southern Baptist Association quarterly Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) meeting April 25 of her work and the challenges as an administrative assistant for the Americas … [Read more...]
Because you give … unreached people hear the gospel
The people of Southeast Mexico are as diverse as the region’s geography, which features snowcapped peaks, fertile valleys, and high desert plains. God has uniquely prepared Missouri natives Aaron and Brie woods to serve the unreached people of this region, and your faithful giving through the Cooperative Program enables them to go. Aaron and Brie grew up in Missouri Baptist churches, where the language of missions was always spoken. Both participated in volunteer mission projects as teens … [Read more...]
MWMU group helps send literature all over world
BUTLER, Ill.—Love Packages is a small ministry here in a town of 200 people, but a Missouri Woman’s Missionary Union (MWMU) group helps them reach the world for Jesus. Fifteen MWMU members and guests of the Mt. Salem/Wyaconda Southern Baptist Association made their sixth trip to Butler March 19 to sort and repack Bibles, Sunday School material, and Christian literature for spiritually needy people. Love Packages (LP), a non-denominational para-church ministry, began in 1975. Director Steve … [Read more...]
Cape man takes passion for sharing to Philippines
CAPE GIRARDEAU – Sharing Jesus isn’t difficult. Just ask Rex Barker. Recently returned from his seventh trip to the Philippine island of Bohol and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, the retired school teacher and member of Linwood Baptist in Cape Girardeau has taken it upon himself to be the missionary to anyone and everyone who will listen. That goes for southeast Missouri as well as Southeast Asia. “In two weeks, we prayed for almost 10,000 students. That’s a ‘wow.’ The doors just … [Read more...]
Are all world religions equal?
In Cholula, Mexico, stands the Church of Our Lady of Remedies. It sits atop the largest archaeological site in the Americas – a pyramid laced with catacombs and filled with artifacts from pre-colonial days. According to some accounts, the natives of Cholula refused to welcome Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes in the 16th century. So to teach them a lesson, Cortes massacred thousands and ordered the people to build 365 Catholic Churches, one for each day of the year. They never reached … [Read more...]
How one Missouri church is seeking partnership in Mexico
PUEBLA, Mexico – Jason Walters wants his church to carry out the Great Commission by identifying its Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and ends of the earth. The student pastor of Canaan Baptist Church in St. Louis has taken mission teams to the United Kingdom and the Dominican Republic, and his church already partners with other churches in Iowa and West Africa. But when Walters and senior pastor Daniel Carr heard about the vision being cast by 60 churches in the Puebla/Tlaxcala region of … [Read more...]