EDITOR'S NOTE: This article first appeared in The Baptist Paper (click here). American missionary pastor Josh Sullivan is a free man and reportedly back safely with his wife and children, according to media reports. The 45-year-old missionary from Tennessee was rescued in dramatic fashion Tuesday (April 16) in South Africa following a deadly shootout between police and his kidnappers. Sullivan had been abducted at gunpoint while preaching a sermon April 10 at Fellowship Baptist Church … [Read more...]
Christian forgives would-be killer, leads her to Christ
IMB missionaries testify to power of prayer by Emily Hall When Ruth visited Fran in summer 2023, Ruth didn’t expect to end up in the hospital, fighting for her life. International Mission Board missionaries Wade and Catherine Hampton have seen God work in Southeast Asia, but they don’t always see Him work through an attempted murder. This story is one they shared with Southern Baptists, asking for prayer. Ruth met Fran at a park earlier that year, and despite Fran’s initial … [Read more...]
FBC Bonne Terre mission team shares gospel, needed resources in Kenya
KENYA, Africa – The First Baptist Church of Bonne Terre, Mo., has engaged in several villages in Kenya to share the Gospel and provide needed resources for the people. Pastor Alan David said they go to “educate and encourage the pastors.” But he added there are so many needs for resources there that they raise funds and provide food, Bibles and arrange to have wells dug to provide clean water. This is the eighth time David has led a trip to the East African nation in the past 10 … [Read more...]
Missouri church’s ministry in Senegal grows
by Chris Doyle Seth Shelton’s life took a dramatic turn years ago when he embarked on a short-term mission trip to Nicaragua. While there, he felt an unmistakable call from the Lord to ministry. He believed he and his wife, Amy, were going to be missionaries, and then through the next 10 years, the Lord refined his plans. Instead of pursuing international missions, Shelton found himself planting a church in Springfield, Mo. Seventeen years later, he remains the pastor of The Way … [Read more...]
Major earthquake in Myanmar spurs Send Relief response
BANGKOK – A devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake killed more than 2,000 people in Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, March 28. Collapsing mosques killed hundreds of Muslims at Friday prayers, The Associated Press reported, while about 150 monks were apparently killed when a monastery was destroyed. Relief workers expect the number of casualties to rise sharply. Send Relief is responding through local partners and churches to provide essential supplies, including food, water, emergency … [Read more...]
USCIRF urges State Department to call out nations for violating religious liberty
WASHINGTON (BP) — The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) continues to call for Nigeria, Afghanistan, India and Vietnam to be added to the U.S. list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for religious liberty violations. Conditions in Afghanistan and India continued to deteriorate and remained poor in Nigeria and Vietnam, USCIRF commissioners said March 25 in its 2025 Report on International Religious Freedom, calling out countries where Christian minorities … [Read more...]
Local Christians and missionary partners help IMB missionaries fulfill Great Commission
by Chris Doyle SOUTH ASIA (IMB) – Joshua Rivers has a humorous way of describing the goal of the missionary task. “We want to work ourselves out of a job,” he said. Rivers and his wife, Gracie, are International Mission Board missionaries who work among South Asian peoples. With a massive population, this area of the world can be challenging to reach. How can this couple take on this enormous mission? Along with other IMB missionaries, the work involves South Asian believers and … [Read more...]
Christian impact of Syrian violence unfolding as civilian death toll exceeds 1,500
LATAKIA, Syria (BP) – The number of Christians killed in the March 6 Alawite uprising and responsive attacks through March 9 is still unclear, but Christians have suffered collateral losses in sectarian violence that continues, Global Christian Relief (GCR) told Baptist Press. “I’m conversing with my partners,” GCR Acting Chief Executive Brian Orme said March 17, “to find out the exact numbers of Christians across these coastal communities who were killed in those … [Read more...]
During clinics in southern Mexico, El Salvador, Vision 3:16 ministry tops 80,000 people served
TEMAZCAL, Mexico – During a mission trip to southern Mexico in late January, an eyeglass ministry founded roughly 15 years ago by members of Concord Baptist Church, Jefferson City, celebrated 80,000 lives impacted during the ministry’s history. Domingo was the 80,000th person whose life was touched by the ministry, Vision 3:16. Beth Peeper, a Concord Baptist Church member and administrative assistant for The Pathway, participated in this mission trip and was privileged to meet … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptist volunteer missions team sees God working in Brazil
by Chris Doyle/IMB BRASILIA, Brazil (IMB) – Brandon Winkler felt a little uncomfortable, he said, when he was asked to lead worship on a Sunday morning in Brasilia, Brazil. He wasn’t uncomfortable in his guitar playing. He had played these songs before. The challenge for him was the setting. He stood on stage in a chapel of a rehab facility. The room was simple with white walls, white tile floor and wooden pews set up in two sections. The technology was in good shape with a quality … [Read more...]
‘Modern-day Macedonian call’: Online connection leads to partnership with Filipino church
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Chris Cook, pastor of Parkade Baptist, Columbia, didn’t know what to think when Pastor Mayinto Ganzon reached out to him on Facebook in November of 2023. Cook was a little skeptical at first, but he replied. “I wasn’t going to just delete the message, he said, “So I responded to figure out if he was real.” He was real. After some messaging back and forth, he agreed to lead an online Bible study for Ganzon’s congregation on the other side of the world, Grace … [Read more...]
Obedience in airport leads to new disciple
by Chris Doyle SOUTH AMERICA (IMB) – For more than 35 years, Tim Kunkel has served as an International Mission Board missionary in South America, serving with global missionary partners and other IMB missionaries. He travels often to other South American countries, including Uruguay and Argentina, from his home base in Chile. As he travels, he carries gospel tracts with him to share with people he meets. On each tract, Kunkel offers his contact information. “I don't normally leave the … [Read more...]
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