ST. LOUIS – The Lord is making connections to draw people from around the world to Christ, according to Tim Cowin, lead pastor of The Rock Church of St. Louis. “We have a culture based on Ephesians 6,” he said, “We want to equip the saints. When those come from different ethnic backgrounds, we embrace them with hearts passionate for ministry.” The mid-city, four-campus congregation at the Rock Church has seen many internationals come and go through the years. “We’ve had active … [Read more...]
TOBIN PERRY/North American Mission Board KANSAS CITY – Church planter Luis Mendoza didn’t know he was a church planter when he started doing it more than 20 years ago. A new believer, in the late 1980s, Mendoza thought building relationships with non-Christians, sharing Christ and starting up new Bible studies was just what Christians did. “I became a believer in 1989 when I came here to this country,” said Mendoza, a North American Mission Board (NAMB) church planter now in Kansas … [Read more...]
Philippines: Rebuilding school paves the way to share the gospel
GIBITNGIL ISLAND, the Philippines – It’s a tiny island of 449 families accessible only by a 30-minute canoe ride, but Gibitngil island – just off the northwest tip larger island of Cebu – has been assigned to Missouri Baptists to help in its recovery, a move that opens the door for sharing the good news of Jesus along the way. The island, which measures less than one square mile, lies directly in the path of Typhoon Haiyan which hit the nation Nov. 8. More than 120,000 people evacuated … [Read more...]
Review: The Insanity of God
Mark Morris/contributing writer Editor’s Note: The following review of Nik Ripken’s book, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected, is abridged from a longer review by Morris, who serves as director for the Advance of Nontraditional Church at the International Mission Board. The full review can be accessed online at www.thegospelcoalition.org/book-reviews. Nik Ripken (name changed) serves with the IMB and will speak during the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Sowing in Tears … [Read more...]
Scripture Distribution Increases in Persecution Hotspot
SWINDON, England /Christian Newswire/ -- Bible Societies in some of the countries where Christians suffer high levels of persecution are reporting a sharp rise in the number of Scriptures distributed. There is no doubt that the persecution of Christians is on the rise. Official reports and news articles are describing it as a 'war on Christians', with horrifying statistics clearly showing that Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world.* But recent figures from Bible … [Read more...]
Prison transfer puts Abedini ‘directly at risk’ in Iran
Grace Thornton/Baptist Press TEHRAN, Iran (BP) – The life of American pastor Saeed Abedini is “directly at risk” after he was transferred Nov. 3 to an “even more dangerous” Iranian prison, according to Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice. “Rajai Shahr Prison is where prisoners are sent to disappear – many are murdered at the hands of other prisoners,” Sekulow said. Abedini’s move to Rajai Shahr Prison – where he is being held in a cell block with … [Read more...]
BGR, Mo. Baptists bring relief to Philippines
CEBU, Philippines (BP) -- Southern Baptists spent all of Monday (Nov. 18) packing relief kits for the inhabitants of Gibitngil Island in the Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan swept over the island, leaving the community battered and without easy access to relief supplies. Students from a local university and church members of the International Southern Baptist Church of Cebu assembled the kits in the church's sanctuary. The relief kits were scheduled to be distributed today (Nov. … [Read more...]
‘Peace came over me’ on Korean hillside
NORTH FORK, Va. (BP) – St. Louis native, Chaplain Parker Thompson, can recall the moment – more than 60 years ago – he knew he was where God wanted him as an Army chaplain in the Korean War. With the war’s end in sight in the summer of 1953, fighting grew furious as the two sides hammered out an agreement over the transfer of prisoners of war. On the backside of a blood-soaked hill near some of the deadliest fighting of the war, Thompson waited for 10 to 20 troops – whoever could make … [Read more...]
Typhoon ravages islands of the Philipines
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Missouri Baptists are headed to the typhoon-ravaged islands of the Philippines, and leaders are asking for prayer, future volunteers and funds. Dwain Carter, director of Disaster Relief (DR) for the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) and Mike Beasley, a disaster relief “white hat” from Trimble Baptist Church, will leave Nov. 13 for The Philippines joining two Southern Baptists from Texas at the request of the United Nations and the Filipino government. They … [Read more...]
Missourians break the missionary mold: CP is godsend, CPA-turned-missionary says
SANTIAGO, Chile – David Stow does not fit the stereotypical mold of a missionary, yet his role as team leader over the International Mission Board’s (IMB) office of overseas finance in Chile allows him to see the impact that all Southern Baptists can make around the world. “Fifteen years ago, I thought missionaries were preachers and people who were outgoing evangelists,” David said. He described himself, on the other hand, as an introvert who grew up attending North Star Baptist Church, … [Read more...]
European Parliament calls on Iran to free Abedini
The European Parliament Oct. 10 passed a resolution that called for the exoneration and release of American Pastor Saeed Abedini, who is imprisoned in Iran simply because of his Christian faith. The American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), along with our European affiliate – the European Centre for Law and Justice – has been meeting with members of the European Parliament (MEPs) detailing the facts surrounding the illegal imprisonment of Abedini, a U.S. citizen. In a press … [Read more...]
Naghmeh Abedini shares at Annual Meeting
Nagmeh Abedini shares how God has taken the persecution of her husband and turned it into an amazing opportunity to share the gospel in prison and with world leaders. Nagmeh Abedini from MBC on Vimeo. … [Read more...]