NASHVILLE (BP) – Decreases in the number of baptisms and new churches reported by International Mission Board missionaries during the past decade reflect changes in data-reporting methods and missions strategy, not a lack of evangelistic ministry. That’s the conclusion of a March 21 IMB news release issued in response to observations that overseas baptisms for 2015 are at their lowest level since 1969 – 54,762, according to the IMB’s 2016 Ministry Report to the Southern Baptist … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptists send 1,247 relief buckets to Africa
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptists filled 1,247 Baptist Global Response buckets packed with supplies during 2015, and the majority of those have gone to Mozambique, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast, with the latest shipment currently being prepared to go to Cape Town, West Africa. Prior to the emphasis in 2015, Missouri Baptists had a part in sending about 300 buckets for this project. Since 2013, more than 8,800 buckets have been filled and sent to Africa from all over the United … [Read more...]
St. Louis churches reach out to Indonesia
LOOKING FOR 'SPIRITUAL DARKNESS IN ITALY' LINK? PLEASE CLICK HERE. INDONESIA – Missouri Baptists in St. Louis have learned the longterm benefits of going on mission with God as they’ve organized trips to the islands of Indonesia. Since 2013, Lee Perkins* has led collegiate students with St. Louis connections to Indonesia to reach their Indonesian peers for Christ. Each year, this group has expanded in size – from a handful in 2013 to more than 20 this coming summer. College students are … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptists partner in Italy
VENETO, Italy – From the moment he arrived in Belluno, Italy, Jeremy Sells soaked in everything he saw and heard. And this province with a population of nearly 200,000 people had plenty to take in, since it is located in the Alps of northern Italy and in a country that has Christian monuments dating back hundreds—if not more than 1,000—years. But nothing prepared Sells, pastor of First Baptist Church, Scott City, for a meeting he and his mission team had with a local evangelical pastor. … [Read more...]
Churches likely to fear refugees
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When it comes to helping refugees, Protestant churches and their pastors are often separated by faith and fear, according to a new survey from LifeWay Research. Most pastors say Christians should lend a hand to refugees and foreigners, and believe caring for refugees is a privilege. But pastors say their churches are twice as likely to fear refugees as they are to help them. “Pastors believe Scripture tells Christians to care for refugees and foreigners,” said Ed … [Read more...]
KC churches develop leaders, reach out to refugees in Africa
OAK GROVE – Pastor Randy Messer of First Baptist Church here walked into a classroom in the Horn of Africa and heard voices, crying out and pleading to someone, but he saw no one. But as Messer stepped further into the room, he found the source of these cries. A group of young pastors had come to class earlier, where they knelt on the floor praying and crying out to the Lord. These would be Messer’s students for the next several days. “How powerful that was,” Messer said. “The presence of … [Read more...]
IMB’s Platt looks forward after ‘reset’
RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – Following an “organizational reset” that saw more than 1,100 International Mission Board personnel transition away from the board, President David Platt told a March 3 live stream audience he is ready to focus on the future. “I really want to shift the conversation from talking about numbers and finances to talking about how this army of brothers and sisters going out specifically from Southern Baptist churches across North America can make the Gospel known among the … [Read more...]
Prayerwalking: Reaching a city on foot
INDONESIA (BP) – It started with a map and a book. The map laid out the sprawling city in which International Mission Board worker Howard Brackey* lives. The book challenged Howard to put feet to his prayers for the city. The book hit close to home. In “That None Should Perish: How to Reach Entire Cities for Christ Through Prayer Evangelism,” author Ed Silvoso described undertaking the task of prayerwalking a large South American city. As Howard read the book, he thought about his … [Read more...]
Glasses ministy helps Mexico hear – and see – gospel
CHIAPAS, Mexico – At 98 years old, Domingo Lopez had never laid eyes on a foreigner. But, thanks to Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City, when he finally did meet them at one of four eyeglasses clinics in the southern state of Chiapas, he could see them clearly. Lopez was one of hundreds ministered to through an eyeglasses clinic put on by Concord, the latest of 19 such mission trips over the past six years that began when Larry Merry was part of a medical missions trip and realized he … [Read more...]
Acts 1:8 is basis for Canaan Baptist’s mission
ST. LOUIS – Canaan Baptist Church in St. Louis not only set Acts 1:8 as a mission focus verse, but the church with a Sunday attendance average of 575 practices this. Pastor Daniel Carr said the verse challenges believers to reach Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth. For Canaan, four major projects comprise the Jerusalem segment. “We’ve identified our Jerusalem as the greater St. Louis area. First, We did an Easter egg drop from a helicopter. We did this for … [Read more...]
Platt asks state papers to encourage unity
PONCE, Puerto Rico (BP) – International Mission Board President David Platt has asked Baptist state papers to encourage unity among Southern Baptists following the announcement next week of how many IMB personnel have left the board through a series of voluntary resignation programs. Addressing a gathering of Baptist state paper leaders Feb. 16 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Platt also detailed what he deemed some of the most exciting work God is doing through IMB missionaries across the … [Read more...]
IMB: 1,132 missionaries, staff accept VRI, HRO
NASHVILLE (BP) -- The International Mission Board announced today (Feb. 24) that 983 missionaries and 149 stateside staff have transitioned outside the mission entity during the past six months as a result of its voluntary retirement and resignation programs. IMB President David Platt told trustees the organization now expects to operate a balanced budget for 2017 due to its 2015-16 organizational "reset" processes and the generosity of Southern Baptists who have given … [Read more...]
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