Pathway

Missouri Baptist Convention's Official News Journal

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Page: CP advancing, not retreating

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ERIN ROACH/Baptist Press BALTIMORE (BP) – Southern Baptists are advancing, not retreating, as they rally to give more through the Cooperative Program to fuel the Great Commission task, Executive Committee President Frank Page told messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Baltimore June 10. “We thank God that two years ago the Cooperative Program stopped its declination at 5.41 percent and last year rose for the first time in two decades to 5.50 percent,” Page … [Read more...]

Lottie Moon hits record $154 million

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Erich Bridges/International Mission Board RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – Southern Baptists gave an unprecedented $154 million to the 2013 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, breaking the record for the largest total in the offering’s 125-year history. The 2013 offering, finalized June 5, reached $154,057,852.36. The total represents an increase of nearly $4.8 million over 2012, or 3.2 percent. It tops the previous record, $150.4 million in 2007, by more than $3.6 million, and … [Read more...]

Blunt Pleads for Ibrahim, Abedini

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Sen. Roy Blunt (R., Mo.) on the Senate floor Wednesday urged the U.S. to protect the rights of religious minorities throughout the world. Blunt specifically called for the release of Meriam Ibrahim and Pastor Saeed Abedini, who are both jailed for their religious beliefs. Speaking about Ibrahim, Blunt stated, “I think asylum in the United States for her U.S. citizen husband, children, and her would be an appropriate thing. And the danger they feel they face by someone who’s willing to … [Read more...]

Huckabee in Israel, visits family of kidnapped girls

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Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has traveled to Israel and his first stop was to visit with the family of one of the three Israeli teenagers abducted nearly two weeks ago by Hamas terrorists. The teens, one an American citizen, were kidnapped as they walked home from their religious high school on Israel’s West Bank. Huckabee, a former president of the Arkansas Baptist Convention and now a Fox News Channel personality, is pondering a run for president in 2016 and is known for his strong … [Read more...]

IMB’s Elliff unveils ‘One Sacred Effort’ theme

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Don Graham/IMB senior writer BALTIMORE, Md. – In his report to the convention, International Mission Board (IMB) Tom Elliff unveiled IMB’s theme for 2014, “One Sacred Effort,” encouraging every Southern Baptist to “find your place in God’s story.” For more information on IMB’s theme and how to get involved go to one.imbresources.org. Elliff’s report detailed the activities of Southern Baptist missionaries in 2013. But rather than highlight the total numbers of new believers and baptisms … [Read more...]

IMB, NAMB, WMU commission 100 missionaries

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Shannon Baker/Baptist Press BALTIMORE, Md. (BP) – The International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board commissioned approximately 100 during a rare joint commissioning service sponsored by the Woman’s Missionary Union, June 8, at the Baltimore Convention Center. In an emotional service marked by prayer and praise, many were commissioned to serve as church planters, evangelism catalysts, collegiate ministers, refugee workers, chaplains and ministers to people groups in … [Read more...]

Soccer star lives life for Jesus

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Andrew Branch/World News Service (WNS) – As his native Brazil hosts the month-long World Cup tournament, soccer star Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite wants you to know that he is a Christian. Ricardo, better known only as Kaká, is a 32-year-old Brazilian who plays for AC Milan in Italy. Though left off this year’s World Cup team, Kaká has played in the last three World Cups for Brazil, winning it in 2002. He grew in popularity and won FIFA’s highest honor, the Ballon d’Or, in 2007. “I … [Read more...]

SBC to launch hunger campaign

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Mark Kelly/Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) – Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund (WHF) national partners will launch a new initiative during the June 10-11 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting that will continue the SBC’s unique “dollar in, dollar out” approach in the battle against hunger across North America and overseas. Global Hunger Relief (GHR)will maintain continuity with the purposes and focus of the World Hunger Fund while presenting the cause of hunger relief to a new … [Read more...]

Chocolate center of Muslim boycott

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A Muslim group is calling for a boycott of Cadbury after two types of chocolate produced by the company were found to have traces of pork DNA. Pork products are not “halal,” or permissible under Islamic law. “This will teach all companies in Malaysia to maintain and protect the sensitivities of Malaysians,” Sheik Abdul Kareem Khadaied, the head of research with the Muslim Consumers Association Malaysia, told a press conference. “This is an issue that cuts across … [Read more...]

Southwestern admits Muslim

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Gary K. Ledbetter/Southern Baptist Texan FORT WORTH (BP) – A Palestinian Muslim who assisted Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Gezer archaeological project in Israel was admitted to the school’s Ph.D. in archaeology program, in an apparent exception to the seminary’s admissions policy. Seminary President Paige Patterson told the Southern Baptist Texan that the student enrolled at Southwestern last year because “he had no other options for Ph.D. work in his field” and because … [Read more...]

Nigerian Christians hopeful amid persecution

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William Bagsby/Baptist Press NIGERIA (BP) – The Nigerian church leader was secretly housing new followers of Jesus, former Muslims. When the time came for his second child to be born, he left his house to carry his wife to a clinic. “While he was away with her, his home was attacked and the group scattered throughout the area,” said Aaron Bryson,* an International Mission Board (IMB) worker in Nigeria, recalling the situation in 2010. One man was killed at the scene and the group … [Read more...]

Abedini: Another birthday in prison

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May 7 marked Saeed Abedini’s second consecutive birthday in an Iranian prison. The American pastor has been imprisoned since 2012 for allegedly working for an underground Christian church movement while assisting with an orphanage project. Abedini has been hospitalized for abuse from prison guards for several weeks after originally being denied treatment. “I have heard from thousands of people over the past couple of days wanting to wish Saeed a happy birthday,” said Abedini’s wife, … [Read more...]