CARL JUNCTION – In 2022, the legacy of First Baptist Church Carl Junction was in danger. They’d experienced a slow but steady decline with an aging membership. Their history was rich—the church was founded in 1882—and they had some great resources, such as a large building. However, baptisms and new members were rare. Some members, like Charles Culbertson, sought opportunities for outreach elsewhere due to lack of opportunity in their own church. Charles and his wife, Ann, loved FBC, but it … [Read more...]
‘God’s got a plan for us’: Belleview Baptist church members trusting God after fire destroys building
BELLEVIEW, Mo. – Belleview Baptist Church here lost their building in a fire, Dec. 9. “It’s probably a total loss,” Bob Curtis, director of missions for the Mineral Area Baptist Association, said. “They’re in a holding pattern, waiting on insurance.” Church members Clifton and Brenda Sohn, who have a music ministry in the church, said the fire began between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. Although it will likely be weeks before both a fire marshal’s report and an insurance assessment are … [Read more...]
Delta, Macon churches revitalized through Resound’s ReFocus program
DELTA/MACON, Mo. – First Baptist Church (FBC) of Delta and Macon FBC encountered long-lasting revitalization through Resound Network’s ReFocus program. This program provides clarity on six imperative aspects of a church’s ministry: vision, mission, values, strategy, goals, and annual plans. While this can be done by forming a cohort that meets over a period of months, these two churches participated in the 3-day intensive workshop. ReFocus, according to Pastor Phil Bray of Macon FBC, … [Read more...]
Quilting ministry helps hurting women, children
WARRENSBURG – A quilt is generally made from fabric pieces that are sewn together. Perhaps there is no better fitting illustration of broken lives being put together, as happens with clients of the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home, foster children and unwed mothers. “Pat’s Saturday Sew Day” is the Grover Park Baptist quilt ministry, and in less than two years, it has given away 277 quilts, and counting. In about 2015, a monthly sewing club was started for those who wanted to learn … [Read more...]
Pastor, wife team pass baton of leadership to teenagers
ALTON – It doesn’t take more than five minutes of talking to David Case to learn three things: he loves Jesus; he and his wife, Rosemary, are an inseparable team; and he is passionate about passing the leadership baton to young people in the church. High school sweethearts who grew up in Oregon County, Mo., David and Rosemary got married right after high school in 1966, ready to start their lives together with promising jobs lined up. Just two weeks later, David got his draft notice. They … [Read more...]
Trinity Baptist, St. Mary, finds renewal after aligning ministries with mission
ST. MARY – In 2020 Trinity Baptist Church in St. Mary was experiencing declining membership and had an average worship attendance of around 30. However, the congregation wasn’t ready to close the doors. The church’s biggest strength was it didn’t give up,” Pastor Ed Carter says. “It kept on going even though (the members) knew they didn’t have much strength or power left.” St. Mary is about an hour and a half south of St. Louis. Carter became the church’s pastor in August 2020. He led … [Read more...]
Conference, luncheon highlight biblical truths for women during Missouri Baptist gathering
‘Befriend faithfulness’: Women’s Conference features MBC executive director’s wife by Pathway staff A Women’s Conference was hosted, Oct. 28, in conjunction with the Missouri Baptist Pastors’ Conference. The event also included worship led by Missouri Baptist University’s Spirit Wing, a presentation by the MBC Ministry Wives Network, and a message from Tanya York, wife of Southern Seminary’s Hershael York. The conference also featured Tara Fowler, wife of MBC Executive Director Wes … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptist WMU groups use craft project to teach about Cooperative Program
CONWAY – Working together on a hands-on project is a key learning principle for children. The Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) has tapped into that principle with a craft project for teaching about the Cooperative Program. The children in mission groups, summer camps and Vacation Bible Schools across the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) are making craft stick units to help them understand how the 47,000 churches in the SBC work together through the Cooperative Program (CP) for the sake of … [Read more...]
IMB’s Pratt: Local church ‘foundational’ to missions
O’FALLON – The local church is “the foundation” of training overseas missionaries for the International Mission Board (IMB) said the organization’s vice-president of field personnel, Zane Pratt, at the annual Global Missions Celebration at First O’Fallon, Oct. 10-13. Speaking as the mid-week conference kickoff speaker, then echoing his remarks during the church’s Sunday morning worship service, Pratt said, “The local church is the heart of missionary training.” Local churches, he said, … [Read more...]
Jamestown Baptist reaching out to community amid holiday season
JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Baptist Church is staying pretty busy this holiday season. They hope to reach out to their town this fall by sharing generously. And they are collecting for missions work in a couple of ways. Ken McCune, the pastor for the church for the past eight months—and interim pastor off and on for a couple of years prior—said it is a generous church, and they have recently seen a half dozen new families starting to attend. Three of these couples have joined the … [Read more...]
MBC messengers share thoughts on the CP
ST. CHARLES – Messengers to the MBC Annual Meeting in St. Charles, Oct. 28-29, shared their thoughts on the Cooperative Program by taking part in a short survey. The results reveal their knowledge of CP and their preferred usage of CP materials provided by the MBC missionary staff. Nearly 200 messengers and guests completed the 10-question survey, which consisted of two parts. Part I sought to discover what Missouri Baptists know about CP. Part II asked for feedback on which CP materials … [Read more...]
Gasconade Valley Baptist Association explores mission work in Poland
BLAND – The Gasconade Valley Baptist Association is considering ways they can assist the Warsaw Bible Church in Warsaw, Poland. This church ministers to many refugees from Ukraine, and their numbers have swelled considerably since Russia invaded the Ukraine homeland of these refugees. The association sent four people to Poland in August to consider partnerships and future mission trips. Kevin Sullivan, the pastor of First Baptist, Owensville, went on the trip along with Trent and Dana … [Read more...]
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