JOPLIN — On May 22, 2011, only five weeks after Brad Graves and his family moved to Joplin to become senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, the destructive winds of the EF5 tornado blew through the city. Since then, the winds of God’s Spirit and grace have blown through the church to accomplish some mighty things. Baptisms and giving to missions have reached milestone marks. In the last 20 months, Calvary has given $200,000 to Great Commission projects and the church has had 211 … [Read more...]
Carthage’s Cornerstone Baptist looks to the future with plant
CARTHAGE — The hope of Cornerstone Baptist Church as it gets off the ground here in its first months downtown is that something strong is being built. “I saw a statement once that a dandelion grows a lot quicker than an oak tree,” said Jim Ziler, one of three elders in the church whose sending church is South Creek, Springfield. “Hopefully we’re not a dandelion but an oak tree. I think we’ve been able to glorify Him through what we’ve done. We’ve been able to be obedient to what He’s given … [Read more...]
North County churches show heart for the homeless
FERGUSON – Several churches joined together to give a Valentine to the homeless in North County St. Louis. On Feb. 9, I Heart North County, an organization formed by Passage Community Church, Trinity Nazarene and North Church and now working with several individuals and groups, held a Valentine personal care collection party at First Baptist Church, Ferguson. “I Heart North County was approached by a representative of the Ferguson-Florissant school district,” said Kylanne Rosenberger, … [Read more...]
Farley challenges DOMs on rural church ministry
LAKE OZARK — About 40 directors of missions from across Missouri gathered here Jan. 29-31 to discuss small and rural church dynamics with Gary Farley, DOM at Pickens Baptist Association in Carrollton, Ala. Farley, an author, rural sociologist and missions strategist, gave the Missouri DOMs several points to consider as they work with smaller membership churches. The DOMs were meeting for their semi-annual meeting with Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) leaders. Farley is a contributing … [Read more...]