GRANDVIEW – Their mid-80s seemed a perfect time for Conrad and Donna Krieger to jump into a new work as church planters when Overflow Church began in a suburban area of young families and varied ethnicities. (See related story here.) And, for a couple used to traveling around the country in a motorhome with their family to sing in small churches, moving though several Kansas City locations as Overflow found a permanent building was nothing new. The Kriegers attended Blue Valley Church in … [Read more...]
Conference to equip families to care for aging loved ones
FLORISSANT – Support for those tasked with caring for aging loved ones is the goal of a special conference to be held on Feb. 22 at Salem Baptist Church in Florissant. “Finding Hope During Family Crises,” a five-hour event, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., will feature four guest speakers from a variety of agencies and disciplines concerned with aging and the challenges that go with family care. “So many families are taken more or less by surprise by the issues that come about when … [Read more...]
Bismarck FBC makes disciples, builds community connections
BISMARCK – Making connections and disciples is the focus of the ministries at First Baptist Church (FBC), Bismarck. The church builds connections with the community and equips mature Christians to disciple younger Christians. “Our missions committee had funds that we wanted to use to bless the community,” Eddie Wakefield, co-chair of the missions committee, said. “We made up 8-10 groups of a mix of youth with older adults, gave them funds and told them to find people in the community that … [Read more...]
ReHope enters 2025 with gala, new community of ‘tiny’ homes
Ministry helps trafficking survivors see their value in Christ KANSAS CITY – Ministry involved glitz and glamor for one night, on Jan. 25, as ReHope hosted its 11th annual fundraising gala to support its services to survivors of human trafficking. ReHope, a faith-based ministry formerly known as Restoration House, was originally an effort of Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association. Its residential and recovery ministry provides survivors with individual attention and focused … [Read more...]
2024 MMO receipts set record, exceeding $1 million
JEFFERSON CITY – Receipts for the 2024 Rheubin L. South Missouri Missions Offering exceeded $1 million, crossing that threshold for the first time and setting a record for giving by Missouri Baptists to state mission projects ranging from foster care to disaster relief. MMO receipts in 2024, which are disbursed in 2025, totaled $1,072,207, far outpacing the goal of $760,000 and shattering the previous record of $990,740 set in 2022. Assisted by an estate gift totaling $136,000, the … [Read more...]
‘Divine appointment’ connects pastor with 9-year-old boy fighting cancer
LEBANON – Roger Sherrer was looking for his package. A parcel company carrying an order for some sports memorabilia had not shown up on the expected delivery date. It was to have been delivered to the church office at First Baptist Church in Lebanon where Sherrer is one of the pastors. But instead the package accidentally went to a family in a town about 70 miles away. That was a “divine appointment” that the Lord set up, Sherrer said. Through this misdirected package he was able to … [Read more...]
DOM Alan Brock retires from Shoal Creek Baptist Association, plans to focus on bivocational pastors
NEOSHO – Alan Brock has retired as the director of missions for Shoal Creek Baptist Association. He plans to move to Bolivar, where he is hoping to offer classes and training conferences for area bivocational pastors. He has served in several locations in Missouri as a pastor and DOM. Those locations included pastorates in Belfast Baptist, Neosho; Fellowship Baptist in Neosho and Calvary Baptist in Chillicothe. He served as DOM at the Linn-Livingston Baptist Association, Meadville; North … [Read more...]
Vehicle hits, damages FBC Rogersville building
ROGERSVILLE, Mo. – The First Baptist Church here sustained damage on Saturday, Jan. 25, when a car accelerated into the front of their worship center. The accident happened around 5:30 PM. According to Springfield television station KY3, a car with two occupants was parked in the church driveway near the entryway. While parked, the driver experienced a medical condition and accidentally stepped on the gas, propelling the car into the brick and stone exterior wall beside the front entrance … [Read more...]
Baptist Homes & Healthcare Ministries: Christlike care for more than a century
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series of features on Missouri Baptist ministries supported for a century through the Cooperative Program giving of MBC-affiliated churches. Matt Easter serves as Director of Christian Studies and Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Missouri Baptist University. The mission of Baptist Homes & Healthcare Ministries is to provide Christlike care, education, and advocacy for the aging, all for the glory of God. And this has been their mission for … [Read more...]
Springfield couple fosters 55 children over 30 years
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – There probably haven’t been many times in the last 33 years where there hasn’t been a baby or infant in the home of Jim and Marty Schurke. So far, they have fostered 55 children, many with special medical needs. “We are a medical foster home and licensed for newborns to three-year-olds, but not all have medical needs,” Jim said. Babies up to three years old, have stayed with the Schurke’s anywhere from one week to three years. Knowing that the babies are generally not … [Read more...]
Almost a year after fire, Lewis County church meets in new building
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mo. – Just shy of a year since the former church building and parsonage were destroyed in fire, Providence Baptist Church in Lewis County in northeast Missouri has a new place to call home. The fire, believed to have been arson, destroyed the church structure and the parsonage a quarter mile away, Jan. 4, 2024. But on Christmas Eve 2024, they held their first service in the new 10,800-square-foot, single level building near where the parsonage had stood. The parsonage won’t … [Read more...]
Freeway Ministries launch ‘a dream come true’ in Missouri’s capital city
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Dreams came true and prayers were answered, Jan. 3, for the men and women who launched Freeway Ministries at Concord Baptist Church here in an effort to bring Christ’s love and hope to the broken and hard-to-reach in the state’s capital city. “God is here tonight,” Mike Quinn, Concord’s staff evangelist and a member of the Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) executive board, said as he spoke to the roughly 200 people gathered for the launch of the ministry. “He’s … [Read more...]