SPRINGFIELD – Dave Van Bebber, pastor of FBC Buffalo, is scheduled to engage atheists in a moderated theological debate March 1 on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield. Van Bebber is partnering with the Rev. Sean McCormack, pastor of Winchester (Kan.) Christian Church, against debaters from Springfield Freethinkers. The non-profit organization Be Civil, Be Heard is co-sponsoring the debate with Missouri State University Talks. This is the first in a series of planned … [Read more...]
New pastors network looking to help leaders ‘stand in the gap’
ST. ROBERT – Pastors in Missouri have a new tool at their disposal as they try to stay abreast of a changing culture and legal landscape. The non-denominational American Pastors Network has a new arm in Missouri. Keith Carnahan, pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church in St. Robert is the president of the Missouri Pastors Network, and Monte Shinkle, pastor of Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City, is the vice president. The networks’ mission is to identify, encourage, equip, educate and … [Read more...]
‘Give it to Jesus:’ 8-year-old’s Christmas CD raises $1,400 for hunger relief
TROY – Carmen Cowles didn’t think twice when her music teacher asked her if she wanted to record a Christmas CD in his home studio. The eight-year-old second grader also didn’t have to think twice when her grandmother, Cathy Irwin, asked her what she wanted to do with any proceeds that might come from selling it. “She immediately told me, ‘Give it to Jesus,’” Irwin said. So that’s what Cowles did, selling the CD to her church family at First Baptist, Troy, door to door in her … [Read more...]
MBC prez gives charge to lawmakers
JEFFERSON CITY – Ken Parker, president of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) and pastor of First Baptist, Kearney, warned Missouri lawmakers of “the danger of lingering in or near potentially sinful scenarios” during the 12th annual prayer service at Concord Baptist Church here, Jan. 4. Preaching from Genesis 19, Parker urged state officials and others in his audience not to follow the example of Lot, who “lingered” in the doomed city of Sodom after being warned by heavenly messengers … [Read more...]
Reunited: After splitting 23 years ago, two churches ‘re-marry’
ELLISVILLE – First Baptist Church here had already voted to spend $2 million in the first phase of rennovating its building. It’d been more than 35 years since any updates had taken place, and the growing church in West County St. Louis needed new and better facilities. Five miles down Route 66 in Wildwood, West County Community Church, which split from First Baptist in 1993, was seeking God’s will after its long-time pastor left last winter. Though that congregation had thrived and built … [Read more...]
Dream fulfilled: Burundi family accepts Christ
KANSAS CITY – Omar Segovia had a $50 bill burning a hole in his pocket but no one to give it to. As the Missouri Baptist Convention church planting missionary prayer-walked through a low-income neighborhood in Kansas City, he was seeking out a man he’d met earlier who might could use the cash. The problem was, Omar couldn’t remember exactly where the man lived. “As I prayer walked, I was intentionally praying for someone that I or some local church could disciple,” Segovia said. Not … [Read more...]
Refugees become friends for St. Louis Baptists
ST. LOUIS – Friendship is the focus of the new “Good Neighbor Initiative” established by the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association. The Initiative seeks to match Missouri Baptist families with refugee families new to the area. “The reality of increasing numbers of refugees,” Darren Casper, associate executive director of St. Louis Metro Association, said, “from war-torn countries with little more than the shirt on their backs, makes it important for us to connect with them in love.” When … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptists offer medical care in Southeast Mo.
JACKSON — Free rural medical care clinics will be available for Southeast Missouri residents thanks to the joint efforts of several Baptist associations in the area. A mobile medical clinic RV unit has been donated and a plan to staff it for rural health clinics has been organized. LifeCare Ministries is the name of the new organization which will provide the unit free to the 7 participating associations and their churches in the SEMO area. The 1996 model RV sat beside the Perry County … [Read more...]
Fire ruins Hannibal church days before Christmas
HANNIBAL – A fire that destroyed the Antioch Baptist church in rural Hannibal five days before Christmas didn’t keep the congregation from celebrating the birth of Jesus. Pastor Jack Emmite reported that for Christmas Sunday “we had a full house, a lot of our own and outside visitors” who worshiped at Smith Funeral Chapel in Hannibal. While the members were heartsick about the fire Dec. 20, Rev. Jack Emmite, the pastor for almost 25 years, was resolute: “We are going to move forward. We … [Read more...]
Loving life: Woman chooses life for baby, blesses family
DESLOGE— Sitting at the local clinic awkwardly in a paper gown, Dawn couldn’t stop shivering. She couldn’t … no, she wouldn’t have his baby. How could she keep something that would only be a reminder of the pain and shame of rape? That man was a monster. She had only gone on a few dates with him when he decided to force himself on her. And now she was pregnant. She was working two jobs and could barely take care of the two-year-old son she already had. She would just get a quick abortion … [Read more...]
Bus ministry reaches dozens of children
ROCKY MOUNT – A secular song “Another one rides the bus” takes a new meaning with Northshore Baptist whose average Sunday attendance is 70 people. Pastor Mark Kessler says a bus ministry vision happens with ongoing church love and dedicated efforts. Three vans regularly bring up to 45 children to the church, especially for Wednesday night activities and fewer for Sunday services. “Twelve years ago, I became pastor. A deacon, who recently passed on – ‘Mr. Phil,’ a retired school … [Read more...]
BREAKING: Fire ruins rural Hannibal church days before Christmas
HANNIBAL – A fire that ravaged Antioch Baptist Church here, Dec. 20, devastated its members only a few days before Christmas. But despite the church’s loss, Pastor Jack Emmite – acknowledging the emotional ties with the ruined building – was resolute in his hope for the future. “We are going to move forward. We will rebuild,” Emmite, pastor of the church for almost 25 years, said the day after the fire. There were no known injuries or fatalities. As of Dec. 21, plans for where the … [Read more...]
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