NASHVILLE – The crowd at the SEND North America Conference Aug. 3-4 saw 13,600 people from 49 states in attendance, and that includes nearly 100 from Missouri. Josh Hall, pastor of Selmore Baptist Church in Ozark, came with three others from his church, as well as his associational director of missions. “I attended the SEND conference in Dallas in 2013 and found it very encouraging/inspiring,” he said. “I wanted some others from our church to experience that as well. We also have some … [Read more...]
Preparations begin for Crossover: St. Louis
FERGUSON – A group of more than 200 pastors and Christian leaders gathered at the First Baptist Church of Ferguson on the day violence occurred in the early morning hours sparked by the one-year anniversary weekend of the shooting death of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer. Leaders from both sides of the Mississippi met together to hear the plans for and the challenges of Crossover St. Louis, which will precede the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting, June … [Read more...]
Ferguson: One year later
FERGUSON — Despite some violence that arose here, Aug. 9, during the one year anniversary of the shooting death of African American teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer, local church leaders have seen positive changes in both the community and the church. “The Christian community,” Ken Petty, pastor of The Gate, said, “looks to transform the wider community where we live. The racial divide was brought to the surface and many pastors and leaders began praying and leading to … [Read more...]
Free evangelistic horse whisperer show coming to Fair’s Opening Day
SEDALIA – James Frazier wrestled steers and manhandled broncs as a rodeo cowboy in his youth, but at 45, he has found a calmer, quieter, not to mention safer, way of bringing an animal with a bad attitude in to submission: talking to it. Frazier will host a free horse whispering demonstration 10 a.m. Aug. 13 at the Mathewson Exhibition Center at the Missouri State Fair. Admission to the Fair is normally $10 for adults and $7 for seniors, but on the 13th, Opening Day, admission is $4 for … [Read more...]
O’Fallon church growing Christ’s presence in community
O’FALLON – First Baptist O’Fallon (FBCO) in suburban St. Louis seeks to grow God’s church – not necessarily only the local congregation – through a renewed outreach program focusing on spreading Christ’s message. Senior Pastor Richard Young explained the program: “We are providing an opportunity for church members to take the good news of Christ to the community in a variety of ways: personal visits, phone calls, cards and letters, and intercessory prayer.” Since January, members have … [Read more...]
Missouri church planter in Omaha seeks to engage
OMAHA – Rick Posey came away with an unintended consequence after he led mission teams from his Valley Springs, Ark. church to this thriving city along Interstate 29: he wanted to stay. A Missouri native from Springfield, he spent the last 15 years pastoring in Arkansas and Missouri (including six years as associate pastor at Skyline Baptist Church in Branson). While there his church helped a few new church plants take root, and that’s when God began to impress upon him that he and his … [Read more...]
MB125 blesses small church pastors, families
BRANSON – Most Missouri Baptist churches are small, and the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) held its sixth MB125 conference, June 24-27, in Branson for the pastors and families of those churches. Gary Mathes, the MBC’s pastoral ministries specialist, said that 85.4 percent of Missouri’s 1,883 churches have fewer than 125 in Sunday morning worship. “Small is normative,” Mathes said. He compared the conference to NASCAR drivers making an occasional pit stop for instructions, … [Read more...]
Bucket project opens doors in Africa
Summer has arrived. Missouri’s Major League Baseball Teams are on top of their game with a winning season, and Missouri Baptists are being asked to step up to the plate as well. Missouri Baptists have been given a huge challenge by Baptist Global Response to fill 5,000 “Buckets of Love” in 2015. This month, 486 of Missouri’s buckets have arrived at the Houston port ready to be shipped to Africa to give our IMB missionaries and Baptist partners an open door to share the gospel with persons … [Read more...]
Missouri couple shares Christ in South Asia
SOUTH ASIA – As a 7-year-old growing up in Clinton, Mo., Chase Tozer* heard the gospel at an old-fashioned revival meeting. He felt convicted, but was unsure he was ready to be obedient. “He was preaching on fire and brimstone,” Tozer remembered. “I made a deal with God: If he brought me back the next night, I would go talk to the preacher and figure out just what he was talking about.” He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior that night, and when he open his eyes after praying, he saw … [Read more...]
Teens grow in faith at MBC’s Super Summer
HANNIBAL – Hundreds of Missouri Baptist youth have completed Super Summer, a camp alternative held at Hannibal-LaGrange University here in June. Jeff Carson, an MBC staffer with the leadership development team, said the first weeklong session drew 515 youth and leaders, and the second week drew over 275 teens and leaders. “A good number of students, especially the first week, identify that God called them to some type of ministry,” Carson said. “We’ve seen that consistently the last … [Read more...]
Barna, Barton call for discipleship, biblical thinking at ‘Turning America’
SPRINGFIELD – George Barna and David Barton called believers to make disciples and promote a biblical worldview during the Conservative Americans Club (CAC) “Turning America” conference at Second Baptist Church here, June 26-27. Barna and Barton are co-authors of the book, U-Turn: Restoring America to the Strength of its Roots, which contains much of what the two men endorsed during the conference. Barna is the founder of The Barna Research Group, and Barton is president of Wallbuilders … [Read more...]
Will your church’s insurance be enough?
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, churches are worried about lawsuits. This isn’t an irrational fear. I don’t think any Court will soon order ministers to perform a service that conflicts with the minister’s faith. But there is a shift in public opinion that makes it plausible in the future. The definition of ‘fairness’ is changing. In the past, if one minister or church refused to marry a couple, the couple would find another minister or church. This was “fair,” … [Read more...]
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