PADUCAH, Ky. (BP) – In the eye of a storm that ripped the roof off the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, preschool director Michelle Rushing found calm for herself and the 40 children who were there sheltering in place. As a tornado was sweeping through a five-mile stretch in west Kentucky around 9:30 a.m. on March 14, Rushing guided the children into the innermost room, following the church’s storm plan, she told WPSD in Paducah. Then she said they sang songs like “Jesus Loves Me” and “He’s Got … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE (BP) – By the time churches have fully embraced Facebook, many of their members and those they are trying to reach may have left it behind. Nearly three-quarters of Facebook users (74 percent) have adjusted their connection with the social media platform in some way over the past year, according to Pew Research. That reportedly includes the 54 percent who adjusted their privacy settings, 42 percent who took a break from checking it for several weeks or more, and 26 percent who … [Read more...]

WASHINGTON (BP) – Churches that haven't updated their wireless sound system may have trouble being heard on any given Sunday, as the federal government is phasing out the 600MHz frequencies many congregations use. The Federal Communications Commission will complete the transition of the 617-652 MHz and 663-698 MHz spectrum bands from wireless microphones and television broadcasts by July 13, 2020, but the transition began in 2017. The frequencies are being transitioned to wireless … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE (BP) – Multitudes prayed in thousands of venues on the 2018 National Day of Prayer, capped with a televised national prayer service scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern today (May 3) in the U.S. Capitol. Southern Baptist Convention Pastors' Conference President H.B. Charles, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., will be a main speaker at the 67th annual observance in Washington. Former SBC president Ronnie Floyd is the 2018 National Day of Prayer (NDOP) … [Read more...]

STAUNTON, Ill. (BP) – Volunteers carried a livestock feeding trough April 8 into the high school gymnasium where NET Community Church meets each Sunday. The trough had a lofty purpose as 11 people were baptized during morning worship, each wearing T-shirts with the words “going public.” “Their life stories were all very different, but their life conversion was the same,” said Derrick Taylor, pastor of NET Community. “It was so exciting to witness each one ‘going public’ with their new … [Read more...]

WASHINGTON (BP) – Prayer for America's leaders and reports of a pastors' meeting with Vice President Mike Pence were among the components of worship in some Southern Baptist churches April 15. The prayer times and reports followed an April 11 meeting involving Pence and several dozen pastors and their wives in Washington for the Mega Metro Conference, an annual gathering for pastors of Southern Baptist churches with average worship attendance of at least 3,000 or average Sunday School … [Read more...]