Tuesday, October 08, 2019

• Annie Offering totals record high $61.4 million

  by Brandon Elrod, posted Tuesday, October 08, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo by Greg Schneider/NAMB

  SAN FRANCISCO (BP) -- For the third straight year, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering (AAEO) for North American missions has hit a record high.

  The 2019 offering total was announced at a Monday evening (Oct. 7) gathering with North American Mission Board (NAMB) trustees. Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee President Ronnie Floyd revealed the $61.4 million total in a video call. Read More

• Survivors share stories at 'Caring Well'

  by Tom Strode, posted Tuesday, October 08, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Karen Race Photography

  GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) -- Survivors of sexual abuse shared their painful stories and urged churches to care for the survivors in their midst at a Southern Baptist-sponsored national conference Oct. 3-5.

  The survivors' personal stories came during "Caring Well: Equipping the Church to Confront the Abuse Crisis," a conference hosted by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) in partnership with the SBC Sexual Abuse Advisory Group. The event -- the ERLC's sixth annual national conference -- sought to educate churches about abuse prevention and ministering to survivors. Read More

• From death to life, physically and spiritually

  by GHR Staff, posted Tuesday, October 08, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  GHR photo

  SOUTH AFRICA (BP) -- Mr. Kumalo* was a thin, fragile man who lived in a small, modest home. His house was empty, devoid of wife and children. It was sparsely furnished with only the barest of necessities, but he welcomed visitors inside as if he lived in a castle.

  In his dimly lit abode, the one possession he treasured most wasn’t a family heirloom or a religious icon. It was a homemade bed. Knowing outsiders would not understand its value, he explained its significance: He had lain down to die there several months earlier. Read More

• PrayerLink asks God for workers for the Harvest

  by Shannon Baker, posted Tuesday, October 08, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo by Shannon Baker

  PITTSBURGH (BP) -- As Southern Baptist PrayerLink leaders gathered in Pittsburgh to pray for the next Great Awakening in America, a rising consensus among the participants was that American churches might not yet be ready for the harvest.

  "A part of what we need to be praying for is, 'Lord would you convict us, guide us, equip us to be ready for the harvest,' because when the harvest comes, if we're not ready, it's going to be too late," charged Claude King, discipleship and church health specialist for LifeWay Christian Resources. Read More

• Man accused of swindling money as false church planter

  by Diana Chandler, posted Tuesday, October 08, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Screen capture from Memphis Fox 13

  MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP) -- Memphis police are investigating a report accusing a man of swindling people out of money by saying he was planting a Southern Baptist church, sponsored by Bellevue Baptist Church in nearby Cordova, Tenn.

  Police are investigating an incident report filed Sept. 16 by Latoya Nicole Hare of Memphis against 22-year-old Jaycolby Marchel Robinson, according to a copy of the report Memphis Police emailed Baptist Press. Identified as additional victims are Ricquel Lanette Hull and Regina Taylor Osei. Read More

• FROM THE STATES: Ky., Ga. evangelism/missions news; Church 'fully including folks that often feel marginalized and left out'

  by BP and State Convention Newsjournals staff, posted Tuesday, October 08, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  iStock photo

  Today's From the States features items from: Western Recorder (Kentucky); The Christian Index (Georgia).

  Ky. church plant embraces unprecedented vision

  By Chip Hutcheson

  OWENSBORO, Ky. (Western Recorder) -- A Kentucky church plant could rightly be called the most unique one in the United States. Read More

• FROM THE SEMINARIES: Global Missions Week at SWBTS; For the Church workshop at MBTS

  by SBC Seminary Staff, posted Tuesday, October 08, 2019 (3 years ago)

  Global Missions Week at SWBTS focuses on Central Asia; For the Church Workshop, led by Strachan, Christ's redemption of a fall world.

  Global Missions Week at SWBTS focuses on Central Asia

  By Julie Owens

  FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Social pressure, violence, and unrest are barriers to mission work in Central Asia, but the region is fertile with opportunities for enthusiastic missionaries who ... Read More

• 'Caring Well:' SBC must fight for victims

  by Tom Strode, posted Tuesday, October 08, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Karen Race Photography

  GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) -- Speakers from outside and inside the Southern Baptist Convention addressed the topic of sexual abuse and churches' response Oct. 3-5 at a national conference.

  Survivors and advocates pointed to missteps and a desire for repentance in the SBC, while Southern Baptist leaders urged pastors and churches not to fall short in caring for victims and preventing abuse during the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission's (ERLC) sixth annual national conference hosted in partnership with the SBC Sexual Abuse Advisory Group. An audience of more than 1,650 registered for the event, which was titled "Caring Well: Equipping the Church to Confront the Abuse Crisis." Read More