Friday, October 11, 2019

• Ukrainian believers: 'Standing on our knees'

  by Nicole Leigh, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  IMB photo

  KHARKOV, Ukraine (BP) -- It was still dark outside as I rose to go to prayer. A chill in the room told me that it was going to be a frigid mile walk to the square. I wanted to crawl back under the covers but resisted. "I've been doing this for only three days while my Ukrainian friends have done it every day for five years," I rebuked myself.

  Leaving the hotel, I picked my way around frozen piles of ice and deep muddy puddles, bent my head away from the wind, wrapped my scarf a little tighter, and walked in the early morning light to Freedom Square in Kharkov. It was 26 degrees with fresh snow falling and a bitter wind beating at my face, but I arrived to find big smiles, hearty handshakes and warm cheek-kisses from a jovial group who seemed not to notice the cold at all. The contagious joy warmed me from inside out and made me glad I'd come. Read More

• O'Rourke's tax-exempt opposition draws response

  by Tom Strode, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Screen capture from CNN.

  LOS ANGELES (BP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke's declaration churches should lose their tax-exempt status if they do not agree with same-sex marriage drew quick rebuttals from Southern Baptist leaders and others.

  If elected president, the former congressman from Texas said he would make such a policy a priority in response to a question during the Power of Our Pride Presidential Town Hall Thursday night (Oct. 10) in Los Angeles. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation sponsored the town hall, and CNN conducted and telecast the event. HRC is the world's largest civil rights organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Read More

• Christian casualties follow U.S. retreat from Syria

  by Mindy Belz/WORLD, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  BBC screen capture

  NORTHEAST SYRIA (BP) -- Turkish forces launched a bombing campaign across northeastern Syria on Wednesday, targeting civilian areas and killing Syriac Christians.

  The bombing campaign, launched less than 48 hours after a phone call between President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appeared to target Christian and Kurdish enclaves in the cities of Qameshli, Kobani and others. Shelling also hit the border town of Nusaybin, in Turkey, where the oldest church in a region once dominated by the earliest Christians is located. Read More

• One Christian killed, 12 kidnapped in Nigeria

  by Diana Chandler, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  iStock photo

  KADUNA, Nigeria (BP) -- A Baptist woman is dead and 12 Christians including church members, school students and teachers remain kidnapped in two successive incidents in Kaduna, Nigeria, widely attributed to militant Fulani herdsmen.

  In the latest incident, herdsmen killed Ezra Haruna of Godiya Baptist Church in Ungwan Barau village and kidnapped four of her fellow church members, Morning Star News reported Thursday (Oct. 10). Many residents fled into nearby bushes, Morning Star said. Read More

• ETCH: Helping kids, student ministries 'Thrive'

  by Aaron Wilson, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo by Amanda Mae Steele

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Between wrangling toddlers, filling volunteer spots and helping teens navigate adolescence, the responsibilities that lace kids and student ministry can make for a tough gig.

  But God doesn't intend for these crucial ministries to merely survive, but to thrive, said leaders at the 2019 ETCH Family Ministry Conference held October 7-9 at the Music City Center. Read More

• EDITORIAL: El poder de la cooperación

  by Luis R. Lopez, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  Alguien dijo: "Si caminas solo llegarás más rápido, pero si vas acompañando llegarás más lejos." Los bautistas del sur somos una comunidad de casi 16 millones de creyentes y más de 45,000 ... Read More

• Hurricane Michael one year later: A home for DR volunteers

  by Margaret Colson/Florida Baptist Convention, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Florida Baptist Convention photo

  PANAMA CITY, Fla. (BP) -- Two days after Category 5 Hurricane Michael made landfall on Florida's Panhandle on Oct. 10, 2018, Florida Baptists' disaster relief volunteers were there.

  Headquartered at Hiland Park Baptist Church in Panama City, volunteers were actively assessing damage, beginning to meet needs and sharing God's love. Read More

• IMB, Billy Graham Center focus on rural churches

  by Julie McGowan, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  IMB photo

  WHEATON, Ill. (BP) -- The International Mission Board and the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College's Rural Matters Institute have launched a five-year research project that aims to arm the rural church with resources needed to advance the Gospel within and beyond the United States.

  "The idea is to provide information that will benefit rural practitioners in the United States and around the world," said Jeffrey Clark, director of rural missiology and research for the IMB. "This will involve research, writing, and training for rural practitioners ... that will help [them] be more effective in reaching their field for Christ." Read More

• COOPERATIVE PROGRAM: An 'invisible army'

  by Jeff Iorg, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  Through the Cooperative Program, Jeff Iorg writes, Southern Baptists have "stood together for decades to build the largest and most efficient missionary and educational support system in the world. May we honor their legacy by doing even more to advance God's Kingdom." Read More

• Ofrenda Annie totaliza récord de $61.4 millones

  Por Brandon Elrod, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo by Greg Schneider/NAMB

  SAN FRANCISCO (BP) -- Por tercer año consecutivo, la Ofrenda de Resurrección Annie Armstrong (AAEO) para las misiones norteamericanas ha batido récord.

  El total de la ofrenda de 2019 fue anunciado en una concurrencia el lunes en la noche (7 de octubre) con los directivos de la Junta de Misiones Norteamericanas (NAMB). El presidente del Comité Ejecutivo de la Convención Bautista del Sur, Ronnie Floyd reveló el total de $61.4 millones en una video llamada. Read More

• 'Caring Well.' El abuso es un 'asunto del Evangelio,' dice Greear

  Por Tom Strode, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Fotografía de Karen Race.

  GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) -- El Evangelio no puede separarse de la manera en que la iglesia aborda el abuso sexual, dijeron los líderes bautistas del sur J.D. Greear y Russell Moore el jueves (3 oct.) en el primer día de la sexta conferencia anual de la Comisión de Ética y Libertad Religiosa (ERLC).

  Greear, el presidente de la Convención Bautista del Sur, y Moore, presidente de la CELR, hablaron ante una audiencia de 1,650 personas registradas en la conferencia, "Caring Well: Equipping the Church to Confront the Abuse Crisis," en Grapevine, Texas. La reunión --organizada por la CELR en conjunto con el Grupo de Consultores de la CBS sobre el Abuso Sexual, el cual creó Greear el año pasado -- está diseñada para educar a las iglesias sobre la prevención del abuso y cómo ministrar a los sobrevivientes de tal abuso. Read More

• Corte debate protecciones gay y transexuales

  Por Tom Strode, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  iStock foto

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- La Corte Suprema de EE.UU. deliberó dos horas el martes (8 de octubre) sobre si la antigua y antidiscriminatoria ley federal en el lugar de trabajo provee protección a la "orientación sexual" o a la "identidad de género," y por lo menos algunos jueces parecieron persuadidos de que sí lo hace.

  La corte alta oyó los argumentos orales en dos casos consolidados que abordan "la orientación sexual," seguido por argumentos en una apelación en relación con el asunto de "identidad de género." En los argumentos, la corte alta estaba presionada a dictaminar que la clasificación "sexo" en el Título VII de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 aplica a esas categorías. Read More

• Iglesia de Arizona usa bolas de ping pong para seguirle la huella al alcance

  Por Noah Jaeger, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Foto presentada.

  PHOENIX (BP) -- Como otras iglesias alrededor del país, Valley Life Church en el vecindario Tramonto de Phoenix ha adoptado la iniciativa evangelizadora "¿Quién es el tuyo?" promovida por la Junta de Misiones Norteamericanas (NAMB) y el presidente de la Convención Bautista del Sur J.D. Greear. Pero Valley Life podría ser la única iglesia que esté usando bolas de ping pong para marcar su progreso.

  Cuando la iglesia adoptó Quién es el tuyo, colocaron una presentación visual para exponer el éxito del movimiento -- una caja transparente que contiene bolas de ping pong de diferentes colores. Cada color significa una porción del logro de la iglesia -- las bolas blancas ... Read More

• EDITORIAL: El poder de la cooperación

  Luis R. Lopez, posted Friday, October 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  Alguien dijo: "Si caminas solo llegarás más rápido, pero si vas acompañando llegarás más lejos." Los bautistas del sur somos una comunidad de casi 16 millones de creyentes y más de 45,000 ... Read More