OSLO, Norway (ABP) — Four Baptists in Azerbaijan received five-day jail sentences Oct. 31 after a police raid on a harvest festival in a private home, according to an international news service that specializes in religious freedom. Forum 18, a…
Russian leaders decry arson attacks on churches
KARACHAYEVO-CHERKESSIA, Russia (ABP) — Political and religious leaders in Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus region denounced arson attacks on two Russian Orthodox churches and one Baptist church overnight on Nov. 1. An Orthodox church in the village of Ordzhonikidzevsky in…
Iraqi Baptist pastor says Baghdad’s Christians living in fear
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — A Baptist pastor in Baghdad told a European Baptist leader that Christians there are living in fear following an Oct. 31 attack on a Catholic church in Iraq's capital that left more than 50 dead….
Church implodes buildings to make way for $115 million project
DALLAS (ABP) — One of Southern Baptists’ most historic and prominent congregations has officially embarked — with four simultaneous Oct. 30 building implosions — on what it is calling the biggest church renovation-and-expansion project in modern history. Four buildings are…
Land criticizes Obama’s reference to political ‘enemies’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention's top spokesman for moral concerns added his voice to a chorus of conservative bloggers and commentators criticizing President Obama for telling Hispanic voters to "punish your enemies" by getting out to vote….
At 60, Texas CLC still providing witness to broader culture
AUSTIN, Texas (ABP) — Born with “a dream and an ache in the heart” 60 years ago, the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission has challenged and helped shape the Lone Star State — and Baptists all over the nation — ever…
Study finds large churches can do better at retaining members
HARTFORD, Conn. (ABP) — Large congregations are more likely than small churches to emphasize evangelism and recruitment of new members but significantly less likely to contact members who stop attending, according to a recent study. A little more than half…
Why do people leave churches?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Many churches and denominations put a lot of effort into attracting new members only to lose many of them through a “back door” — a term used to describe people who regularly attended a church in…
‘Unchurched’ studies seek to understand why people leave
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Seeking to develop strategies to prevent formerly active members from leaving through the so-called “back door,” LifeWay Research has conducted surveys to better understand why people leave. “I think we have a lot of strategies for…