By Jeff Brumley Jason Coker says most members of his Connecticut Baptist church are social drinkers in a culture where alcohol consumption is expected. “I tell interns who come up here if you are in a social setting and you…
Experts: VBS needs missional focus
By Jeff Brumley Relatively few of the 90 to 100 children who attend vacation Bible school at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church each summer are members of the Jacksonville, Fla., congregation. And that’s just fine with children’s minister Faith McCall. Offering…
Baptists team up for ‘Loving Oklahoma’
By Jeff Brumley The Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship announced today they will host a major disaster-recovery campaign in August for tornado-battered Oklahomans. “Loving Oklahoma” will be held Aug. 5-10 in five areas in the…
Stunned by arson, church will worship Sunday
By Jeff Brumley Investigators now know that arson was the cause of two fires that struck Providence Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday morning. What authorities and the CBF-affiliated church still don’t know is who did it and why. “At…
FBC West receives Baylor donation
By Jeff Brumley First Baptist Church of West, Texas, will receive nearly $300,000 from a Baylor University fund established after the fertilizer plant explosion that partially flattened the city in April. The money from the Baylor West Relief Fund will…
What’s next for CBF chaplaincy?
By Jeff Brumley Jim Pope will become interim chaplaincy and pastoral counseling endorser for CBF when George Pickle steps down from that position on June 30. What he will not become – ever – is a candidate for the Pickle’s…
Church in foreclosure? Make a plan
By Jeff Brumley A Missionary Baptist pastor in Anniston, Ala., learned recently that his church faces foreclosure and its building may be auctioned to the highest bidder by the end of the month. The Anniston Star reported Friday that Pastor…
Man-made disaster plan still a dream
By Jeff Brumley Organizers of a CBF-sponsored conference held in April to help ministers and counselors emotionally impacted by the Sandy Hook massacre say they’re prepared to replicate the program if needed. However, they add that it’s yet to become…
Rest elusive for disaster workers
By Jeff Brumley Barbecues, trips to the mountains, visits to the beach or just relaxing in the backyard are options for many pastors during the summer. But not those who find themselves and their congregations at ground zero of recent…