Let’s take a break from our soup to nuts journey that began two years ago. Rather than writing about another leg in that overall process of planning, funding, and building your church project, this month’s column will be devoted to…
OPINION: The BJC at 75
I am finishing up a student internship with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. This year the BJC celebrates its 75th anniversary as a religious organization devoted solely to the protection of our first freedom. With offices located across…
Baptist chaplain on USS Enterprise wants shipmates ‘to see God in me’
NORFOLK, Va. — Baptist chaplain Fred Holcombe Jr. pastors a flock numbering 3,500 to 5,800 people — the population of a small town. But this “town” is more than 18 stories high, 1,123 feet long and takes up 4 1/2…
5K run hosted by Palmyra, Va., church benefits medical missions in Liberia
PALMYRA, Va. — It started as a coincidence, two churches on opposite sides of the Atlantic sharing an unusual name: Effort Baptist Church. This seemingly random discovery was the beginning of a powerful partnership between a congregation in a central…
In Applachian county, Baptist teens improve lives through Impact Virginia
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Two hundred thirty youth from 13 Baptist churches across Virginia converged on the campus of Bluefield College July 24-30 to make a difference in the lives of families in southwest Virginia through a faith-based community service project…
Virginia’s Baptist collegiate ministry names new leadership at campuses
RICHMOND, Va. — Campuses across Virginia will start the school year with new Baptist campus ministers, following action taken by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s emerging leaders team last month. Carey and Gannon Sims • At the University of Mary…
Sims to assist with FX initiative
RICHMOND, Va. — Gannon Sims has been named coordinator assistant for Fresh Expressions, a church revitalization movement coordinated by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. Gannon Sims Sims will work closely with Chris Backert, Fresh Expressions coordinator in the U.S., and…
BTSR announces new staff members
RICHMOND, Va. — Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond named a new vice president of advancement and a director of community life in early August. Tim Heilman Timothy Heilman assumed the vice president’s position on Aug. 1, becoming the seminary chief…
Fork Union’s new president his the ground running on first day
FORK UNION , Va. — Rear Admiral J. Scott Burhoe arrived on the campus of Fork Union Military Academy in mid-July for his first day serving as president, and he hit the ground running. Literally. Scott Burhoe In keeping with…
TRENDING: New Zealand clues — Charismatic but not Charismania
“For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:5) Here’s a touchy topic for most U.S. Baptists: If what is happening in New Zealand Baptist life is a clue to what might be coming next here…
VIRGINIA BRIEFS
Bluefield launches social network. New Bluefield College students are getting to know one another, even before they step foot on the BC campus, thanks to a new social network called BC Bound. Designed by the college’s admissions office, BC Bound…
NORTH CAROLINA BRIEFS
Hispanic pastor facing deportation. A Hispanic Baptist pastor arrested last summer by immigration authorities will find out Sept. 2 whether he will be deported for a crime committed in 1995. Hector Villanueva, pastor of Bautista la Rocha in Siler City,…