CHURCH NEWS • New Bridge Church, Sandston, broke ground for an addition to its fellowship hall on Nov. 23. The addition will include a music suite, prayer room, additional space for meetings and classrooms. When the project was proposed, an…
American Baptist agency faces shortfall
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (ABP) — The board of American Baptists' National Ministries met Nov. 12-13 to consider cuts to cover a $1 million gap between the organization's income and expenses. According to American Baptist News Service, National Ministries Executive…
N.C. Baptists nix plan to forward CBF gifts
GREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP) — North Carolina Baptist churches soon won't be able to support the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship through the state convention, messengers decided at their annual meeting Nov. 12. The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina voted to kill…
Texas Baptists defer name change proposal
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas elevated to its highest office the son of a former president, deferred action on a proposed name change and approved a reduced budget for 2009 at its most sparsely…
RIGHT OR WRONG?
Congregations are being torn apart by conflict. Usually, the decisions to resolve the issues are decided by majority votes. Why is there no deference to minority reports? After all, that is the ground out of which Baptists developed. Controversy and…
Seminars to focus on tax planning
The most important federal reporting obligation for most churches is withholding and reporting employee income taxes and Social Security (FICA) taxes. A number of unique rules apply to churches and “ministers for tax purposes.” Yet many churches do not comply…
Md./Del. cuts budget amid financial hardships
DOVER, Del. (BP) — Messengers to the Nov. 10-11 annual meeting of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware approved an overall budget of $6.2 million for the coming year, down from $7.1 million in 2008. Anticipated Cooperative Program giving from churches…
Missouri Baptists again elect ‘SOC’ slate
ST. LOUIS (ABP) — Messengers to the Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting Oct. 27-29 once again elected officers sympathetic to a reform movement within the state convention, while hearing a report about the difficult work of an ad hoc “peace…
Supreme Court rules in favor of Virginia Baptist Homes’ Glebe
Ordinarily Halloween is not the holiday most associated with gift-giving, but for the trustees and administrators of the Virginia Baptist Homes it was like Christmas. On Oct. 31, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled in favor of VBH, ending a three-year…
WorldCrafts gives hope to Afghan families
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In the midst of Afghanistan — where armed conflict and oppressive poverty make every day a struggle for survival — some women and their families have found deliverance thanks to WorldCrafts. WorldCrafts, a fair trade nonprofit ministry…
Spending time and money wisely:
• Draw names instead of giving to everyone. • Let others help; tell them your intention to give less and ask them not to buy an expensive gift. • Give family gifts instead of individual gifts. • Give gifts only…
Oklahoma elects first Native American president
BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (BP) — Emerson Falls, pastor of Glorieta Baptist Church in Oklahoma City and a member of the Sac and Fox and Choctaw tribes, was elected as the first Native American president of the Baptist General Convention of…