RICHMOND — Preregistration for Connect:2008, the 185th annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, will be closing in mid-October, say association officials. Connect:2008 will be held in Roanoke Nov. 11-12 at the Roanoke Civic Center and the Hotel…
Americans believe heaven’s gates open wider
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Many Americans no longer see heaven as an exclusive destination, according to a new survey from Baylor University. When researchers polled U.S. adults about who — and how many — will get into heaven, 54 percent of…
FAITHSHAPERS: Special children
I'd like to tell you about my Ann. She is autistic, and she is the bravest person I have ever met. Sometimes she disappears, and I can find her in bed under all the pillows, or under the loveseat in…
Remembering 9-11
NORFOLK — The young adults at Freemason Street Baptist Church in Norfolk got their hands dirty for missions at a seamen's center. Virginia Intermont College in Bristol worked with a shelter for families facing homelessness and abuse. Gayton Baptist Church…
FAITH DIGEST
Digital conservation of Dead Sea Scrolls started. Sixty years after their discovery, Israeli authorities have begun the process of conserving the Dead Sea Scrolls through digital technology. Israeli archaeologists said the project — now in its pilot stage — will…
OUT LOUD
“We're here to show Christ's love, be servants and witness to the lost using chainsaws as our tools to open doors.” Steve Cabler The member of First Baptist Church in Bartlesville, Okla., was part of a disaster relief team working…
Wyatts’ ministry among international broadens
ATLANTA — This is the stuff Kim and Marc Wyatt's ministry is made of — a peaceful night's sleep for a refugee finished running from violence and danger, the sound of fellowship as a Christian connects with a once lonely…
Hostess with the mostest
Eva Vest Easley of Bluefield was the hostess with the mostest. In her stately stone house, which guests aptly called “The Easley Mansion,” she and her husband, Tyler, entertained a parade of Baptist ministers, missionaries, denominational leaders, agency and institution…
Megachurches are growing, but in different ways
Megachurches — known for their big buildings, big schools and big crowds — continue to grow, but a new study detects shifts in the way they are expanding. “The general growth pattern is that about 90 percent of megachurches report…
Latino Network youth ‘dive deeper’ in Hungary and Germany
‘I didn't know it would be such an amazing life experience for me.” The “it” that Jessie Tamayo referred to was a two-week summer adventure of international missions, dynamic worship and awesome fellowship made possible for 14 Latino youth, young…
RIGHT OR WRONG
My husband and I are in our early 30s and have been married 11 years. We have no children because of my husband's infertility. Some friends have suggested his brother donate sperm so that I can get pregnant through in…
Former head of abuse panel blasts two Catholic cardinals
An Illinois Supreme Court justice who chaired a lay review board investigating the Catholic sex abuse scandal blasts the church and prominent cardinals in a new book, accusing them of dishonesty. Justice Anne M. Burke, who headed the National Review…