Application forms are now available for three separate scholarships funds overseen by the BGAV scholarship and ministerial educational funds committee of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. Forms are available for the BGAV Achievement Scholarships, the BGAV Ministerial Educational Funds and…
Southside Association plans special day for church planter
Virginia Baptist minister Juan Carlos Gascon has faced many challenges with faith and gratitude. He now faces perhaps the greatest challenge imaginable. On March 11, Gascon, Hispanic church planter for the Southside Baptist Association, and his son, Jonathan, were in…
Stewardship is subject of two events in May
“Developing a Giving Life” is the theme of a convocation and public program to be held on Tuesday, May 20 at Bon Air Baptist Church in Richmond. The convocation will focus on the present state of stewardship education and is…
Most Americans believe sin exists; they just can’t agree which acts are sinful
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The vast majority of Americans believe sin exists, but they differ on which behaviors are sinful, according to a new survey by Ellison Research. The Phoenix-based marketing research company found 87 percent of Americans believe in the…
Spirituality plays significant part in children’s happiness
TORONTO (RNS) — Spirituality contributes significantly to a child's overall happiness — even more so than for adults, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia. The study tested 315 children ages 9 to 12, measuring spirituality…
Bluefield students examine Holocaust
BLUEFIELD — Bluefield College involved its students, faculty and staff, other scholars and the community at-large in a powerful and serious look back at one of the most significant events in world history — the Holocaust — during a month-long…
Theologian N. T. Wright packs the house
FALLS CHURCH — “I am trying to call people back to the Bible they didn't know they had,” declared British theologian N.T. Wright during a lecture sponsored by the John Leland Center for Theological Studies. Braving rush hour traffic in…
Obama’s former pastor gives first TV interview
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Pastor Jeremiah Wright, who became a household name recently after video snippets of his sermons created a stir on the Internet and a headache for his most famous parishioner, is defending himself in an interview that was…
Floral theology delineates doctrines held by Calvinists
Theologians past and present have used a bouquet of initials and analogies to describe Calvinist doctrine. Historically, the Reformed Synod of Dort in the Netherlands delineated the differences between Calvinism and the teachings of James Jacobus Arminius. For the sake…
N.C. college receives donation of 1686 Luther Bible translation
MARS HILL, N.C. (ABP) — Across the centuries, across the ocean, through bombings and world wars, a sacred bit of history has emerged from the distant past to find a home at Mars Hill College. The North Carolina Baptist school…
Texas church, mired in controversy over gays in directory, loses pastor
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Brett Younger, pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, survived a vote to fire him last month but is leaving the church anyway — to become associate professor of preaching at Mercer University's…
Sudanese Baptists reunite after years-long division fueled by nation’s deadly civil war
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — After years of division precipitated by one of history's deadliest civil wars, Sudanese Baptists have finally — like their nation — reunited. The reunification of the Sudan Interior Church North and the Sudan Interior Church…