By Vicki Brown Missourians know Jean Carnahan for her contributions in the past — as First Lady of Missouri when the late Mel Carnahan served as governor and as the first woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate….
Missouri minister launching network for busy, isolated chaplains
By Vicki Brown Chaplains — military, medical and others — often feel isolated in their ministries. James Layman feels called to help change that in the Midwest. A hospital and military chaplain for 29 years, Layman has been laying a…
Baptists open safe house for human trafficking victims
By Vicki Brown Savannah Oswald elbowed her way through the crowds on Black Friday 2014, searching for the cutest clothes she could find for her limited bucks. The then-high school senior cast a practiced eye over the racks and nabbed…
Church on a tight budget? Renovate, don’t build
By Vicki Brown Some churches, it seems, are impervious to prevailing economic forces that have kept many congregations building for years. But not Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in California, which recently accounted a three-year, $71 million fundraising campaign to, in…
Recover the balance between service and evangelism, urge theologians
By Vicki Brown Before the government offered social services, the church — Christians who ministered to the whole person, meeting physical needs and sharing the good news of God’s grace and mercy — did so. Tension sometimes still arises between…
Ukranian pastor tells Baptists of war, persecution
By Vicki Brown In just a few short weeks last July in Ukraine, Pervomaysk was destroyed, Elisey Pronin’s church — Revival Church — burned and his family threatened as Ukrainian separatists took over the region. Pronin has been sharing the…
Virginia church discovers what ‘mission’ means in its community
By Vicki Brown Powers has spent nearly 10 years “helping Christians work on listening for God’s voice” as pastor of Westhaven Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Va. Now 100 years old, Westhaven is a traditional Baptist church that had once been…
Two women, one man make up Baptist church’s pastoral team
By Vicki Brown Two women and a man. The phrase might conjure snippets from the old television sitcom, Three’s Company — but at Englewood Baptist Church in Gladstone, Mo., two women and a man make up a unique, entrepreneurial pastoral…
Smooth pastoral succession takes creativity and planning, Baptist leaders say
By Vicki Brown God’s grace made pastoral succession work at Broadview Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas, congregational leaders say. The church took a step of faith when Senior Pastor David Cason began to mull retirement. How would they find someone to…