New BWA position oversees evangelism, religious freedom
The Baptist World Alliance has created a new position tasked with helping develop evangelism and missions.
Elijah Brown
BWA also announced that the full-time position — called director of integral mission — includes “providing administrative oversight and leadership in the areas of defending religious freedom, human rights, and justice; and advancing theological reflection and transformational leadership.”
“I am excited to announce this position, the next step in the strategic growth of our BWA team,” BWA General Secretary Elijah Brown said in a news release. “Our global Baptist family has been unified by the Great Commission for more than 100 years, and this position is an expression of our continued commitment to evangelism and mission.”
More information, including application requirements, is available online.
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New mentoring programs at Wake Divinity
New continuing education programs for early-career clergy, church planters and intentional interim ministers are being launched at Wake Forest University School of Divinity in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The new certificate programs provide mentor opportunities for clergy in “today’s challenging ministry contexts,” the School of Divinity announced.
“Clergy in Community” is a program for those in North Carolina and parts of Virginia with five to 10 years ministry experience. The two-year program will combine engagement with civic leaders and peer-based cohorts “to better integrate their work as public religious leaders in the public square,” the divinity school announced.
“Thriving in Ministry” is a two-year program for church planters and intentional interim ministers. It includes in-person and online cohort gatherings and other opportunities to recharge and encourage spiritual growth. The program is open to church planters and intentional interims from across the United States.
Both programs are being created with financial support from Lilly Endowment, Inc. Visit the School of Divinity online for detailed information about each program.
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Shoes for asylum seekers
Many asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border are in need of shoes. Fellowship Southwest said the need is often desperate.
(Photo/Fellowship Southwest)
“We saw men wearing too-small women’s flip flops. We saw women with blistered feet wearing shoes unfit for walking. And we saw many barefooted children,” the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship ministry said in a recent newsletter.
City Church in Del Rio, Texas, has registered with Walmart and DollarDays, enabling supporters to purchase shoes online and have them shipped to the congregation for distribution.
The church “serves immigrants and refugees daily by providing for them one of their biggest needs: new shoes,” Fellowship Southwest said. “They hand out 300 to 500 pairs of new shoes every week. They are providing shoes for both children and adults, but adult shoes are the greatest need.”
Visit DollarDays online to donate shoes to children and adults. Adult shoes can also be contributed through Walmart.