Using both hands, I gingerly turned the giant pages, yellowed with age, lest I should inadvertently damage the treasure of information before me. Eagerly my eyes scanned the small print for a report and an interpretation of what had happened…
Ministry seeks to share God’s love with the ‘strangers among us’
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — The struggles of life are the same for every person. Affordable housing, the ability to support one’s family, transportation, health care, raising children — but for some these struggles are greater due to an environment they do…
From the Eastern Shore to the Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • James W. Holt, to Summit Point Church, Summit Point, WV, as pastor. • Michael Peedin, to Stanardsville Church, Stanardsville, as pastor. • Jeff Kinder, to Rosedale Church, Rosedale, as pastor. • John Hertzler, to First Church, Newport…
OPINION: The elephant in the room
Often when folks get together they will talk about everything and anything and avoid the real issue that needs to be addressed. This is the “elephant in the room” dilemma. Let’s not say what we should say because then we…
ASK THE ARCHITECT: Appropriate master planning enhances worship
Do worshipers enter your sanctuary from a busy street, still wrapped in the frenzy of the traffic outside? Do they negotiate a sea of asphalt and enter directly from an unsightly parking lot? Or do they approach the building under…
OPINION: Watch your assumptions about job loss
I received an email prayer request from a friend whose daughter lost her job. Tough times loom for her, but much of his request was that God would use this trauma to illuminate her need to trust Jesus Christ for…
VITAL SIGNS: A new ministerial role
For centuries the church has taken Ephesians 4 to heart and suggested that there are five primary roles for a minister to fulfill. Modern ministers are expected to embody these roles as needed and with a significant level of expertise…
State CBF challenges churches for global missions
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — Saying Fellowship Baptists need to “keep the promises” made to missionaries and the neglected peoples they serve, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina has issued a $100,000 challenge on behalf of the CBF Offering for…
‘Heaven’s Rain’ filmmaker honored by Attorney General
WASHINGTON (ABP) – A former state senator-turned-filmmaker was honored April 8 by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for pioneering legislation for the rights of crime victims. Brooks Douglass, currently touring the country with his feature film, Heaven’s Rain, which tells…
Death Row inmates’ families find refuge at Hospitality House
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (ABP) — Two young men spent the day listening to music and weaving beaded bracelets, laughing and talking, seemingly nonchalant. That abruptly changed when their grandmother entered the room cursing angrily, shouting, then sobbing uncontrollably. She had witnessed…
Volunteer service bridges the generation gap
DALLAS (ABP) — Intergenerational volunteer programs benefit both youth and elders, studies show. For young people, spending time with older adults can improve their social skills, boost their school performance, introduce an element of stability into their lives and cut…
Common values, mission draw Christians together across lines of age
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Community usually is defined by the word “common.” What do people hold in common that draws them or binds them together? The way believers “do” or embody the church often is defined in communal terms. Whether…