VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.– Church planting was a hot topic a the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia’s annual gathering, held March 11-12 at First Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. Emergent church guru Brian McLauren, featured in a live Skype dialogue at…
Glencarlyn Road church has new life as Columbia’s multi-site location
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — For more than a half-century, Glencarlyn Road Baptist Church had ministered to its Bailey’s Crossroads community in Northern Virginia when the congregation’s dwindling numbers and resources convinced it to take a radical step. Discerning through prayer that…
A focus on transformation: VT campus ministry offers message in creative ways
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Across the months of January and February, student leaders from Baptist Collegiate Ministries at Virginia Tech utilized the arts, interactive experiences and children’s stickers to engage their peers with the message of the transforming power of Christ. …
Trinity? There’s an app for that.
SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — Nils Smith recognizes he has an unusual title — pastor for college and online community ministry. But he suspects he may be one of the first of a new breed of ministers. Smith was serving on…
Google Thyself: Christian ethics and social networking
(ABP) — A student’s Facebook entry chronicles the painful details of a romantic break-up. Or describes an ill-spent weekend partying with friends. Or scathingly blisters someone who holds differing political views. Fast-forward a few years. That same student sits in…
GCR advocate to be nominated as SBC president at June meeting in Orlando
ORLANDO, Fla. (BP) — Georgia pastor Bryant Wright will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, a Florida pastor announced March 12. The nomination of Bryant Wright, senior pastor of the Atlanta-area Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in…
American Baptist leader says denominations must retool for 21st century
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) — Budget cuts and staff restrictions in a poor economy are only a short-term solution for America's religious denominations, says an American Baptist official. Michaele Birdsall, treasurer and chief financial officer for National Ministries of American…
ABCUSA leader says denominations must retool for 21st century
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) — Budget cuts and staff restrictions in a poor economy are only a short-term solution for America's religious denominations, says an American Baptist official. Michaele Birdsall Michaele Birdsall, treasurer and chief financial officer for National Ministries…
Federal appeals court says Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional
SAN FRANCISCO (ABP) — The same federal court that sparked controversy in 2002 by ruling that leading public-school students to recite the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional now says the pledge is an "appropriate patriotic…
Children at Chesapeake church learn how to minister
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The Children in Action at Northwest Baptist Church in Chesapeake participated in Children’s Ministry Day on Feb. 20 by visiting families at the Ronald McDonald House in Norfolk. Northwest's children gather supplies before paying a visit to…
Fredericksburg minister struggles with answers to questions of social justice
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Sarah Bush wrestles with big questions: Why do homelessness, hunger and poverty persist in the United States? Where can people in any of those situations turn for help? Bush, who serves as minister of congregational development at…
Children at Chesapeake church learn ministry
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The Children in Action at Northwest Baptist Church in Chesapeake participated in Children’s Ministry Day on Feb. 20 by visiting families at the Ronald McDonald House in Norfolk. Northwest's children gather supplies before paying a visit to…