RICHMOND — A Chicago-area seminary president and two Virginia pastors are slated to be keynote speakers this fall at Connect:2009, the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. Alistair Brown The two-day meeting, set for Nov. 17-18 at…
BTSR graduates return to campus to ‘lend a hand’
RICHMOND — The grounds at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond underwent a massive sprucing this summer as six 2005 graduates of the school — with a cadre of youth in tow — returned to campus to “lend a hand to…
From the ashes: A new Poplar Springs rises after fire
RICHMOND — The group of beleaguered church members huddled together watching their church burn would never have believed that something good could come from so great a tragedy. But from the ashes of the old has sprung a beautiful new…
Plano church giving hope to children through children
PLANO—First Baptist Church aims to give hope to children and through children. With its current campaign, it’s doing both. Children of the church filled Texas-sized banks with coins for the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger to feed hungry children…
Shoes for Orphan Souls collects 2 millionth pair of shoes
DALLAS (ABP) — Buckner International’s Shoes for Orphan Souls ministry has collected its 2 millionth pair of shoes for needy children and families in the United States and around the world. The long-anticipated milestone came during the 10th anniversary of…
Church delivers gospel with a side order of pie
SHALLOWATER—A warm apple pie opens doors and hearts to the gospel, as members at First Baptist Church of Shallowater discovered. Church members are seeking to visit homes in their small town 10 miles northwest of Lubbock and put into practice…
Gaddy trades barbs with Jindal over taxpayer-funded flights to churches
MONROE, La. (ABP) — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is trading barbs with a prominent Baptist pastor over the governor’s use of a state helicopter and travel detail to attend churches in far-flung — but politically strategic — parts of the…
Georgia Baptist pastor killed in botched drug sting
LAVONIA, Ga. (ABP) — Members of a Southern Baptist church in Northeast Georgia want answers about the police-shooting death of their 29-year-old pastor in a drug-sting operation gone wrong. Jonathan Ayers, pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Lavonia, Ga.,…
Historic church finds new energy in missions commitment
FRANKFORT, Ky. (ABP)—When churches fall on hard economic times, some congregations reduce the amount they give to missions. A Kentucky Baptist pastor believes they should do the opposite. “I think churches are in a survival mentality right now, and it…
Missional church reaches out through health care
FRANKFORT, Ky. (ABP)—Mission Frankfort Clinic is a godsend for an average of 40 to 50 uninsured patients who come through its doors between 6:30 and 8:30 on Wednesday nights to see a doctor or dentist or to get a prescription…
Accused Baptist swindler Allen Stanford sued for gambling debt
LAS VEGAS (ABP) — An accused swindler who allegedly traded on his Southern Baptist faith in business dealings owes more than a quarter-million dollars in gambling debt, according to a lawsuit filed by a Las Vegas casino Sept. 1. Allen…
Black, white Ky. churches unite in move toward reconciliation
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — Long talks, compromises and at least one blunt sermon preceded a recent celebration service uniting a black church and a white church in Louisville, Ky. Several questions remain for the new congregation, but both pastors insist…