Messengers to the Blue Ridge Baptist Association celebrated a century-and-a-half of ministry as they gathered Oct. 23 at Fairystone Baptist Church. Many came dressed in period attire as they looked back in time to celebrate their most significant accomplishments. Guest…
GuideStone Services adds property & casualty insurance
DALLAS (BP) — This fall, many Southern Baptist churches and ministries will have access to property and casualty insurance and risk management services from GuideStone Agency Services. The GuideStone Property & Casualty (P&C) Program will gradually roll out regionally over…
Virginia churches asked to partner after Ike
BEAUMONT, Texas — New Beginnings Church is hoping it can live up to its name, and Virginia Baptists have been invited to help it do so. Hurricane Ike scattered the congregation, sending members evacuating to safer ground. The storm pulled…
Fighting in Congo creates humanitarian crisis
NEW YORK (ABP) — Escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is creating a “humanitarian crisis of catastrophic dimensions,” the head of the United Nations said Oct. 29. U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon called attention to the flare-up, which…
Special events at the annual BGAV meeting in Roanoke
• African American Fellowship Dinner: Nov. 10, 5-7 p.m., Flat Rock Grille, Valley View Mall, 5033 Valley View Blvd. Contact: Wayne Faison. • Bivocational Pastors and Staff Luncheon: Nov. 11, 12 noon-1:45 p.m., Roanoke Performing Arts Theatre (2nd floor, back…
Missionaries rejuvenate barn in Andean village
EDITOR'S NOTE: This year's Week of Prayer for International Missions, Nov. 30-Dec. 7, focuses on missionaries who serve in South America as well as churches partnering with them, exemplifying the global outreach supported by Southern Baptists' gifts to the Lottie…
EDITORIAL: The gifts of the Spirit
As you have seen, the theme of this issue is the “Holy Spirit.” I first began to think seriously about the Holy Spirit during my childhood. The female relatives on my mother's side became Pentecostals after Mom left home to…
Azerbaijan pastor tried on Oct. 31
WASHINGTON (BWA) — Hamid Shabanov, a Baptist pastor in Azerbaijan who was arrested on June 20, faced trial on Oct. 31. He is charged with the illegal possession of a weapon. Shabanov is the second Baptist pastor in the town…
Mississippi churches tackle Delta’s poverty
ATLANTA — Of all the places Courtney Allen thought she'd be during a summer ministry in Greenville, Miss., standing in rubber boots in raw sewage wasn't one of them. But a local family desperately needed a functioning bathroom, and someone…
Father, Son & Who?: Baptists struggle with concept of the Trinity
Ghost!” a 5-year-old screeched as he stood in the pew and clutched his mother's neck. “Mama, the preacher said there's a ghost in here!” Although most Baptists in the sanctuary laughed at the outburst, likely at least a few also…
Baptist activist applauds stay of execution
ARLINGTON, Texas (ABP) — An American Baptist minister who advocates criminal-justice reform hailed as a “miracle” the latest stay of execution for a black man convicted of murdering a white Georgia police officer nearly 20 years ago. Alan Bean of…
Remembering our Marjorie
Marjorie Lee Bailey was uniquely equipped with God-given gifts for one of the most challenging places of ministry. In 1966 she began service as director of religious activities and chaplain at the Virginia women's prison in Goochland. In 1977, in…