GO (Global Outreach) Teams are short-term summer mission immersion projects for college students from across the state. Sponsored by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and Baptist Collegiate Ministries, these international mission teams also develop leadership skills and build community through…
Lakewood marks 30
RICHMOND — Lakewood Manor Baptist Retirement Community, operated by Virginia Baptist Homes, will celebrate its 30 year anniversary on Oct. 21. The Richmond Baptist Association's dream in 1963 of having a Richmond retirement community has served thousands of residents over…
Virginia Intermont College moves toward its religious roots
BRISTOL — Robert Rainwater, dean of religious life at Virginia Intermont College, will never forget May of 2007. On the 16th day of that month he fell 14 feet from a ladder while doing home repairs and fractured his back….
Baptist Heritage Day celebrated at Bluefield College for ninth year
BLUEFIELD — Bluefield College celebrated its history Oct. 8 with an annual Baptist Heritage Day ceremony on campus, featuring a keynote address from an authority on Baptist life, Joseph T. Lewis, president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. For…
EDITORIAL: A little child shall lead them
When I attended the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta with more than a hundred other Virginia Baptists, I expected a blessing. The impressive speaker lineup and the nationally-known leadership lecturers and authors promised sure-fire challenges and insightful messages. What I wasn't…
Baptist history archives gathered under one roof
ATLANTA (ABP) — Scholars and history buffs who want to learn more about Baptist history now can do so in one place. The American Baptist Historical Society dedicated the Samuel Colgate Historical Library and Archives on Mercer University's Atlanta campus…
Being himself
When he retires in October, Larry Holland will have completed over 41 years as pastor of Franklin Heights Baptist Church in Rocky Mount. He could joke that it would be impossible to tell his age simply based upon his four…
Connecticut high court approves gay marriage
Connecticut became the third state to allow same-sex marriage after its Supreme Court ruled Oct. 10 that it is unconstitutional to deny the legal benefits of marriage to gay and lesbian couples. The 4-3 decision outraged conservative groups, who are…
SECOND OPINION: No-name Christians
Acts 11:19-26, the story of the church at Antioch, touches me at the deepest level. This passage teaches about nameless individuals who went to Antioch to share the story of Jesus. As a result of their work and that of…
Pittsburgh diocese votes to leave Episcopal Church
The Diocese of Pittsburgh voted Oct. 4 to split from the Episcopal Church, becoming the second diocese to leave the national church over differences on homosexuality and the Bible. A wide majority of clergy and lay people — 240 voted…
OUT LOUD
“We see it now in the collapse of the great banks: this money disappears, it is nothing. And so all these things, that seem the true reality to count on, are realities of secondary importance. He who builds his life…
For Italian Baptists, a struggle for liberty
Virginia Baptists have a long partnership with Italian Baptists, with whom they have much in common. This article by an Italian Baptist leader sheds light on his country's attitude toward religious liberty. The issue of religious freedom in Italy is…