As Virginia Baptist youth leader across the state are gearing up for the annual YouthEnCounter, to be held July 31-Aug. 1 in Richmond, some are looking at last spring's Regional Youth EnCounter as a model for additional youth resources. Over…
OUT LOUD
“I looked on the church paper as a voice to influence the church rather than just a mouthpiece reflecting what was happening in it. It needs to be a trumpet giving a good sound and having a powerful influence.” Kenneth…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for July 10, 2008
STAFF CHANGES • Ray Farrow, to Mine Road Church, Spotsylvania, as pastor. • Eric Pelter, to Mount Hermon Church, Mineral, as pastor. • Paul Beith, to Pioneer Church, Richmond, as pastor. • Dax Bostic, to Corinth Church, Council, as pastor….
Baptist student missionary killed in Peru bus accident
ST. LOUIS (ABP) — Southern Baptist student missionary Gregory Gomez IV died July 5 in a bus crash in Peru. The 22-year-old Gomez was serving as a short-term field worker with the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board. According to…
Helms, ultra-conservative icon, steeped in moderate Baptist life
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) — Jesse Helms, the Baptist former senator who battled communist oppression but backed right-wing dictators and opposed abortion while appealing to racist sentiment, was a polarizing figure who was lionized by some conservatives and vilified by many…
To support military families through divorce, a few tips
(ABP) — Col. Bob Page, command chaplain for the Air Force’s Air Combat Command, believes that, while the military branches have developed more programs and services for military families, support from churches and other non-governmental groups remains crucial. That support…
‘Dear Jane’ letters a problem for military spouses at home
(ABP) — Divorce — the word seemed to leap out of the e-mail from her soldier husband that Nancy (not her real name) had so eagerly opened. Discussions of divorce among military personnel generally conjure the idea of a…
Third World Faith: Church tells story of Jesus to Sudanese
DALLAS (ABP) — People remember the stories, because with each retelling, moments come alive once again. In largely illiterate cultures, such as many in southern Sudan, storytelling preserves hundreds of years of history for people groups dependent on oral records….
Third-World Faith: Hub of world Christianity shifts to ‘Global South’
(ABP) — Sounds of laughter, tambourines and native instruments reverberate through a tiny apartment as a small group of Christians gathers for fervent worship. Despite oppression under Islam and the Soviet system, these Central Asian Christians dance and sing with…
Jesus in MySpace: Churches use social-networking sites
(ABP) — Social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are redefining the way many Americans build and maintain relationships — and also how their churches communicate. In the last few years, relating to social contacts through such sites has become practically…
Felice Gaer to serve as chair of religious-freedom panel
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Veteran human-rights activist Felice Gaer will once again serve as chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Gaer, a member of the independent federal panel since 2001, has twice been chair and twice vice…
On Bush’s faith-based programs, Obama says save best, ditch rest
ZANESVILLE, Ohio (ABP) – Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama vowed July 1 to carry on the best parts — and dump the worst — of President Bush’s so-called “faith-based initiative.” “I still believe it’s a good idea to have…