While activists fight the city of Denver for sweeping away homeless encampments during a public health crisis, two Denver churches have set up camps on their property as an alternative. With local nonprofits, Denver Community Church and First Baptist Church…
Fellowship Southwest becomes independent, ecumenical ministry
Fellowship Southwest, founded by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in 2017 and known for its outreach to immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border, has spun off from its Atlanta-based parent to become an independent, ecumenical ministry. “Fellowship Southwest is incorporated now in…
In New York City, serving the homeless offered a clue for how to serve trauma victims during the pandemic
Serving homeless people, as well as victims of domestic violence and other forms of trauma, is challenging anywhere. But the difficulty multiplies in New York City, Lesley-Ann Hix Tommey has learned. “In New York, everything is happening on such a…
At Central Seminary, Durso inauguration moves to virtual platform
Central Baptist Theological Seminary inaugurated Pamela Durso as its 11th president in a virtual ceremony Jan. 7. Held on Zoom and Facebook Live platforms, the service included greetings from denominational and theological education organizations, charges from the various Central constituencies,…
Kentucky seminary receives Baugh Foundation grant to start Institute for Black Church Studies
Supported by a $750,000 multi-year grant from the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation, Baptist Seminary of Kentucky will launch the Institute for Black Church Studies in Louisville, Ky., this fall. The institute will offer continuing education for Black church leaders and a…
American Protestants less open to sermons on race in 2020, survey finds
A growing number of American churchgoers weren’t in the mood for sermons on race in 2020, the year that police killings of unarmed African Americans energized the Black Lives Matter movement and sparked widespread social unrest, according to a newly…
3 current trends youth leaders need to know
If you’re still measuring the success of a congregation’s youth ministry on programs and attendance, you’re missing the boat, according to an extensive national survey by Springtide Research Institute. The new research organization specializes in studying young people ages 13…
Seminarian, CBF and Georgia church find fellowship together
Seminarian Wallace Montgomery III is brand new to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and to the moderate Baptist movement — things he didn’t even know existed until last spring. But the 35-year-old Arkansas native already is planting roots in CBF life….
New effort to repeal federal death penalty is beginning
With three more inmates scheduled to be executed in the final week of the Trump administration — two of whom are sick with COVID-19 — legislation is being prepared that would end the federal death penalty. This follows a growing…