ATLANTA (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship recently gave two grants totaling $10,000 to key areas of flooding in Asia. Meanwhile, the Fellowship received a $66,000 grant from the W.C. English Foundation to fund a medical consultant in the Middle…
Pastors examine change in variety of settings
Three Virginia pastors from rural, small town and urban settings joined well-known pastor/speaker Leith Anderson to share experiences at the Virginia Baptist Pastors Conference last month. Anderson and the Virginia pastors discussed the dynamics of change in each of their…
Wayne Coley, longtime Virginia Baptist leader, dies following illness
RICHMOND—Wayne Coley, a longtime Virginia Baptist leader in children’s ministries, died Jan. 14 in Richmond following a long illness. He was 67. For a total of 23 years, Coley was on the staff of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, where…
Survey: People in house churches more satisfied than conventional counterparts
VENTURA, Calif. (ABP) — House churches — small groups of 20 or so that regularly meet together for worship in a non-conventional setting — are out-performing more traditional congregations when it comes to satisfying attendees, according to a new survey….
Bill Cumbie, BGAV leader, dies at 83
William J. “Bill” Cumbie, 83, a former president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia who as executive director of the Mount Vernon Baptist Association (now NorthStar) played a central role in the growth of its member congregations over 30…
BGAV, VBMB committee chairs named for 2009
Baptist General Association of Virginia president Jeff Bloomer, who also serves as chair of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, has appointed chairs for several committees for 2009. The commitees and their chairs are: • BGAV Budget Committee: Tom McCann, Richmond…
Global Christianity becoming both connected, fragmented, prof says
AUSTIN, Texas (ABP) — If Christians worldwide can network with each other, the global Christian church will be poised for effective ministry in the 21st century, according to Anna Robbins of the London School of Theology. That networked church is…
Hammond elected president by NAMB’s trustees
In a unanimous vote March 21, trustees of the North American Mission Board elected Geoff Hammond as president of the Southern Baptist Convention's stateside mission body. Hammond, 49, will start full-time work for the entity May 22. Hammond is currently…
Celebrating 20 years
This combination of head, hands and heart has served Virginia Baptists well through the years. In addition to his responsibilities as associate editor which include the production of the paper, Dilday makes an essential contribution as a staff writer. His…