By Jeff Brumley Courtney Krueger is so excited about ministry coaching that he can barely contain himself when asked about it. “It has opened a whole new world to me,” said Krueger, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church of…
CBF to produce follow-up to ‘It’s Time’
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has received a $250,000 grant for church resources including a follow-up to the popular It’s Time study course that challenged churches and individuals to move from a program-driven model toward a “missional” focus…
HeraldBeat: Tracking Baptists across the Mid-Atlantic
Transitions ON THE MOVE Allen Jessee, to Highlands Fellowship Church, Abingdon, Va., as lead pastor. He had been serving as maturity pastor at Highlands Fellowship, a multi-site church. He previously served as lead pastor of Community Heights Baptist Church, Cedar…
Softball ministry impacts lives of N.C., Va., inmates
The Virginia Saints are a men’s softball team that played six games this summer. But the team is not a member of a traditional church softball league. This group of men from Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Glen Allen, Va.,…
EDITORIAL: WMUV continues ministry to Native Americans
While the GOP and the Democrats continue their on-going debate about the role of government in easing the plight of the poor, Women’s Missionary Union of Virginia has steadfastly continued ministry to some of our nation’s poorest people. Through the…
Alliance of Baptists offer sexuality study
By Bob Allen Churches aligned with the Alliance of Baptists are setting aside Sept. 16 for study and worship focused around issues of human sexuality. The progressive Baptist group formed in 1987 produced resources for worship and Christian formation for…
Church visits firefighters on 9-11 date
By Jeff Brumley Sometimes, being “missional” means developing innovative ministries and programs that push churches out of buildings into their communities. At other times it just means paying attention to the calendar. Susan Rogers and her congregation at The Well…
Baptist church host for gun buy-back
By Bob Allen Officials in Memphis, Tenn., will trade gasoline for guns Sept. 15 at an inner-city Baptist church with no questions asked in a program aimed at reducing the number of weapons on the street. The mayor’s office is…
Profs probe ‘Mormon moment’
By Bob Allen Evangelicals going to the polls this November aren’t voting on whether Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is a Christian, but if he would make a better president than Barack Obama, a panel of Baptist seminary professors said…
VITAL SIGNS: Worth fighting over
As part of our work with congregations which are engaging in the process of imagining their future, we invite them to first look back and connect with their past. One effective tool for doing that is to create a timeline…
Last church with woman pastor to receive Southern Baptist funding marks 30 years
ANNAPOLIS, Md (ABP) — The last church led by a woman pastor to receive salary assistance from the Southern Baptist Convention celebrates its 30th anniversary this month with community-service projects including neighborhood landscaping with Habitat for Humanity. Broadneck Baptist Church…
Lee Ellison to be nominated as BGAV first VP
MOSELEY, Va. — Central Virginia pastor Lee Ellison will be nominated in November as first vice president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia — a position which every year since 2000 has led to the BGAV presidency. Ellison, pastor…