By Vicki Brown The traditional view of missions is Western Christians sending missionaries to nations in the East and South, but these days missionary work is more of a two-way street, with missionaries coming from Africa, Asia and Latin America…
Ministry to new immigrants presents challenges, opportunities
By Ken Camp Waves of immigrants entering the United States are changing the face of home missions, noted the director of missions for a metropolitan association of Baptist churches in Texas. “Immigration is changing the face of America. People are…
Baptist agencies don’t recruit nationals for U.S. missionary service
By Vicki Brown Baptist missionary-sending agencies in the United States say they have no plans to recruit missionaries from other countries to reach out to people groups from those nations that have immigrated to America. While the Southern Baptist Convention…
Effective global missions demands multicultural partnerships
By Ken Camp Missions in the 21st century demands multicultural partnership, global missions researcher and author Patrick Johnstone insists. And pastors of some churches filled with first-generation immigrants agree. “Like it or not, we have a multicultural missions force that…
Fulfilling the Great Commission
By Ken Camp Churches composed primarily of first-generation immigrants to the United States often face obstacles — linguistic, financial and cultural — in terms of fitting into an Anglo-dominated society. But they may possess a strategic advantage in fulfilling Christ’s…
TRENDING: Designer faith, part 2
Rugged individualism is the sea we Americans swim in. Our culture is about the rags-to-riches Horatio Alger, the pioneering Daniel Boone and more recently the iconic dissenter Steve Jobs. John Chandler Classic Baptist doctrinal distinctives of “the priesthood of every…
WINN RECOMMENDS
Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand (Random House) In 1943, Louis Zamperini planned to be preparing for the Olympics. Instead, he was shot down over the Pacific Ocean, enduring weeks adrift at sea, fighting off sharks, starvation and Japanese fighters reigning down bullets….
OUT LOUD
“Sometimes on Sunday mornings, the elderly ladies as they’re coming through the line at the end of the service, they’ll say, ‘Hey, look at my shoes today.’ Sometimes that’s the entry point into a much deeper level of conversation. Sometimes…
VITAL SIGNS: Which parking spot for you?
Among the critical questions every minister and staff needs to ask as we begin a new year is this one: Which parking spot will you choose? Clearly, this question needs to be put in its proper context. My father was…
HERITAGE: Faithful teacher in a constant church
Ruth Marsh Dillingham is one of those rare individuals whom the rest of us identify as “a born teacher.” As the oldest in a home of nine children, she likely did lots of practical teaching with her siblings. At about…
Study: 2/3 of Americans support renting school buildings to churches
By Bob Allen Two-thirds of Americans believe public schools should rent to churches and other community groups, according to a new study by LifeWay Research. The study by the research arm of the Southern Baptist Convention publisher LifeWay Christian Resources…
Pastor’s anti-gambling prayer criticized as political
By Bob Allen A statehouse prayer landed a Baptist pastor in the middle of a controversy over a proposal to bring casino gambling to Kentucky. Hershael York Hershael York, pastor of Buck Run Baptist Church in Frankfort, Ky., opened Gov….