Baptist News Global

Missions demands local strategies, global vision, panelists assert

HONOLULU—Innovative missions today demand contextualized ministries shaped by local churches—not one-size-fits-all imported strategies implemented by professionals, a missions professor from Texas and a pastor from South Australia told a focus group at the Baptist World Congress. Mike Stroope, missions professor…

Christianity’s relation to culture a matter of spiritual discernment

HONOLULU—Should Christians ever abandon their cultures for the sake of the gospel? Baptists from all over the planet struggled with what to “embrace” and what to “release” of their cultures during a discussion session held in conjunction with the 20th…

Christians must liberate & be liberated, seminarian tells BWA

HONOLULU — Christians are called to be agents of liberation, but they also desperately need to be liberated themselves, ministry educator Janet Clark stressed at the 20th Baptist World Congress in Honolulu July 30. Jesus focused on liberation in his…

If Jesus needed the Spirit, then so do Christians today, says U.S. pastor

HONOLULU (ABP) — Today’s Christians need the Holy Spirit’s guidance, just like Jesus did 2,000 years ago, an American pastor told participants at the Baptist World Congress. Julie Pennington-Russell joined 26 other Bible scholars to teach Scripture lessons in eight…

Baptists explore ethics of tourism at World Congress session in Hawaii

Convention center in Honolulu. HONOLULU (ABP) — Baptists meeting in one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations were reminded July 29 that beneath the glitz and glitter of the tourism industry lie moral issues that call for a Christian…

World Baptists honor Lotz for human rights advocacy

HONOLULU (ABP) — To be true to their heritage and principles, Baptists must continue the fight for religious liberty for all people, insisted Denton Lotz, who received the Baptist World Alliance’s Human Rights Award July 30 in Honolulu. Denton Lotz…

Educator says liberation central to Jesus’ mission

HONOLULU (ABP) — A Canadian Baptist educator told delegates at the 20th Baptist World Congress July 30 in Honolulu that evangelicals in the West have tended to over-spiritualize Christ's mission to the poor and oppressed. Janet Clark, dean of Tyndale…

Longtime mission leader Avery Willis dies

BELLA VISTA, Ark. (ABP) — Avery Willis, a former Southern Baptist missionary and administrator best known as developer of the MasterLife discipleship materials used around the world, died July 30, nearly eight months after being diagnosed with a rare form of…

Christians commanded to love their Muslim neighbors, panelists insist

HONOLULU (ABP) — An American missions professor who served more than two decades in Indonesia and an Arab Baptist educator from Lebanon emphasized the need to reach out in love to Muslims during a July 29 session at the Baptist World…

North American Baptists examine series of ‘shifts’ at BWA gathering

HONOLULU (ABP) — Baptists from across Canada and the United States examined seven key “shifts” July 29 that have had an impact on the North American Baptist Fellowship. The NABF includes Baptists from the two predominantly English-speaking nations in North…

Who really holds the keys?

(Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of commentaries by Barry Howard reflecting on his experiences in Italy. The first is available here). By Barry Howard This year our sanctuary choir and orchestra — as they do every…

Women combat poverty, abuse by walking in the Spirit

HONOLULU — As women from every corner of the world gathered in their native dress with festive country displays in celebration of God’s movement among all peoples during the Baptist World Alliance Women’s Leadership Conference, the sea of colorful garb…

Trump’s war on ‘woke’ targets federal grants and foreign relations

Reflections on In the Twilight of the Christian West

Why rural families need support now

Why do we keep sounding the alarm?