Baptist News Global

Anne Davis, social-work pioneer, dies in Waco, Texas

WACO, Texas (ABP) — Anne Davis, the renowned Baptist social worker, died Nov. 9. She was 69. Born in Baskerville, Va., Davis grew up in a rural farming community. After earning degrees from Averett College, Westhampton College at the University…

N.C. Baptists adopt strictest policy against gay-friendly churches

GREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP) — Baptist churches in North Carolina will have to deny membership to gays or face expulsion from the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Messengers to the convention's annual meeting voted Nov. 14 to add language to…

‘Inflated’ reports of new churches also mar Arango’s work in Mexico

DALLAS (ABP) — Otto Arango exported to Latin America the church-planting strategies he developed in South Texas. But some observers familiar with his work in Mexico say Arango — the central figure in an investigation that revealed misuse and mismanagement…

Piper Institute to discuss role of founder in Valley scandal

DALLAS (ABP) — A called meeting of the board of the Piper Institute for Church Planting was scheduled for Nov. 14 in Dallas to consider allegations of misuse and mismanagement of church-starting funds by the institute's founder, Otto Arango, and…

Africa comes to Richmond

Calvin Birch looked from the muzzle of the rifle to the face of the angry man who pointed it at him. He stammered, “I can't just leave her here!” The dead woman in his arms had been hit by a…

Women at ‘Get Away’ urged to ‘live beyond words’

Over 1,000 women made their annual pilgrimage to Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center for the Women's Get-Away and Rally/Woman's Missionary Union of Virginia annual meeting. There they encountered a movement of the spirit second to none as they focused on…

Ala. church ejected from association for hiring female associate pastor

An Alabama Baptist church has been ejected from its local association for hiring a female associate pastor—which may be a first of sorts. The Mobile Baptist Association voted Oct. 19 to withdraw fellowship from Hillcrest Baptist Church in Mobile. Associational…

Arkansans pass task force report

Messengers to the 153rd annual meeting of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention approved a ministry task force report that includes recommendations to regionalize executive board ministries, increase the percentage of Cooperative Program funds forwarded to Southern Baptist Convention causes, and…

New Mexicans see record number

Perhaps more people attended the annual meeting of the Baptist Convention of New Mexico this year than any year since it was founded 94 years ago. The 2006 convention was the first since New Mexico Baptists elected Joseph Bunce as…

Miss. approves record budget

Messengers from the Mississippi Baptist Convention's 2,114 churches approved without opposition a record Cooperative Program budget of more than $33 million during their annual meeting Oct. 31-Nov. 1. The $33,188,934 budget for 2007 represents an almost 6 percent increase over…

Probe finds Texas churchstarters got up to $1.3 million for bogus churches

A five-month investigation uncovered evidence Baptist General Convention of Texas church-starting funds were misused between 1999 and 2005 in the Rio Grande Valley. At a called meeting of the BGCT Executive Board Oct. 31, investigators reported they discovered up to…

Could it happen in Virginia? Leaders say no

Virginia Baptist leaders responsible for new church starts say oversight procedures in place here make it very unlikely that church planting funds could be misued. “Virginia Baptists do our church planting work together,” said John Chandler, team leader of the…

What Disclosure Day reveals about evangelicals’ fears

Insufficient

6 ways the Reflecting Pool boondoggle mirrors Trump and MAGA

Pilate asked Jesus, ‘What is truth?’