Baptist News Global

Partnership will fund Hispanic ministry in Virginia

Three Baptist organizations have recently partnered to fund ongoing ministry among Hispanics in Virginia. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Baptist General Association of Virginia and Fredericksburg Baptist Church are partnering to provide financial support for Greg and Sue Smith, who…

Catholic diocese in Virginia to allow female altar servers

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington, which had been one of two U.S. dioceses that did not allow girls to be altar servers, will now allow them in parishes if pastors request them. The decision by Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde…

Church noteburning shows ‘nothing is impossible’

Gathering around a theme “Nothing is Impossible,” the congregation of Orchard Drive Baptist Church in Bassett, known locally as “The Orchard,” celebrated its 13-year history by burning their note of indebtedness. The morning service was electric with excitement as visitors…

Christian life committee seeks dialog on postmodernism, emerging church

Massive cultural shifts are occurring in contemporary society. The reasons for these cultural quakes are many, but all boil down to the conviction that human reason, which gave birth to fantastic advancements in science, industry, and technology, has failed to…

Gay activists target Liberty, Regent

Styling themselves after the famous Freedom Riders of the civil-rights era, a group of gay-rights activists is targeting Baptist and other Christian colleges with a cross-country bus trip that is part teach-in, part protest. The “Equality Ride,” organized by the…

Virginia sends voters marriage amendment

Virginia's legislature has officially placed a constitutional marriage amendment on the November ballot, giving voters in the state a say on the issue of gay marriage. The Virginia Senate March 8 unanimously passed the bill that places the amendment on…

‘Rare’ Baptist exec Ed Schmeltekopf dies after long battle with Parkinson’s

FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Texas Baptist denominational leader Ed Schmeltekopf died March 29 after an extended illness related to his longtime battle with Parkinson's disease. Schmeltekopf, 73, served nearly two decades as associate executive director of the Baptist General…

Gulfport church says goodbye to buildings gutted by Katrina

GULFPORT, Miss. (ABP) — Members of this city's First Baptist Church bid farewell March 26 to the hollow shell of their beachfront sanctuary, decimated by Hurricane Katrina, in order to move to an inland location less vulnerable to storms. Stark…

Threat of death for conversion not unique to Afghanistan

(ABP) — As Afghan Adbul Rahman seeks safety in Italy after dodging a death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity, other Christians worldwide continue to face extreme persecution from countrymen who oppose their beliefs. While Rahman's case gained national…

Texas woman nominated as next CBF moderator

DALLAS (ABP) — Texas leadership consultant Harriet Harral will be nominated as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's moderator-elect, the highest elected position in the national group. “I am both humbled and excited,” Harral told Associated Baptist Press. “CBF is so blessed…

Catholics, mainliners, Jews, evangelicals unite to support immigration reform

WASHINGTON (ABP) — The debate over immigration reform currently dividing America at large — and congressional Republicans in particular — ironically is uniting a wide spectrum of the religious community that views immigration reform as a moral issue. The Roman…

Tenn. pastor’s wife appears in court; mourners gather at husband’s funeral

SELMER, Tenn. (ABP) — Mary Winkler, the woman charged with fatally shooting her pastor husband, made her first appearance in court March 27, one day before more than 500 mourners attended the Church of Christ pastor's funeral. Winkler did not…

‘Be careful of Scripture heavy in law but light on grace,’ Wesley warns

‘Show up and do something,’ ACLU leader urges

From the South Side to the South Lawn and back again

Democracy as a moral practice, not just a system