STAFFORD — A Virginia jail will stop censoring religious mail after protests from civil rights organizations that clerks had turned Bible-quoting missives from an inmate’s mother into tattered strips of paper signed “Love, Mom.” Rappahannock Regional Jail authorities agreed to…
Church 2 Church Ministry: A covenant of partnership
SOUTH BOSTON — Ash Avenue Baptist Church in South Boston is not a mega-church. Worship attendance averages 140. John Eure has served as pastor for eight years and he is the church’s only full-time staff member. Ash Avenue is a…
From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Bryant Owens, to Clintwood Church, Clintwood, as pastor. • Charles R. Doyle, now serving as interim pastor of Rosalind Hills Church, Roanoke. CHURCH NEWS • Biltmore Church, Glen Allen, will host a Caregiver’s Support Group co-facilitated by…
SECOND OPINION: The SBC’s membership in 2050: A, B, C or none of above?
If you have been reading Baptist news the past few weeks, then you may know the answer to the following question, but just for fun, let’s make it multiple choice: In A.D. 2050, the membership of the Southern Baptist Convention…
FAITHSHAPERS: Making good choices
In my last article I gave some examples regarding efforts to teach positive behaviors to children. We can’t focus all of our energy on preventing “bad” behavior and forget to nurture the good. Have you thought about the things you…
SECOND OPINION: Churches can connect with schools
Whispers carry across the lawn. Dewy footprints record the tracks of a group of teenagers walking quickly across the freshly-mown grass. Guitars strapped across shoulders and song sheets in hands give evidence of praise to come. Teachers, administrators, coaches, lay…
Muslims press public schools on observing Islamic holidays
Calculus and chemistry are among the pressures awaiting Mesuka Akter, a senior this year at Long Island City High School in New York City. But unlike past school years, Akter, a Muslim, will not have to choose between missing school…
Initiative seeks to link one church, one school
Scarce funding for public education may offer churches an opportunity to work more closely with public schools in their neighborhood. That’s the assessment of Diane Smith, children’s ministry specialist at the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, who is developing a ministry…
Blessing schools
Some Christians may have written off public education, but others are discovering innovative ways to develop meaningful relationships with public schools. Over the last decade, the Exodus Mandate captured the attention of some evangelicals with its call to “leave government…
EDITORIAL: Another sad time for NAMB
It is a sad time in the history of the North American Mission Board. I should say it’s another sad time. Following the forced resignation of Bob Reccord as NAMB president in 2006, the organization needed someone to bring all…
HERITAGE: ‘Our Family’
Uncle Vivian was our family’s historian. He was my great-grandfather’s half-brother. As a boy, I heard him say that “our family” escaped persecution in England and lived for awhile in Amsterdam. He was referring to the branch of our family…
Richmond church sends children’s ministry team to international meeting
RICHMOND — Twelve members of Broadus Memorial Baptist Church in Richmond served on the children’s ministry team from Virginia that traveled to Interlaken, Switzerland, July 4-9 for the annual summer assembly of the International Baptist Convention. The IBC is a…