RICHMOND, Va. — V3, a church multiplication movement sponsored by Virginia Baptists, launched a new web site Oct. 14 to communicate its mission to a wider audience. V3 developed last year out of the Virginia Church Multiplication Initiative and describes…
CBF officers narrowing list of nominees for coordinator search committee
TUCKER, Ga. (ABP) — Officers of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are sorting through some 200 names submitted by rank-and-file CBF supporters to appoint a nine-member search committee to nominate a successor to Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal, who retires after 15…
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship task force suggests organizational change
TUCKER, Ga. (ABP) — A blue-ribbon task force studying the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s organizational structure suggests a smaller governing board than the current 63-member Coordinating Council, along with creation of two new councils to focus on cooperation and global missions….
Suffolk, Va., pastor Mark Croston to be nominated as president of BGAV
SUFFOLK, Va. — Mark Croston, a Suffolk, Va., pastor, who currently serves as first vice president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, will be nominated next month as president of the state association, it was confirmed Oct. 21. If…
Richmond seminary marks 20 years since first classes were inaugurated
RICHMOND, Va. — As Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond moved past the halfway mark in a $500,000 matching gift campaign, the seminary community continued a year-long celebration of its 20th anniversary at an Oct. 17 dinner. Some of BTSR’s founding…
Central Virginia Baptist Association rejects proposal to disband
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Messengers attending the fall meeting of the Central Virginia Baptist Association rejected a recommendation from its steering committee that the association vote to disband. By a vote of 22 in favor of the proposal to dissolve to…
Report: Tithing hits record low and recession only partly to blame
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (RNS) — Tithing to mainline Protestant churches as a percentage of income is at its lowest level in at least 41 years, according to a new report, and churches are keeping a greater share of those donations for…
Under pressure, D.C. shelter ends church-service requirement
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Prompted by civil liberties groups, a taxpayer-supported homeless shelter in the nation’s capital will no longer require its clients to attend religious services. “We’re pleased that the D.C. government will no longer be supporting such religious coercion,”…
Fresh Expressions to be focus of 2011 Virginia Baptist Pastors Conference
RICHMOND, Va. — Innovative expressions of churches in changing cultures will be the focus of next month’s Virginia Baptist Pastors Conference, set for Nov. 7 in suburban Richmond, Va. The annual conference — held each year in conjunction with the…