The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers …. (Ephesians 4:11) The 1980s brought a proliferation of “spiritual gifts inventories.” I first heard this taught by Peter Wagner at…
Baptist students develop awareness of poverty while on mission
FARMVILLE, Va. — Virginia Baptists’ ministry to college age young adults, now called Kairos Initiative, sponsored a statewide mission trip to Haiti this year. The majority of the cost was provided by Baptist collegiate ministries across the state, with individual…
FIRST HAND: College students bring glimmers of hope to resilient Haitians
God blesses us in so many ways that most of the time we do not see it. I was blessed by God in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, last May. I did not know anybody going on this trip. I prayed that everything…
HERITAGE: Heap o’ living at Halfway
One of the most attractive and appealing areas of Virginia is the Hunt Country of Northern Virginia. The gentle hills, the rolling dark green meadows, the horse farms, the stacked stone walls that stretch forever are mental images which remain…
EDITORIAL: An associational touch
On Sunday, Oct. 16, an historic vote will be taken. In one form or another, the Albemarle Baptist Association has been around since 1791, when the Orange Baptist Association divided to form Culpeper, Goshen and Albemarle itself. In 2003, it…
OUT LOUD
“Sounds good to me.” Archbishop Philip Hannan The former archbishop of New Orleans, who died last month, was responding from his hospital bed to the part of the Sacrament of the Sick that offers absolution from sin in the name…
HeraldBeat
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Proposed Virginia Baptist budget almost $1 million lower than current
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Virginia Baptists’ 2012 ministry budget will be almost $1 million less than their current one, if they adopt a proposal next month at the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. The proposed $12.4 million…
Balance needed to make churches welcome and safe places
By definition, a "sanctuary" should be a place of refuge and protection where people feel welcome and feel safe. In practice, churches struggle with what it means to open their doors to everyone while providing a sense of security for…