Annual Church Profile

Southern Baptists have lost a million members in 10 years

Membership in the Southern Baptist Convention declined for the 10th straight year, although at a slower pace than last year, while baptisms dropped to the lowest level in 70 years, according to statistics released in advance of the 2017 SBC…

Embracing the power of story

We share a new series in BNG’s Storytelling Projects about the Norfolk Street Choir as part of our "Singing Our Faith" theme.

While Norfolk, VA is a performance rich city, Freemason Baptist Church’s idea for a street choir was never about performance. Rather, it was “to lift spirits and add dignity to human beings, no matter their circumstances.”

Norfolk Street Choir infuses dignity with a dose of music

Communal singing draws forth “beauty beyond ourselves that we get to see, get to participate in,” Bob Shoup, minister of music, said. Special groups like the street choir amplify that beauty among people for whom “experiences of beauty are harder to come by.”

We created Storytelling Projects because we believe stories, rooted in the Jesus Story, have the power not only to inform but to transform people and communities. They can be sources of spiritual insight, imagination, creativity and hope for all who seek justice and mercy.