FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ABP) — A former Baptist pastor and volunteer police chaplain has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for distributing child pornography. Bernard Squires Bernard Squires, 65, of rural Columbia City, Ind., pleaded guilty March…
Baptist youth group survives crash on mission trip in Kentucky
SILER, Ky. (ABP) — A youth mission trip from a Southern Baptist church in Georgia took a terrifying turn June 9 when a van carrying 13 passengers crashed head-on into a semi-trailer coal truck on a rain-slicked highway in eastern…
CBF, Haitian Baptists sign three-year agreement for earthquake recovery
ATLANTA (ABP) — As part of its ongoing earthquake response efforts in Haiti, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has signed a memorandum of understanding — representing an official partnership — with the Convention Baptiste d’Haiti. Emmanuel Pierre, general secretary of the…
Connecticut school board to appeal graduation ruling after all
ENFIELD, Conn. (ABP) — A Connecticut school board voted June 8 to appeal a federal judge's ruling that holding high-school graduation ceremonies at a local church is unconstitutional, reversing a vote a week earlier to lay the matter to rest….
SBC exec Chapman criticizes task force’s recommendations
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — A top official in the Southern Baptist Convention has used the denomination's news service to urge defeat of recommendations from a panel on denominational effectiveness scheduled to be presented to messengers at the convention's upcoming annual…
Missouri church shares Christ via Castrol with oil-change ministry
Seth Rewerts (left), Kevin Rewerts and Patrick Hamilton take a look under the hood before changing a car's oil and filter and checking its tires. The three men were among 25 volunteers who assisted with the latest oil-change-ministry event offered…
Medical-experimentation allegations spur new calls for torture inquest
WASHINGTON (ABP) — New allegations that physicians working for the United States government engaged in medical experimentation on terrorism suspects have led a group of religious leaders to, once again, demand that President Obama convene a high-profile panel to investigate…
American Baptist leader says Gaza flotilla reveals need for Mideast peace
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) — The head of American Baptist Churches USA said a deadly confrontation between Israel's military and a flotilla seeking to break the Gaza embargo May 31 highlights the need for a just and peaceful resolution of…
Conn. school board won’t appeal ban on graduations in church building
ENFIELD, Conn. (ABP) — A Connecticut school board has decided not to appeal a federal judge's ruling that holding high-school graduation ceremonies at a local church is unconstitutional. The Enfield Board of Education voted 5-4 on June 3 to reverse…
Seasons: Death in a minister’s family means transitions in ministry, identity
LUBBOCK, Texas (ABP) — The death of a minister — or the minister’s spouse — marks a difficult phase in the life of both the church and the pastor’s family. Wil Tanner, pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas,…
Seasons: church and founding pastor either grow together or somebody moves on
(ABP) — Whether the founding pastor of a church matures with the congregation or moves on once the new work is well established depends on a host of factors, according to three church-growth and church-planting experts. And either the initial…
Seasons: Churches adapt to change by planting multiple campuses
LIBERTY, Mo. (ABP) — A couple of years ago, ministry leaders at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty, Mo., began to notice how many members were driving from an area near Kansas City International Airport, a nearly 30-minute drive. Megan…