Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Cecelia Beck has established herself as a presence in the lives of children, youth and adults since moving to the “Weed and Seed” neighborhood of Shelby, N.C. “It is important to be present in order…
CBF, New Baptist Covenant team up for civil rights event
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and New Baptist Covenant will host an offsite event June 24 at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum focusing on advocacy and racial reconciliation during the 2016 CBF General Assembly in Greensboro, N.C. Attendees will…
Social media a source of ministry amid disaster, pastor says
Mitch Randall’s Facebook posts read much like those of any other minister, complete with links to audio sermons and youth group videos, kudos to family and church members and steady reminders of ministry needs and volunteer opportunities. But Randall, pastor…
Healing the world in one of Philadelphia’s toughest neighborhoods
With a name like Strawberry Mansion, it would be easy to assume one of Philadelphia’s most notorious neighborhoods is full of lavish abodes and Lamborghinis. But Wayne Weathers, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church starter and pastor of Vision of Hope Baptist…
Unlikely Baptist missionary transformed as she heals others
At an IHOP restaurant in Tampa, Fla., a waitress finishes her shift and heads home, where she stashes the day’s cash tips in a safe place. Each week she deposits the money in her bank and writes an equivalent check…
For Raleigh church, self-examination was key to surviving identity crisis
When a small group of members at Hayes Barton Baptist Church claimed the Raleigh, N.C., congregation was sliding from its Baptist moorings into the arms of the “emergent church” movement, their agitation threatened the congregation’s stability and forced deep self-examination. Hayes Barton…
Florida ministries changing lives — one child, neighborhood at a time
Brian was 10 years old when he first enrolled at Touching Miami with Love, an organization sharing Christ’s great love through literacy and educational ministries. Yet, Brian couldn’t read. Although he had struggled with dyslexia for most of his life,…
Civil rights panel blasts new state religious liberty laws
The U.S. Civil Rights Commission has denounced new state “religious liberty” laws backed by Southern Baptist state conventions as a trend to use religion as an excuse to deny people their human rights. The independent, bipartisan agency charged with advising…
Pilgrimage making comeback — even with Baptists and unbelievers
Baptists and many other Protestant Christians are gradually embracing ancient physical practices that nurture spiritual growth. “I have a friend, a Baptist pastor, who makes his own prayer beads and I carry prayer beads in my pocket all the time,”…