Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel across the U.S. are preparing partner networks and local congregations for the expected arrival of Afghan refugees attempting to flee as the withdrawal of American forces continues. “We expect a huge influx all over the…
Pandemic has accelerated needed changes in churches, panelists report
The COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges to churches, but it also helped them sift through outdated programming and policies to reinvent ministry going forward, according to panelists of “Expanding Engagement in the Local Church,” an Aug. 25 workshop of the Cooperative…
Row with the dual oars of God’s word and the wind of the Spirit, pastors proclaim as CBF assembly opens
The Spirit of God is blowing, and Christians can either follow that wind or be left in the past, a team of preachers said in a fast-paced dual-language sermon that opened the 2021 virtual General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist…
With refugee and immigrant ministries already on high alert, Supreme Court delivers an unwanted message
While the nation’s agencies serving refugees and immigrants are scrambling to welcome thousands of Afghan refugees, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to their advocacy on another front Aug. 24 by telling the Biden administration it must reinstate the…
COVID has dramatically changed the experience of global missionaries
American missionaries serving in far-away places continue to endure significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including limits on travel and in-person ministry, a scarcity of international volunteers and in some cases feelings of guilt for being vaccinated in communities…
Baptists worldwide uniting to offer aid to Haiti as challenges mount
Baptist organizations from around the world are joining forces to provide financial, material and spiritual care to Haitians reeling from the Aug. 14 earthquake that killed at least 2,200, injured more than 12,000 and flattened tens of thousands of homes,…
CBF General Assembly moves to online-only format as COVID cases climb
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s attempt to plan a hybrid General Assembly in late August has fallen victim to the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic across America. What had been planned as a virtual gathering with three regional in-person options now…
Pressure mounts on White House to rescind another Trump immigration policy
The pressure is steadily mounting on President Joe Biden to rescind a federal health code provision allowing the U.S. to summarily expel asylum seekers and immigrants to the home countries where they faced persecution. Immigrant rights groups, including Baptist and…
Interfaith coalition asks Biden to stop Arizona land swap to protect Native American religious liberties
A coalition of nearly 60 interfaith groups —including nine Baptist groups — has written to President Joe Biden asking for his intervention in a controversial Arizona land-swap enacted in 2014 but not yet consummated. The deal as currently structured would…