ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. — The demographics of Halifax County, N.C., are appalling. Unemployment is above 13 percent and one resident in four earns income below the poverty line. The county is part of the fourth poorest congressional district in the…
Haitians push N.C. congregation out of comfort zone
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. (ABP)—Nobody in Mount Olive, N.C., was quite prepared for an influx of Haitian immigrants seeking low-paying jobs in area poultry processing plants, but the community’s First Baptist Church viewed the challenge as an opportunity. Dennis Atwood knew…
Haitians push church out of comfort zone
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. (ABP)—Nobody in Mount Olive, N.C., was quite prepared for an influx of Haitian immigrants seeking low-paying jobs in area poultry processing plants, but the community’s First Baptist Church viewed the challenge as an opportunity. Dennis Atwood knew…
Spiritual direction useful for churches too, says minister
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—A period of guided spiritual direction is often recommended for Christians struggling with their enthusiasm for discipleship. “There are times when we need help getting unstuck,” said Jayne Davis, minister of spiritual formation at First Baptist Church in Wilmington,…
Pastor moms juggle ministry, motherhood
Mothers’ Day 2012 will dawn with more women than ever in Baptist pulpits. But even those who welcome the trend say the corresponding ascension of the minister mom is creating tensions, too, within families, and the hearts of female pastors….
Youth ministry more than games, new network says
WAYNESBORO, Va. (ABP)—Dale Tadlock is a 45-year-old youth minister, a fact that he says baffles some folks. He's often been asked when he plans "to grow up" and "get a real ministry job?" But leaving youth ministry isn't even on…
Congregations ‘relearn what it means to be church’
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP)—Traditional churches must wake up and reinvent themselves if they are to remain—or become—relevant, some Christian leaders say. “We have to think the way missionaries think,” said Larry Hovis, executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North…