By Bob Allen A missions strategist with experience in urban ministry has been named global missions coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Steven Porter, 41, a lecturer in missions and global Christianity at George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco,…
Starbucks initiative boosts Baptist work in Thailand
By Bob Allen An American Baptist missionary couple’s 25-year work to improve life among the hill tribes of Northern Thailand got a major boost when Seattle-based Starbucks opened its first Community Store outside the United States last May in Bangkok….
Water missions surge as churches see spiritual connection
By Jeff Brumley Water, it seems, is all the rage. Experts say the demand for global mission projects focused on providing clean water has become unquenchable as churches increasingly see water as one of the most efficient means of meeting…
A celebration
She is young, energetic and smart. She wants to study genetics. Her English is broken, but she is absolutely determined to make it perfect. She realizes that coming to the US was a chance in a lifetime. He is a…
Learning to listen
I am afraid of well-meaning Christians. This is probably because I am one myself, but it is also because I encounter well-intentioned Christians all the time. They have a vision for all the good they could do to other people….
Former WMU leader Willene Pierce dies
By Bob Allen Willene Pierce, a former leader in Woman’s Missionary Union and the Baptist World Alliance, who in 1997 launched a full-time ministry with Native American women, died March 18. Pierce, 71, accepted Christ in 1952 during a revival…
Mission trip reflects growing shift as participants experience ‘transformation’
By Jeff Brumley It’s usually called a mission trip when a group of college students and their campus minister visit a ministry located in a struggling out-of-state neighborhood. But that’s not what a group of Clemson University undergrads and their…
Campolo says U.S. missionaries too close to CIA, later ‘regrets’ comment
Editor’s note: This article was modified March 19 to include additional information following the third paragraph and the final paragraph. By Bob Allen A progressive evangelical leader who counseled President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal says it isn’t…
Support for immigrants is essential part of gospel, say mission advocates
By Greg Warner No one objects when missions personnel feed the hungry or attend to the sick. But is advocacy on behalf of immigrants and refugees also part of the gospel? For Cooperative Baptists who minister among Hispanic immigrants, the…