The planned merger of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship state groups in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi will benefit poverty, food insecurity and anti-racism ministries well beyond that region, CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley said. “The oldest Together for Hope sites are in…
Churches urged to get ready to welcome Afghan refugees
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…
If you want to help the poor, first understand their humanity
Humanizing the poor and hungry is a vital first step for individuals and churches called to combat poverty and hunger, a group of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship ministers and lay leaders learned during a recent webinar hosted by CBF Heartland. “It’s…
Together for Hope partnership steps up the drive for hunger relief in Mississippi
Together for Hope is venturing full force into the realm of proposing legislation and lobbying to finance an expansive anti-hunger initiative in Mississippi. “I’ve never participated in a grassroots campaign quite like this,” said Jason Coker, national director of Together…
From Missouri to South Dakota, friendships form together for hope
For two decades, members of Second Baptist Church in Liberty, Mo., have found transformational relationships 700 miles away with friends of the Lakota people who live on the Upper Cheyenne Reservation in South Dakota. “To be able to call someone…
More Americans are hungry, but ‘it doesn’t have to be that way’
It’s a fact that food insecurity is getting steadily worse in the United States in part because of the coronavirus, a Baptist mission expert reports. But it’s a myth that hunger and poverty are conditions Americans simply have to accept,…
Terrified yet courageous in the face of violence, Mountain Moms survive together
I was undoubtedly one of the only men ever to visit Mountain Moms, a group formed precisely to heal the wounds that men have inflicted on their wives, their girlfriends, their mothers, even. What reason did they have to trust me with their stories?
Living in poverty is hard work
Too often people in the United States see individuals like Glynda Jackson and Tamara Daffron and completely misjudge them. They associate low income or receiving eligible benefits with laziness as if living in poverty was a choice. “I don’t know anyone who would choose to live in poverty.”
Southeast Kentucky: Enduring images
Despite — and possibly because of — the struggle and vulnerability in Kentucky’s rural communities, the images that truly endure are those of strength, resilience and the grace to still discover both within yourself.