On May 5, pastor Mandy England Cole of Ginter Park Baptist Church sent the following open letter to the “staff, executive council and churches of the Richmond Baptist Association.” This week staff and leaders of the Richmond Baptist Association paid…
Ginter Park pastor sends open letter as a quarter of Richmond association churches consider leaving
RICHMOND — Seven weeks after the Richmond Baptist Association narrowly voted to retain the membership of a church which ordained a gay man to the ministry, about a quarter of the association’s congregations have ended ties with it or are…
In new books, John Chandler aims to help leaders listen more closely to God
John Chandler, leader of the Spence Network, recently released three books — Praying the Kings, Praying the Prophets and Praying Wisdom — aiming to engage leaders more deeply in Scripture. He recently discussed his motivations for writing the books. Q:…
Navigating church conflict is focus of conference
The Virginia Network of Interim Ministers will sponsor a conference May 3 on conflict transformation in local congregations. “Navigating the Storms of Church Conflict” will be held in English Hall at Eagle Eyrie from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. just…
Chase City church pilots service project for Virginia’s Concord Baptist Association
CHASE CITY, Va. — Twelve different service projects were conducted in and around Chase City April 13 as 55 volunteers from Concord Baptist Church there piloted an Operation Inasmuch project for the Concord Baptist Association. Chase City congregants launch balloons…
Taking Jesus’ words to heart, church sends volunteers across Radford in acts of service
RADFORD, Va. — The patrons of a Radford laundromat thought the seven women wearing red T-shirts and handing out quarters Saturday, April 20, were pranksters or a crew from a reality television show, but they soon learned that they were…
New Cooperative Baptist Fellowship executive shares vision on five-city tour of Virginia
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship executive coordinator Suzii Paynter kicked-off a five-city tour April 20-25 of CBF churches in Virginia. First Baptist Church in Richmond hosted a gathering Saturday evening, April 20, for local pastors and supporters. Paynter shared with the group…
BGAV’s unwieldy governing structure must be ‘modified or replaced,’ says study committee
RICHMOND — Baptist General Association of Virginia governing structures are “too large, cumbersome and disjointed to be efficient and effective” and must be “modified or replaced,” says a committee authorized last fall to propose changes in the way the 190-year-old…
Richmond church aims to bring Kingdom of Heaven to its community through year-long ‘mission trip’
RICHMOND — If you are one of those people who likes to decipher custom license plates, here’s one for you: KOH2RVA. It’s an acronym for “Kingdom of Heaven to Richmond, Virginia” and if you happen to spot this plate you’re…