MAYSVILLE, Ga. — The 225th annual meeting of the Sarepta Baptist Association focused on reflection, celebration, and thanksgiving. In many ways the voices heard at the meeting, held Sunday, Oct. 6, at Maysville Baptist Church, must have reflected those who gathered at the Shoal Creek Meeting House in 1799.

Denali, also referred to as Mount McKinley, is the tallest mountain in North America. Its majestic peak reaches 20,310 feet above sea level. It is in south-central Alaska about 130 miles north-northwest of Anchorage. Many climbers have stated that reaching the peak of Denali is much more technical and difficult than climbing Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers, supported by teams from other states, spread through the affected area. In some cases, they were joined by local college students from Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministries.

“Well, I didn’t have that on my bingo card,” has been Jeff Parmer’s reply when asked about his first week as associational missionary for Ogeechee River Baptist Association. After a lifetime of serving in pastoral positions in churches across Georgia, Parmer’s first day in his new role was Monday, Sept. 23. Three days later, Hurricane Helene roared across the South, leaving a trail of death and destruction that encompassed the counties comprising the ORBA – Bulloch, Bryan, and Candler.

This year, Georgia Baptists will celebrate the 202nd anniversary of the Georgia Baptist Convention. The theme of the annual meeting will be “Answering the Call.” It will be held at First Baptist Church, Statesboro, on Sunday, Nov. 10 through Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — A tractor-trailer loaded with generators, temporary roofing, more than 20,000 meals, and equipment to serve meals to first responders and survivors, has staged at Send Relief’s headquarters in Alpharetta.

Summer may be over, but the impact of Vacation Bible Schools held at Georgia Baptist churches will carry far into the future. Krista Staton, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s kids ministry consultant, reports that this year more than 1,400 children made commitments to Christ at churches large and small across the state.

SUWANEE, Ga. — Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief continues to meet the physical and spiritual needs of people impacted by Hurricane Helene’s destructive path across Georgia. As of Friday morning, GBDR director Dwain Carter reported that more than 134,000 meals had been prepared by volunteers, including those from other states supporting the response.

“Sometimes it’s easier to submit to God’s will while praying than to live with the result of His will when the answer is no.” Lauren Sullens, president of Georgia WMU, spoke candidly about the mystery of prayer after her 43-year-old husband, Pastor Clint Sullens, died suddenly in April 2024.

PERRY, Fla. – When Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region, it was the third storm to hit in 13 months, following 2023’s Hurricane Idalia and Hurricane Debby earlier this year. “As the storm track tightened and it became clear that landfall would be in our area for the third time,” said Steven Ruff, pastor of First Baptist Church, Perry, “I remember thinking, ‘Are we ready to do this again?’”

CUMMING, Ga. — The United States has a long history of immigration. It is a country built on the backs of immigrants. The Statue of Liberty standing in the New York City harbor bears a quote from Emma Lazarus’ sonnet, “New Colossus,” that says, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

SUWANEE, Ga. — The Georgia Baptist Mission Board's Financial Services Committee announced a special allocation of $500,000 dollars on Tuesday, Oct. 1, specifically to support Mission Georgia's efforts to provide direct assistance to Georgia Baptist churches, impacted ministerial staff, and community support. In addition, the Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation approved a matching grant of $500,000.

SUWANEE, Ga. — The Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s response to the destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene is comprehensive, according to chief operating officer David Melber. “We want to make sure we do not miss any church that needs our help,” he told staff in a call on Monday.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — More than 100 people have died from the havoc wrought by Hurricane Helene, and Send Relief is supporting dozens of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief sites deployed throughout the Southeast in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia.

SUWANEE, Ga. — Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief coordinator Dwain Carter said Saturday that the response in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s rampage through Georgia would be an “all hands on deck effort.” Carter said a huge area of the state has been affected by the storm, with effects ranging from wind damage to flooding, and loss of power and communications.

McDONOUGH, Ga. — More than1,000 chicken sandwich lunches, 2,300 bottles of water, 350 pizzas, 800 juice pouches, 250 pounds of mandarins, and gallons and gallons of coffee. That’s just some of what it took to feed the more than 1000 students, program staff, and volunteers that converged on Eagle’s Landing Baptist Church in McDonough last weekend, Sept. 20-22, for Confluence, the Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministries conference.

DACULA, Ga. — The Haven at Hebron, a 7,000-square-foot maternity home for homeless pregnant minors, is complete and will be able to receive residents as soon as licensing is finalized. Danette Fleming, who sits on the Board of Directors and is responsible for donor development, says that could take up to 90 days, and that she hopes to have residents in the home by the end of the year.

HARTWELL, Ga. — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, age 24, collapsed after making a hit in the first quarter of an NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals in January 2023. The players on both teams, tens of thousands of fans in the stadium, and millions of people viewing the game on television watched in horror when Hamlin made the tackle, stood up and fell over on his back.

ROME, Ga. — Georgia Baptists responded enthusiastically to this years’ SPARK church-strengthening conferences, with more than 800 people attending the final event at West Rome Baptist Church on Sunday, Sept. 22.

CLAYTON, Ga. — Georgia Baptist Women hosted their Fall retreat at Pinnacle Retreat Center in Clayton on Sept. 13-14. Nearly 250 women gathered for the weekend, whose theme was Unleashed: Women on Mission.

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — Beulah Church/Iglesia Beulah introduces new members at its quarterly church business meetings, and seven families came forward at the last one. Of the seven families that joined at that meeting, five were Hispanic.

SUWANEE, Ga. — The Georgia Baptist Mission Board and Friends of Kaleo, Inc., have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding that could allow the continued operation of Camp Kaleo. Friends of Kaleo is a non-profit group of former staff, campers, churches, pastors, missionaries, and families created last year to generate financial support for Camp Kaleo and support its ministry.

ZEBULON, Ga. — On Sunday evening, Sept. 15, the Flint River Baptist Association met at First Baptist Church in Zebulon for its annual associational meeting and bicentennial anniversary celebration. Associational Mission Strategist Frank Nuckolls announced that “What He’s Done!” would be the theme for the meeting.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — Georgia Baptists are blessed to have a significant number of churches that seek to enable and empower a community of saints to embrace and evangelize a lost world through the love of Christ. Northside Baptist Church in Valdosta is one of those churches.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — This summer, as thousands of kids and students attended Lifeway camps across the country, camp staff challenged them to think more broadly about their role in God’s mission to make disciples of all nations, and campers responded by giving generously to Southern Baptist missions endeavors.