ATLANTA, Ga.  — Nonprofit health care clinics in Atlanta are experiencing the weight of demand triggered in part by the late 2022 closure of Atlanta Medical Center. Several clinics inside the city limits are using Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation grants to provide hands-on health care to those in need.

PALMER, Alaska — Georgia native Bruce Rowell said in 1999, after he had been pastoring in Palmer, Alaska, for two years, that, "When I’m old and gray I’m sure I will sit my grandchildren on my lap and say, ‘Let me tell you about the stupidest thing I ever did in my life’ or ‘Let me tell you about the greatest adventure of my life.’” 

MARTINEZ, Ga. — Georgia Baptist pastor Dr. Brad Whitt will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Pastors’ Conference at the annual meeting June 9-10 in Indianapolis.  Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, will nominate Whitt, who he said is not only his fellow pastor but also his friend.

INDIANAPOLIS (BP) – The resolutions to be presented at the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting are available in a preliminary form. This marks the earliest release date in recent history.

SUWANEE, Ga. – Six prospects currently stand as candidates to fill the role of SBC President soon to be vacated by Bill Barber as he completes his second term.

Ask Rick Gage about Go Tell Ministries, and the conversation turns quickly to evangelism and seeing people’s lives transformed through the power of God’s Word. Gage’s enthusiasm seems contagious as he shares God’s stories of individuals who are now Christ-followers because they attended a camp or a crusade.

DECATUR, Ga. — Standing 6 feet 5 inches tall, Mark Riggins stands out in a crowd and the choir loft of Briarlake Church, in Decatur. So, it may not be out of the ordinary when someone walks up and says, “We’ve met before.”

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Twenty Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministry campus ministers (full-time, part-time, and volunteer) joined more than 700 other BCM leaders from across the United States and Canada in early May for the 2024 Collegiate Summit held near Memphis, Tenn. This was the largest showing for the equipping event that is held every three years and is organized by the Baptist Collegiate Network.

DULUTH, Ga. — Cross Pointe Church in Duluth was the site of the first commencement for Georgia’s New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Church Training Institute. The ceremony was complete with all the dignity one might expect at such an auspicious event.

WESTFIELD, Ind. — On February 18, 1966, under the heading, “Navy Seeks Ministers as Chaplains,” Baptist Press posted the following: “The Southern Baptist Chaplains Commission has put out a call for Baptist ministers ready for immediate commission and active duty in the United States Navy. The demand was brought on by a Navy adjustment of the number of Baptist chaplains and by the stepped-up manpower needs resulting from the war in Vietnam.”

TIGER, Ga. — Scott Cates, a Georgia Baptist pastor, is touching thousands of lives from Tiger, a town that sits at the base of 2,856-foot Tiger Mountain, a prominent Blue Ridge Mountain peak in the far northeast corner of Georgia.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — On Thursday, May 2, hamlets, towns, and cities across America observed the National Day of Prayer in churches, civic centers, community complexes and public venues. In Gaineseville, a group of Hispanic youth pastors mobilized scores of second-generation Hispanic youths to pray for the United States.

NEWNAN, Ga. — After almost three years of prayer, deliberation and a national quest, the Pastor Search Team of Newnan’s First Baptist Church recommended Joel Engle as their new senior pastor. The congregation’s response to the recommendation was overwhelmingly positive, and Engle’s first Sunday in the pulpit was May 5th. 

NASHVILLE. Ga. — Pastor Paul Keffer of First Baptist Church of Nashville says he believes revival is critical in the life of a church. “I realize that there are a lot of churches that no longer make revival part of their church schedule,” he explains, “but I believe there are times when we need renewal and refreshing.”

HIAWASEE, Ga. — Macedonia Baptist Church and pastor Wade Lott have an evangelistic spirit and a passion for seeing people come to faith in Jesus Christ. This spirit is reflected in all the church says and does. In April, that spirit led to the church hosting a successful revival that saw many come to faith in Jesus. Though the event is over, the response continues.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Meeting at the offices of the North American Mission Board in metro Atlanta on Monday and Tuesday, May 6-7, members of NAMB’s Board of Trustees gained a greater understanding for the diversity of the city and the challenges that come with reaching it with the gospel.

CUMMING, Ga. — It has been said that a pastor’s compassion echoes in eternity, leaving imprints on every heart, and that his preaching pours drops of wisdom into the cup of our understanding. Those words could aptly describe the ministry of Dr. Robert Preston “Bob” Jolly.

COMMERCE, Ga. — In another encouraging sign of revival spreading across Georgia, 24 individuals made professions of faith at a recent event at Beaverdam Baptist Church in Commerce. Jon Reed, a Georgia Baptist evangelist, reported that there is a spiritual awakening taking place at Beaverdam.

JONESBORO, Ga. — Georgia Baptist Women held their annual Women’s Spring Event at First Baptist Jonesboro on Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27. More than 650 women were encouraged by inspirational messages, met with missionaries, participated in mission projects, and gathered and interacted with like-minded sisters in Christ to grow in their faith and relationships with each other.

DULUTH, Ga. – Six incoming college freshmen from across Georgia have received Student Achievement Award scholarships that go to the state’s top scholars.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Baptisms, worship service attendance and small group participation all grew among congregations affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2023, while the recent slide in total memberships slowed.

ELBERTON, Ga. — For Kevin Vaughn, pastor of the growing Rock Branch Baptist Church, the path to effective ministry has not been without formidable struggles. Vaughn remembers being “a normal kid growing up,” whose family did not attend church regularly. It was Vaughn’s grandparents who took him to church and the children’s programs offered.

WATKINSVILLE, Ga. — “We were just laymen helping to start a church in Franklin, Tenn., when Gabe Norris and I realized just how hard it is for the church in America to meet new people,” said Ken “KT” Thomas, president and co-founder of Connect Ministries. After having this realization, Thomas and Norris soon quit their jobs at Lifeway Christian Resources and started Connect Ministries, a nonprofit organization based in Watkinsville that helps church members meet new people in their surrounding communities and share the gospel with them.  

W. Thomas Hammond Jr., executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, and his wife Kerri led Georgia Baptists in a time of corporate prayer via livestream Wednesday morning on the National Day of Prayer.

In a troubling sign for many congregations, half of pastors say they are often or frequently lonely, according to a report of clergy health. Pastors may be healthy in many other areas, but most say they struggle with feeling lonely, according to a report from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.