Asian American and Hispanic church leaders are expressing their “profound concern, dismay and disappointment” following staff cuts by the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee that included two associate vice president positions responsible for overseeing ethnic relations.

BAXLEY, Ga. — Hundreds of people streamed out of the bleachers at Jimmy Swain Stadium on Wednesday, responding to a call from evangelist Rick Gage to get right with God. In a scene that harkened back to  evangelistic crusades of yesteryear, they crowded around the platform where the man dubbed the “small-town Billy Graham” had just wrapped up  a fiery gospel sermon that warned of judgment for unrepentant sinners and promised eternal life for those willing to turn from their sins and commit their lives to Christ.

MARIETTA, Ga. — On April 8, 1906, the Rev. Charles S. Wing preached a sermon that was published in the New York Tribune. As a part of his sermon, he referred to the “Story of the Engine that Thought it Could.” Despite the steep climb and heavy load, the engine slowly succeeded in pulling the train over the high mountain while repeating the phrase, “I think I can.”

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — An estimated 150 students made spiritual decisions during a chapel service at Brewton-Parker College on Tuesday in a scene that President Steve Echols described as amazing. Between 60 and 80 of the students made first-time salvation decisions while others rededicated their lives to Christ. “The Holy Spirit was moving in a way I have never seen before,” said Echols, a longtime preacher and educator. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I have seen some marvelous things of God. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more precious than this.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A retired pastor described as “beyond reproach” withdrew his name Tuesday from consideration as interim president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee. Dan Summerlin, the longtime pastor of Lone Oak First Baptist Church near Paducah, Ky., offered no public explanation for his decision, though Executive Committee Chairman Philip Robertson of Louisiana said Summerlin cited his wife’s health as a primary reason.

WILLIAMSON, Ga. — Dixie Gilbert was nauseous during worship on Sunday morning and was thinking she needed to go back home. “I was not feeling good at all and was super dizzy and lightheaded,” she told Pastor Chris Watson at Harp’s Crossing Hollonville. “But something kept telling me to stay.” She understood why when, near the end of the service, her 13-year-old daughter prayed to receive Christ.

In 1894, Uganda became a protectorate of the British Empire, and in 1962 the United Kingdom granted independence to Uganda. Since that time, the landlocked country in East African has suffered extreme poverty and untold hardship. According to World Vision, many older adults will remember “the brutal eight-year reign of Dictator Idi Amin whose regime killed up to 500,000 people, persecuted Christians, and left Uganda a broken nation.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee will recommend a longtime pastor with “a stellar reputation” and years of denominational leadership experience to serve as their interim president. Dan Summerlin, who recently retired as pastor of Lone Oak First Baptist Church in western Kentucky, would lead the Executive Committee staff until a permanent president is hired.

STATESBORO, Ga. — Christians who truly want to make a difference in the world always put the needs of others first, do whatever it takes to point people to Christ, and commit to a spirit of cooperation. Those are three characteristics common among difference-makers, said Georgia Baptist Mission Board Executive Director W. Thomas Hammond Jr., the keynote speaker Saturday at the final of a series of church equipping conferences held across the state over the past month.

BAXLEY, Ga. — Christians in the Baxley area were preparing for an evangelistic crusade when a revival broke out. Some 600 people had gathered for a pre-crusade youth rally on Wednesday evening. Nearly 300 of those made decisions for Christ. “The key to the success last night was the people of God have been praying for months for this crusade,” said Rick Gage, the Georgia-based evangelist who leads GO TELL Ministries, in an interview Thursday. “This area is ripe for a great harvest, and I think we’re going to see a move of God.”

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Fayetteville pastor Josh Saefkow will seek a second term as president of the Georgia Baptist Convention with hopes of keeping churches focused on sharing the gospel. Saefkow, elected last November, said the position has given him “a front seat to see all that the Lord is doing in Georgia.” “I have loved seeing how God is moving all over our state, and I have loved being with our pastors, our associational missionaries, our Mission Board staff,” he said.

CUMMING, Ga. — Andrew Ryzhkov and his wife, Inna, planted a Russian-speaking church in Snellville and are currently serving Calvary Russian Church, a thriving congregation they started from a humble beginning in Alpharetta over 20 years ago.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Pastor Steve Taylor told Georgia Baptist leaders about the time his septic system malfunctioned, causing nasty gray water to seep from the ground onto his lawn. “I’m out in the yard, and I’m digging away, knee deep in my own mess, literally,” Taylor, vice president of the Georgia Baptist Convention, said in a devotion delivered at a Georgia Baptist Executive Committee meeting in Fayetteville on Tuesday. “One of my church members who was driving by, stops, and says what’s going on? He jumps out of the car and says let me help. Just a little while later, another man comes along, and he begins to get down in my mess, knee deep, with me.”

McCAYSVILLE, Ga. — Dr. David Drake faithfully served as the pastor of churches in Georgia and Florida for more than 30 years including First Baptist Church in Cartersville, Palm Springs Baptist Church in Palm Springs, Fla., Central Baptist Church in Waycross, First Baptist Church in Ellijay, and currently First Baptist Church McCaysville & Copperhill. He has served these churches with distinction and faithfulness.

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — Steve Edwards has built a successful women’s basketball program at Brewton-Parker College. He has been coach of the year in the Southern States Athletic Conference. He has coached in three national tournaments. But, for Edwards, who doubles as campus pastor, all those accolades pale in comparison to the spiritual victories his teams have celebrated over his eight years as head coach.

SWAINSBORO, Ga. — The plan was a simple one: post volunteers at two roadside locations in Swainsboro for a drive-thru prayer initiative. The result was amazing: 30 people surrendered their lives to  Christ in a single day.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — In the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, residents of south Georgia have been turning to Christ for hope, comfort and salvation. “When people get into these kinds of life-or-death situations, they start thinking about their own mortality,” said Bob Sprinkel, a longtime volunteer with Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief. “When a hurricane hits, people need hope, and Jesus is that hope.” Disaster Relief volunteers reported that nine people had made salvation decisions in the Valdosta area as of Monday.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — Lt. Col. Scott Smith’s regular job is flying F-15s for the U.S. Air Force, but during the long Labor Day weekend he was manning a chainsaw for one of the Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief crews helping Valdosta residents clean up in the wake of Hurricane Idalia. “I don’t know that I have a whole lot of the spiritual gifts the Bible talks about, but God has given me a strong back,” said Smith, a member of Central Baptist Church in Warner Robins. “I feel like manual labor is one way I can serve.” People from all walks of life have joined forces through the Disaster Relief ministry to help hurricane survivors in the Valdosta area, where thousands of trees were toppled by Idalia’s winds.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — In Georgia’s hurricane zone, the long Labor Day weekend has been no walk in the park for Disaster Relief crews who are volunteering their time to help storm victims. Sweat soaks their conspicuous yellow shirts as they balance on sweltering rooftops, sawing away fallen trees that had been toppled by Hurricane Idalia on Wednesday.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — Cleanup is underway in south Georgia after a pummeling blow by Hurricane Idalia knocked trees onto homes and downed powerlines, leaving thousands without electricity in the summer heat. A chainsaw crew from Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief spent Friday removing a fallen tree from the Baptist Collegiate Ministries building at Valdosta State University. Others prepared meals for storm victims.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — More than 3,700 students made salvation decisions at Lifeway camps over the summer, President and CEO Ben Mandrell said this week. Camp locations across the country hosted 111,686 campers from more than 4,000 churches.

JEFFERSON CITY,  Mo. – The Executive Board of the Missouri Baptist Convention has named former Georgia pastor Wes Fowler executive director-treasurer. Fowler succeeds John Yeats, who steps aside after 12 years of leading the network of 1,750 self-governing churches through challenging times and to higher levels of cooperative ministry.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Dr. Brad Whitt stood waist-deep in a pool Sunday evening, sending out ripples with each new believer he dipped beneath the water’s mirrored surface. Hundreds of people from Abilene Baptist Church had gathered at Camp Lakeside to see 21 people baptized in the sun-warmed waters.

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — Brewton-Parker College has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to construct an 8,000 sq/ft state-of-the-art nursing instructional facility on its campus. The facility will provide an opportunity for students to study in a simulated environment, adequately preparing them for the great demand for registered nurses in the area and across the state of Georgia.

SUWANEE, Ga. — Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief has been placed on standby in anticipation of Tropical Storm Idalia, which is expected to become a major hurricane by the time it reaches Florida’s Gulf coast on Tuesday. “Forecasts are not very pretty this morning,” Disaster Relief Director Dwain Carter told his volunteers Monday. “Predictions are not what we would like. Storm Track takes this as a Category 3 at land fall and a Category 1 hurricane from the south center of Georgia all the way up our coastline.”