GRAY, Ga. — When Pastor Adam Bray and his wife Megan came to Elam Baptist Church two years ago, they had a vision of a “church without walls.” They saw the various Mission Georgia initiatives as great ways to impact their community and be able to share the transforming truth of the gospel.

Religious freedom no longer exists in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, where religious leaders have been abducted and sometimes tortured, several Ukrainian journalists said during a recent visit to the United States.

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — Brewton-Parker College proudly announces that 100% of the inaugural class from its Bachelor of Science in Nursing program has successfully passed the National Council Licensure Examination on their first attempt. This outstanding success underscores the college's unwavering commitment to excellence in nursing education and its dedication to preparing future healthcare professionals.

​The Friendship Baptist Association in rural southwest Georgia, like many other rural associations, is confronting a crisis. It is experiencing a shortage of pastors, youth and children's workers, and musicians. The association, spread over nine counties, has 47 churches and missions. Currently, eight of those churches are without a pastor, in an association where 65 percent of the churches are served by bi-vocational pastors.

Imagine that you are in France for the Olympics and see someone handing out free water bottles. It’s hot, and you’re thirsty, so you take one, but don’t stop to talk. On the bottle, you notice a QR code. Later, when you get home, out of curiosity, you scan the QR code on your phone, and it takes you to a website that says, “Who Am I?”  

On Sunday, July 28, Oklahoma Baptists Executive Director Todd Fisher was involved in a serious automobile accident while traveling in Oklahoma to speak at a ministry event. Dr. Fisher has sustained multiple injuries that are not life-threatening, and he is in stable condition.

How many sermons, messages or talks can you remember? I have no way of knowing the exact number of sermons I have shared, but it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000. For the life of me, I cannot name four of them. Still, pastors like me study, prepare, write and deliver messages to the local church with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul undoubtedly had more influence upon the Church than any other believer. While the Roman Catholic Church highlights the primacy of Peter, Peter never served in a hierarchical position in the New Testament.

RIDGECREST, N.C. — The annual Black Church Leadership and Family Conference resembles the churches it aims to serve—energetic worship and powerful sermons but still grappling with the effects of the pandemic. 

Right now, more than 10,000 athletes are gathered in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. They are accompanied by coaches, spectators, vendors, journalists, media professionals and volunteers. It is estimated that 15 million visitors will pass through the French capital this summer, people from nearly every nation on earth, in one place, at one time.

NEW ORLEANS — Cory Barnes has been named dean of graduate studies for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.  Barnes, associate professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, has served on the NOBTS faculty since 2021.  

MARIETTA, Ga. — The Good Samaritan Health Center of Cobb has a mission: "to spread the love of Christ by providing a quality healthcare home to the uninsured and underserved in our community.”

Rev. Raymond S. Coleman, Jr., age 69, of Douglas, Georgia went to be with his Lord and Savior on Sunday, July 21, 2024, at Vista Park Health and Rehabilitation Center, where he had resided since his failing health.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – The acts of kindness Jesus performed as He shared the gospel inspired Gene Smith, administrative pastor at First Baptist Church, De Soto, and his wife, Kristi, to lead international mission trips to the Dominican Republic.

BOSSIER CITY, La. (LBM) — Cedric Davis entered Bossier Parish Maximum Facility in April, but just two months later the 45-year-old, convicted for simple burglary, gained a permanent reprieve from a spiritual death sentence.

Three members of the Nelons, a Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame quartet, were among seven people killed in a plane crash in Wyoming, according to a statement by a group member who was not aboard the aircraft.

Thelma Goolsby said now that she’s back in Alabama, she wants to keep the feeling she had all last week. She saw God at work in Huffman, Texas, as Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief teams helped clean up trees and limbs after Hurricane Beryl.

This story has a little of everything. It’s a love story, with a suspected demon possession among a people group of firework makers. The plot twist — a people group believed to be unengaged and unreached already had two churches meeting among them.  

Kesevan Balasingham knows firsthand that he doesn’t have to look far from his Toronto home to find a mission field. It’s because he was once part of the mission field.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — When churchgoers show up to their church’s worship service, they’re often hoping to have a guest with them. A Lifeway Research study of U.S. Protestant churchgoers finds 3 in 5 (60%) say they have extended at least one invitation in the past six months for someone to attend their church, including 19% who have made one invitation, 21% with two invitations and 20% with three or more invitations.

It’s Bible School week. One sip of strawberry Kool-Aid takes me back to VBS snacks on the creek bank behind Belfry Baptist Church in the early 70s. We lined up outside, the girls wearing dresses, then marched in to “Onward Christian Soldiers.” We said pledges to the American flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible.

I was getting ready for work Monday morning and I went to put on my favorite necklace. It has two necklaces joined together, one shorter than the other. One of the strands has a heart on it, and I love hearts. That is why this is one of my favorite necklaces. When I got it out of my jewelry drawer, it had a knot in it.

Sergio Ramos is joining Texas Baptists to develop further and direct the emerging network of Great Commission and Great Commandment, or GC2, churches and ministries in Texas and beyond.

PARIS (BP) – With the Olympic Games opening in Paris later this week, Southern Baptists have already been working in and around the city, capitalizing on the event as a bridge to spread the Gospel.

DALLAS — Recent key research findings into pastoral wellness reveal that many pastors struggle with financial, physical, and mental wellness.