DALLAS (BP)—Two days after a four-alarm fire ripped through the historic sanctuary at First Baptist Dallas, the church gathered for worship in the nearby Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Sunday morning, June 21.

FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Despite the summer break, some areas of campus have not slowed down as about 2,000 middle and high school students from Texas and neighboring states visited Southwestern Seminary to participate in Fuge Camps hosted by the seminary for a fourth year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Southeastern Seminary is excited to announce that Kelly D. King has joined the Southeastern faculty as Visiting Professor of Christian Ministry. King brings with her years of experience in equipping women for ministry and leadership, and she will begin teaching courses this fall.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro has used background checks in its ministry for more than 10 years. “It gives us peace of mind,” said Kellie Clem, financial assistant at New Vision. “Also, there are occasions where it becomes a chance to talk with volunteers about their faith walk due to results that have come back.”

Every morning when she opens her eyes, Erica Patrick thanks God for life and breath and another day to serve Him. Before her feet hit the floor, she asks Him to take control of her day—to fill it with the good works He has ordained for her and to remove the plans that are not from Him.

DALLAS (BP)—The historic sanctuary at First Baptist Church Dallas burned Friday evening, July 19. The cause of the blaze is not yet known. The Victorian-style, red brick sanctuary building was erected 1890 and is a recognized Texas Historic Landmark.

FORT WORTH, Texas  — Seminary students can expect to face challenges in pursuing theological education, but heart failure at the age of 24 is not usually one of them.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has received a grant of $1.25 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  — Stephen N. Rummage has been elected to lead the Florida Baptist State Convention as executive director-treasurer.

STATESBORO, Ga. — “What are you guys doing here?” It was a question the Baptist Collegiate Ministry Send Me Now team from Georgia heard repeatedly during their time in the city of Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. It was a query which opened doors for sharing the gospel on their ten-day journey in June.

TUCKER, Ga. — Two months ago, Randy Kennedy was diagnosed with stage 4 mesothelioma and died surrounded by his family when he passed away on July 13, 2024.

INDIANAPOLIS — During the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting, NOBTS President Jamie Dew led a panel on the CP Stage discussing what the Cooperative Program means for seminary education.  Dew compared the impact the CP has on the six Southern Baptist seminaries with the impact it has on the convention’s missionaries.  

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — Brewton-Parker College celebrates with Dr. Sampyo Hong, professor of Physical Sciences, who secured a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to provide students with the opportunity to work alongside experienced scientists doing cutting-edge research.

Praying for God’s will is the best thing.  The wisest thing.  The hardest thing.  One of the most difficult lessons of my life.  It happened on July 20, 1994-30 years ago, this week.  It was a Wednesday.

I love being around water. I love everything about it. I especially love the beach! I love the sound of the ocean, the smell of the ocean, the wind and the waves. The crazy thing is I don’t like to get “in” the ocean. I am just an observer.

Teams of Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers headed west to Iowa last week to assist residents dealing with damage caused by record flooding. Severe storms in late June dropped torrential rains on Iowa, causing major flooding as dams failed and rivers overflowed their banks. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds estimates that more than 5,000 homes were damaged by the storms, including at least 2,000 that are likely irreparable.

Fewer Americans see religion as an important aspect of their lives, and it shows in their beliefs and actions. A Gallup survey finds U.S. adults are less likely to identify with a religion, say religion is very important to them, belong to a congregation, or attend worship services.

The trio struggled up the stairs of city hall in an Armenian village. The mother heard a medical team from the United States was seeing patients for free. She would do anything to have these doctors look at her 20-year-old son with cerebral palsy — like carrying him, with help from a neighbor, almost a mile from her home.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — The Southern Baptist Convention’s expanding diversity became a passion for Minh Ha Nguyen, leading to his work in establishing and updating a cutting edge portal and resource that has greatly influenced the SBC’s work to share the Gospel among its ethnically diverse community.

“Camp is back!” declared Chris Trent, NextGen catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. “Superwow and Impact have an amazing legacy here in Georgia. It was amazing this summer to see those camps continue to point teenagers to Jesus in such a powerful way.”

It started with three kids peeking through the fence. Then, a few more joined them and found a way to get around the fence to the other side. By the end, more than 20 Afghan refugee children from the neighborhood behind the fence had joined Connection Church’s youth activity, and church planter Jonathan Lee couldn’t believe his eyes.

When IMB missionary Mick Stockwell spoke with the president of the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary about globalization and missions, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine had yet to puncture the health and safety of the world. Both men desired to send Ukrainian missionaries to the nations, and they brainstormed ways to make this a reality. 

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — The large majority of Southern Baptist pastors believe the Cooperative Program supports the ministries and missions their church values and allows their church to support more missions endeavors than they could on their own.

BEDFORD, Ky. (KT) — “It’s been a great day in the Lord’s house.” That Facebook post by Pastor Mark Payton at Bedford Baptist Church came after the church baptized six people Sunday — all from the same family.

While we as Baptists may celebrate larger churches, larger churches are not free of problems. The Jerusalem church was “increasing in number,” but a divisive issue arose that threatened to divide them. The Greek text utilizes a term that suggests that the issue was dire.