STATESBORO, Ga. — Using Enoch as an example, Robby Gallaty, pastor of Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville, Tenn., encouraged pastors and ministry leaders to focus on pleasing God.

A few weeks ago, our organization had its annual meeting in Statesboro Georgia. My friend and I traveled together to Statesboro. We used GPS for directions on the trip there. Needless to say, it took us on the expressway.

ALBUQUERQUE (BNM) - Eleven volunteers from nine different churches served alongside five Baptist Convention of New Mexico staff members to prepare church resource packets for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. The packets, which include prayer guides, donation envelopes, and posters, will be sent to churches around New Mexico.

ORLANDO, Fla.  — Hundreds of Florida Baptists at the 2024 Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting honored Tommy Green and his wife, Karen, for their years of faithful leadership in the Sunshine State. Tommy Green retired Aug. 16, 2024, after serving as Florida Baptists’ executive director-treasurer since June 2015.

ROAN MOUNTAIN, Tenn.  — Two weeks after Roan Park Baptist Church, a congregation of about 15 members, reached into their savings account and spent approximately $20,000 to pave its parking lot, flood waters caused by Hurricane Helene washed it away.

While Paul made use of sea travel in his missionary endeavors, his longest journey by ship was the journey from Caesarea to Rome. Luke’s description of Paul’s journey is one of the most detailed nautical accounts in ancient history.

I hope as you read this that the temperatures will be cool, the leaves will be on the ground and the mornings will be bright. The hot days of summer are behind us and for the next few weeks, we observe various holidays and special times with family members and friends. Of course, we know that gratitude should be perpetuated daily in the believer’s life.

STATESBORO, Ga. — At the 202nd annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention last week, W. Thomas Hammond, Jr., executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, celebrated the work of Mission Georgia. Mission Georgia is the GBMB’s state mission offering, and it is the only offering designed and committed specifically to reaching the state with the gospel.

STATESBORO, Ga. — Georgia Baptists adopted last week a 2025 budget that calls for more than $62 million to be given through the Cooperative Program and other offerings. That money, a 2.5% increase over the current year, will fund gospel-sharing efforts around the world, and across the nation and the state.

PHILADELPHIA (BP) – The Bible protects against what the U.S. surgeon general has termed an “epidemic of loneliness” as harmful to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, the American Bible Society said in releasing its latest chapter of the 2024 State of the Bible.

HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — The annual Lifeway Women’s Leadership Forum provides a space for women to be trained for leadership, as women are equipped to live out their faith in their leadership in ministry, the workplace, and their homes.

STATESBORO, Ga. — Georgia Baptists gathered on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 11 and 12, for the 202nd annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention at First Baptist Statesboro.

MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn. — Looking for a walker or hospital bed or some other medical equipment and don’t know where to go? Roan Creek Baptist Church would be a good place to start.

GADSDEN, Ala. — News of Hurricane Helene’s devastation in the Carolinas began to spread when a group text message among seven Christian pilots that fly out of the Gadsden airport kickstarted a plan to send help to storm survivors. “Let’s see if we can fill up a DC-7 with supplies and get them to North Carolina,” wrote Tim Meeks, one of those local pilots.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Every Christian knows the importance of Christmas, but often, we miss the wonder and the weightiness at the heart of our celebration. “Recapturing the Glory of Christmas: A 25-Day Advent Devotional” from R. Albert Mohler Jr. helps readers worship Christ more faithfully throughout the season.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — An International Mission Board Sending Celebration is a time to support those who are going on the field to share the gospel with a lost world. Such an event allows participants the chance to commemorate those who mentored and discipled them.

ALPHARETTE, Ga. — A diverse group of more than 170 planters representing at least 14 different languages and 153 Sending Churches attended Send Network’s Orientation, a biannual event for newly endorsed church planters, held Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 11-13, at NAMB’s headquarters in Alpharetta.

When Jacob and Makenzie Goble settled in their seats at NAMB’s Send Luncheon during the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting this past June, they had no idea they were in for an unexpected surprise. “When they started talking about foster care and adoption in-depth, I thought, ‘This is so exciting!’” shares Jacob.

Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers recently wrapped up a five-week deployment to Georgia in response to the widespread damage from Hurricane Helene. During their deployment, the volunteers served 3,067 meals and completed 200 jobs.  

The joy of working together for the glory of God was on display as a houseboat constructed of nearly 700,000 craft sticks floated on Lay Lake near Birmingham, Alabama, on Nov. 7. The boat launch was the culmination of a year-long effort as the Woman's Missionary Union engaged Southern Baptist churches in making craft stick units as a way to learn about the Cooperative Program, a plan through which cooperating Southern Baptist churches give a percentage of their undesignated receipts in support of their respective state convention and Southern Baptist missions and ministries.

STATESBORO, Ga. — W. Thomas Hammond, Jr., executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, encouraged messengers at the organization’s annual meeting, telling them on Tuesday that they are “leading the way” in the state. Hammond outlined several ways in which Georgia Baptists are out in front, serving pastors, supporting churches, and reaching the state with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

STATESBORO, Ga. — Georgia Baptist messengers at the annual meeting overwhelmingly approved updates to the convention’s 200-year-old governing documents on Tuesday. The amendments to the bylaws were provisionally approved at last year’s meeting.

STATESBORO, Ga. — Messengers to the annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention elected new officers Tuesday to lead them in the coming year. Steve Browning, lead pastor of First Baptist Church Alpharetta, was elected as president.

STATESBORO, Ga. — Georgia Baptists expressed their support for passage of a religious freedom restoration act in the state, as well as affirming the right to life of every human being.

Apparently, our dog Dixie is afraid of the vacuum cleaner. I ran it before church last Sunday morning. Because she was scared, she had a conniption, barking loudly and lunging at it as it moved. Since she rarely barks, the sudden outburst was unexpected. I kept saying, “It’s OK. It’s OK,” but she refused to believe me.