KANSAS CITY, Mo—During Midwestern Seminary’s Spring Convocation service, President Jason Allen announced a $2,500,000 gift and launched a new institutional initiative in partnership with the International Mission Board, ‘Midwestern Seminary’s Missions Moonshot.’ Specifically, Midwestern Seminary aims to produce 100 new missionaries annually in the years ahead. Allen began the service referencing President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot Address to rally the American people to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.

ATLANTA – Longtime college football coach Tommy Bowden challenged Georgia pastors and politicians on Thursday to always take bold stands for Christ despite the fallout they may face as a result. “You’re in a battle with Washington D.C,” he said. “You’re in a battle with Hollywood. You’re in a battle with print media. You’re in a battle with tele-media. You’re in a battle with social media. I mean, man, if you take a stand for Christ, it is tough.”

ATLANTA – Some 200 people attended the annual Pastors Day at the Capitol on Thursday to hear from advocates working on the frontlines on important biblical, moral and ethical issues at play in the Georgia legislature.

HARTWELL, Ga. – Pioneering church planter Terry Meeks is retiring more than 30 years after joining a group of Hartwell families to launch what would become one of northeast Georgia’s premier congregations. Meeks and the others started Cornerstone Baptist Church in the unlikeliest of places, a defunct funeral home, but it worked out beyond their wildest imaginations.

My beloved spoke words to me this week that cut me to the quick.  I was minding my own business, not bothering anybody, when he announced, “I believe it’s time to take down the Christmas decorations.”  I did not respond.

If you don’t already know this, we have six granddaughters and one grandson, Camden. Camden loves cars, legos, drawing, and his Buddy, which is what all the grandchildren call my husband Wayne. I know he loves me, but honestly he totally prefers Wayne. In fact, I’m pretty sure he has a small obsession with Wayne and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual. He will run right past me to get to Wayne. I have stopped getting my feelings hurt because he does want me when he’s hurt, scared, or hungry so I take solace in the small things. Camden is almost seven now but I can remember a time when he was four and was spending the night with us.

MARIETTA – Brandon Nichols is a church planter who thinks like a missionary, has a heart of compassion, a deep sense of God’s calling upon his life, and his finger on the pulse of the moment. Nichols is pastor of Mercy Hill Church in Marietta, a work he started in 2016. He is a native of Warner Robins, and a graduate of the University of Georgia and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to coming to the north side of Atlanta to plant a church, Nichols was the student pastor at Central Baptist Church in Warner Robins. He began giving some thought to planting a church in 2013, knowing that starting something new would not only require a spirit of adventure, but would likely be fraught with formidable challenges

In the 1920s, an agricultural depression gripped the nation. During those lean economic times, America’s record companies struggled to expand their markets and sales. They began sending recording crews across the country to set up temporary studios to record regional musicians. This was how the Carter Family was discovered in a recording studio in Bristol, Tennessee. It’s the story of other musicians from across the county, from the blues of Memphis, Chicago jazz, and gospel musicians from across the south.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Hundreds of Southern Baptist student ministry leaders came together in the Chattanooga Convention Center for the annual Youth Ministry Conclave to refocus, reset and recharge as they prepare to further their ministry to students across the nation. “Conclave is a partnership of multiple state conventions,” said Chris Trent, next gen catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. “Every year, it feels like worship is special because it provides that opportunity where leaders can be in the room, but they don’t have to worry about [leading] anything.”

The Georgia Baptist Foundation has launched an initiative to help church members donate timber to support the work of local churches. “The concept of selling the land that has been in your family for decades may be unsettling, but there are many other ways to steward the land resources that God has blessed you with by supporting your church,” said Johnathan Gray, the foundation’s president and chief executive officer. “Many Christians would make gifts of timber if they had an organization to help them do so – especially in Georgia with its 24 million acres of timberland, 92% of which is owned by private landowners.”