ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia courts would have to give more weight to religious custom and preference when applying the law in disputes about individual rights if legislation adopted by the state Senate Tuesday becomes law.

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — Pastor Joe Salvatore and the members of Cassville Baptist Church have taken an intentional and deliberate step to make disciples who will in turn make disciples. There is nothing new about this objective, but that may be the best part about this rebranding strategy. It is a thoroughly and positively New Testament approach to doing church.

LITHIA SPRINGS, Ga. — A little blue sign on the corner of Lucille Ave and Veterans Memorial Parkway reads “Free English Classes.” The sign, in front of First Baptist Church Lithia Springs, shows that the 77-year-old church is serious about reaching its community for Jesus Christ.

COLUMBUS, Ga. — As a teenager, Bill Purvis survived a near-death experience, repented of his sins, cried out to God for redemption, and was wonderfully saved by the atoning blood of Christ. Less than a decade later, Purvis, joined by his wife Debbie, accepted the call to become the pastor of Cascade Hills Baptist Church in Columbus.

​AUGUSTA, Ga. — Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia, established ca. 1787, is arguably one of the oldest, if not the oldest, Black congregations in America. Like a rock, it has weathered 240 years of challenges, including slavery, emancipation, yellow fever epidemics, the Jim Crow Era, race riots, floods, fires, and obstacles of urban renewal.

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — Send Georgia, a partnership between the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and the North American Mission Board to plant more churches in the state, hosted pastors interested in the prospect of church-planting at a one-day Sending Lab event in Douglasville. Seventeen participants representing 14 churches attended the event, held Feb. 11 at First Baptist Douglasville.

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (KT) – It is an old expression, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” Well, if that’s the case, then Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are offering lots of godliness with their laundry and shower units.

Churches across the world, including dozens in Georgia, hosted Night to Shine events earlier this month. Night to Shine, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, gives churches a chance to welcome guests with special needs to an event designed to show them that they are loved and valued.

DULUTH, Ga. — Helping those who help others is the mission of the Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation. In 2025, the Foundation awarded $8,977,399.43 to support the work of 87 health care ministries across the state. That's an increase of more than 6.5% from last year's total.

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — More than 600 Georgia Baptists converged on Central Baptist Church in Warner Robins on Sunday and Monday to be encouraged to reach the lost in their state with the good news of Jesus Christ.

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — “Now is the time,” when it comes to sharing the gospel of Christ, Shane Pruitt told Georgia Baptists Monday, Feb. 24, on the second day of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s Evangelism Conference. Pruitt, national Next Gen director for the North American Mission Board, stressed that believers should have a sense of urgency to tell the lost about Jesus.

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Georgia Baptists attending the first day of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s Evangelism Conference heard from Christian Norman, associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Woodstock, and Wayne Bray, lead pastor of First Baptist Simpsonville, S.C., on Sunday, Feb. 23. More than 600 people came to Central Baptist Church in Warner Robins to be encouraged and educated in ways to share the gospel.

WOODSTOCK, GA. — Daniel Henderson has a vision of seeing churches transformed and renewed, and it starts with helping individuals change the way they pray. “If you change the way you pray, you change the way you live,” said Henderson, president and founder of Strategic Renewal.

JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. — Nearly 200 kids ministry leaders, Georgia Baptist Mission Board staff, and vendors,  came together for a ‘summit’ on Feb. 6 and 7 at the Jekyll Island Resort. Those leaders represented 99 Georgia Baptist churches from across the state.

CUMMING, Ga — One only must talk to pastor Andrew Ryzhkov for one minute to discover that he is excited about his Savior and the work God has called him to do. Ryzhkov is the pastor of Calvary Russian Baptist Church, a growing congregation of believers in the Alpharetta/Cumming area north of Atlanta. However, his ministry extends far beyond his local church and reaches into Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — For First Baptist Church of Moultrie pianist Cindy Tyus playing a piano is more than just notes on a page, it’s a way to serve the Lord and lead people to Jesus. And, she has been doing so for 40 years.

VILLA RICA, Ga. — Joe Dan Worley recently spoke to a Sunday School class of senior adults and explained how his faith in Jesus Christ sustained him in a fierce battle in Iraq during the War on Terror.

BOWMAN, Ga. — Across the street from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Bowman stand five tiny houses filled with stories of heartache and tragedy. Pleasant Grove hopes to use the buildings to turn them into stories of hope and recovery.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (BP) – It’s 6:45 a.m., and Clint Pressley is already getting loud in the shed. The correct nomenclature is, actually, The Shed. It’s a modest structure behind his home wall-to-wall with barbells, weights, and racks collected over years, anywhere from garage sales to Facebook Marketplace.

STATESBORO, Ga. — This summer, First Baptist Church Statesboro will celebrate 40 years of caring for members through its church nursing ministry. Initially staffed by a part-time nurse in July 1985 supported by love offerings, it became a full-time budgeted ministry in 1997.

ATLANTA — Georgia Baptist pastors and ministry leaders gathered at the state Capitol on Thursday for a time of prayer, encouragement, and education.

BUFORD, Ga. — The Pastor Wellness ministry of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board welcomed the wives of more than 230 ministry leaders to Lanier Islands Legacy Lodge in Buford last month for a retreat designed specifically to cater to their needs. The ladies gathered on Jan. 23-25 to be renewed and fed spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Nearly 800 youth ministers and spouses from 21 different states attended this year’s three-day Conclave conference in Chattanooga last month.

CULLODEN, Ga. — Sounds of praise are echoing again from the former Culloden Baptist Church on Church Street in Culloden. Renamed New Providence Baptist Church of Culloden, the 100-year-old church has reopened and held its first service Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025.

MACON, Ga. — Friends and colleagues at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board mourned the loss of William “Bill” Russell Eastwood on Thursday, as news spread of his passing. Eastwood, 73, of Macon, peacefully passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. He was a longtime staffer with the Georgia Baptist Health Foundation and the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.