JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An American pastor who was kidnapped last week by armed and masked men during a sermon in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa was rescued on Tuesday after three of his abductors engaged in gunfire with officials and were killed, police reported Wednesday.

MAYFIELD, Ky. (KT) – “The building is nothing. Twenty-two million dollars, a newly renovated facility, it means nothing because in 15 seconds it can all be gone again. It really helps guide our perspective and keeps us grounded to what our mission is: making much of Christ,” said Paul Wilkerson, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Mayfield.

ROME, Ga. — Shorter University is honored to announce that Baseball Hall of Famer and FOX MLB lead analyst John Smoltz will serve as the keynote speaker for the 2025 President’s Gala. The event will take place on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, and will benefit student scholarships at Shorter University.

NEWPORT, Tenn. — Like he’s done so many times before, pastor Tim Grooms went to the pulpit at Riverview Baptist Church at the start of Sunday’s service and offered words of welcome to those in attendance. But this was no ordinary welcome. This was a welcome back. 

Cliffe Knechtle is a Christian apologist, speaker, and evangelist who has garnered a significant following across the nation. Many in his audience are unbelievers or doubters who are hostile and even rude. His primary ministry engages college students on their campuses and has friendly — albeit deep — debates about God, the Bible, and Christianity.

The greatest event in human history was the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Resurrection is not only the most important message of the New Testament, but it is also the good news for disciples awaiting the final consummation.

BRASELTON, Ga. — North Metro Baptist Church has relocated to a beautiful new campus and a modern state-of-the-art facility with all the most recent innovations and technologies and opened for business, the Lord’s business that is, on Palm Sunday.

ROCKWALL, Texas — North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley will be nominated for a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Texas pastor Michael Criner announced on Sunday, April 13.

PASADENA, Texas (BP) – Barry Wilmore attended his first elders meeting in nearly a year at Providence Baptist Church on Thursday, April 10. His absence was understandable.

When Ruth visited Fran in summer 2023, Ruth didn’t expect to end up in the hospital, fighting for her life.  International Mission Board missionaries Wade and Catherine Hampton have seen God work in Southeast Asia, but they don’t always see Him work through an attempted murder. This story is one they shared with Southern Baptists, asking for prayer.  

STILLWATER, Okla.—Texans on Mission volunteers spent two weeks responding to needs after wildfires tore through Stillwater, affecting about 200 homes in the area and 74 campers at nearby Lake Carl Blackwell.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Scott Van Neste, the pastor of Bellepoint Baptist, was thankful the church was spared from the recent floodwaters. It came close, with water encircling the church located near the Kentucky River, he said.

Missionary Josh Sullivan was taken at gunpoint Thursday evening, April 10, while delivering a sermon at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, South Africa (near Port Elizabeth, also known as Gqeberha).

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump has nominated Mark Walker, a former congressman and pastor from North Carolina, as the new U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

SUWANEE, Ga. — As Southern Baptists prepare to celebrate this 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program next month, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board reported that 2024 CP giving by Georgia churches rose slightly over the previous year, bucking the national trend.

“I’ve been on mission trips to different places, even local, and I’ve never been able to lead anyone to Jesus. They’d listen to me, and I’d ask, but they’d say, ‘No, I don’t want to pray.’” For Evelyn Howell—a 74-year-old volunteer at Serve Tour Virginia Beach—this streak finally ended.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) — More than 350 women attended the second annual Women’s Evangelism Conference at the North American Mission Board on March 24-25. The sold-out event welcomed women from 30 states and Canada and included attendees representing six languages, with a live Spanish translation offered to those present.

FORT WORTH, Texas — After more than a year of deliberation by the faculty and administration, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is introducing an updated Master of Divinity degree with the goal of providing effective ministry training applicable for the 21st century with fewer credit hours, seminary leaders announced today.

Two-time Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary alumnus and long-time professor of Old Testament F. B. Huey Jr. passed away on April 7, 2025, at 100 years of age.

Josh Sullivan, a U.S. missionary and pastor, was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint Thursday evening, April 10, while delivering a sermon at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, South Africa.

BAR NUNN – Baggs, Bairoil, Glendo, Granger, Medicine Bow, Meeteetse—race past them at the posted interstate speed limit of 80 mph, and one after another, every tiny town in Wyoming can easily look like the same blink-and-you’ll-miss-it blur out the passenger-side window. Unless you’re Tyler Martin.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Board of Trustees heard about the institution’s progress “from a time of serious challenge” two years ago to a “time of stability and hopefulness,” President David S. Dockery said during his report during the spring meeting, April 9. “It has happened because God’s been so kind to us.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Board of Trustees of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary convened Monday, April 7, for their Spring meeting, advancing key actions that reflect the institution’s enduring commitment to theological faithfulness, academic excellence, and gospel urgency.

KANSAS CITY, Mo—Midwestern Seminary trustees elected new faculty and celebrated God’s blessings on the institution during the Spring Trustee Meeting on April 7–8. Overlapping with Great Commission Week, the Spring Trustee Meeting highlighted the institution’s ongoing stewardship to equip and send out faithful ministers for the Church.

NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Louisiana pastor Jay Adkins says he plans to nominate current SBC Recording Secretary Nathan Finn for another term when Southern Baptists gather in Dallas, June 10-11.