CORDOVA, Tenn. — The pastor search committee at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova has unanimously recommended that Ben Mandrell, CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, become the church’s next senior pastor. Mandrell will preach in view of a call on July 13. The congregation will vote on the committee’s choice after a 10 a.m. service. 

VALDOSTA, Ga. — The year was 1986. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in what was then the Soviet Union, exploded, killing 31 people and sending radioactive contamination across Europe. The space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven crew members. Barry Bonds made his Major League Baseball debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  After a $50 million facelift, Carnegie Hall reopened. IBM released its first laptop computer.

NASHVILLE (BP) – For distributing the Bible and sharing the gospel in the Soviet Union, Aleksei Kharlamov’s great-grandfather was sent to Siberia and never heard from again. His grandfather and father both were persecuted for being Baptist pastors. Growing up in post-Soviet Moscow, Kharlamov was called a cult member for being a Baptist.

KERRVILLE, Texas (BP) – On most days, it’s easy to see why families have flocked to this area for generations. The typically low, tranquil Guadalupe River backdrops activities like swimming, fishing, tubing, and kayaking. The hills bring winding roads loved by motorcyclists and trails popular with hikers.   

David Englehart, the campus director of New Mexico State University’s Christian Challenge, was moved with emotion as he recalled a quiet, but stunning moment in his life some 30 years earlier during a trip to Central Asia.  

David encountered many difficult circumstances throughout his life. Psalm 18 — the fourth longest psalm in the Book of Psalms — expresses David’s praise for God repeatedly delivering him from his enemies.

While in my third year of college, my girlfriend (now my wife), Amy, and I were driving to the campus when we were forced to take an alternate route due to a car crash. While waiting to make a turn off the highway onto a small county road, Amy screamed. I had just enough time to look in my rearview mirror and see a red sports car slamming on its brakes and smoke billowing from its tires.

KERRVILLE, Texas —Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief teams are on the scene ministering in the Texas Hill Country, where catastrophic flooding over the past few days has claimed the lives of more than 80 people—including dozens of children attending a Christian camp. An unknown number of people are still missing.

FORST WORTH, Texas — The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary campus welcomed 80 high school students in early June for the Texas Baptist College Student Worship Camp, where faculty and students helped attendees fine-tune their musical skills and study the theology of worship and how to serve their church in that area.

For the small number of believers at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, the transition from one military chaplain to another can bring with it a degree of trepidation and uncertainty. However, in January 2024 things looked different.

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart but it doesn’t always show on my face these days. Gravity and age tug at the sides of my mouth lately causing a frown/scowl. (Try not to picture Cinderella’s stepmother.)

ROME, Ga. — Each summer, students and leaders gather at Shorter University in Rome to make a joyful noise at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s SURGE music camp. For some leaders, their involvement has come full circle. Once students themselves, they now strive to impact the next generation of musicians.

Are there things Christians can learn in a small-group Bible study from a decades-old murder? Former Los Angeles cold-case detective J. Warner Wallace — now an author, speaker, and apologetics expert — believes so.

“Life doesn’t end because of sorrow or because of tragedy or because of loss,” said International Mission Board missionary Sue Foster, reflecting on her call to international missions after becoming a widow. “It doesn’t end because of age.” 

John Bartholemew never wanted to spend the night in the room where his brother died from withdrawals. “They promised me that I wouldn’t have to go to the section of the rehab that he died in,” John recounts. “But my fifth or sixth night in rehab, they put me in the room where he died, and it was overwhelming.”

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Most pastors say their churches have policies in place to address significant misbehavior by church members, but few have actually used those policies recently.

“Every day is a little bit different.” That’s how Jim Vale explained what life is like for him and his wife, Ashley. Both are family medicine physicians who serve with the International Mission Board in Southeast Asia.

BLANCHESTER, Ohio (BP) – Tom Leach has a shirt that says, “I never met my hero, but they live inside me.”  It testifies to his calling to preach the gospel, but also to the donation from a stranger that allows him to proclaim that message.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Four new Bible studies from Lifeway Women aim to aid churches and individuals in discipleship this fall. Participants will learn biblical truth, as well as how to navigate the challenges of modern culture with God’s Word.

Peace and happiness have many variables. We aren’t happy when we feel we do not have enough and then burdened if we have too much. We fret over not enough money or worry about what we will do if we have too much money. Most of us don’t have the latter problem.

This is our family beach week. We have five adults and seven grandchildren, six of whom are girls, and four of those girls are teenagers. Let that sink in for a minute!

PALMETTO, Ga. — Over the past five years, a dramatic change in spirit has taken place at Palmetto Baptist Church, and it has resulted in historic growth. “It’s a beautiful place to be,” said senior pastor Lee Brewer.

The full-scale war has become a challenge not only on the battlefield, but also in the hearts of those seeking to live with faith amid the reality of war. Ukrainian Christians are reconsidering how to be present where blood is being shed—and how to witness to Christ in the harsh and brutal struggle. One of those who chose the path of military chaplaincy is Ivan Horbyk, a pastor from the Baptist community.

YANKTON, S.D. (BP) – Jeff Mueller never intended to plant a church. In fact, he was pretty loud in his opposition to its widespread practice while training to be a minister.

CLEVELAND, Ga. — A new research study conducted by faculty and students at Truett McConnell University sheds light on how faith and entrepreneurship are transforming lives and communities in the barrios of Nicaragua. The study, led by Dr. Kimberly Maiocco, Dean of the College of Professional Studies and Chair of the Hans Hut School of Business, reveals the resilience of microbusiness owners, many of whom are women and heads of households, and how their faith in God shapes their business practices, fuels community development, and fosters hope in challenging environments.