JONESBORO, Ga. — Pastor and author Henry Blackaby is being remembered as “a great Bible teacher” who inspired untold numbers of missionaries, church planters and everyday believers to “watch where God is working and join Him.” A funeral for Blackaby, author of the best-selling Experiencing God Bible study, has been set for 3 p.m. on Feb. 25 at Jonesboro’s First Baptist Church where his son, Mel, serves as senior pastor. “He will be greatly missed, but his influence on the lives of untold numbers of people through his Bible teaching will live on,” said evangelist Franklin Graham in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Texas Baptist Men—also known as Texans on Mission—has worked quietly in and around western Ukraine since Russia invaded the Eastern European nation two years ago this month. This winter, TBM has helped send firewood, food, household supplies and building materials.

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — Brewton-Parker College is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Justin E. Russell as the new provost, succeeding Dr. Robert Brian, who is retiring after many years of dedicated service. Dr. Russell, who has been serving as the Division Chair for Education and Behavioral Sciences, brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to the college’s mission.

CONYERS, Ga. — Georgia Baptists are heading into a pair of evangelism conferences with a full head of steam, having seen a 30% increase in baptisms over the past year and a more than 92% increase since 2020. Baptism numbers are rising as more churches submit their Annual Church Profile, a yearly census of Southern Baptist congregations, and, the process, ratcheting up interest in the evangelism conferences to be held on Feb. 25-26 in at First Baptist Church in Conyers and March 10-11 at Northside Baptist Church in Tifton.

Isn’t it amazing how a wonderful day, free from worry or anxiety, can be interrupted by the smallest of inconveniences? Take for example your vehicle.

Some people never seem to establish roots. The Bible describes Abraham as a man without roots. Hebrews 11:8–10 details Abraham’s lack of established roots on his pilgrimage with God. Faith and obedience were the major characteristics of the patriarch. He obeyed God and set out for a place unknown.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Ken Whitten joined the staff of the North American Mission Board in 2023 to serve as national director of pastoral leadership. He has been connecting with pastors, creating resources and now he has launched the “Equipping Pastors” podcast.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — What do a virtual reality lab, a selfie studio, a comedy show and an NHL locker room have in common? If you’re Zac Workun, these venues are prime settings for youth ministry training.  Workun is a student ministry specialist for Lifeway Christian Resources who helps plan and lead the Experience, an immersive training event for youth ministry leaders. The three-day conference in Nashville, Tenn., is focused on skill refinement in preaching and teaching and is intentionally kept on the small side.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  —  Henry Blackaby, the Christian writer and pastor who impacted millions of lives through his best-selling Bible study "Experiencing God," died Saturday. He was  88.  Considered a spiritual statesman by many, the quiet pastor from Canada had a ministry that reached from pastors, missionaries and lay people, to CEOs, U.S. presidents and world leaders. 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — In late 2019 and early 2020, a series of earthquakes hit Puerto Rico on the island’s south side near the city of Ponce. Iglesia Bautista Misionera, pastored by Rubén Rodríguez, had just affiliated with Southern Baptists and was being relaunched with the help of Send Network Puerto Rico.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y., is small in terms of land area—roughly two square miles—but more than 120,000 people call it home. “It’s an urban poor context, a community with a lot of need,” said Danny Torres, who was born and raised in Bushwick and planted Swerve Church in his community in 2016 as part of Send Network.

DALLAS — Registration is open for The Summit, powered by GuideStone, a two-day conference designed for financial officers, human resources professionals and key decision-makers from churches, ministries and nonprofit organizations. Formerly known as the Employee Benefits Summit, The Summit will be held April 21—23 at the Hyatt Regency Frisco, north of Dallas.

Keith Jefferson stood at an all-too-familiar pulpit in Cachoeira, Bahia in Brazil. With gratitude, he looked out at the church he’d partnered closely with during his time on the field over a decade ago. The retired International Mission Board missionary finished his sermon, and a young Quilombola walked the aisle, tears in his eyes.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Boyce College consecrated the beginning of the Spring 2024 semester with Spring Convocation on Tuesday. Faculty, students and staff gathered in the Alumni Memorial Chapel to formally begin a semester that has already begun and to thank the Lord for his provision of another academic term.

DULUTH, Ga. — It’s not lost on Craig Dale that the $8.4 million in checks he helped to hand out to faith-based healthcare providers on Thursday will have physical and spiritual impacts on untold numbers of Georgians. “It's a cool experience to say the least,” said Dale, chairman of the Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation, a philanthropic organization that funds frontline caregivers in communities across the state. “And the really cool part is that each check is going to be converted into life-changing programs.”

This week, we are marking the fourth anniversary of my mom being with Jesus.  I’ve been reminiscing and pondering all the good things about her.  She was an amazing encourager.  She used her words for good and the good of others.  Don’t ever take your words for granted.

I will be the first to say I am not a tough or strong person. I have very soft feelings and am extremely sensitive. It is not hard to hurt my feelings, just ask my family. In the same sense, my sensitivity also carries over to others. I seem to have the ability to sense when others are hurting or troubled.

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ga. — As a former high school football coach, Dan Wright loves the challenge of building a winning team. So, when Wright transitioned from the playing field to the pulpit in a career change four years ago, he welcomed the chance to serve as pastor at Jeffersonville Baptist Church, a 175-year-old congregation that had fallen into decline a half century ago. Over the past decade, Sunday morning attendance has hovered around  30, according to the Annual Church Profile, a yearly census of Southern Baptist churches.  Even so, Wright sees championship potential in the congregation that will be celebrating its milestone anniversary on Sept. 22.

ATLANTA — The Georgia Baptist Mission Board invites pastors to the Capitol each February to hear firsthand about issues impacting the state and to interact with elected leaders and policymakers. This year, speakers included Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran, and Chloe Cole, a 19-year-old young woman who began gender transitioning procedures at age 12 before detransitioning at age 17.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — With the Super Bowl this weekend, don’t expect many pastors to place a bet on Kansas City or San Francisco to win the game, but a few may have more than a rooting interest riding on the game. Despite its legalization across many states, U.S. Protestant pastors remain opposed to sports gambling, but they’re not doing much about it, according to a Lifeway Research study. Few pastors (13%) favor legalizing sports betting nationwide and most (55%) say the practice is morally wrong. 

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Brad Whitt, pastor of Georgia’s historic Abilene Baptist Church, will be nominated for president of the 2025 SBC Pastors' Conference. Dean Inserra, founding and lead pastor of CityChurch in Tallahassee, Fla., announced Tuesday that he plans to make the nomination. “He has displayed strong integrity, unwavering biblical convictions, and has shown himself to be about the kingdom of God and our cooperative efforts as Southern Baptists,” Inserra said.

ATLANTA — Hindsight shows that refusing to order churches to shut down at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was the right move, Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday. “I’m glad we never wavered on that,” Kemp told some 200 Georgia Baptist pastors gathered at the Capitol for an annual prayer breakfast. “If there was ever a time people needed to worship, that was the time.”

The International Mission Board needs churches. Missionaries can’t get to the mission field without churches, and churches enable missionaries to remain in the places God called them to serve. Churches also play a crucial role in raising up a new generation of missionaries.  

Who are your go-to people when you have news to share? A spouse, coworker or lifelong friend may provide receptive ears and attention when you have something exciting or even difficult to share. Do you have a separate set of people you would call if there was a tragedy or if you were in an accident? What if you need reassurance while dealing with discouragement or failure?

Abram had been following God obediently for several years. God’s promises of being a great nation and a source of blessing to all the peoples on earth had not yet been realized. After Abram’s experiences described in Genesis 14 of the rescue of Lot and an encounter with the mysterious Melchizedek, God renews Abram’s faith by a vision.