Few Southern Baptists would know the name Robert Benjamin Headden, the late Georgia pastor under whose ministry famed international missionary Lottie Moon would be called to China some 150 years ago. By 1873, Headden, pastor of the Cartersville Baptist Church, had earned the reputation of a beloved pastor, dynamic preacher, denominational leader, and ardent supporter of missions, all of which would have been inconceivable 10 years earlier as he lay critically wounded for two days in Gettysburg.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Send Network is broadening its upcoming Gathering events to include anyone who is interested in church planting – from high school students to thought leaders to church planting team members — to fellowship and collaborate together in the spirit of joining God in His activity to expand His kingdom in North American and the nations.

FORT WORTH, Texas —  When David S. Dockery describes what his career aspirations were as an eight-year-old boy growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, his entire face lights up. “I always wanted to be a sports journalist,” recalls Dockery, the tenth president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. “I grew up loving sports – any kind, every kind.”

How do you know when you are ready to worship? Is it when you arrive at the church campus at a designated time? Could it be that worship commences in your mind with the first sound of a note from an instrument or an invitation to stand and lift your voice in song?

Gardens are important in the Bible. The first couple lived in a garden called Eden. Gardens provided food. Noteworthy gardens in the Bible included the Garden of Eden and the gardens of the Jewish kings. (See 2 Kings 25:4, Neh. 3:15.) In the New Testament, the most famous garden is the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32). The Bible concludes with a description of a fruit garden in Revelation 22:2.

DAWSON, Ga. — Christians in this small southern Georgia town are putting the spotlight back on Jesus this Christmas season, shifting the focus away from Santa who, for generations of Americans, has been the face of the holidays. That shift was on full display at a Christmas party for nearly 1,000 children on Saturday. The jolly old elf wasn’t there, nor were his reindeer, nor elves, nor any other commercialized yuletide decorations.

The new college student stared at his class schedule, then looked over at the woman he calls “Mom” with an excited smile. International Mission Board missionary Angela Dawson could feel Skye’s pride of being the first person in his family to go to college. She looked at the college freshman in his new uniform and did what all mothers do on the first day of school — take a million pictures. 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s former International Mission Board missionary Debbie Moore would gather a few Liberia Baptist Seminary students (to serve as camp staff), load up in an old Peugeot station wagon, traverse Liberia, and hold Girls in Action and Royal Ambassador camps, sharing the gospel with the young people of West Africa.  

POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. — More than 200 years ago the Brothers Grimm published a collection of fairy tales about a poor shoemaker who was almost out of food to eat and leather to make shoes. However, during the night, little elves slipped into the shoemaker’s home and worked furiously to make incredibly beautiful and serviceable shoes that permitted the shoemaker to prosper. It is a beautiful Christmas story of goodness and grace.

A decades-old nearly life-sized Nativity set needed to be repainted.  I volunteered all the artsy people I knew to do it; I would help, too.  I’m no artist, but I thought it would be like a humungous paint by number: not too difficult, it would just take some time.

Last week at Thanksgiving we had our entire family together for the first time in a good while.  Our youngest daughter, who is disabled, at times chooses to not join.  It’s just a lot …

JACKSON, Miss. — Nurses and other medical staff from across the United States attended the Baptist Nursing Fellowship Summit 2023 at First Baptist Church Jackson, Mississippi, earlier this month. This year’s conference was unique because the 60 registered guests celebrated 40 years of encouraging, engaging, and equipping nurses to share God’s love and healing with others. 

DALTON, Ga. — A Georgia man’s chance meeting with country music star Chris McDaniel in a Delaware store led to a life-changing encounter with someone far more famous. McDaniel, a founding member of the multi-platinum-selling band Confederate Railroad, had stopped at the store for a soft drink as he prepared to drive back to Georgia. When he walked to the counter to pay for it, a man he came to know simply as Pablo was there with a basket of groceries and no way to pay for them because he had left his wallet at home.

GHENT, Belgium — After a long night of concerts and parties, crowds trickled through the streets in the early morning hours. Along the main path back to hotels and homes stood volunteers armed with thermoses, serving hot drinks. The coffee and conversations have become part of the annual Ghent Festivities landscape, so much so, that these volunteers and missionaries are known as “the Jesus People.” 

One of the most celebrated events in our culture is the news of a pregnancy. When a young couple discovers a baby is on the way, an overabundance of emotions and thoughts rush through their minds. Everything from joy to fear will abound as plans for the new addition take place.

Genesis is not only the first book in the Bible, but the message of Genesis prepares a Bible reader to understand the rest of the biblical books. Genesis begins with a creation narrative and concludes with the descendants of Abraham in Egypt.

COCHRAN, Ga. — Longtime pastor and former Georgia state missionary Clifford Clyde Evans, Jr. passed away Saturday at Memorial Hospital in Savannah, surrounded by his family. He was 76. Funeral services were held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Cochran First Baptist Church.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The search team charged with finding the next SBC Executive Committee president has “transitioned into the investigation phase” and plans to  recommend a candidate in February. That's according to search team chairman Neal Hughes, director of missions and executive director of the Montgomery Baptist Association. Hughes said the search team is “following the vetting process for EC personnel as outlined by our attorneys and approved by the trustees in the recent September meeting.”

PLAINS, Ga. — The chefs who prepared meals for hundreds of Secret Service agents, Georgia Highway Patrol troopers, National Guard troops, and others providing security during three days of memorials for former first lady Rosalynn Carter have vast experience feeding huge crowds, usually in disaster zones. In their trademark yellow shirts and caps, Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers will spend the next three days in the mobile kitchens where they will prepare tasty cuisine served at no charge.

FETE FORROU, Senegal (AP) — The Fulani people — also known as the Peuhl — are believed to be the largest seminomadic ethnic group in the world, with communities stretching from Senegal to the Central African Republic. While some men in this Muslim ethnic group have attended Quranic school, most prepare for their future by learning the ways of animal herding alongside their elders.

Renowned for its stunning biodiversity, the Amazon rainforest region is also home to a vast array of people and cultures. “People usually think that the environment doesn’t contain and include people, but it does,” said soil scientist Judson Ferreira Valentim, who lives in Brazil’s Acre state. “There are many different Amazonias and many different Amazonians.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission has provided more than 85 ultrasound machines to pregnancy resource centers since 2004 through what the organization calls the Psalm 139 project. That includes 12 machines, which cost, with training included, about $40,000, so far in 2023.

ROME, Ga. — Hall of Fame College Football Coach Mark Richt will be the featured speaker at Shorter University’s 2023 President’s Gala on December 7. Richt, a committed Christian, philanthropist and author, served as the head football coach for the University of Georgia and the University of Miami for 18 seasons.

On this Thanksgiving Day, there are so many things in my life that I’m thankful for, including those trying times that seem to always make me feel insecure and unsafe.  Maybe it’s because I can’t predict or control what will happen.  I do have a God who is in control and knows the future.  Proverbs 18:10 says “The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.”  In trying times, God is my fortress and my security.  He is my safe place. 

DALTON, Ga. — Boxes of Kleenex are always at the ready in the sanctuary of McFarland Hill Baptist Church. They’re for wiping tears of joy among a growing congregation that nearly ceased to exist just more than a decade ago. The 83-year-old church that sprouted from an old-fashion brush arbor service had fallen into a funk, and worshippers were leaving in mass. By 2011, the congregation had dwindled to about 35 regular attendees, and they were shouldering some $330,000 in church debt. They had cut off electricity to the gym and canceled the insurance to save money. They didn’t see a path forward. They were considering shuttering the church permanently.