BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – This summer, as thousands of kids, students and chaperones at Lifeway camps developed a greater understanding of missions and a heart for missionaries, they gave generously, entrusting their gifts for Great Commission purposes. As a result of this generosity, Ben Mandrell, president and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, presented checks totaling $587,484.97 to International Mission Board president Paul Chitwood and North American Mission Board president Kevin Ezell on Monday during the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee trustee meeting.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee has implemented a standardized process for vetting job applications. The move comes  a month after the revelation that former interim Executive Committee president Willie McLaurin had falsified his resume.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Southern Baptist pastors won’t be going to Hawaii for an annual meeting after all. Carolyn Fountain, chairwoman of the SBC’s Events and Strategic Planning Committee, said the panel opted to decline a request to meet in Maui in 2028.

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — An estimated 150 students made spiritual decisions during a chapel service at Brewton-Parker College on Tuesday in a scene that President Steve Echols described as amazing. Between 60 and 80 of the students made first-time salvation decisions while others rededicated their lives to Christ. “The Holy Spirit was moving in a way I have never seen before,” said Echols, a longtime preacher and educator. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I have seen some marvelous things of God. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more precious than this.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A retired pastor described as “beyond reproach” withdrew his name Tuesday from consideration as interim president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee. Dan Summerlin, the longtime pastor of Lone Oak First Baptist Church near Paducah, Ky., offered no public explanation for his decision, though Executive Committee Chairman Philip Robertson of Louisiana said Summerlin cited his wife’s health as a primary reason.

WILLIAMSON, Ga. — Dixie Gilbert was nauseous during worship on Sunday morning and was thinking she needed to go back home. “I was not feeling good at all and was super dizzy and lightheaded,” she told Pastor Chris Watson at Harp’s Crossing Hollonville. “But something kept telling me to stay.” She understood why when, near the end of the service, her 13-year-old daughter prayed to receive Christ.

In 1894, Uganda became a protectorate of the British Empire, and in 1962 the United Kingdom granted independence to Uganda. Since that time, the landlocked country in East African has suffered extreme poverty and untold hardship. According to World Vision, many older adults will remember “the brutal eight-year reign of Dictator Idi Amin whose regime killed up to 500,000 people, persecuted Christians, and left Uganda a broken nation.”

SUWANEE, Ga. — The Georgia Baptist Mission Board has added three mobilizers to its Pastor Wellness Team to enhance ministry to pastors’ wives. “The mission of Georgia Baptist Pastor Wellness is to advance the gospel by serving pastors and their families,” said Chris Reynolds, the Mission Board strategist who leads the initiative. “One of the key ways we accomplish this is through our ministry wives’ initiatives.”

Mark 6 describes a ministry of Jesus in Nazareth, his hometown, in which people expressed astonishment at Jesus’ teachings (v. 2).  Jesus was on a mission, “going around the villages teaching” (v. 6b). One of Jesus’ purposes was to disciple the disciples by sending them out in pairs. The best way to disciple people is to send them into the harvest.

As early as the first week of August this year, I noticed local stores began displaying their Halloween candy and costumes. While Halloween is not considered a holiday, it is still big business in our country. In fact, Americans spent more than $10 billion in 2021 on candy and decorations for the occasion. Most of the festivities surrounding Halloween are harmless fun and quickly forgotten until the next time it rolls around on the calendar.

As the war in Ukraine continues, Ukrainian cities and villages are still recovering from the winter’s destruction of crops and the electrical systems failure due to repeated Russian bombings. As of this summer, many families have chosen to return to Ukraine and create a new normal amid the constant air raid sirens and shellings. While most homes still haven’t been repaired, the summer season has brought a new sense of hope.

NORTH RALEIGH, N.C. — During the 17th annual Southeastern Classic golf tournament last week, nearly 200 donors, pastors, and ministry partners teed off to support the Great Commission efforts of Southeastern Seminary. Hosted at North Ridge Country Club’s Lakes and Oaks courses in North Raleigh, this year’s tournament marked another year of remarkable generosity from donors and partners who share Southeastern’s vision for equipping students to serve the Church and fulfill the Great Commission.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee will recommend a longtime pastor with “a stellar reputation” and years of denominational leadership experience to serve as their interim president. Dan Summerlin, who recently retired as pastor of Lone Oak First Baptist Church in western Kentucky, would lead the Executive Committee staff until a permanent president is hired.

STATESBORO, Ga. — Christians who truly want to make a difference in the world always put the needs of others first, do whatever it takes to point people to Christ, and commit to a spirit of cooperation. Those are three characteristics common among difference-makers, said Georgia Baptist Mission Board Executive Director Thomas Hammond, the keynote speaker Saturday at the final of a series of church equipping conferences held across the state over the past month.

SALISBURY, Md. – Send Network’s new podcast, “Terminal: The Dying Church Planter,” is more than just a story about a guy with cancer, said producer Tony Hudson. It’s a story about one man’s monsters, metamorphosis, church planting ministry and church members. Most of all, it’s the story of God’s kindness through it all and His ability to work all things together for good.

Sveta is 10 years old and has little parental supervision at home. Her mother works long hours on a farm, and her stepfather left the country to try to earn a livable wage in Russia so that he could send money back to the family. Because of her resulting behavioral issues, Sveta was bullied at school and often felt rejected by her peers, left to eat lunch alone and navigate her tumultuous home life with no social support.

MARTINEZ, Ga.  – Abilene Baptist Church, under the leadership of Senior Pastor Dr. Brad Whitt, is proud to announce a significant contribution of $10,000 to the Columbia County School District. The church's donation will be presented to Dr. Steven Flynt, Superintendent of Schools for the Columbia County School District, in a special ceremony on Friday at 9:15 a.m. The event will take place at the Columbia County Board of Education, located at 4781 Hereford Farm Road, Evans,  Ga.

BAXLEY, Ga. — Christians in the Baxley area were preparing for an evangelistic crusade when a revival broke out. Some 600 people had gathered for a pre-crusade youth rally on Wednesday evening. Nearly 300 of those made decisions for Christ. “The key to the success last night was the people of God have been praying for months for this crusade,” said Rick Gage, the Georgia-based evangelist who leads GO TELL Ministries, in an interview Thursday. “This area is ripe for a great harvest, and I think we’re going to see a move of God.”

Sitting in a home office in Ohio, a doctor logs onto her laptop at 3:30 a.m. Across the globe it’s mid-morning. The doctor smiles at a face that pops up on her screen. Consulting with her patient, she asks what brought him in today. Then she listens, in real time, to his heartbeat. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.

WAKE FOREST, N.C. — Today’s crisis in leadership is nothing new. In every age, the Church has labored to train godly leaders who finish well even when others fall away. While many modern resources on Christian leadership verge on cliché, families, churches, and other ministry organizations are increasingly wearied by serious failures in leadership.

KANSAS CITY, Mo—Midwestern Seminary hosted the ninth annual For the Church National Conference earlier this week in Kansas City, welcoming more than 1,100 pastors and ministry leaders to campus. Speakers Jason K. Allen, Jimmy Scroggins, Ben Mandrell, Afshin Ziafat, H.B. Charles, Jr., and Jared C. Wilson preached on the importance of ministry calling and sought to encourage attendees to faithfully pursue their ministry with joy.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Fayetteville pastor Josh Saefkow will seek a second term as president of the Georgia Baptist Convention with hopes of keeping churches focused on sharing the gospel. Saefkow, elected last November, said the position has given him “a front seat to see all that the Lord is doing in Georgia.” “I have loved seeing how God is moving all over our state, and I have loved being with our pastors, our associational missionaries, our Mission Board staff,” he said.

A thrill seeker I am not.  There are two super scary things I’ve done:  white water rafting at the Breaks (I nearly drowned) and riding the sky lift at Natural Bridge State Park where I made a vow to the Lord that still stands to this day. My idea of adventure is to be married and have kids — plenty of excitement that lasts for years.

MACON, Ga. — Ingleside Baptist Church, one of the nation’s premier Southern Baptist churches, has begun its search for a new leader to succeed Tim McCoy who has announced that he will retire in June of 2024. The pastor search committee, after much prayer, research and discussion, has crafted a detailed profile for the next lead pastor. The church has also created a webpage to receive resumes  from prospective candidates.

Several months ago, one of my granddaughters came home with a questionnaire/survey she had filled out for something at school. One of the questions was “What are you afraid of?” Her answer was, “Well, basically I’m afraid of everything.” In all honesty, because she lives with me and I have been around her most of her life, I can say in her childlike honest way this is a correct statement.