FAYETTVILLE, Ga. — Two car shows are scheduled in Fayette County on June 3. Both events have been denied county permission to take place. The first one at the expansive north Fayette mansion of rapper Rick Ross is still scheduled to take place and has created a number of news stories on Atlanta TV news programs. The second one on the same day you may not have heard that much about: it’s dubbed Cars and Crafts at The Creek on the parking lot behind Flat Creek Baptist Church just northeast of Peachtree City.

MARIETTA, Ga. — Georgia residents Ken and Mary Ellison are among Southern Baptists’ most faithful and exemplary career missionaries, having served the Lord in Indonesia for 32 years. However, they will soon be moving to Wisconsin to live near their daughter. It will be Georgia’s loss and Wisconsin’s gain.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Although most churchgoers want to serve in their communities for gospel impact, there is a noticeable gap when it comes to the number who are already volunteering for a charity. Most Protestant churchgoers say their churches encourage them to serve people not affiliated with their church and that they want to do so. But few have volunteered in the past year.

STATHAM, Ga. — In 2019, Tommy Fountain, Sr., pastor of 1025 Church in Monroe, began to be impressed by the Lord to expand his church to have four new campuses. The prospect of fulfilling that vision was temporarily interrupted by the pandemic, but with faith and determination, Fountain never abandoned his vision. His giftedness in the areas of preaching, church growth, assimilating an effective staff, shepherding a flock, motivating people to serve; and fundamentally his desire to seek and follow God’s will most assuredly lead to an extension of his ministry from Walton County into the town of Statham and Barrow County.

ROME, Ga. — “A lot has changed in 150 years. One thing, however, remains constant; Shorter University continues to provide an excellent Christ-centered education equipping the next generation of nurses, teachers, pastors, musicians, actors, historians, journalists, scientists, business leaders and more… men and women ready to step into their God-given calling,” said Dr. Dana King, dean of the College of Education, in her commencement address.

TOCCOA, Ga. — Some students who enrolled in the new Christian learning centers that have opened in northeast Georgia are getting more than Bible-based education. They’re finding salvation. More than 30 students in Stephens, Banks and Franklin counties have made professions of faith this school year through the Christian learning centers opened over the past two years.

In one rural district of Zimbabwe, the HIV infection rate is at an all-time high. While many villagers are learning to live with the disease, several communities have lost family members who were the sole breadwinners, leaving behind orphans who are struggling with HIV, too. The region is a drought-prone area that doesn’t yield many crops. Those living with HIV are hit the hardest by these famines because they need healthy, consistent diets to balance their drug regimens.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — More than 44,000 residents of Augusta and Richmond County live at or below the poverty level according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Others who are not at poverty level cannot afford basic health or dental insurance even though they may work several jobs to make ends meet. Two Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry grant recipients, Miracle Making Ministries, Inc. and Christ Community Health Services of Augusta, Inc., daily meet the needs of this population with either free or significantly reduced health care services.

International Mission Board trustees approved 92 fully funded missionaries for appointment during their meeting this week in Richmond, Virginia. Missionaries approved for appointment will be recognized during a Sending Celebration on June 13 in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event will be livestreamed on sbcannualmeeting.net.

A prison seminary largely funded by Arkansas Baptists celebrated its first graduating class last Friday at the Varner Unit of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, a high-security prison in Lincoln County.  The 18 students, who are all serving life or long-term sentences for their crimes, donned graduation robes and caps as they accepted their bachelor’s degrees in Christian Studies from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Lottie Moon was in a worship service at what’s now First Baptist Church when she heard God's call her to missions, prompting her to leave Cartersville for China 150 years ago. The 4-foot, 3-inch firebrand would go on to become a giant in the world of international missions, inspiring countless Southern Baptists throughout the generations to take the gospel to the nations while at the same time anchoring this Georgia community’s commitment to global missions.

DACULA, Ga. – More than 500 Georgia Baptists prayed Thursday for messengers who will gather in New Orleans next month for the SBC annual meeting, asking the Lord to enable them to look past their own desires and concentrate on what’s best for the kingdom. “We want to be people who are obedient to God,” said Thomas Hammond, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and organizer of the prayer event. “We want revival. To have that, we have to have unity.”

LOUSIVILLE, Ky. — “What is happening here will determine whether or not persons who have not yet heard the gospel of Jesus Christ will hear that gospel and believe in Christ and be saved,” said President R. Albert Mohler, Jr. in his opening remarks at the Commencement of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Pansies are my favorite flowers in the spring.  My great-grandmother loved them, too.  The bright colors with the black centers are the ones I love best.  Because my beloved knows that, each spring he makes sure I have lots of them to plant in pots on the front and back porches.  This year, he got me more than ever before.  They are hardy in the cool weather and make me smile every time I see them.

I’m sure you all know what “stepping stones” are. I’m particularly referring to the ones you place on a path or walkway. I can remember as a child my grandparents had stepping stones and we always thought it was great to jump from one to the other. Before we moved to Jefferson we lived in Loganville and we had some stepping stones that led from our driveway to our front porch. Our grandchildren played the same game either jumping from one to the other or taking giant steps from one to the other.

HULL, Ga. – In a rural section of Clarke County, a faded government-issue tombstone stands as a silent sentinel to Pvt. Harry L. Spratlin, a World War I soldier killed in action on October 15, 1918, only weeks before the signing of the armistice that brought an end to the hostilities. Over the years, as his closest relatives passed away, Spratlin was forgotten, except for that slab of marble in a tiny cemetery in an open field in northeast Georgia.

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Tommy Neiman is a longtime Florida Baptist, firefighter and paramedic for 30 years for the St. Lucie County Fire District. As of February, he is also a children's book author. Nieman's book, Rookie Rescuer, describes exciting calls involving shark bites, explosions, wildfires and more. Neiman said he hopes the book will help children develop a proper understanding of God and first responder work through sharing real emergency calls.

Jack Wattanawongsawang and his wife, Prinna Puakpong, watched the news on March 11, 2011, documenting the triple disaster unfolding in Japan — the earthquake, the tsunami and the nuclear power plant meltdown.  In the aftermath of the disaster, when Japanese people lost their loved ones, possessions, houses and vehicles, many felt they had no hope and chose to take their own lives.  

NEW ORLEANS — Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College, shared with the 254 graduate candidates and their families gathered for graduation Friday a question that keeps him up at night. Dew said graduation is a celebration but it is also one final moment for him as president to instruct and encourage them. He then cautioned graduates not to allow the things of the world to “consume” them and keep them from fulfilling God’s call on their lives.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A common daily habit for many people – a hot shower – is a tremendous luxury and Gospel tool in Southwest Missouri. Freeway Ministries in Springfield recently began offering Get Clean, a shower trailer that serves those without access to regular cleanliness. “Get Clean is an opportunity for unsheltered and underserved people in our community to take a hot shower,” says John Stroup, executive director and co-founder of Freeway Ministries.

NEW ORLEANS — Three churches have filed appeals hoping to be allowed back into the Southern Baptist Convention. Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., Freedom Church in Vero Beach, Fla., and Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. ae asking messengers to the SBC annual meeting on June 13 in New Orleans to overturn decisions by the Credentials Committee and Executive Committee.

CLEVELAND, Ga. — Truett McConnell University celebrated its largest graduation ceremony in history on Saturday with a total of 207 graduating candidates. The ceremony was held inside The George Blaurock Student Wellness Center and was divided into two separate ceremonies.

SUWANEE, Ga. – Georgia Baptists will gather in their homes, offices and churches across the state on Thursday to pray for the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting set for June 13-14 in New Orleans. Georgia Baptist Mission Board Executive Director Thomas Hammond has invited the state’s 3,400 churches to be part of the online prayer gathering.

WAKE FOREST, N.C. — Southeastern Seminary and The College at Southeastern celebrated 309 Great Commission graduates during spring commencement ceremonies Friday. Representing 30 states and 18 countries, these graduates have been trained to serve the Church and fulfill the Great Commission and are now commissioned to lead local churches to make disciples of Jesus Christ.