CLEVELAND, Ga. — Truett McConnell University’s Hans Hut School of Business announced today a new five-year strategic partnership with Habersham EMC. Dr. Stacy Hall, Associate Professor of Business and Program Director of Strategic Partnerships for TMU’s Hans Hut School of Business said, “I’m incredibly thankful and excited about this new collaboration. HEMC has recognized the importance of investing in the new generation of business leaders and is taking an active part in helping to prepare our business students for success.”

There’s no rest in war. There’s no rest amid the missiles and gunfire that have plagued Ukraine for the past year. Yet, when Mike Domke, International Mission Board missionary, looked at a network of 60 Ukrainian pastors and missionaries, he knew that’s exactly what they needed — to rest and rejuvenate by doing nothing.  

JACKSON, Tenn. — Pastor Greg Gilbreath of Madison Baptist Church has always enjoyed both playing and repairing his own guitars. Two of his sons — Sam and Ben — also enjoy playing the guitar while his third son, Nic, is a woodworker. Sam Gilbreath is minister of youth and plays in the worship band at Meridian Baptist Church in Jackson while Ben is a folk musician. “Nic does not play an instrument but he is really skilled at making the guitars “look pretty,” he laughed.

In the fifty years following the departure of Lottie Moon from Cartersville, Georgia to the mission field of North China in 1873, twenty-five single ladies from Georgia alone would be appointed as foreign missionaries under the SBC Foreign Mission Board. They would serve as educators, women’s workers (evangelist), in health care, and in other areas of missionary service, far from home.

CLAYTON, Ga. – Not only will 30 young Southern Baptist ladies be chosen to spend summer break in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, they’ll also get paid for it. That is if they’re chosen to work at Camp Pinnacle, the Woman’s Missionary Union get-away just outside Clayton, a resort town in north Georgia.

ROME, Ga — Shorter University Director of Advancement Services, Candy Edwards, has been promoted to Director of Development and Alumni Relations.  Candy came to Shorter in 2009 as the Database Administrator and Box Office Manager. Over the years, she has been intricately involved with most all positions within the Advancement Office.

Dr. William F. "Billy" Duggan, age 69, of Wrens, passed away peacefully surrounded by family, Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at his residence.  A memorial service celebrating his life will be held on Saturday, March 18  at 11:00 a.m. at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Warthen.  Reverends Larry Harmon, Brandon Key and Jim Duggan will officiate. The family will receive friends on Friday, March 17, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at May and Smith Funeral Home in Sandersville. 

The true story of St. Patrick is not for the faint of heart.  In fact, when I have the opportunity to share it with the church kids, I don’t give all the details to the little ones. While much is available on the internet these days, I learned Pat’s amazing story years ago from the pages of the encyclopedia.

I feel like Interstate 85 has been under some type of construction since we moved to Jefferson, probably longer. They are now working between the Jefferson exit and the one before Jefferson. I was going to say how much I “hate” the concrete barriers they put up, but because my grandchildren are not allowed to say “hate” I will just say I strongly dislike them. 

There are thousands of Christian women who have served their generation and lived out their faith and calling over the past 2,000 years. Studying a few of these women will help all believers recognize their contributions and appreciate their witness for Christ. Miss Bertha Smith was one of those women. She was an integral part of a spiritual awakening that spread throughout China in the latter 1920s.

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — Brewton-Parker College business professors Lynn Addison and Toni Banks recently took their Business Leadership and Operations Management classes to visit the Trane manufacturing facility in Vidalia, Georgia. The students received a tour of the plant where Trane air handlers are produced.

“A church without discipleship is just a gathering.” These opening words set the tone for the new “Disciple-Making in Community Podcast” hosted by Lifeway’s Director of Sunday School, Ken Braddy. Launched March 7, this new podcast focuses on ongoing groups ministry—an aspect of church life Braddy says is crucial in disciple-making.

ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland — Spend a little time looking at aerial images of Newfoundland and its nickname — “The Rock” — won’t surprise you. An island off Canada’s Atlantic Coast, Newfoundland’s strikingly beautiful coastlines surround a large 43,000-square-foot “rock” that is home to some of the oldest and least populated regions of the country. “It didn’t get that nickname just because of its rugged coastline. Newfoundland is called ‘The Rock’ because here, life is hard—especially when you’re starting a church,” said church planting missionary Matt Lahey.

MACON, Ga. – Anthony Wilson challenged Georgia Baptist leaders on Tuesday to help shape the destinies of people, even if it means taking extraordinary actions to get them to Jesus. “If we’re going to reach the many lost souls in this state, we can’t do it by conventional means,” said Wilson, pastor of Church 180 in Hampton and second vice president of the Georgia Baptist Convention. “We can’t do it the way it was done before I was born. We have to do something unique. The message has to stay the same, but the methods must change.”

FORT WORTH, Texas — Effective immediately, Chandler M. Snyder, who has served as associate vice president for student services since August 2022, has been named interim vice president for enrollment and student services and has assumed the role of acting dean of students. 

GRAYSON, Ky. (KT) – An open forum discussion at Grayson First Baptist Church on a Wednesday night turned into an opportunity for young and older members to learn more about each other. “I was teaching and it was just a clunker,” said Pastor Josh Schmidt. “I said, ‘Let’s have an open forum discussion. What’s good and what’s not good at the church?’ One of the things the senior adults were concerned about was that they didn’t know anybody anymore.”

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – More than 800 volunteers from seventy-nine churches across the United States gathered last week in Montgomery to participate in Send Relief’s first Serve Tour stop of 2023. In partnership with the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, River Region Associations and local Montgomery churches, volunteers linked arms to bless nurses and first responders, beautify schools, host neighborhood block parties and assist local families with projects in and around their homes.

LINCOLN, Neb. — Angel Viveros had the life he always wanted. He had a good job as a restaurant manager that he enjoyed. In his spare time, he was a professional wrestler. His family made a comfortable living, and he served in ministry at his local Mexico City church. Viveros and his wife, Vanesa, even had a fun opportunity on a television show, where they had recently won impressive prizes, like electronics, furniture and a new car.

ATLANTA – Dorothy Pryor, the longtime executive director of the Georgia Woman’s Missionary Union, passed away on Sunday. She was 98. An Alabama native, Pryor served with that state’s WMU before joining Georgia WMU where she rose to the position of executive director in 1963. She led the organization until her retirement in 1991. During her career, she traveled to 40 countries in South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as throughout the U.S.

ROME, Ga. – Shorter University announced today that it has received a ten-year reaffirmation of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states.

SILVER CREEK, Ga. – Localized revivals that have been popping up across Georgia over the past year reached Silver Creek where 21 people made salvation decisions at a Thursday evening sportsmen’s banquet at Pleasant Valley South Baptist Church. “You could sense the presence of the Holy Spirit,” said Pastor Philip May. “It was all ages of people who got saved.”

ROOPVILLE, Ga. — The church that can capture the hearts of men for Christ is likely to save marriages, children, homes, the community, and the nation. Roopville Road Baptist Church is winning the favor of men and equipping them to become change agents for the glory of God. They use events like low country boils to get the attention of men and proceed to disciple them.

MACCLESFIELD, N.C. – First responders and members of Webbs Chapel Baptist Church are being hailed as heroes after they helped pull a man to safety from a burning vehicle after the car’s driver crashed through the front of the church building on Wednesday, March 8. Witnesses say the driver apparently lost consciousness and barreled through a stop sign at a T-intersection in front of the church’s property at approximately 4 p.m. The vehicle slammed through the wall of a prayer room adjacent to the church’s foyer. Moments later, the car caught fire inside the building with the driver trapped inside.

CUMMING, Ga. – In a nation where senior citizens make up the fastest growing segment of the population, Ricky Thrasher offers an important reminder to church leaders: “The soul never wrinkles.” Thrasher, head of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s chaplaincy program, is offering strategies to help church leaders reach the 56 million people 65 and older whose bodies may be giving out but whose souls will live forever.

Henar was searching for the truth everywhere she thought she could find it — her Catholic background, through Jehovah’s Witness friends and even New Age religion. She tried crystals, meditation, energy and healing. The search left her overwhelmed and without peace. That’s when she met Emilio and Hannah Marrero, International Mission Board missionaries to the Basque region of Spain, through an online Bible study.