FORT BENNING, Ga. (BP) — As he held the remote for the Claymore mine, Pat Hash started to grow concerned. The target had not arrived on schedule, and the ambush could be impacted by the delay. Thankfully, however, this was a training exercise for students in the U.S. Army’s Ranger School and not live combat. Hash had an experience with God as he waited there for nearly an hour that would, almost 50 years later, lead to his becoming the third Southern Baptist chaplain to be inducted into the Army Rangers Hall of Fame on July 13, 2022, during a ceremony at Fort Benning.

DULUTH, Ga. – Bart Millard, lead singer of MercyMe, will welcome thousands of participants to the digital premiere of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s SPARK conference. The popular contemporary Christian band will also perform three songs during the conference, which is billed as “a total church conference,” meaning it provides training on all aspects of ministry.

Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief crews have been assigned to an area of eastern Kentucky hit hard by last week’s flash flooding that killed at least 30 people and left hundreds unaccounted for.

Being wheelchair-bound could not stop 68-year-old Jack Butler from publicly declaring his faith in Jesus through baptism. Six men, three on each side, carried Butler on a wooden plank and then placed him in the water while Pastor Neil Treme baptized him at Glenmora Baptist Church, Glenmora, La. Moments later, Brandy Butler, 45, followed.

NASHVILLE (BP) – The North American Mission Board’s GenSend program gets college students out of their comfort zones and into hurting, broken communities. Students spend their summer in a major city, where ministry might look like serving the homeless, playing at the park, or having a conversation over coffee.

HAZARD, Ky. (BP) – Tim Reynolds, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Hazard, said the flood waters barely lapped up onto his parking lot. “It didn’t get in here,” he …

NASHVILLE (BP) – Mac Brunson’s dad had an eighth-grade education. But every night, he’d stop by his son’s room to make sure young Mac had read his Bible that night. It was important to read Scripture, but his father wanted Brunson to be a reader, period.

DALLAS (BP) – While the Commerce Department reported a decline in the gross domestic product for a second quarter in a row on July 28, one financial expert does not believe a potential recession should be the primary focus of market observers. David Spika, chief investment officer for Guidestone, says the real key is how consumers are faring during times of financial turbulence.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. -- Flat Creek Baptist Church is inviting women to participate in a special community outreach event on Aug. 27. Morning of Missions will include breakfast, guest speaker Georgia WMU President Lauren Sullens, and an opportunity to participate in one of the three mission activities offered.

ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) – Single foster mom Alicia Wong developed a heart for adoption after learning of China’s one-child policy. Had her parents not moved to the U.S. after the birth of her older brother, Wong’s birth would have been deemed criminal. Decades later and having remained single, she began pondering whether God really wanted her to adopt, receiving an answer in 2016. Instead of adopting, she would become a foster mom.

TIFTON, Ga. – Over 1,000 Georgia Baptist churches have given more through the Cooperative Program in the past seven months than during the same period last year, an encouraging sign for what has been described as the greatest evangelistic initiative of the past century. The Cooperative Program is the means by which 1.4 million Georgia Baptists in 3,600 churches support the work of the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board and the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.

DULUTH, Ga. – Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief crews are awaiting the nod to head to the Kentucky mountains to assist residents with what’s being described as some of the worst flooding the region has ever experienced. Heavy rains triggered flash flooding that inundated homes, sweeping some from the foundations, as first responders rescued people stranded on rooftops.

It was a scene I won’t soon forget. Last Friday evening was our Vacation Bible School pool party.  A 2-year-old boy was in the kiddie swimming pool.  I was standing with his mom at the edge.  She never took her eyes off her boy.  “Are you having a good time?” I had just asked him.  He smiled brightly and nodded his head.  Suddenly he tipped back and went under water.  His Mom instantly stepped down and pulled him from the pool.  His toddler body was pale and lifeless. 

NASHVILLE (BP) – Jason Lovins has shared his story of being spared from abortion with audiences across the country for years. But for the first time, the story is being told in video. The …

WASHINGTON (BP) – A newly proposed rule by the Biden administration would violate the freedom of conscience of health care providers by requiring participation in gender-transition procedures and abortions, a Southern Baptist ethicist and other opponents say.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Early next month, Eddie Gilley will lead a group of 42 students from the University of Florida’s Baptist Collegiate Ministries on a leadership retreat in anticipation of the fall semester. Four days and three nights at Cocoa Beach will include fun in the surf, but also discipleship.

FAIRFIELD, Calif. (BP) – Longtime Southern Baptist leader Jeffrey Curtis, who served the past seven years as discipleship director at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, died unexpectedly July 21 at his home in Fairfield, his son Courtney Curtis told Baptist Press. He was 59.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When the FUGE Camps team at Lifeway Christian Resources heard about the tornado that devastated Bremen, Kentucky, they jumped in to help Wade Wilkins take students to his …

DULUTH, Ga. – Former Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter Jr. will be one of the featured speakers at this year’s SPARK church strengthening conference. The fiery pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, Luter was the first African American elected SBC president and, a decade later, remains a sought-after preacher at church conferences across the nation.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Although Americans need to have productive conversations regarding challenges in our society, there is no consensus on who is in the best position to generate healthy conversations around these issues. According to a study from Lifeway Research, fewer than 1 in 5 Americans say their elected president is in the best position to generate healthy conversations on challenges facing society. And 14% believe local church pastors are.

NASHVILLE — In 28 years with the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, Lynn Richmond has had several job titles, but she has never changed positions.  During those 28 years, Richmond worked behind the scenes in planning and making sure the SBC annual meetings took place without a hitch.

PHILADELPHIA (BP) – Younger Christians who engage with Scripture are more apt to care for prisoners and immigrants as neighbors than are older Christians, the latest release from the 2022 State of the Bible reveals.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Several state conventions have signed up for their annual meetings this fall to be hosted on ACTS2, the platform that served as the host for this year’s SBC annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Mark Dance remembers the time he lost focus – despite knowing better – and paying the price. It was 1986 and Dance had just completed his business degree. Even back then, young people wanted to get the latest technology and his eyes were set on a new VCR. So, he drove to a Montgomery Ward department store and bought one on credit.

ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) — Jeffrey Thomas Reed, professor of leadership formation at Gateway Seminary, died from complications due to kidney cancer on Wednesday. Reed, who went by J.T., also served Gateway as associate director of the doctor of ministry program.