CARLYLE, Ill. (BP) – Two teenage daughters of an Illinois Baptist pastor and the pastor’s sister were killed in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer near Breckenmeyer in Clinton County on Friday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) – Sixty students from Kentucky and several other states gathered on the campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Boyce College this week for the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s first Student Worship Camp.

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP) – In an effort to ensure that students are equipped to prevent and respond to abuse in their ministry contexts, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary has announced the launch of a mandatory sexual abuse prevention and response course starting August 2022.

VILLA RICA, Ga. – Kevin Williams is willing to do whatever it takes to introduce children to Jesus. Even if it means kissing a lizard. That’s just what the pastor at First Baptist Church of Villa Rica did, to the delight of the hundreds of kids who gathered for a week of fun, games, Bible lessons, and worship at vacation Bible school.

In America, we have much to smile about.  Even though gas prices are rising like summer kites, we are tremendously blessed. 

NASHVILLE (BP) – A renewed effort to include women in the military draft is making its way through the Senate with conservatives voicing their opposition. When a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act was introduced in June 2016 for women to become eligible for the draft, Southern Baptists responded at that year’s annual meeting in St. Louis by adopting a resolution opposing the step.

SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. (BP) – Ryan Schneider serves as pastor of Saranac Lake Baptist Church in upstate New York near Lake Placid, home to the Olympic Training Center where elite athletes come to train as they pursue their Olympic dreams. When he prepares for an event, whether it’s training in the summer or an actual competition in the winter, he searches for different ways to share the love of Christ with the many athletes who will arrive from all over the world.

When the waters of Rock Creek began to surge across its banks into homes and businesses in Red Lodge, Montana, the members of the Church of the Rockies began to respond.  At first, it was neighbors helping neighbors, checking on one another, and offering aid. 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A year has passed since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his private home. Not only have authorities failed to identify all those who masterminded and financed the killing, but Haiti has gone into freefall as violence soars and the economy tumbles. Many have fled Haiti in the past year, making potentially deadly voyages aboard rickety boats.

BOSSIER CITY, Louisiana — On a cold January morning in Northwest Louisiana, pastor Terry Young couldn’t distribute Bibles to his congregation fast enough. Young had just challenged his church, Airline Baptist Church, to read the Bible in a year—something he does every January. This year, however, was different.

NASHVILLE (BP) – A survey of Americans and their view of Scripture reflects a trend of disassociation from religion. One’s exposure to Scripture, however, can also factor in those results. The number of Americans accepting the Bible as the literal Word of God has reached its lowest point since Gallup began the study in 1976, according to its most recent findings.

FRESNO (BP) – A recently-enacted California state law that requires additional levels of abuse prevention training and implementation complements Southern Baptists’ resolve to care for children, one state convention leader said. And, it provides a window into the future for other states.

Southern Baptist Convention President Bart Barber will be looking for people with “a sense of rightness” to serve on the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force. “Everyone on this implementation task force needs to be committed to the solution of this problem,” Barber said on the podcast SBC This Week.

NASHVILLE (BP) – For the second time in three months, Cooperative Program giving failed to meet budgeted expectations in June. Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee interim President Willie McLaurin blamed the economy for the lower-than-expected receipts, making no mention of an assortment of divisive issues that stirred debate at the SBC annual meeting in June.

As followers of Christ, when people are hurting, we want to encourage them and comfort them. We long for words that will lessen their pain. 

NASHVILLE (BP) – The theme and the officers for the 2023 SBC Pastors’ Conference have been announced by conference president Daniel Dickard. The theme for the conference, scheduled for June 11-12 in New Orleans, will be “Character Matters in Ministry: Beatitudes of a Pastor.” Eight speakers will preach through the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5.

On Sunday, July 3, 2022, as the nation prepared to celebrate its 246th birthday, Hebron Baptist Church celebrated its 180th. Members gathered for celebrations that included worship, a sermon by former Pastor Larry Wynn, a panel discussion by current and former pastors, and a fellowship meal.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — More than two dozen children have died of hunger in the past two months in a single hospital in Somalia. Dr. Yahye Abdi Garun has watched their emaciated parents stumble in from rural areas gripped by the driest drought in decades. And yet no humanitarian aid arrives.

ATLANTA – On July 1st, Christianity Today published an article entitled “Fewer Churches Put Patriotism on Display for July 4.” The article quoted a LifeWay Research study of 1,000 U. S. Protestant pastors which indicated that two in 5 pastors (42%) did not see the importance of incorporating patriotic elements into worship services the week of July 4th.

COLUMBUS, Ga. – Tony Dickerson makes his way into the pulpit, his voice unmistakable in its rhythm and intensity. “I want to tell you friends, God is in this place,” he declares with a boldness that fills the auditorium at Pinehurst Baptist Church. “And don’t you for one minute doubt it. He is here, and we are going to have a meeting with Him.” People settle into their seats, eager to be taken on an adventure through the Bible by the pastor who has been serving the same Columbus church for the past 50 years, an almost unheard of tenure.

As Americans celebrate July 4, thousands of members of the U.S. Armed Services are sacrificing to maintain peace and defend the freedom that the United States and many other nations enjoy, and chaplains are there with them, providing the spiritual support they want and need. In early 2022 the reality of an impending Russian invasion of the Ukraine reverberated throughout the United States Armed Services community and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. By the end of January, U.S. forces were put on high alert to provide support to NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

SAN DIEGO (BP) – Serving in the military is “noble and good,” says Justin Woods, but it’s not enough for some of the midshipmen at the 4,400-student U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. A cadre of the 150 students involved with the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at the Naval Academy have been going on mission to San Diego each summer for the last five years. There were 22 students on the team this summer.

A team of Georgia Baptists spent last week in western Kentucky, working alongside local believers to rebuild homes damaged by a massive tornado in December 2021.

CRAIG, Alaska (BP) – Liberty Church has made great strides in the past year. At one point down to 10 members, it currently averages 50-60 in attendance each Sunday. A partnership with Alabama Baptists has the congregation poised to move into new worship and education space.

Pastor Steve James of Trinity Baptist Church in Louisiana said his goal each year is for at least 100 people to decide to follow Christ and get baptized. Since Jan. 2, Trinity Baptist has baptized 99 and is on pace to have its most baptisms (197) since 2012.