CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Concerned about the growing secularization of America, hundreds of South Korean believers will be arriving in the U.S. next month to pray for another spiritual awakening for the nation that brought them the gospel. “It’s time for us to repay the spiritual debt South Korea owes to America,” said Nam Soo Choi, president of the World School of Prayer, a missionary organization in Seoul.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – At any given moment, an estimated 400,000 U.S. children and teens are in foster care. There also happens to be roughly that many churches across the United States.

SALADO, Texas (BP) – In the wake of a devastating tornado, First Cedar Valley Baptist Church looks forward to rebuilding and growing.

Reverend Dr. Benjamin Earl Best, 80, passed away peacefully on Saturday at his home. Born in Statesboro, GA, Earl is the son of the late Rufus Benjamin and Mary Lee Best.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) – Seminary graduates must give themselves unreservedly to preaching God’s Word because Scripture is the chosen hammer God puts in the hands of called ministers, one He uses to shatter savingly the hard hearts of sinners, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler told graduates at the school’s spring commencement.

Danny Akin, President of SEBTS and The College, charged graduates to submit their lives and ministries to Christ’s mission.

MEANSVILLE, Ga. – A U-Haul won’t cut it for John Blackmon’s next ministry move. The longtime Georgia pastor and his family are heading to Bangkok, Thailand at the end of July, a 9,000-mile trip, to join the staff of Calvary International Baptist Church. That Blackmon, his wife, Cheryl, and their two toddlers will soon be leaving the U.S. is in response to a divine calling that became clear to them in recent years. “We’re sure this is what God wants us to do,” Blackmon said. “We have no doubt this is where He wants us right now.”

Editor’s note: What follows is the story of a mother and wife who traveled in and out of Russian-held territory in Ukraine to reunite with her family. Bob Sprinkel, the leader of a Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief team serving in Ukraine, tells her story.

ILAWA, Poland -- A team of Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are in Poland, working to make living conditions better for Ukrainian refugees who have fled to safety in the neighboring country. These are photos provided by the volunteers who have done construction work and shared the hope of Christ with people in crisis.

There’s a lot to see at a mud bogger race. The trucks are big. They’re loud. You can’t avoid seeing them. But somehow, in the middle of all of that, you notice Terry Billings’ truck — the Heaven Bound Mud Bogger. It’s bigger and louder. People want to look at it, climb up the step ladder, sit in the truck and get their picture taken.

WRIGHTSVILLE, Ga. – The pastor of a Georgia church that lost a historic building to fire was be back in the pulpit on Sunday, sharing a message of hope with his congregation. “God’s got this, and we can trust Him,” said Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Pastor Chris Mitchell.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Don Wheless, a longtime leader of the Augusta Baptist Association, is being remembered as “a treasured mentor” and “a great man.” Wheless died Friday. Tributes have been pouring in on social media from from friends and colleagues.

WRIGHTSVILLE, Ga. – The pastor of a Georgia church that lost a historic building to fire will be back in the pulpit on Sunday, sharing a message of hope with his congregation. “God’s got this, and we can trust Him,” said Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Pastor Chris Mitchell.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Tom Ascol, a candidate for the 2022 Southern Baptist Convention presidential election is calling for the trustees of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission to remove the entity’s acting president over his signing on to a May 12 letter from the National Right to Life .

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) – Samford University has received the largest single donor gift ever received by an institution of higher education in Alabama – $100 million from the Marvin Mann estate.

WRIGHTSVILLE, Ga. – The pastor of a Georgia church that lost a historic building to fire will be back in the pulpit on Sunday, sharing a message of hope with his congregation. “God’s got this, and we can trust Him,” said Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Pastor Chris Mitchell.

PLANO, Texas (BP) – Musical trio Hebron Road wants their debut album “In A Moment” to be an inspiration and encouragement to worship leaders around the country. The trio has been singing and leading worship together for years, but only recently began pursuing music together in a broader context.

A couple of years ago, Terry Billings saw his old truck sitting in the field, weeds growing up through it, and he heard God whisper that He could take that old truck and make something new out of it. God had made something new out of him. And as he looked at that old truck that day, Billings knew God had plans for it too.

Moldova, a small and impoverished nation bordering Ukraine, has received an estimated one refugee for every 25 Moldovans. Most refugees are being housed and cared for by churches in the Moldovan …

Midwestern Seminary President Jason Allen began this year’s commencement exercises celebrating God’s faithfulness in providing hundreds of new graduates set to serve the Church and the Kingdom.

FRESNO, Calif. (BP) – The Executive Board of the California Southern Baptist Convention (CSBC) celebrated the announcement of a newly elected executive director. Pete Ramirez, former associate executive director, was one of several applicants for the position following the announcement of Bill Agee‘s upcoming retirement.

Southpoint Community Market, operated by Cornerstone Baptist Church, captured the Dallas Business Journal’s award for “Best Real Estate Deals of 2021: Neighborhood Impact.”

ALBANY, Ga. (BP) – In his six years working with pastors in Mallary Baptist Association, Hans Wunch had time to observe one of their most valuable commodities. That would be time itself, Wunch realized.

COLUMBUS, Ga. – Cascade Hills Baptist Church, which on average has baptized someone every day since 2015, appears on track to have one of its best years ever evangelistically. The church had 187 salvation decisions during the Easter weekend alone and has baptized 204 new believers so far this year. “It’s all God doing this,” said Pastor Brent Purvis, “He is the Lord of the harvest.”

Members of a Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief team are drawing on a variety of skills to help Ukrainian refugees who made their way to safety in Poland after the Russian military invaded their country. “Everybody on this team is trained in multiple disciplines, and they’re willing to do whatever is needed to  improve the lives of the refugees,” said Bob Sprinkel, leader of the five-man crew that arrived in Poland earlier this week.