NASHVILLE – Southern Baptist congregations saw a rebound in the number of baptisms and an increase of $304 million in overall giving in 2021, both hopeful signs congregations are recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

THOMSON, Ga. – A Georgia pastor is passionate about using technology to spread the Gospel. Gary Caudill has developed a website that allows users to share their testimonies via videos.

My beloved and I make it a point to watch the Kentucky Derby every year.  When the ponies go into the starting gate, we are front and center holding our breath for the mile and a quarter race. Before the Derby, we each make our choices for the winner.  We don’t bet any money, but just want to guess it right.  He always picks a gray horse, while I ponder the names.  This year, I chose Summer is Tomorrow and Smile Happy. 

NASHVILLE (BP) – Willie McLaurin says there is a difference between working “in the business” and working “on the business.” To him, that means planning for the future and thinking strategically.

When Pastor Adrian Taylor thinks about the revitalization and growth that Springhill Missionary Baptist Church has experienced over the past 17 years, he is quick to give credit to God and His unchanging Word, the Bible. “The most important factor has been fidelity to Scripture,” he said.

IVEY, Ga. – A shortage of pianists is hitting churches in the largely rural Ebenezer Baptist Association especially hard, forcing pastors to turn to soundtracks for musical accompaniment. “I’d say more than half of our churches are without pianists,” said Bill Gordon, the associational missions strategist in Ebenezer. “People simply aren’t taking piano lessons like they once did. It’s a lot easier to find a pastor right now than it is to find a pianist.”

PHILADELPHIA (BP) — Nearly 40 percent of Generation Z believe Jesus was a human and sinned like other people when He lived on earth, the American Bible Society reveals in State of the Bible 2022.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Pastors often deal with churchgoers with strong opinions, but they’re much more concerned about the people in their congregations who don’t seem to care much at all. According to a recent study, most pastors say the primary “people dynamics” challenge they face in their churches is apathy or lack of commitment.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Charlie Houck loves serving as lead pastor at Mesa Church in San Diego. Just as much, he’s a fan of the parsonage that came with the building when Mesa launched in …

Theresa Dacio swore she’d never be a missionary. So when God nudged Dacio’s heart to the mission field, she didn’t tell her parents until tickets were purchased for her assignment in Asia. She kept waiting for God to slam the door shut, so why tell anyone? However, the graduate student couldn’t shake the feeling that it was time to step out of her comfort zone and allow God to fully use her.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Young leaders and pastors will gather May 13-14, for a national summit aimed at developing them and spurring conversations on the topics most relevant to them. Participants can expect the opportunity for fellowship and will hear messages from fellow pastors and leaders and discuss issues affecting the future of the church.

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. - For the past several weeks, Tennessee Baptist churches have been collecting supplies for Ukrainian refugees. Volunteers from Nolachucky Baptist Association loaded the first of two containers that will be sent to Moldova to assist in Ukrainian relief efforts.

DALLAS (BP) – In the blighted South Dallas community Cornerstone Baptist Church serves, inflation has led some members to choose between keeping gas in their tanks or driving to church.

When the women of First Baptist Church of Jackson, Miss., tried to think of a way to honor Lori Spikes they could think of nothing better than starting a BNF chapter and naming it after Spikes. Spikes, a member of the church and executive director of national Baptist Nursing Fellowship , died of COVID-19 in 2020.

DURHAM, N.C. (BP) – With the official commissioning of its 501st and 502nd church plants, The Summit Church in North Carolina has passed the halfway mark of its goal of planting 1,000 churches in a generation.

Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief workers, typically called on to help in the wake of natural disasters, have begun a 10-day deployment to Poland to help Ukrainian refugees caught up in a humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion.

MADISON, Wisc. (BP) – Heightened tensions from a leaked Supreme Court document indicating the possible overturn of the court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision preceded attacks across the country on pro-life churches and pregnancy care centers, leaving like-minded groups on high alert while maintaining their positions on the sanctity of life.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Don Currence, administrative pastor at First Baptist Church in Ozark, Mo., will be nominated for a one-year term as Southern Baptist Convention registration secretary during the SBC’s June 14-15 annual meeting in Anaheim.

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) – America’s cultural situation that is well summarized in Romans 1 should be answered by ministers with a Romans 12 ministry, President Adam W. Greenway said in his address to graduates of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Baptist College during their May 6 commencement ceremony.

Lanny Logan's choices in life led him from athletic success to a life of crime and punishment before the Lord intervened. Now, he is an example of the transforming power of Christ's love.

LEESBURG, Fla. (BP) – Florida pastor Cliff Lea never envisioned being portrayed on the big screen by Dean Cain of Superman fame. But Cain plays Lea in a leading role in “No Vacancy,” a true story of God’s miraculous power at First Baptist Church of Leesburg where Lea is senior pastor.

NASHVILLE (BP) – The Southern Baptist Convention Sex Abuse Task Force issued an update on its work with Guidepost Solutions in the investigation of the Executive Committee’s alleged mishandling of sex abuse claims.

EPHESUS, Ga. – As a post-COVID revival continues to spread across the state, a church in west Georgia has been making space for a flood of new worshippers by putting extra chairs in the aisles and creating a separate area for overflow seating.

ANGOLA, La. (LBM) – Robert Hyde, the immediate past pastor of Grace Baptist Church in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is now a free man after being granted parole a few weeks ago. Hyde, who from 2019-2021 pastored what is believed to be the first fully recognized Southern Baptist church inside the walls of a prison, learned of his verdict by the parole board on March 29 and was freed the following day.

KELLER, Texas (BP) – Critical Race Theory and financial transparency were among topics addressed by the three known candidates to be nominated for the Southern Baptist Convention presidency at …