A few days before Christmas in 1981, my beloved came home with a great big present just for me. We were newlyweds, living on love and Tator Tots. I didn’t know what it was or how he had paid for it. He laid it gingerly under our sparsely decorated tree.

In church this past Sunday, a couple of lines from a song we sang have just stuck with me. It said, "When I think of all You've done, when I think of all You've brought me through. When I think about your love, I could never say enough thank yous."

PARAGOULD, Ark. – Finch Baptist Church in Paragould saw more than 50 people give their lives to Jesus while hosting a Judgement House earlier this fall. Over four days, Oct. 17-19 and Nov. 1, they had 734 people walk through and reported 58 salvations, 49 rededications, and 98 prayer requests.  

ONTARIO, Calif. — Online theological education – study without onsite interaction with other students – has become an efficient way for the Southern Baptist Convention’s six seminaries to train the next generation of leaders without students having to leave their homes or places of ministry.

The story of the Pilgrims and America’s first Thanksgiving illustrates the point that historians do not always get the facts right, or at times may choose to ignore research in lieu of a preferred narrative. The first recorded English Thanksgiving actually took place at “Berkeley 100” in Virginia in 1619, two years before the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts.

ATLANTA — Georgia Baptists adopted a $61.9 million budget for 2026 at the annual meeting earlier this month, continuing a strong commitment to missions and ministry as the Cooperative Program marks its 100th anniversary year.

If you could create the perfect life, what would it look like? What would you change? Would it involve a new career, a different location, or a new home? Many would want to improve their current health or financial situation.

Deuteronomy 33, often called “The Blessing of Moses,” is Moses’ final address to Israel before his death. It presents both prophetic insight and pastoral encouragement, pointing to God’s faithfulness and the future of His people.

ATLANTA — Messengers to the Georgia Baptist Convention’s 2025 annual meeting earlier this month voted to welcome 24 new congregations into cooperative partnership.

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — Brewton-Parker Christian University’s Student Enrichment Center hosted a career panel discussion on Nov. 13 for business majors, inviting key community members to share from their respective areas. The purpose of the event was to provide students with an opportunity to connect with and learn from professionals in various business fields, gaining practical advice and encouragement as they prepare to enter the workforce.

NEW ORLEANS  — The Global Mission Center of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has launched a new lecture series focused on the topic of missiology. The first-ever “Freeman-Bigler Missions Lecture,” named after the first known NOBTS students to serve as foreign missionaries, was held Oct. 29 and featured the International Mission Board's Zane Pratt speaking about ecclesiology and its connection to the missionary task.

FORT WORTH, Texas — For a second year, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary celebrated its international community with a Christmas edition of Taste of the Nations on Nov. 18, giving international students and campus organizations an opportunity to share food and customs from their countries.

When Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica, few places were spared. In the quiet community of Balaclava in St. Elizabeth Parish, the storm didn’t just topple trees. It tore through homes, fields, and livelihoods. 

DALLAS — Mission:Dignity, a ministry of GuideStone, is inviting friends and supporters to make a life-changing impact this Giving Tuesday, Dec. 2. Thanks to the generosity of committed donors, the first $750,000 in gifts will be matched dollar for dollar, doubling the help provided to retired Southern Baptist ministers, workers, and their widows in need.

I do not like driving at night.  I will admit I am not a great driver at night.  It just seems like it gets harder and harder to see well in the dark.  Last Friday night, Wayne was driving me and one of our granddaughters home after visiting with our other grandchildren in Buford.  It was around 10:00.

I cried in Hobby Lobby this week. Because I missed my mom. Walking down the Thanksgiving then Christmas aisles, I was overwhelmed with a sense of yearning for my sweet mother, who is now in heaven. The wrapping paper had me longing for her presence.

ATLANTA — Georgia Baptists heard a sweeping report on Mission Georgia at last week’s annual meeting, a presentation filled with testimonies of gospel impact in schools, clinics, disaster zones, and recovery ministries across the state. The report underscored what Executive Director Thomas Hammond called “a biblical response to the needs across our state.”

ATLANTA — In addition to sermons and messages from the main stage, the 2025 Georgia Baptist Convention annual meeting last week hosted a series of fireside chats on strategies for making church ministries more evangelistic.

MADISON, Miss. (BP) – Albert Archie’s cancer diagnosis came first, followed by his wife Valerie’s, and then their daughter Kimberly’s. Six years into Albert’s battle, and 52 years into his marriage to Valerie, she was the first to be called home.

PRICEVILLE, Ala. — Mahlon LeCroix believes pastors should practice what they preach. “I wanted to start hanging out with people who were not believers because that’s what I have been asking my church members to do,” said LeCroix, senior pastor of Shoal Creek Church Priceville.

Do you know how to play chess? While waiting for a haircut recently, I watched two people pass the time by playing the game. The owners had provided a board and pieces for the patrons to enjoy. I have never taken the time to learn chess, and I do not know its rules or goals.

Deuteronomy 30 comes right after the covenant blessings and curses in chapter 28 and Moses’ warning in chapter 29. Israel has been told what will happen if they obey or disobey.

CLEVELAND, Ga. — More than 250 people gathered for the 2nd Annual Friends of Music Benefit Concert on November 15th, 2025, for an evening of fellowship, listening, and being led to worship by select students, alumni, and faculty members from the Felix Manz School of Music.

BOSTON (BP) – Multiple Southern Baptist voices will join others at the Evangelical Theological Society’s annual meeting scheduled for Nov. 18-20.

Barna’s latest State of the Church findings point to a significant shift in American church life, reporting that men are attending church now more often than women. The gap is the widest Barna has recorded, with 43 percent of men reporting weekly attendance compared to 36 percent of women. Barna says the rise is being driven mostly by younger men.