BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Life in rural America has its charms and challenges. Those who pastor in small towns across the United States recognize the trials inherent to those areas but believe God is working in their congregations and communities.

ARRINGTON, Tenn. – The memorial service honoring the long-reaching legacy of Morris H. Chapman pointed to a life of integrity and an unwavering commitment to God’s Kingdom through the work and vision of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Louisiana pastor Rickie Wilson has been named executive director-treasurer of the Alaska Baptist Resource Network, according to an announcement Thursday,  Oct. 23, from ABRN president Bruce Rowell.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The Chattahoochee Baptist Association may be 200 years old, but it is far from old in its approach to reaching northeast Georgia for Christ.

NIAMEY, Niger (BP) – An evangelical Christian missionary from the U.S. was kidnapped late Tuesday, Oct. 21, in Niamey, Niger, less than 100 yards from the presidential palace, CBS News reported.

ROME, Ga. — Shorter University is proud to announce that Dr. Brent Baskin, Chair of the Department of Christian Studies and Professor of Christian Studies – Youth Ministry, has been named Best College Professor in the 2025 Best of Rome contest.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Longtime pastor and Southern Baptist Convention leader Morris H. Chapman will be remembered at a memorial service at 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24, at Triune Baptist Church near Nashville. Chapman pastored churches in Texas and New Mexico for 25 years before being called to lead the SBC Executive Committee from 1992 until 2010.

ANCHORAGE (BP) – Alaska Baptist Disaster Relief is “in full deployment mode” following devastating coastal flooding that has killed at least one and threatens to permanently displace entire villages.

FORT WORTH, Texas — President David S. Dockery expressed gratitude for the Lord’s blessings as he shared an upbeat update on the state of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary during his report to the Board of Trustees during its fall meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 22, noting positive markers evidenced in a third year of enrollment increases and encouraging financial reports.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary announced the launch of a new scholarship initiated by the family of Morris H. Chapman to honor his denominational legacy. Chapman, 84, passed away on Oct. 20. 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Fall Trustee Meeting at Midwestern Seminary, held on Monday and Tuesday, October 20–21, celebrated institutional growth, the announcement of the Bill and Connie Jenkins Endowed Chair of Historical Theology and Spurgeon Studies, and the rededication of Koehn-Meyers Hall, while also hosting the latest Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers workshop.

Way back in the 1900s (the 70s, that is), a TV show called Fantasy Island was popular. In one hour, each week, a handful of men and women traveled to a tropical isle where Mr. Roarke and Tattoo awaited to make their secret dreams come true.

I will have to admit that I am not a cold weather fan. I love the warmth of summer, and I cannot stand to be cold. Figuring out his time of year is hard because it is cold in the morning and then warm in the afternoon. The weather actually changes during the day.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — As Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief (GBDR) wrapped 2025 with eight well-attended trainings, multiple out-of-state deployments, and continued service at home, the ministry is looking forward to new service opportunities and a full training schedule in 2026.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary welcomed pastors and those called to pastor to the annual Effective Preaching Workshop on Oct. 13, when experienced preachers and pastors taught how to preach the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament.

MOUNT VERNON, Ga.  — Brewton-Parker Christian University trustees recently joined representatives from the Georgia Department of Transportation District 2, State Representative Leesa Hagan (District 156), and school administrators to mark the installation of new interstate signs directing travelers to the university’s Mount Vernon campus.

HAZARD, Ky. (KT) — Jamie Reynolds, the associational mission strategist for the Three Forks Baptist Association since 2014, is stepping into a new role. Next year, he will become the new executive director of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network.

BAYFIELD, Colo. (BP) – As southwestern Colorado began to flood a week ago, Vallecito Church Pastor Clark Cothern caught sight of something he terms “both humorous and scary” in television footage of the swollen San Juan River and Vallecito Creek.

DONALSONVILLE, Ga. — There were already indications the Spirit was moving at Lake Seminole Baptist Church in Donalsonville prior to the church's revival week Sept. 14-17. The 30-year-old church averages 50 to 60 attendees each week. Since August, there have been 14 baptisms and 12 salvations.  Pastor Rusty Bradley reported that 83 people attended on a recent Sunday morning.

NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary partnered with five Baptist state conventions to facilitate the Prepare Here Pastor’s Summit on Oct. 9-10, an event designed to encourage and equip pastors from those different conventions.  

CARY, N.C. — It looked like a typical scene following a high school football practice — sweaty jerseys, tired players, and a tub of cold water sitting just past the endzone. The tub wasn’t for icing down sore muscles, however. One by one, nearly a dozen players from Cary High School’s football team stepped into the water, not for recovery, but to demonstrate rebirth.

The water started pouring into Debbie Dossey’s house so quickly that she didn’t know how it would end, but she did know one thing — she needed to change clothes. “I decided I needed to go back in my closet and make myself appropriate for when we were found, discovered, whatever,” she said.

From the beginning, Jonathan and Olympia Herrera made two conscious choices: multiply and remain covocational. Those decisions are shaping a story where everyday life and gospel mission are inseparable, and where a small, simple church is already bearing fruit. 

U.S. adults are nearly equally divided on how much of a role religion should play in public schools, according to a YouGov poll. A third say it doesn’t play enough of a role, a quarter say it’s involved about the right amount, and a quarter say religion plays too much of a role.

CLEVELAND, GA. — Fifty members of Truett McConnell University’s Chorale and Jazz Band used their fall break to participate in concerts and mission activities across Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.