Southeastern Seminary and Judson College mourn the recent passing of Dr. Keith Harper, senior professor of Baptist studies (retired). Following a courageous battle with lung cancer this past year, Dr. Harper passed away on Wednesday, April 23, finding ultimate joy and healing in the presence of his beloved Savior.

MARIETTA, Ga. — Marlon Longacre, associate pastor of Community Engagement at Piedmont Church in Marietta, orchestrated a mammoth Egg Drop at Sprayberry High School for the 13th year on Saturday, April 19. Each year, the spectacular event has grown, and this year, more than 20,000 people showed up for the extravaganza. More than 95,000 eggs with candy inside were waiting to be found by excited children.

NASHVILLE (BP) — The SBC Committee on Nominations has released its 2025 report in advance of the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting to be held June 10-11. Per SBC bylaws, the report is to be released through Baptist Press no later than 45 days prior to the gathering.

LIBERTY, Texas — It was another small-town miracle – nothing unusual for Rick Gage and his GO TELL AMERICA team, who conduct several evangelistic crusades in smaller communities each year.

Short-term volunteer mission projects can make a long-term impact. The key, according to International Mission Board missionaries Cade and Ginny Wheeler, is for the local church to be fully invested and use volunteers within an already existing strategy. 

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) — North Shelby Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., celebrated six baptisms last year on Baptism Sunday, the annual Southern Baptist emphasis that urges churches to “fill the tank” and stir the waters, marking new life in Christ.

Kelly* just got her license and was so excited. I asked who had been teaching her to drive. Both of her parents, she replied. Then I asked which was the better driver, her mother or her father. (It’s not a terrible question. The truth’s the truth. And, of course, I wasn’t going to tell them.)

We just returned from a "bucket list" trip with our very dear friends to Morocco. It was totally amazing! The countryside, landscape, and scenery were some of the prettiest I have ever seen.

Across Georgia, churches large and small saw filled pews and crowded sanctuaries as record numbers of worshippers gathered to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. From rural towns to urban centers, pastors are reporting historic Easter Sunday turnouts and powerful moments of salvation and baptism.

GRAYSON, Ga. — Churches and communities gathered on Good Friday for services across Georgia. For the first time, seven Grayson-area churches assembled Friday night for Good Friday Grayson. A crowd estimated at more than 1000 gathered in Grayson Park for worship, scripture reading, prayer, and messages from pastors and ministry leaders who shared from the seven sayings of Jesus throughout the Gospels during the crucifixion.

BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – More than 20 people made decisions to follow Christ at the conclusion of the 61st annual Louisiana Governor’s Prayer Breakfast on April 16.

Most Americans may not regularly attend church themselves, but they have a higher threshold for calling someone a regular churchgoer than pastors do. According to a recent Lifeway Research study of U.S. adults, 53% say someone should be considered a regular churchgoer or regular church attender only if they attend church services at least weekly, including 10% who say they must attend more than once a week.

SUWANEE, Ga. — The Georgia Baptist Mission Board's Public Affairs Ministry is launching a new round of training events this month, designed to equip pastors and church members with the tools and insights they need to effectively engage in today’s cultural and political landscape. The training sessions, set to run from April through November, will take place in eight cities across the state, beginning April 29 in Dalton.

A surprising openness to faith among Americans who currently reject God has been shared in a new report from George Barna, director of research at the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Adam Groza didn’t grow up Southern Baptist, so when a friend suggested he check out Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he said, “I had never heard of Southwestern Seminary. I didn’t know about Southern Baptist seminaries, quite frankly.”

NEW ORLEANS — The board of trustees for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College heard a of variety of positive reports and approved new faculty and curriculum updates during their spring meeting last week, April 15-16.              

In chapter 4, Peter’s purpose is to encourage his readers and also to warn them of a fiery trial that the Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia were facing. Likewise, many Christians today are experiencing persecution.

A few years ago while I was washing my hands to prepare dinner, I was about to grab a paper towel to dry off. Suddenly, I was looking at my dad’s hands, not my own. I took a quick picture and sent it to my father. He responded by saying, “Those are my hands!” Of course, they were mine, but he and I laughed at how much they resembled his own.

CLAYTON, Ga. — Nearly 300 women gathered in the scenic north Georgia mountains on a beautiful early spring weekend for a time of fellowship, worship, and renewal. The retreat organized by the Georgia Baptist Hispanic Women’s ministry provided the women with an opportunity to spend time with like-minded sisters, learning from and encouraging each other.

CLAYTON, Ga. — Casi 300 mujeres se reunieron en las pintorescas montañas del norte de Georgia durante un hermoso fin de semana de principios de primavera para un tiempo de compañerismo, adoración y renovación. El retiro, organizado por el ministerio de Mujeres Hispanas Bautistas de Georgia, brindó a las participantes la oportunidad de pasar tiempo con hermanas en la fe, aprendiendo unas de otras y animándose mutuamente.

American missionary Josh Sullivan, who was rescued by police on April 16 after being kidnapped in South Africa, posted his first statement since the ordeal over Easter weekend. Sullivan, 45, expressed appreciation to “God for delivering me from what was undoubtedly the worst experience of our life.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Barry Sproles was in his car, about to leave the Florida State University campus Thursday, April 17, when he saw what looked like something out of a movie. But he knew it was real. Hundreds of students were running away from campus. Then he saw law enforcement vehicles heading toward campus at breakneck speeds.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — President R. Albert Mohler Jr. has announced the appointment of Ryan Lister as the new Dean of Students at Boyce College. Lister will also join the faculty, bringing over two decades of experience in theological education and pastoral ministry to the Boyce community.

People aren’t lining up to be missionaries in Ukraine right now, as Lamar Schubert has discovered. He and his wife, Aubrey, work with Slavic people and Eastern European churches, but they had to evacuate Ukraine when war began in February 2022.

CHATSWORTH, Ga. — Randy Ellis, pastor of First Baptist Church in Chatsworth, is a fisher of men and a hunter of gators. Ellis finally met all regulations specified by the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and qualified to have a hands-on, eye-to-eye hunting adventure in search of an alligator.