FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — At a recent Georgia Baptist evangelism conference in Tifton, Ga., Keith Fordham was recognized for his godly service of 50 years as a vocational evangelist. His fundamental goal in life is to glorify the Lord by helping those who are lost find salvation and eternal security in Jesus Christ.

ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) — Associate Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Louisiana Baptist Convention Dale Lingenfelter announced today that he plans to nominate Don Currence for the office of Southern Baptist Convention registration secretary.

ROME, Ga. — Last week, the Department of Theatre and Musical Theatre at Shorter University boldly chose to tackle Christopher Marlowe's complex play, Dr. Faustus.

SNELLVILLE Ga. — The Church on Main will not soon forget Hannah’s baptism. A 15-year-old with cerebral palsy, Hannah was nonverbal and communicated through a device that tracked her eye movements and generated speech for her. Through that device, she told her mother she had committed her life to Christ and wanted to be baptized.

Richard Clint Sullens, age 43 of Monroe, GA, passed away April 5, 2024. Born January 21, 1981, in Spartanburg County, South Carolina to Jennie Eubanks Sullens and Richard Fred Sullens, Clint Sullens was raised in Campobello, South Carolina. He surrendered to full-time ministry at 13 years old and attended North Greenville University at age 18 in 1999.

JACKSONVILLE–Tommy Green has announced his retirement after serving Florida Baptists as executive director-treasurer since June 2015. Green shared his plans to retire, effective Dec. 31, 2024, with Florida Baptists’ State Board of Missions, the convention’s governing body, during its regularly scheduled meeting in Jacksonville on April 4.

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (KT) - Jezimar “Nuno” Norberto, the worship pastor at Porter Memorial Baptist Church, is thanking God for keeping his wife and two boys safe after a tornado took out the sunroom in his home in Nicholasville. The storm split his roof in half and blew it across the street into a neighbor’s yard. The back wall of the garage was also destroyed.

Cultural Christianity seemed like a huge roadblock in International Mission Board missionary Sarah’s ministry. She encountered people every day in Poland who affirmed they were “Christian.” They went to church — well…mostly, but definitely on a holiday. They esteemed Jesus, even going as far as wearing cross jewelry or hanging one in their homes. But when Sarah asked, “Why did Jesus die?”, the question stumped them. 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Boyce College hosted its annual Great Commission Week last week. The week focuses on current mission opportunities and options for those considering full-time missions following graduation.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Seminary Hill Press, the publishing arm of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has released a revised and expanded edition of The Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture. The book is a collection of essays written by 15 Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College faculty members that collectively express confidence in Scripture in 14 different aspects of life and ministry.

CLEVELAND, Ga. — Truett McConnell University Vice President of Advancement Dr. Stacy Hall announced Tuesday that Madison Wyatt has been hired as the Digital Media Specialist for the University. In this position, Wyatt will spearhead all digital media efforts including managing the University’s website, social media, search engine optimization, digital advertising, and other forms of digital communication.

LONGVIEW, Texas — Mulberry Springs Baptist Church, about 15 miles northeast of Longview, doesn’t see a lot of traffic on a typical day. Yet the rural congregation—founded in 1892—is building a new worship space to seat nearly 800 people.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. – At Marshes of Glynn Baptist Church in Brunswick, pastor Darrell Joiner is seeing the results of focusing on discipleship, evangelism, and service to the community. When Joiner was called to the church in November 2020, he says the average Sunday attendance was about 35. Today, Sunday School and Sunday services attract more than 100, and the church continues to grow.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KT) – One day after six EF-1 tornadoes swept through the commonwealth, Kentucky Disaster Relief teams are stepping up to help.

The day began with her puking in the bushes. Macie, who is nine, had a dental appointment to have a filling. She dreaded it like crazy and hadn’t slept the night before. When she and her mom got to the office, she didn’t even want to come in.

Isn’t it funny how children imitate adults, sometimes not in a good way? I remember a certain incident when our youngest child, Missie, was little and in kindergarten. She had a cute, short bob haircut. We noticed Missie started to “pretend” flipping her hair like she had long hair. We couldn’t figure out why she was doing this until we went to an open house at the school. Her teacher had long straight hair and she would flip it behind her ears and then behind her back. We instantly realized where Missie had learned this habit.

This spring, as many college students around the country turned their thoughts to beaches and parties, some had other things on their minds. Groups of students from colleges and universities across Georgia used the pause in the school year to go and tell others about Jesus. Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministry students and leaders traveled to other nations, states, and communities to share the good news.

VILLA RICA, Ga. — When Todd Wright was called to Midway Church in 1996, he was recognized as an effective and passionate preacher. He also knew that a pastor was responsible for carefully shepherding the flock of God. But early in his ministry Wright realized that an effectual pastor must be skilled as a leader.

Some days, she pinches herself to make sure she isn’t dreaming. As an International Mission Board missionary explorer, she experiences a lot of things she never imagined doing in her lifetime. Such as standing under a string of prayer flags flapping in the wind along a remote hiking path. Or zooming around a noisy city via a bright green rickshaw. Or tears rolling down her cheeks when she finds a group of people who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ.  

KATY, Texas —Bear Creek Baptist Church is seeing growth—the kind of growth many churches dream of. With 60 baptisms since the beginning of 2024, the church is baptizing new believers about every week. Is this revival, or is there a secret recipe? Some of both, according to Tim Hill, executive pastor of Bear Creek. 

ARDEN, N.C. — Bruce Frank, lead pastor of Biltmore Church in Arden, N.C., will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention during the convention's annual meeting this summer. Tennessee Pastor John Mark Harrison said he plans to nominate Frank at the meeting, which is scheduled for June 11-12 in Indianapolis.

Sports Degrees Online, an organization comprised of sports industry and academic professionals, has ranked Shorter University in the top 25 on their list of Best Online Sports Management Degree Programs in the Nation.

On a flight home from Texas, I sat beside an 82-year-old woman who was returning home from visiting her grandkids. We talked, and I asked about her life. She shared that she was a retired English teacher, which led me to share how impactful my high school English teacher was in my life because she noticed when I was struggling with depression and, ultimately, my faith.

ROME, Ga. – The Chimes Arts and Literary Magazine was proud to release its 109th issue on March 28th. Founded in 1879, the Chimes has been a staple in the history of Shorter University, starting as a gossip magazine and eventually evolving into the arts and literary magazine that exists today.

ONTARIO, Calif. — Trustees on the presidential search committee have nominated Adam Groza, vice president for enrollment and student services, as the candidate to serve as Gateway Seminary’s next president. “After a thorough selection process, we are thankful to be able to unanimously present a candidate to the full board,” said J. Robert White, chair of the search committee.