RICHMOND, Va. — International Mission Board trustees approved 65 fully funded missionaries for appointment during their May 21-22 meeting near Richmond, Virginia. The missionaries approved for appointment will be recognized during a Sending Celebration on Tuesday, June 10 in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Dallas.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BP) – President Donald Trump has named Jack Graham, senior pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, as a member of the advisory board to the newly formed Religious Liberty Commission, the White House said in a statement on May 16.

MOBILE, Ala. (BP) – First in Fallujah, Iraq, then in Djibouti, Africa, and finally Mobile, Alabama, the Memorial Day Flag Relay has been bringing encouragement and healing to active-duty servicemen, veterans, and their families for 20 years.

Sanford Miller Brown Jr. was a Baptist preacher’s son from Kansas City and a recent graduate of Missouri State University. He was beginning a career in business. Undoubtedly, like other PKs of their day, as a boy he and his brother walked to church each week wearing their best knickers.

Many Christians today are engaging in the age-old debate about the role of Christians in the public square. For Baptists, our position on the intersection of the church and the state is clearly addressed in the Baptist Faith and Message.

The Southern Baptist Convention messengers arriving in Memphis in May 1925 came with a sense of urgency. The entire nation had been caught off guard, two weeks earlier, when it was announced that a trial challenging a Tennessee law against teaching evolution in the public schools had been set for July. The so-called “Scopes Monkey Trial” would pit science against religion in the courts of law and public opinion.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Georgia Baptists will have six opportunities this fall to take part in the SPARK 2025 church-strengthening conferences, with events scheduled across the state and registration now officially open. Building on last year’s success—more than 3,600 participants representing 385 churches—SPARK continues to expand its reach, momentum, and ministry impact.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — In 2023, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee assembled a small team to help prepare for the centennial anniversary of the Cooperative Program in 2025. Tony Wolfe, executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, was part of that team and suggested commissioning a book as part of the celebration.

NEW ORLEANS — Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College, reminded more than 250 graduates of the essential elements of ministry service during the institution’s spring graduation ceremonies Friday, May 16.  

When David stepped out in the Valley of Elah that day, he wasn’t afraid.

CAIRO, Ga. — Keith Stewart has been called to serve as Grady County Baptist Association’s Associational Missionary Strategist. His first day was April 1, 2025. 

When Peter and Tina Kim arrived in São Paulo, Brazil, they felt right at home. The new International Mission Board missionaries expected a lot of culture shock with their move from Rockville, Maryland, to South America. Instead, the biggest city in the southern hemisphere felt like moving to an urban area in the United States.

Over the past five years, the religious makeup of the United States has remained remarkably stable, according to Gallup.

LONDON, Ky. (KT) — A path of downed trees in rural Laurel County signaled where a deadly tornado likely began a path of destruction last Friday night. 

Kay Arthur, a Christian author and co-founder of Precept Ministries International, passed away on May 19, 2025, at the age of 91. Her death marks the end of an era for the countless individuals she influenced through her teachings and writings.

Georgia Baptists attending the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting this June are invited to a special evening of fellowship, celebration, and encouragement at the 2025 Georgia Baptist Fellowship.

WAKE FOREST, N.C. — Southeastern Seminary and Judson College are pleased to announce Kelly King as part-time assistant professor of Christian ministry. Prior to this new position, King has served for the past year at Southeastern as a visiting professor of Christian ministry.

CUMMING, Ga. — First Redeemer Church invites the community to celebrate the opening of its new Center for Biblical Worldview and adjacent Facility for Preschoolers on Sunday, June 1, 2025 at 12:00 PM.

I believe that our country is more divided now than at any point in its history. I know that is debatable, but it seems we Americans are at war with each other over many things. The most significant division point in the last several years has been politics.

In our cultural experience, we have many issues about which we need encouragement, such as the economy or personal family issues. But for the most part in America, we do not experience persecution as Peter’s readers did. Peter encouraged persecuted believers with a message of hope in the context of ridicule by scoffers.

ROCHESTER, Minn. – Trey Turner, pastor of Church at Wazeecha, which he and his wife Lea Ann planted 16 years ago, will become the next executive director of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention on June 1, 2025.

SNELLVILLE, Ga. — As a prelude to the Commencement Ceremony of Luther Rice College and Seminary, the school hosted a banquet for graduates, their families, and friends.                                        

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Just weeks after returning from a month-long flood recovery deployment in Kentucky, Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief (GBDR) teams are once again preparing to serve the Bluegrass State — this time in response to a deadly tornado outbreak that claimed at least 27 lives and left widespread destruction across southeastern Kentucky.

ROME, Ga. — Shorter University is pleased to announce that President Dr. Don Dowless has been appointed to the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (GNPEC) by Governor Brian Kemp. Dr. Dowless was officially sworn in on Monday, April 28, during a ceremony at the Georgia State Capitol. He will represent Exempt Institutions on the Commission.

MOUNT VERNON, Ga. — Brewton-Parker College proudly dedicated the historic campus arch on May 3, 2025, in honor of Don and Beverly Thigpen, beloved alumni whose enduring love story and lifelong dedication have left a profound impact on the college and the surrounding community.