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.

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.

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.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Most pastors believe their churches will be around for at least another decade. According to a Lifeway Research study of U.S. Protestant pastors, 94% believe their churches will still exist in 10 years, 4% disagree, and 2% aren’t sure. 

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.  — On a winter evening at First Baptist Church Peachtree City, a group of single adults gathered to forge authentic relationships, and God answered prayer in a big way.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An American pastor who was kidnapped last week by armed and masked men during a sermon in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa was rescued on Tuesday after three of his abductors engaged in gunfire with officials and were killed, police reported Wednesday.

BRASELTON, Ga. — North Metro Baptist Church has relocated to a beautiful new campus and a modern state-of-the-art facility with all the most recent innovations and technologies and opened for business, the Lord’s business that is, on Palm Sunday.

When Ruth visited Fran in summer 2023, Ruth didn’t expect to end up in the hospital, fighting for her life.  International Mission Board missionaries Wade and Catherine Hampton have seen God work in Southeast Asia, but they don’t always see Him work through an attempted murder. This story is one they shared with Southern Baptists, asking for prayer.  

SUWANEE, Ga. — As Southern Baptists prepare to celebrate this 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program next month, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board reported that 2024 CP giving by Georgia churches rose slightly over the previous year, bucking the national trend.

PRESTON, Ga. — On a spring Saturday that felt more like summer, the Holy Smoke Christian Grilling Competition returned for its 21st year with all the flavor, fellowship, and competition that have made it a fixture of ministry-minded barbecue.

FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Dr. Dennis Rivera is a very busy man these days. He currently commutes 25 minutes from Warner Robins to his office at First Baptist Church Fort Valley to pastor two churches full time. “It’s a lot of preparation,” said Rivera. “It’s a joy to serve the Lord in these two capacities.”

SUWANEE, Ga. — Georgia Baptist churches have experienced significant growth in 2024, with baptisms surpassing the 25,000 mark, reflecting an increase of more than 20% over 2023. Additionally, average church attendance has grown by over 6%, and churchgoers have been more generous, with churches reporting a 5.4% increase in undesignated receipts.

MARIETTA, Ga. — While some churches are experiencing significant growth in America, multiple churches are struggling to overcome the decline that beleaguers many congregations today. The 2023 Annual Church Profile conducted by Lifeway Research that was released on March 11 indicated that 70 percent of Southern Baptist churches have an average Sunday morning worship attendance of less than 100.

ATLANTA — After years of advocacy from religious leaders and conservative lawmakers, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 36, known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), into law at a ceremony on Friday, April 4, the final day of the 2025 legislative session. Kemp was surrounded by a group of legislators and supporters, including the bill’s author, Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, and W. Thomas Hammond, Jr., executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.

MACON, Ga. — Dr. Jeff Iorg, president of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, told pastors and ministry leaders that while change is inevitable, how leaders manage it while staying mission-focused will determine its success.

Hundreds of students from Georgia’s universities spent Spring Break serving others, traveling to communities near and far to share the hope of the gospel. Organized by Baptist Collegiate Ministries, these trips allowed students to forgo vacation time to minister and serve in practical ways.

ATLANTA — By a 96-70 vote, the Georgia House on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 36, clearing the way for Gov. Brian Kemp to sign the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law. The bill, which mirrors the federal RFRA enacted in 1993, previously passed the state Senate on March 4 and now awaits the governor’s signature.

MACON, Ga. — A federal judge on Monday dismissed all but one count of Johnny Hunt’s lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC Executive Committee, and Guidepost Solutions—a ruling that SBC EC President Jeff Iorg called “significant progress toward ending the legal challenges at the Executive Committee.”

ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia Baptist Mission Board Executive Director W. Thomas Hammond, Jr., and State Senator Ed Setzler joined religious leaders and advocates Tuesday at the Georgia State Capitol, urging the House of Representatives to take action on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

NASHVILLE (BP) – Federal Judge William Campbell has granted the defense’s request and dropped all but one claim in Johnny Hunt’s lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC Executive Committee, and Guidepost Solutions.

BANGKOK, Thailand — A devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake killed more than 1,600 people in Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, March 28. Send Relief, the compassion ministry of Southern Baptists, is responding through local partners and churches to provide essential supplies, including food, water, emergency shelter, clothing, blankets, hygiene and sanitation items, and flashlights.

ATLANTA — Senate Bill 36, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed the House Judiciary Committee 9-6 on Wednesday after amendments washed away prior changes, restoring the bill to the version that the Senate approved in early March.

MONROE, Ga. — Reaching the 7 million plus lost people in Georgia with the gospel of Jesus Christ is a priority for Georgia Baptists. W. Thomas Hammond, Jr., executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, is meeting with pastors across the state to encourage and find ways to focus on evangelism. Also, this year’s annual meeting of the convention will include an evangelism conference.

POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. — Members of the Executive Committee of the Georgia Baptist Conventions were encouraged to remain faithful at their meeting March 11 at Burnt Hickory Baptist Church in Powder Springs.

MACON, Ga. — Northway Church in Macon has a vision that says “For the Gospel, For the City,” and they successfully carried out that vision on successive Saturdays in March when church members served in community outreach projects.