CUMMING, Ga. — The United States has a long history of immigration. It is a country built on the backs of immigrants. The Statue of Liberty standing in the New York City harbor bears a quote from Emma Lazarus’ sonnet, “New Colossus,” that says, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

SUWANEE, Ga. — The Georgia Baptist Mission Board's Financial Services Committee announced a special allocation of $500,000 dollars on Tuesday, Oct. 1, specifically to support Mission Georgia's efforts to provide direct assistance to Georgia Baptist churches, impacted ministerial staff, and community support. In addition, the Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation approved a matching grant of $500,000.

SUWANEE, Ga. — The Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s response to the destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene is comprehensive, according to chief operating officer David Melber. “We want to make sure we do not miss any church that needs our help,” he told staff in a call on Monday.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — More than 100 people have died from the havoc wrought by Hurricane Helene, and Send Relief is supporting dozens of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief sites deployed throughout the Southeast in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia.

SUWANEE, Ga. — Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief coordinator Dwain Carter said Saturday that the response in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s rampage through Georgia would be an “all hands on deck effort.” Carter said a huge area of the state has been affected by the storm, with effects ranging from wind damage to flooding, and loss of power and communications.

McDONOUGH, Ga. — More than1,000 chicken sandwich lunches, 2,300 bottles of water, 350 pizzas, 800 juice pouches, 250 pounds of mandarins, and gallons and gallons of coffee. That’s just some of what it took to feed the more than 1000 students, program staff, and volunteers that converged on Eagle’s Landing Baptist Church in McDonough last weekend, Sept. 20-22, for Confluence, the Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministries conference.

DACULA, Ga. — The Haven at Hebron, a 7,000-square-foot maternity home for homeless pregnant minors, is complete and will be able to receive residents as soon as licensing is finalized. Danette Fleming, who sits on the Board of Directors and is responsible for donor development, says that could take up to 90 days, and that she hopes to have residents in the home by the end of the year.

HARTWELL, Ga. — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, age 24, collapsed after making a hit in the first quarter of an NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals in January 2023. The players on both teams, tens of thousands of fans in the stadium, and millions of people viewing the game on television watched in horror when Hamlin made the tackle, stood up and fell over on his back.

ROME, Ga. — Georgia Baptists responded enthusiastically to this years’ SPARK church-strengthening conferences, with more than 800 people attending the final event at West Rome Baptist Church on Sunday, Sept. 22.

CLAYTON, Ga. — Georgia Baptist Women hosted their Fall retreat at Pinnacle Retreat Center in Clayton on Sept. 13-14. Nearly 250 women gathered for the weekend, whose theme was Unleashed: Women on Mission.

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — Beulah Church/Iglesia Beulah introduces new members at its quarterly church business meetings, and seven families came forward at the last one. Of the seven families that joined at that meeting, five were Hispanic.

SUWANEE, Ga. — The Georgia Baptist Mission Board and Friends of Kaleo, Inc., have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding that could allow the continued operation of Camp Kaleo. Friends of Kaleo is a non-profit group of former staff, campers, churches, pastors, missionaries, and families created last year to generate financial support for Camp Kaleo and support its ministry.

ZEBULON, Ga. — On Sunday evening, Sept. 15, the Flint River Baptist Association met at First Baptist Church in Zebulon for its annual associational meeting and bicentennial anniversary celebration. Associational Mission Strategist Frank Nuckolls announced that “What He’s Done!” would be the theme for the meeting.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — Georgia Baptists are blessed to have a significant number of churches that seek to enable and empower a community of saints to embrace and evangelize a lost world through the love of Christ. Northside Baptist Church in Valdosta is one of those churches.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — This summer, as thousands of kids and students attended Lifeway camps across the country, camp staff challenged them to think more broadly about their role in God’s mission to make disciples of all nations, and campers responded by giving generously to Southern Baptist missions endeavors.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Steve Browning, lead pastor of First Baptist Church Alpharetta, will be nominated to serve as president of the Georgia Baptist Convention at the annual meeting scheduled for Nov. 11-12 in Statesboro.

ROME, Ga. — Close to 50 football players on the team at Shorter University made decisions for Christ this year before the season started, and 17 followed through with believer’s baptism. Zach Morrison, in his seventh year as head coach, described what happened after players arrived at the school in early August for preseason training and conditioning camp.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — While Jeff Iorg’s initial plans for retirement won’t happen as expected, the former president of Gateway Seminary noted he and his wife, Ann, are at peace because “God called, and here we are.”

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Eli Akin is all about serving others. He has developed an outreach ministry, M25 Barbecue, that is personal, selfless, effective, and Christ-honoring. His ministry combines compassion, service, evangelism, and, yes - barbecue – a winning recipe for any church or community.

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — With a long agenda for consideration, the Executive Committee of the Georgia Baptist Convention met for its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Central Baptist Church in Warner Robins.

WINDER, Ga. — As the residents of Barrow County, and especially the students at Apalachee High School, deal with the aftermath of last week’s school shooting, Georgia Baptist churches are working together to provide support. Mark Marshall, ​senior lead strategist of Church Strengthening for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, told a meeting of the state executive committee in Warner Robins on Tuesday that Georgia Baptists “were on the front lines” of the response effort.

CLAXTON, Ga. — Worship, praise and prayer rang out as usual on a recent Sunday at Eastside Baptist Church in Claxton, but with a big difference. The nearly 40 people in attendance in the church sanctuary lifted their voices in their native language – Creole.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — After a difficult economic stretch for many churches and pastors, Southern Baptist pastors may feel more comfortable compared to two years ago.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  — A circuit judge in Springfield has ruled against the Illinois Baptist State Association in a suit to protect IBSA from requirements to provide employees with insurance benefits that cover abortion. The ruling came more than four years after IBSA filed suit, saying the Illinois Reproductive Health Act did not violate IBSA’s religious freedom.

WINDER, Ga. (BP) – Area churches have canceled or altered normal Wednesday activities after a shooting at Apalachee High School left four dead and nine others taken to area hospitals with injuries. In a press conference this afternoon, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey confirmed that the deceased were two students and two teachers.