Chitwood on border thanks Baptists for Venezuela aid
VENEZUELA (BP) — International Mission Board President Paul Chitwood ends today (May 13) a weeklong trip that included the Venezuelan border where he encouraged Baptists and area convention leaders ministering to refugees amid the nation’s collapsed economy and political strife. “We’re thankful that Southern Baptists are here ministering to the needs of people who really are in a desperate situation,”...
Chinese church bridges cultural gap after tragedy
RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — It was a typical Tuesday morning at Grace Chinese Baptist Church when I received an unexpected call from the church secretary, Evelyn Yao. My heart grew heavy as her words began to unfold. “The hospital just called our church asking for help. They need Chinese translators.” A charter bus carrying many Chinese passengers to New York City from Orlando, Fla., had crashed outside our city, Richmond,...
Tulsa Metro BCM serves with DR in N.C.
BURGAW, N.C.—Students with the Tulsa Metro Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) spent Spring Break in North Carolina, helping Disaster Relief (DR) trained and equipped volunteers who are serving victims of Hurricane Florence. The BCM group included 23 University of Tulsa (TU) students, four Tulsa Community College (TCC) students, one OSU Tulsa student and three BCM leaders—TU BCM staff member Bri Mobley and TCC BCM directors Ryan Coble...
Churches eager to evangelize, but distractions abound
NASHVILLE (BP) — Most Protestant churchgoers say they are eager to talk to others about Jesus and are praying for opportunities to share their faith. But a new study shows most say they have not had any evangelistic conversations in the past six months. The 2019 Discipleship Pathway Assessment study from LifeWay Research found excitement and eagerness about the idea of evangelism. Few Protestant churchgoers, however, actually...
‘New Hope’: Incorporating counseling, storying, and church planting for trauma groups
“Trauma is the mission field of the twenty-first century.” Those words from Diane Langberg resonated in my heart as I thought of my friends, both believers and non-believers, around the world who have suffered trauma. From the pastor whose daughter died in a motorcycle accident, to the wife who suffers daily abuse, to the children who live in constant fear of death in their war-torn countries, trauma is everywhere, affecting how we...
Missionaries You Should Know: Paneuma Barton Anderson
Excitement and gratitude—as well as a bit of unease—filled my heart when I was appointed as a missionary in 1992. I remember being surrounded at the commissioning service by many caring friends and relatives, including my parents. Mom and Dad were deeply concerned. Who could blame them? Africa seemed only a distant, shadowy place full of disease and turmoil. Soon, more than sixty-five hundred miles would separate them from their only...
