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Jackie Robinson Had the Guts Not to Fight Back

Editors’ note: On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers against the Boston Braves. In so doing, Robinson became the first black player to appear in a Major League game, and his arrival led... Continue Reading »

Animated ‘King of Kings’ Tells Jesus’ Life at Easter, Inspired by Dickens Tale

A few years after Charles Dickens wrote perhaps his most popular book, A Christmas Carol, he compiled the long-unpublished work, The Life of Our Lord, as a personal gift to his children. Adapted from the Gospel of Luke, The... Continue Reading »

When Children Stray From the Faith

By Jason Blankenship › I listened to the burden of a pastor friend of mine who, through his broken heart, shared the story of a child who has strayed from faith. I have many other friends who tell the... Continue Reading »

Greed Fuels Sports Gambling Industry, S.C. Ethicist Says

Sports gambling feeds on greed and thrives on the exploitation of the vulnerable, Baptist pastor and former college football coach RaShan Frost said. “The problem with sports gambling is that it intensifies covetous and idolatrous desires within our hearts,”... Continue Reading »

Kickstands Up: Pastor Challenges Church with Bike Ride for Annie Armstrong

Kevin Bounds, of Douglas, Ga., is familiar with the concept that every little bit counts. About five years ago, he stepped on a scale, and a number appeared he wasn’t happy about. Then 38 years old, Bounds was a... Continue Reading »

Churches Aim to Welcome Guests by Different Methods

Every church aims to welcome guests in some way. Those efforts may just look different in different churches and may have changed over the last decade. According to a Lifeway Research study of U.S. Protestant pastors, more than 99... Continue Reading »

Over 120 Students Make Decisions for Christ at ONE Night Rock Hill

On March 30, more than 1,100 students and leaders gathered at First Baptist Rock Hill for ONE Night, a collaborative evangelism event hosted by South Carolina Baptist churches. The event resulted in over 120 students making decisions to follow... Continue Reading »

New and Noteworthy Books — April 2025

Impact Player: Leaving a Lasting Legacy On and Off the Field (Tyndale, 2012) by Bobby Richardson with David Thomas Former Yankee Bobby Richardson played alongside Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, Joe Pepitone, and Yogi Berra during one of... Continue Reading »

The Gift of Creation: How Its Beauty Can Aid in Our Sanctification

Creation is empty in and of itself. It can’t heal a wounded heart. But in another sense, there’s a fullness that creation points to. Creation is a beautiful gift that can supplement our faith. Here are three ways that... Continue Reading »

Making Melody to the Lord: Using Music to Glorify and Enjoy God

How do you use music? Stop and think about that for a moment. If music is a tool designed to accomplish a task, what tasks are you accomplishing with it? Some people use music as a tool to build... Continue Reading »

‘Arise and Shine!’ The Call of Christian Writers and Every Believer

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over you,” urges the Prophet Isaiah (60:1–2). “For look, darkness covers the earth, and total darkness the peoples.” We don’t need to be told that... Continue Reading »

Don’t Waste Your Hobbies: Five Reasons

I know he meant well, but he came off sounding a little pompous, more like a professional wrestler on Saturday afternoon TV than an ordained man of God: “The devil doesn’t take a day off. He doesn’t take vacations,... Continue Reading »

Common Grace, How Sweet the Sound

In 1972, Christian music legend Larry Norman recorded a song that resonated with many younger evangelicals, particularly hippies whom God saved out of the Jesus People Movement. One verse in particular frames the question: There’s a good world that... Continue Reading »

State of the Church: More Men Attending than Women, Volunteering Rebounding

Men have outpaced women in church attendance the past three years, reversing a longstanding trend of more women in the pews that narrowed in 2016, Barna said in its 2025 State of the Church release, created in partnership with... Continue Reading »

Teachers, Leverage Your Leadership for God’s Kingdom

Have you ever heard the statement, “He or she is a natural leader”? Typically, the conversation quickly shifts to a description of traits that validate this claim. Natural leaders are often described as self-confident, adept decision-makers, great communicators, trailblazers,... Continue Reading »

Why Biblical Training for Women Around the World Matters

Reaching & Teaching is based on a foundational conviction: that the Church is both the means and the end of the Great Commission. In other words, it is only as churches around the world are strengthened that true disciples... Continue Reading »

Online Betting is Exploding: Collateral Damage Destroying Lives

“There was just something in my brain that kept me going.” Those are the chilling words of Kavita Fisher, a 41-year-old mental health professional who struck it big in online gambling, winning close to $500,000. According to the Wall... Continue Reading »

Baptist Broadcaster Defined by Faith, Not Career

With March Madness kicking off, Furman University broadcaster Dan Scott can’t help but remember that magical moment two years ago when Furman pulled a major upset in the first round of the NCAA men’s tournament. Scott, who has been... Continue Reading »

The Gospel is a Message of Urgency, Even for Our Loved Ones

It was a mildly chilly day in April when we got the call, “I’m taking myself to the hospital.” My grandmother had been in pain for a while, but she finally reached a breaking point. We held our breath... Continue Reading »

One of the Million

I met one of the million at the pickle ball courts. Don was curious about the college pickle ball tournament that was occurring in his neighborhood in Myrtle Beach. It wasn’t normal to see this many young people, laughing... Continue Reading »

Chuck Kelley Details Journey of Grief During Return to NOBTS

Chuck Kelley, president emeritus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College, spoke about his journey of grief after losing his beloved wife, Rhonda, in his first chapel message since his retirement. Kelley’s chapel address on Thursday (March... Continue Reading »

When Wrestling with Faith: Biblical Truths and Practical Helps

Many Christians have encountered seasons — perhaps even extended seasons — of doubt regarding assurance of salvation. These seasons can range from “annoying background distraction” to “all-consuming joy-robber.” Below are considerations regarding gospel-centered truth and beauty that may help... Continue Reading »

Healthy ‘Home Church’ Provides Vital Relationship to Missionaries

The IMB has always required church endorsement for service overseas. Most missionaries were part of a healthy church where discipleship and accountability shaped their call. Churches committed to pray for their missionaries. In the last few years, the International... Continue Reading »

New and Noteworthy Books — March 2025

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Fourth Edition (Crossway, 2021) by Mark Dever This is a revised and updated version of the classic work that God has used to revitalize so many unhealthy churches over the past 34 years.... Continue Reading »

Outfitter Church Leads to Reputation Restoration

Trent Fetherston had a reputation — the kind of reputation a man will get in an everybody-knows-everybody kind of town like Bar Nunn, Wyo., when he spends what seems like thousands of consecutive happy hours with a drink in... Continue Reading »

Circuit Riders Key to Reaching Wyoming’s Tiny Towns

Baggs, Bairoil, Glendo, Granger, Medicine Bow, Meeteetse — race past them at the posted interstate speed limit of 80 miles per hour, and one after another, every tiny town in Wyoming can easily look like the same blink-and-you’ll-miss-it blur... Continue Reading »

Osvaldo and Vanessa Lerma: Coming to America

They didn’t want to do it, but they had no choice. Ecuadorians Eduardo Vera and his wife, Juliana, walked more than 1,900 miles with their family, pushing Juliana’s elderly father almost the whole way on a rusty, discarded tricycle... Continue Reading »

Q&A with Michael Bryant, Dean of NGU’s College of Christian Studies

North Greenville University announced Michael Bryant as the new dean of NGU’s College of Christian Studies on Feb. 20 in a press release. He will replace the founding dean, Walter Johnson, who retired after the spring of 2024. This... Continue Reading »

Church Revitalization Resources Offer Help and Hope

Columbia Metro Baptist Association’s Church Health and Resources Team Leader David Waganer sees similarities between a 2024 news story of United States astronauts unable to return to earth and the pressing dilemmas some modern churches face to effectively share... Continue Reading »

9 Ways to Help Those who are Suffering

In the past month, what have you heard from those you love? Divorce, loneliness, layoffs, cancer, parenting struggles, disappointment, betrayal, conflict? Everyone we love will hurt and suffer. While we feel compassion, we often find ourselves at a loss... Continue Reading »

A Journey Planned in Advance

“You must be out of your mind.” No one said it. But it had to be what most reasonable people were thinking when they heard what Christian and Laura Rowland had decided to do. “When our church in Texas... Continue Reading »

Should I Stay or Should I Go? When to Consider Finding Another Church

It is the conversation with church members every pastor dreads, but inevitably comes to every man who has shepherded a local flock: “Pastor, we need to meet with you and discuss our future at the church. We have been... Continue Reading »

Brittany Brown: Ministry on the Home Front

Brittany Brown will never forget the evening of Nov. 19, 2005. But her memories of that night, the night she gave birth to her second child, are anything but typical. “Being a military wife, you deal with things other... Continue Reading »

Most Americans Skip Lent

Lent may be on the calendar, but it’s not on the radar of most Americans. A traditional 40-day window of fasting before Easter, Lent is observed by around a quarter of U.S. adults, according to a Lifeway Research study.... Continue Reading »

Healthy Church Plants Begin with a Healthy Church Planter

I am grateful for the upsurge in interest in church planting that began in the 1990s. In my own personal journey toward planting a church in 2017, Tim Keller’s article “Why Plant Churches?” had massive impact in whether we... Continue Reading »

Refuse to Be Manipulated

It’s time to take back your joy. Pay attention for a moment — this might just save your sanity. We’re in an intense political season, and I know the emotional toll it’s taking on many people. I’d never want... Continue Reading »

Preach the Word, Preach It Expositionally

I walked into the sanctuary and beside the pulpit sat a Lazy Boy recliner. I thought, “That’s interesting … I wonder what the preacher will do with that today?” About halfway through his message, to make his point, he... Continue Reading »

The Necessity of Regenerate Church Membership

We have all types of memberships in America. You can be a member of Sam’s Club or a rewards member of Chick-fil-A. You know people who are members of a local gym or the Lions Club. Membership is all... Continue Reading »

The Real Jesus in a City of Counterfeits

In Provo, appearances can be deceiving. “This is a beautiful community,” says David Gaskins. “Our nickname is Happy Valley. Every lawn is perfect. Every home is immaculate. But that’s the wild thing—Happy Valley is a sarcastic nickname because almost... Continue Reading »

Georgia Church Uses Tiny Houses to Build Neighborhood of Hope

Across the street from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Bowman stand five tiny houses filled with stories of heartache and tragedy. Pleasant Grove hopes to use the buildings to turn them into stories of hope and recovery. Eleven years... Continue Reading »

2025 Week of Prayer for North American Missions Observed March 2-9

Now, it’s easy to see — North America is a mission field. Our neighborhoods and communities are filled with ever-increasing numbers of people who’ve never heard the gospel story, and that’s why the faithful prayers and generous giving of... Continue Reading »

The Legalist’s Final Rest

I’ve found that many Christians, post-conversion, tend toward legalism or antinomianism in their pursuit of sanctification. I’ve seen this trend both in churches I’ve pastored and in Christian friends. One woman grew up in a strict Reformed Baptist home.... Continue Reading »

The Primacy of Preaching for a Healthy Church

For many years I wondered why Paul called preaching “foolishness” in 1 Corinthians 1:21. Preaching is the glorious means by which the Spirit saves and sanctifies sinners, the method by which the Lord builds His church. So how could... Continue Reading »

Grief to Grace Ministry Outlet for Widows of Pastors

Pat Brown thought her ministry was over when Horace Brown, her husband of 37 years, died on Jan. 1, 2021. Horace Brown served as pastor of 18 churches in South Carolina and Tennessee during his ministry and was director... Continue Reading »

Recovering the Biblical Doctrine of Cooperation

Members of the 1936 U.S. Olympic Rowing team depicted in the movie “The Boys in the Boat” were able to accomplish far more than anyone expected because they discovered what can happen when you work together in perfect unity.... Continue Reading »

Youth Labs Create Pipeline for Missions; SCWMU Consultant Leads Budapest Team

High school students have long been integral to International Mission Board strategy, and those who serve as teenagers often follow a career path that leads them to the mission field, IMB missionary Charlie Worthy said. Worthy saw a need... Continue Reading »

AI-Assisted Short-Film Series Tells Story of SCBaptist Missionary Journeying to the Unreached

The SCBaptist Creative Team is making a short film series about June Estes* using AI-assisted animation. Estes* is a missionary on a journey to share the gospel with lost people. She was sent out as a missionary explorer to... Continue Reading »

Only One Remained: How God is Keeping Tigerville Baptist Church Alive

A body of water stays fresh when there’s both an inlet of water going in and an outlet of water going out. If there’s only water flowing in without any outlet, the water stagnates, said a wise faithful member... Continue Reading »

ERLC Files Amicus Brief Supporting South Carolina’s Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) filed an amicus brief Feb. 10 in a Supreme Court case which will decide the fate of South Carolina’s effort to defund Planned Parenthood by barring abortion clinics in the state from... Continue Reading »

Q&A With Ryan Robertson: Why Tokyo?

Reaching & Teaching, a missions organization rooted in the local church, recently began to focus on reaching Tokyo, Japan. They went to Japan and filmed a documentary showing the need for missionaries in the most populated city of the... Continue Reading »