The digital numbers on the video screen counted upward in half-second intervals like an out-of-control speedometer: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, as IMB President Paul Chitwood preached from Revelation 20 before messengers of the 203rd annual South Carolina Baptist Convention Monday night at Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia. When the 28-minute sermon concluded, the counter abruptly […]
There were two small bedrooms that the owner of the ferreteria* let them rent. One room had a window; the other one didn’t. The air smelled a little fishy. The bathroom was outside. The rats were inside, and so were they. Yet, they knew that they were in the right place. They couldn’t find anywhere […]
Messengers to the Columbia Metro Baptist Association annual meeting on Oct. 5 formally adopted a five-year missions partnership with International Mission Board personnel serving in Central Spain. Mission team scheduling is set to begin in 2024. The adopted partnership agreement states: “Our mission at CMBA is to help Baptist churches in the Midlands of South […]
Generosity and gratitude. These words resonate with International Mission Board missionaries when they hear of how faithfully Southern Baptists continue to support them through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program. The current total of gifts to the 2022-2023 Lottie Moon offering is $196.1 million — besting the $190 million goal. “Thank you, […]
The power, energy and conviction of the Swahili prayers of the African women remain in the memory of Southern Baptist executive Charles Grant months after he joined South Carolina pastors on a mission vision tour to three African hubs. The women prayed aloud, needing no prompting. “I couldn’t understand the language, but obviously they prayed […]
To look at the prospects of the Ingessana people of Sudan on purely human terms, it doesn’t appear as if they have much of a chance to come to faith in Jesus Christ. They have no Scripture, no JESUS film, and no gospel radio broadcast in their language. For most of their recent history, the […]
This summer, as thousands of kids, students and chaperones at Lifeway camps developed a greater understanding of missions and a heart for missionaries, they gave generously, entrusting their gifts for Great Commission purposes. As a result of this generosity, Ben Mandrell, president and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, presented checks totaling $587,484.97 to International Mission Board […]
Sitting in a home office in Ohio, a doctor logs onto her laptop at 3:30 a.m. Across the globe it’s mid-morning. The doctor smiles at a face that pops up on her screen. Consulting with her patient, she asks what brought him in today. Then she listens, in real time, to his heartbeat. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. […]
Imagine a place where there is no suffering, and the endless cycle of death and rebirth is completed. The eightfold path, referred to as the “middle way,” is said to be the key to arriving. Arriving where? Nirvana, the goal, the prize, the purpose of a Buddhist’s life. Buddhists are assured that if they gain […]
Sticky notes plastered to the wall represented all the ways summer volunteers are embarking on the missionary task. The handwritten notes ranged from hiking to remote villages that have never heard Jesus’ name to teaching English using Bible stories at public schools. Janna Smith, International Mission Board missionary serving in the Americas, pointed around the […]