Both mission boards of the Southern Baptist Convention are reporting all-time highs in offering giving. The International Mission Board is rejoicing at God’s work through the generosity of Southern Baptists, who gave $203.7 million to the 2021-2022 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering — the largest offering in the 177-year history of the IMB. Meanwhile, the […]
National CP giving tops $200 million for the first time since 2008
In the midst of ongoing financial challenges related to the economic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Southern Baptists have given more than $200 million through the national Cooperative Program allocation budget for the first time since 2008. Giving for the 2021-2022 fiscal year totaled $200,452,607, becoming the first time in 14 years that CP giving […]
Churchgoers increasingly prefer a congregation that shares their politics
As churchgoers head to the ballot box for midterm elections, most expect the rest of their congregation to be voting the same way they do. Half of U.S. Protestant churchgoers (50 percent) say they’d prefer to attend a church where people share their political views, and 55 percent believe that to be the case at […]
Horton, Bray on 2023 SBC Pastors Conference program
The speakers for the 2023 SBC Pastors Conference in New Orleans were announced recently. The event is set for June 11-12, 2023. “While distinct in their personalities, our preachers share a common belief that expository preaching is a theological outgrowth based on a high view of Scripture,” said Daniel Dickard, conference president. Dickard says he […]
Cooperative Program-fueled Send Network targets rural, urban U.S.
It’s the only Baptist church in town. Church planter Michael Goforth considers it purely a work of the Lord that Mercy Hill Church is thriving where three previous congregations shut down. When he and his bride, Shannon, sought a network to undergird their work in rural Michigan, the North American Mission Board’s Send Network caught […]
Southern Baptists anticipate inaugural Student Baptism Sunday
This Sunday (Oct. 30) will mark the first official observance of Student Baptism Sunday on the Southern Baptist Convention calendar, and leaders across the convention are preparing for the celebration. Shane Pruitt, national Next Gen director for the North American Mission Board, told Baptist Press this date on the calendar provides an opportunity for churches […]
Use Halloween to engage others, pastors say in Lifeway study
This year, as millions of Americans celebrate Halloween, many Protestant pastors in the United States are encouraging their church members to respond to the holiday in specific ways. More than 7 in 10 (71 percent) pastors say they encourage church members to invite friends or neighbors to church events on or near Halloween, such as […]
National CP giving tops $200 million for first time since 2008
In the midst of ongoing financial challenges related to the economic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Southern Baptists have given more than $200 million through the national Cooperative Program allocation budget for the first time since 2008. Giving for the 2021-2022 fiscal year totaled $200,452,607.68, becoming the first time in 14 years that CP giving […]
‘Breakthrough’: A Helpful Tool for Small Groups
“Breakthrough” by Ken Braddy is a new book that has the potential of helping church plants, revitalizing stagnant churches, or bringing organization to the whole discipleship process. Braddy is the director of Sunday school for Lifeway Christian Resources and has written 230 pages full of strategies to develop an ongoing discipleship ministry. He uses the […]
30 years later, Andrew recalled as Disaster Relief turning point
Mickey Caison and his team of South Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers were exhausted when they pulled into First Baptist Church of Homestead, Fla., on the evening of Aug. 25, 1992, just one day after Hurricane Andrew barreled into South Florida with winds of around 141 miles per hour. The team had arrived in the […]