In a move intended to help men and women called to ministry get placed into positions sooner, North Greenville University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary are partnering to count certain college credit hours toward a master of divinity degree, saving students both time and money. The agreement, signed by NGU President Gene Fant Jr. […]
NAAF leaders, seminary presidents hold ‘honest and open conversation’
A multi-ethnic group of Southern Baptist leaders described a meeting Jan. 6 as productive and trust-building, saying although they did not agree on all points, they were committed together to fighting racism and to honoring “our common commitment to the inerrant Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.” The meeting was called by […]
IMB celebrates Black missionary and church planter George Liele; designates February as Diversity in Missions month
The SBC Executive Committee voted in February 2020 to approve the first Sunday in February as the annual George Liele Church Planting, Evangelism and Missions Day, at the recommendation of the IMB. The first George Liele day will be celebrated on Feb. 7, 2021, and will kick off a month-long recognition of the diversity of […]
ERLC-focused task force releases report
A task force studying the effectiveness of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission issued its report Feb. 1, acknowledging both support within the Southern Baptist Convention for the entity, and that some see it as “a source of significant distraction from the Great Commission work of Southern Baptists.” Commissioned in February 2020 by the SBC […]
LifeWay finalizes sale of Ridgecrest Conference Center
LifeWay Christian Resources has finalized the sale of Ridgecrest Conference Center and Summer Camps to the Ridgecrest Foundation, a group dedicated to using the property as a Christian camp and conference center. LifeWay will continue to hold youth camps like FUGE, CentriKid and Student Life at the facility in western North Carolina. The Ridgecrest Foundation […]
Ga. pastor, Stone, to be nominated for SBC president
Mike Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Ga., and immediate past chairman of the SBC Executive Committee, will be nominated for convention president at the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting, per an announcement Jan. 13 by fellow Georgia pastor Kevin Williams. “At this critical moment in our history, Southern Baptists need to be led […]
Fred Wolfe’s impact for the gospel remembered
Longtime pastor, mentor and Southern Baptist Convention leader Fred Wolfe died Jan. 3 due to complications caused by COVID-19. He was 83. At 70 years old in 2007, Wolfe heard God’s call for him to do something new. So he planted a church. Wolfe’s ministry up to that time had included serving as pastor in […]
Top Southern Baptist news stories of 2020
As days stretched into weeks stretched into months, COVID-19 seemed to spread everywhere — and into almost everything. Here’s a look at the top SBC stories of 2020 as selected by Baptist Press: COVID-19: A global pandemic arrives 2020 was the year of COVID-19, with virtually nothing in life left untouched — and much of […]
Lori Spikes, Baptist Nursing Fellowship leader, dies from COVID
Lori Spikes, executive director of Baptist Nursing Fellowship, a ministry of national Woman’s Missionary Union, died Nov. 21 after being hospitalized with COVID-19. A graduate of Samford University, Spikes was a registered nurse for more than 40 years. She served as an International Mission Board Journeyman in Honduras from 1980 to 1982. She and her husband, […]
Cooperative Program giving in 2019-20 testament to Baptists’ faithfulness
The 2020 fiscal year for the Southern Baptist Convention ended Sept. 30, 2020, and despite challenges related to the COVID-19 global pandemic, giving by Southern Baptist churches through the Cooperative Program for national and international missions and ministries totaled more than $192.9 million. After gifts of more than $14.8 million were received in September, giving […]