SOUTHERN BAPTISTS GROW IN ATTENDANCE, BAPTISMS IN 2022
BRENTWOOD — For the second straight year, baptisms and giving increased among Southern Baptist congregations. In-person worship service and small group attendance also rebounded, but total membership and the number of congregations slid. The Annual Church Profile (ACP) compiled by Lifeway Christian Resources in cooperation with Baptist state conventions paints a complicated picture for the […]
IMB TRUSTEES APPOINT 92 MISSIONARIES, STAY FOCUSED ON GOSPEL ADVANCE
RICHMOND — International Mission Board trustees approved 92 fully funded missionaries for appointment during their May 17-18 meeting in Richmond, Va. Missionaries approved for appointment will be recognized during a Sending Celebration on Tuesday, June 13, at 9:50 a.m. CDT in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event […]
THREE CHURCHES DEEMED ‘NOT IN FRIENDLY COOPERATION’ PLAN TO APPEAL
NEW ORLEANS — Three churches that were deemed not to be in friendly cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention by the SBC Executive Committee at its February meeting will be appealing that decision, it was announced Tuesday (May 16). In total, eight churches have been deemed not in friendly cooperation with the SBC since the […]
SADDLEBACK APPEAL ON BEHALF OF LIKE-MINDED SOUTHERN BAPTISTS, WARREN SAYS
LAKE FOREST, Calif. — Saddleback Church founder and former pastor Rick Warren has provided five reasons the megachurch will appeal the decision of the SBC Executive Committee to find the church “not in friendly cooperation” with the Southern Baptist Convention. The EC made the decision, based on a recommendation from the SBC Credentials Committee at […]
FIRST RESPONDER SEES CAREER AS SPIRITUAL CALLING
FORT PIERCE, Fla. – For Tommy Neiman, an award-winning firefighter and paramedic, the theme for his vocational calling has become about challenging first responders to be believers, and believers to be first responders. Neiman described being fascinated with the lights and sirens of emergency vehicles as he was growing up. His curiosity would soon lead […]
TITHING REMAINS A DIVISIVE TOPIC FOR MANY
BRENTWOOD — Most churchgoers say tithing is a biblical command and give at least 10 percent of their income. But they have more diverse opinions on the “where” and “how” of tithing. More than three in four American Protestant churchgoers say tithing is a biblical command that still applies today (77 percent), according to a […]
JACKSON PASTOR TO NOMINATE RUMMAGE AS PRESIDENT OF SBCPC
JACKSON — Stephen Rummage, pastor of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, Okla., will be nominated for presidency of the 2024 Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference (SBCPC). Adam Dooley, pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, will nominate Rummage. “I cannot imagine a better choice to lead next year’s SBC Pastors’ Conference than Stephen […]
FIRST-PERSON: PARTNERSHIP REQUIRES PERSEVERANCE
Like most Baptist churches of the day, First Baptist Church of Murray, Ky., regularly hosted missionaries and denominational workers raising financial support. Growing frustrated with so many requesting to speak on Sundays, Pastor Harvey Boyce Taylor tried something new. He placed a box at the back of the sanctuary and told the congregation they could […]
EC REJECTS NOMINATION OF WELLMAN; LAUNCHES NEW SEARCH
DALLAS — Meeting behind closed doors in executive session today (May 1), the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention rejected the nomination of Jared Wellman as its new president/chief executive officer by a vote of 50-31. Wellman, 39, pastor of Tate Springs Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, informed his church on April 30 that […]
BREAKING NEWS: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS REJECT NOMINATION OF JARED WELLMAN
DALLAS — Meeting behind closed doors in executive session today (May 1), the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention rejected the nomination of Jared Wellman as its new president/chief executive officer by a vote of 50-31. All 83 trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee were in the executive session, according to The […]