CHANGES MARK FIRST POST-ROE SANCTITY OF LIFE SUNDAY
NASHVILLE — The first post-Roe Sanctity of Human Life Sunday arrives with gratitude to God and recognition of how much pro-life work remains and how much it has changed, leaders in the movement said. On Jan. 22, many Southern Baptist churches will observe Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, the 38th annual observance on the SBC […]
CLINT CLIFTON, NAMB STAFFER, DIES IN PLANE CRASH
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — North American Mission Board president Kevin Ezell announced on Jan. 13 the tragic death of NAMB staffer Clint Clifton, who died in a plane crash on the evening of Jan. 12 in Dawson County, Ga. According to the Dawson County News, “at about 9:12 a.m. on Jan. 13, the Dawson County Sheriff’s […]
STORMS RIP THROUGH SOUTH, KILL MULTIPLE PEOPLE IN ALABAMA
SELMA, Ala. — Six people are dead after a storm system surprised Alabamians on Jan. 12 with two dozen tornadoes that devastated homes, businesses and churches in different parts of the state. At least two churches were damaged by one large tornado that ripped through the heart of Selma. Crosspoint Christian Church in Selma, which suffered extensive damage, […]
IN WAKE OF DAMAR HAMLIN INJURY, PRAYER GETS A PUBLIC SHOW OF SUPPORT
NASHVILLE — An elevated call for prayer in recent days shows not only that more people believe in its power, but that studies indicating a lack of belief in God may be premature. Those sentiments have been reflected by Southern Baptists and others during the recovery of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin. The second-year safety […]
SURVEY: CHURCHGOERS VALUE TIME ALONE WITH GOD
NASHVILLE — Most Protestant churchgoers spend time alone with God at least daily, but there’s a range in what they do in that time and what resources they use. According to a study by Lifeway Research, nearly 2 in 3 Protestant churchgoers (65 percent) intentionally spend time alone with God at least daily, with 44 […]
LIVES GIVEN, NOT TAKEN, REMEMBERING KATHY GARIETY
Editor’s note: Dec. 30, 2022, marked the 20th anniversary of the attack on Jibla Baptist Hospital in Yemen that claimed the lives of three missionaries. On Dec. 30, 2002, an Islamic militant shot and killed IMB missionaries Kathleen Gariety, Bill Koehn and Martha Myers. The IMB continues to remember their sacrifice for the Yemeni people. […]
SEXUAL ABUSE HOTLINE, ‘FULLY CONFIDENTIAL,’ TASK FORCE SAYS
NASHVILLE — The SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (ARITF), the SBC Executive Committee (EC) and Guidepost Solutions have issued statements dealing with allegations of breaches of confidentiality within the hotline established by the SBC Executive Committee in May 2022 to receive reports abuse that happens in or is connected to Southern Baptist churches. The […]
CONGRESS REMAINS LARGELY CHRISTIAN DESPITE SOCIETAL TRENDS
WASHINGTON — Congress remains a largely Christian institution, bucking two societal trends of declining Christianity and waning religious affiliation, Pew Research said Jan. 3. More than a fifth of Congressional Protestants are Baptists. At least 88 percent of Congress – 469 of the 534 members – identified as Christian in the poll of the current […]
BAPTIST PRESS: 10 MOST READ BAPTIST PRESS STORIES OF 2022
NASHVILLE — This year’s most read stories are all over the map – one quite literally. From one scholar’s attempt to trace human DNA around the world and back to Noah to an SEC quarterback’s biblical children’s book to the Southern Baptist Convention’s ongoing reckoning with sexual abuse, Baptist Press covered a little bit of […]
RETIRED MISSIONARY BOBBYE RANKIN DIES AT 78
Bobbye Rankin — who spent 23 years along with her husband, Jerry, serving as a Southern Baptist missionary in Asia — died on Monday, Jan. 2, at 78. The Rankins shifted from the missions field in 1993 to International Mission Board staff housed in Richmond, Virginia, when Jerry was named president of the then Foreign […]