Baptist Press ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Since 2001, Appalachian Regional Ministries, a ministry of the North American Mission Board, has collected and distributed more than 140,000 Christmas backpacks and boxes filled with toys, clothing, school supplies, food, and hygiene items and a Bible. As the ministry has expanded over the years, backpacks were distributed in the 2015 outreach to more than 46,000 children affected by poverty in Appalachia as well as

By Connie Davis Bushey News Editor, Baptist and Reflector COOKEVILLE — Jimmie Simpson can relate to folks who have addictions or life controlling issues. For about 15 years, he struggled with alcoholism. People might understand his drinking and taking drugs. When he was 2 years old his father would give him alcohol to drink. When he was 15 years old, he began drinking steadily. After high school Simpson enlisted in

Tennessee Baptist youth ministers offer pointers on how to combat problem By Chris Turner Director of Communications, TBC BRENTWOOD — The number of searches for Internet pornography exponentially increases every second. If the rapidly changing online “porn ticker” represented increasing stock value, there would be thousands — possibly millions — of overnight millionaires. Instead, the ticker reveals an insatiable appetite for sexually explicit content, and a high percentage of those