By Quinn Lavespere, Message Summer Staff Writer VIDALIA – Some people would say that churches with interim pastors are in a time of transition.  First Baptist Church of Vidalia would think otherwise. [img_assist|nid=6494|title=First Baptist Church Vidalia Interim Pastor Bill McCullin|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]Since the appointment of Interim Pastor Bill McCullin in January, First Vidalia has seen an increase in Sunday School attendance over the last several months while following McCullin’s God-focused leadership. “We just want to keep following God on the path He leads us,” McCullin said.  “We don’t want it to seem like a time of transition, but a time of continuing work for God.” McCullin said he became interim pastor of First Vidalia when former pastor Dan Glenn was called to a church in Florida. “Originally, I was a full-time pastor for about three or four years,’ McCullin said, ‘and just felt the calling into this very unique ministry of helping churches through their times of losing a pastor.  Vidalia is my seventh church. “It started out as just preaching on Sunday and being in the office on Wednesday,’ McCullin continued, ‘but it’s gone into a full-time interim where I go five days a … [Read more...]

By Tammi Reed Ledbetter, Baptist Press ORLANDO, Fla. (BP) – Newly elected Southern Baptist Convention President Bryant Wright wants to see Southern Baptists return to their first love, radically reprioritize their lives, funding and ministries to fulfill the Great Commission and directly participate in overseas mission work. Speaking to reporters less than an hour after his election on the first day of the SBC annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., Wright shared his dream of seeing every Southern Baptist pastor and church take at least one mission trip. “The pastor needs to experience what it’s like to be out there in another culture sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ,” Wright told reporters June 15 at the Orange County Convention Center. [img_assist|nid=6479|title=Bryant Wright, senior pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga, won the run-off election for SBC president.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=70]Wright commended the Atlanta-area congregation he pastors, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, for having sent more than 1,500 people on 70 mission trips to 27 nations last year. “What that does in the life of a church is incredible,” Wright said. In the midst of Kingdom-focused work like … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS – Most first-time homebuyers don’t shop in a neighborhood known for violent crime and murder. But for Michael Wong, 26, living out his faith meant investing his life where the need is greatest, even if it meant putting himself at risk. A trained artist and sculptor, deacon, and banker by day, Wong moved three years ago to New Orleans’ Central City, a neighborhood whose skyrocketing crime put it in the national spotlight after Hurricane Katrina. The area’s slightly higher elevation had spared it from flooding, but triggered a deadly spike in violent crime. Wong sensed Central City was where God intended him to be. [img_assist|nid=6497|title=Michael Wong, right, artist, sculptor, deacon and banker, fixes kids bikes, hangs out to become part of the community.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=67|height=100]“I spent the first year just listening to people,” Wong said. “You have to prove yourself and show them you’re not going to leave.” Convinced God sends his people to broken places, Wong moved in and became a part of the community as he fixed kids’ bicycles, repaired a leaking roof, and simply “hung out” with residents. “The children are drawn to him,” said Tami Hills, … [Read more...]

By Quinn Lavespere, Message Summer Staff Writer MONTGOMERY – There is an old adage that new things can be brought from old things, and a former church building in Montgomery fits that adage perfectly. Under the direction of Karen Morace, Harvest of Hope mission center has experienced financial and spiritual success while inspiring its volunteers to help those in need. [img_assist|nid=6499|title=Montgomery Mission Center experiences financial and spiritual growth under Director Karen Morace.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]“We’re here because we want to be, but also because God sent us here,” Morace said.  “We’re glad to be doing His work.” Morace said the Harvest of Hope building, which opened on Feb. 11, 2002, was originally the home of Northside Baptist Church before its new church building was constructed. “Northside doesn’t own the building,” Morace said.  “We were essentially lent it for free by Mr. Eddie Gongre, who owns the building, but we absolutely take care of it. “We originally opened it as a food bank, which it still is today,” Morace continued. “In order to make the money to pay for the food, we opened up what we call a clothes closet. “We try to keep our clothes closet neat and … [Read more...]

Compiled by Joanne Brechtel COMINGS & GOINGS Don Bassett resigned as pastor of Red Oak Baptist, Livingston. John Matthews resigned as minister of students at First Baptist, Bogalusa. He’s going to First Baptist, Hazlehurst, Miss., as pastor. DEATHS GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. – Ray E. Prager, 85, who pastored several Louisiana churches and also was a hospital chaplain, died June 13. BASTROP – Billy Vaughn, 75, pastor of Bonita Baptist died June 27. AVAILABLE Don Bassett is available for supply and interim preaching; call 225.271.8288 or 225.921.0756. Carston Woodhouse is available for pulpit supply; call 337.298.4011 or email carstonw@hotmail.com. NEEDED: Bayou Oaks Baptist, Monroe, needs part-time music minister; send resume to 298 Joe White Road, Monroe LA 71203. Loch Arbor Baptist, Monroe, needs part-time music minister; send resume to 3960 Hwy. 139, Monroe LA 71203. Caney Lake Baptist, Chatham, needs part-time music minister; call 318.249.4373 or 318.475.1278 for details. Pastors needed in Webster Claiborne Association: North Acres Baptist, Minden; Midway Baptist, Sarepta; Antioch Baptist, Dixie Inn; Evergreen Baptist, Minden; Gilgal Baptist, Minden. Pastor needed in Bienville Baptist Association: … [Read more...]

By Jennifer Tramel, Baptist Press RIDGECREST, N.C. – I noticed slight bass from the vibrations of thunder when I checked into Ridgecrest for the Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival. Then, the lights slightly flickered. It was appropriate that the event for Christian media would begin in dramatic fashion. This was the third year for the conference and film festival and the number of attendees rose to 230, a significant increase from the 50 attendees at the first event. As I began interviewing for the news video, it was clear that each one of those individuals had one thing in mind: spreading the message of the Gospel by means of Christian mass media. “More people go to the movies on Sunday than go to church,” said David Nixon, director of “Letters to God” and producer of “Facing the Giants” and “Fireproof.” “The culture has changed,” he told attendees, “and why shouldn’t we, as Christians, be affecting the culture through popular mediums? We should go where the masses are.” Upon hearing these words during the first night’s opening speech, I could see ambition in many faces, but also concern. David was spot on, but the problem for many attendees was their lack of technical background or the experience … [Read more...]

by Polly House, LifeWay Communications NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Training church leaders has been a forte of LifeWay Christian Resources for almost a century. It’s important. Churches recognize that and so does LifeWay. Training has historically meant that a church leader – a Sunday school teacher, for example – would find a course that he or she wanted to take; leave home and go to, say, another church in that person’s local association; and listen to someone from LifeWay with expertise in Sunday school functions teach how to become a more effective teacher or leader. Times – and training – are changing. A new, free Sunday school training event will debut July 11, this one with a twist. “Great Expectations: Live Sunday School Training from LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center” will be offered to a virtual audience live, online from LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center. Instead of being trained “at” a conference center, the audience will be trained “from” the conference center. “This free online training event is designed so that an attendee’s Sunday school class can have even greater impact on the church, in its local community and in the lives of its members when expectations are raised and thinking is enlarged,” said … [Read more...]

By Marcus Rowntree, Baptist Press OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (BP) – At 102 years old, Ruth Carlisle still knew the power of prayer. When one of the hospice workers tending to Carlisle told her about a grandchild who had been diagnosed in the womb with a serious birth defect, Carlisle did not hesitate. “Let’s pray,” she said. Seven months after birth, the baby was completely normal. The faith in prayer, concern for others and trust in God that Carlisle showed in that moment were constants in her life, which included 29 years on the mission field. The longest-living retired IMB missionary, Carlisle died June 5 at the age of 102. Her passing sealed the legacy of an unassuming woman whose life and ministry continue to astonish those who knew her. Carlisle, a native of Shawnee, Okla., and her husband Robert were appointed as missionaries to Uruguay in 1940 by the Foreign (later International) Mission Board. Their orientation was a 30-minute chat with the board’s president, followed by a journey by ship to Uruguay. Arriving in Uruguay with no Spanish language or cross-cultural training, the Carlisles learned on the job while planting churches. In 1956, they started a Bible institute in their home. It was difficult work … [Read more...]

By Karen Willoughby, Managing Editor BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (BP) – Living Hope Pastor Jason Pettus points to results, especially when it comes to missions. “We don’t talk much about the Cooperative Program as a program,” Pettus said. “We talk about the results of it. We talk about the half-dozen students we send to seminary every year. We talk about what we are able to do in our city and around the world through the SBC. We don’t talk about the Cooperative Program; we show what it accomplishes.” [img_assist|nid=6505|title=Part of newly-renovated campus of Living Hope Baptist Church in Bowling Green Kentucky|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=63|height=100]Pettus, 37, pastor of Living Hope Baptist Church in Bowling Green, Ky., was 28 when he was called in 2001 to lead the congregation. Worship attendance has grown from 1,500 to around 2,300 in tandem with the church’s increased emphasis on missions. “We couldn’t run a seminary and provide disaster relief and plant churches and reach the nations the way the Southern Baptist Convention does,” Pettus said. “The Cooperative Program allows what we give to go further than it could in our hands alone. There is no other method I know of that would enable our church to be engaged in … [Read more...]

By Bonnie Pritchett, Southern Baptist TEXAN JERUSALEM – Many Christians would cherish the opportunity to travel to Israel and visit the places where our Lord Jesus Christ walked, taught, died and rose again. Such a trip, which some say is akin to a spiritual journey, takes much prayer, money, and preparation. Unless, of course, you’re a guest of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, where the entire trip – organized by them – is a sprint to see as much as possible in as little time as possible, racing against an unseen clock that would time out before we, as reporters, could confirm that the tomb was, indeed, empty. Atop Mount Carmel (Actually, atop the gift shop of the monastery whose monks tend the site) I briefly reflected on one of my favorite Old Testament stories: Elijah vs. the prophets of Baal. The tourist-condensed version went something like this: “God 1, prophets of Baal 0. God wins. Everyone, back on the bus!” There is so much of spiritual and historical significance to see in Israel that one could easily lose sight of them by focusing on the schedule. But in the end, I was thankful for that bus and our very able and long-suffering guide, Rivka Cohen-Berman. Those whose business and pleasure it is to organize … [Read more...]