MONROE – Fourteen-year-old Jim Howard probably never knew that his silver dollar given to Pine Grove Baptist Church in Bernice in 1898 would lead to the establishment of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home. By Brian Blackwell Staff Writer MONROE – Fourteen-year-old Jim Howard probably never knew that his silver dollar given to Pine Grove Baptist Church in Bernice in 1898 would lead to the establishment of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home. While overhearing a conversation between Pastor William M. Cooksey and other men of the church, Howard learned of their vision of Louisiana Baptists caring for orphaned children. “Brother Cooksey, if that is what Louisiana Baptists are going to do for orphans, I want to give this dollar to help,” Howard said, as reported in James Carter’s Helping Children for 100 years: A Centennial History of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home. Howard’s gift was the first money given to establish the Louisiana Baptist Orphanage, which eventually became the Children’s Home. A year later, Cooksey presented the motion at the Louisiana Baptist State Convention in Monroe to create the entity and a cash collection of $78.85 was given for the orphanage. The Louisiana … [Read more...]

YORKTOWN, Va. (BP) – Members at Bethel Baptist Church here call their commitment to missions “glocal thinking.” Community involvement standing atop global missions and the Cooperative Program helps Bethel Yorktown achieve its purpose, Pastor Thurman Hayes said. By Karen L. Willoughby Managing Editor YORKTOWN, Va. (BP) – Members at Bethel Baptist Church here call their commitment to missions “glocal thinking.” Community involvement standing atop global missions and the Cooperative Program helps Bethel Yorktown achieve its purpose, Pastor Thurman Hayes said. “The Cooperative Program is a way for me as a pastor to get my church, my local church, involved in God’s global purpose,” Hayes said. “What’s so exciting to me about the Cooperative Program is that it enables our local efforts to be connected to a worldwide purpose,” the pastor continued. “I tell them, ‘As you give every week you are touching every week North America and the world for Christ.’” Bethel’s commitment stands as strong as its 21 percent giving of undesignated offerings to the Cooperative Program, the Southern Baptist Convention’s method of funding missions, missionaries and seminary training. It’s a commitment that stands as … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)-Two new partnerships aimed at mobilizing students for missions have been announced by the Southern Baptist International Mission Board. By Kelly Davis Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Two new partnerships aimed at mobilizing students for missions have been announced by the Southern Baptist International Mission Board. The IMB will sponsor a missions mobilization tour featuring the Christian recording group Sonic Flood to at least 40 cities, beginning in September. Multimedia images of missions work, including testimonies of students working on the field, will be part of the Sonic Flood    “This Generation” tour. And in partnership with Integrity    Publishers, a missions-themed devotional book for students, My Life, His Mission, is slated for an Aug. 1 release. The book is the second in the “Voices of the Faithful” series launched last August featuring a collaboration by Beth Moore with Kim Davis as the compiling editor for the book’s missionary testimonies. The Sonic Flood tour “is designed for students to hear God’s purpose in their lives to reach the nations,” Mike Lopez, head of IMB student mobilization, told a crowd of more than 600 at the National Collegiate … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Jason Cruise’s eyes light up when he starts relating stories about hooking trout in a cold mountain stream. His voice quickens describing the patience involved in outwitting and luring a tom turkey. By Russ Rankin LifeWay Communications NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Jason Cruise’s eyes light up when he starts relating stories about hooking trout in a cold mountain stream. His voice quickens describing the patience involved in outwitting and luring a tom turkey. But it’s ministry that really gets Cruise excited – ministry that connects disconnected men with their Creator God through the call of the great outdoors. Cruise, former pastor of Belmont Heights Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., founded Outdoor Ministry Network three years ago to train other churches how to develop successful outdoor ministries. Taking his sense of adventure a step further, Cruise now has joined with LifeWay Christian Resources to start a weblog (blog) to foster a sense of community among Christian outdoorsman. The blog – www.outfittingyourfaith.com – is designed as a “year in the life” format and will include Cruise’s personal adventure as he transitions from the pastorate to concentrate … [Read more...]

Week of May 29, 2006 Prayer to undergird Crossover Triad GREENSBORO, N.C. (BP) – Crossover is only a few weeks away, but Southern Baptists still have time to join in prayer initiatives for this year’s evangelistic outreach. Prayer opportunities for Crossover and the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting include prayerwalking and a prayer room at the Greensboro Coliseum. Block parties, street evangelism and door-to-door witnessing are among the Crossover Triad activities slated June 9-10 in Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem, prior to the Southern Baptist Convention’s June 13-14 annual meeting in Greensboro. Prayerwalkers will be assigned to Crossover sites where evangelistic efforts are planned. An on-site prayer room will be open at the Greensboro Coliseum beginning Sunday, June 11, at 6 p.m. The room will then be open June 12-14 from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Volunteers will pray for the annual meeting and for opportunities to follow up with people who accept Christ during Crossover. To join a prayerwalk, volunteer for the prayer room or become a prayer partner, register online at www.crossovertriad.org. Bus driver accepts Christ at NAMB service HIGHLAND, Calif. – Seventy-one new … [Read more...]

INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. – The bigger a church gets, the smaller it has to get, said Maurice Henson, associate pastor of First Baptist Indian Trail, located near Charlotte, N.C. By Andrea Higgins LifeWay Communications INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. – The bigger a church gets, the smaller it has to get, said Maurice Henson, associate pastor of First Baptist Indian Trail, located near Charlotte, N.C. The apparent paradox made perfect sense to Henson’s listeners. Henson’s audience, pastors from across the Union Baptist Association, a collection of smaller membership churches in this southern Piedmont county of North Carolina, were learning about the need for close relationships and building churches through Sunday school. Fourteen Union Baptist Association churches have completed the training. The pastors were in the fourth and final session of a six-month church mentoring program presented by LifeWay Christian Resources in conjunction with First Baptist Indian Trail. For relationships to be meaningful, new members should be engaged immediately in service if the church hopes to keep them as members, Henson said. “If we play patty cake with them, they’re going to go some place else,” he said. Henson was preaching … [Read more...]