James Dotson on Feb 03, 2012 06:45AM

Indy vision tour to highlight lack of SBC churches around Super Bowl site

By Tobin Perry

INDIANAPOLIS ? More than 100,000 visitors will likely flood into the area around Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Feb. 5 for America?s most popular sporting event?The Super Bowl. When those visitors come to Indianapolis, local Southern Baptists say they?ll find a growing, diverse population and a thriving commercial area in downtown Indianapolis.

But they won?t find nearly enough Southern Baptist churches.

Currently, Southern Baptists have only two places to worship in the city center, an area of downtown Indianapolis with 19,000 people living in a one-mile radius. One is a new church plant reaching students at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI). The other, Metro Baptist Center, reaches mostly the homeless population.

James Dotson on Jan 30, 2012 02:49PM

Wynn It Counts: Permission to surrender

By Adam Miller

If you visit Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., on a Sunday morning, chances are you won?t leave without the opportunity of a lifetime.

?In my church you can count on the following four things,? says Pastor Ronnie Floyd. ?I will always invite people to come to Christ, I will always offer an opportunity for people to join with Cross Church, I will provide a time for people to respond to a call to full time ministry and we always invite people to pray and seek the Lord.? More >

Wynn It Counts is a new evangelism video series hosted by Larry Wynn, NAMB's vice president of evangelism.

Peter Ward on Jan 27, 2012 03:05PM

Kirby Woods supporting Las Vegas church planting network

By Joe Conway

For more than 10 years Kirby Woods Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., has been supporting church planting efforts in Las Vegas. The highest profile connection is with Hope Baptist Church, Pastor Vance Pitman and the now 12-year-old plant that was a partnership of First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Ga., the North American Mission Board and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Kirby Woods? support has expanded to include the church plants of Hope Church and the work of Redemption Baptist Church, including their lay church planting network. But it is the latest role Kirby Woods has assumed that brings new excitement to the church.

James Dotson on Jan 27, 2012 07:26AM

NAMB emphasizes church planting in ?gateway city?

ST. LOUIS ­? St. Louis Southern Baptists hope a revitalized city may soon be on the horizon. Yet they?re not banking on economics or politics to make it happen.

Instead, they?re banking on the gospel.

?I?m thinking that there can be a faithful gospel presence literally in every community in St. Louis,? said Kenny Petty, a Southern Baptist church planter in St. Louis. ?What would that look like? ? You?d see crime go down. You?d see the dropout rates lessen. You?d see teen pregnancy go down. ? These things are heart issues. And there?s only one thing that can deal with the heart of man and that?s the gospel of Jesus.?

Peter Ward on Jan 26, 2012 03:48PM

Heart of ministry shows through New England DR assistance

By Joe Conway

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. ? In a record-setting year of disasters, the overwhelming urge to meet practical needs while sharing the Gospel spurred New England Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers and leaders to reach out and serve in new avenues. Through it all Baptist Convention of New England assistant DR director Tim Buehner is encouraged by the impact made on lives for Christ.

?All the disaster relief efforts, all the work of the volunteers, gave the people of New England a picture of what Southern Baptists are about and what we care capable of providing in response to needs. In New England that is enormous,? said Buehner.

Peter Ward on Jan 24, 2012 03:12PM

Unusual January tornadoes hit Alabama, Arkansas

By Mickey Noah

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from a half-dozen local associations in central Alabama are responding to three tornadoes that struck the state early on Monday, Jan. 23, including one that raked the northeast Birmingham area, killing two.

The National Weather Service said the tornado that hit the Oak Grove community southwest of Birmingham and ripped northeastward through Center Point, Trussville and Clay was in the EF-3 category, with winds of 150 mph. The two victims were an 81-year-old man in Oak Grove and a 16-year-old girl in Clay.

James Dotson on Jan 24, 2012 11:37AM

Videos address challenge of St. Louis

It is not the Bible Belt. It is not the East. It is not the West. It is simply St. Louis. In this series of videos, see how God is calling unique people to a unique place; and hear how God is calling many of His people to a unique opportunity.

James Dotson on Jan 24, 2012 08:07AM

St. Louis barbershop patrons inspire church plant

By Tobin Perry

ST. LOUIS ? You can tell a lot about a community from the inside of a barbershop. Just about everyone, at some time or another, needs a haircut. The barber sees it all.

Yet of all the patrons of Sean and Taquella Boone?s beauty and barbershop in North County, St. Louis, one group stood out to the couple?young African-Americans who wanted no part in the traditional church. The Boones saw them every day. Most wouldn?t have felt comfortable in the aging churches nearby.

But they needed to hear about Jesus.

James Dotson on Jan 18, 2012 12:58PM

Missionary Focus: In the driver?s seat

When he used to live on the streets of Norwich, Connecticut, David Holland used to watch church vans pass by and wonder why they never stopped for people like him. Then and there, he made a promise to himself. At the time, it seemed like an impossible promise to keep; but times change. Now he's driving a van for the church started by missionary Shaun Pillay.

Peter Ward on Jan 13, 2012 02:56PM

From Alabama to Brooklyn, and loving it

By Sara Shelton

If someone had told Nathan Tubbs five years ago that God?s call on his life would lead him to put down roots and plant a church in Brooklyn, he wouldn?t have believed it. A born and raised Alabama boy, Nathan had little intention of taking his ministry elsewhere until God?s plan sent him straight to New York City.

?I was literally forced to do an internship in New York City during my time in seminary,? he explains. ?To be honest, I wasn?t happy about it at all.?

Tubbs spent one summer serving with the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association and found himself surprised by how much he grew to love the city in just three short months.