
Persecution, violence and religious freedom addressed at BWA Congress
Bruce Webb, pastor of The Woodlands First Baptist Church of Woodlands, Texas, recounted the history of Baptist advocacy for freedom

Safer than Tylenol? Missouri AG sues Planned Parenthood over mifepristone claims.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood, accusing the organization of misleading women about the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone.

Engaging the lost years of congregations
Interventions may occur during pastor transitions, strategic planning efforts or the construction of a new building. Otherwise, the underlying, less visible issues of the life cycle of congregations are ineffectively addressed.

Calling out the called: Church’s residency program helping young ministers discern calling
For the past six years, FBC Burleson has been helping the next generation to discern God’s call and providing a space for them to grow in their chosen field.

Baptist university’s theatre program helping relief efforts in Israel
For the second year in a row, Missouri Baptist University is melding their theatre program with Southern Baptist efforts to bring a positive gospel influence to a world broken by war.

First person: May we always remember — To live is Christ
Carved on my parents’ headstone in a rural church cemetery in southeast Missouri are the profound words of Philippians 1:21, “To live is Christ. To die is gain.”

Study: American churchgoers more ambivalent about family, sanctity of life
A new national study — conducted by the Family Research Council in partnership with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University — reveals an erosion of biblical conviction among regular U.S. churchgoers.

First person: Developing a culture of invitation
Since we live in such a secular culture, it’s easy to think most nonbelievers are indifferent — even hostile — to the idea of attending church.