ARKANSAS
The Arkansas Baptist State Convention Missions Team recently hosted Arkansas Department of Corrections chaplains at Camp Paron for a three-day retreat. Among several topics discussed was preparation for receiving inmate field ministers in 2023, reported Arkansas Baptist News.
The convention partnered with the Arkansas Department of Corrections Division of Correction and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary to become the 16th state in the nation to start a “prison seminary,” a Christian ministries bachelor’s degree program that produces inmate graduates trained to assist in the moral rehabilitation of their fellow inmates.
States with inmate field ministers see a tangible reduction in self-harm and inmate violence against officers and fellow inmates. Inmate field ministers conduct Bible studies, mentor, visit cells and lead by example. To read more of this story, click here.
FLORIDA
New Hope Church in Cape Coral is expanding its Kingdom impact by creating a missional culture among its people that offers a new dimension in worship, reported the Florida Baptist Witness.
Pastor David Acton created a ministry for new community groups and led the church to construct an outdoor building. The building has been a safe space during the pandemic and provides a casual worship atmosphere for the church’s “Church on the Turf” services every Saturday evening.
The church adopted an “everyone brings one” emphasis, and it has added almost 50 new members. New Hope hosts several outreach events, is involved in local missions and created new programs to meet needs, such as a café to support foster and adoptive parents and single moms. To read more, click here.
GEORGIA
First Baptist Church Cartersville named a chapel after and dedicated it to the memory of Lottie Moon, a missionary who served among the people of China and opened a school for girls in Cartersville in 1871, reported Georgia’s Christian Index.
The chapel is the centerpiece of a $9.7 million building expansion at the church’s campus. Gene Lee, an elder, stated, “We named our building venture The Legacy Project, because of our 180-year history as a church and the significance of learning from previous generations and the opportunity to pass that on to those who come behind us. One of the key legacies in our history is that Lottie Moon was once a part of our fellowship.” To read more, click here.
KENTUCKY
A dozen Kentucky Baptists recently handed out coffee and initiated gospel conversations with college students at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, reported Kentucky Today.
The outreach effort on ECTC’s campus was one of three events to share the gospel in Elizabethtown and surrounding areas. A second group mobilized in Radcliff to share the gospel door to door as a part of the Gospel to Every Home initiative. To read more of this story, click here.
LOUISIANA
Multiple tornadoes ripped through southeast Louisiana damaging homes and leaving thousands without power March 22. The tornadoes caused multiple injuries and at least one confirmed death, reported Louisiana Baptist Messenger.
Disaster Relief teams have been assessing damage in the hard-hit areas of Arabi and New Orleans where people are still trying to recover from last year’s Hurricane Ida. Alex Brian, with New Orleans Baptist Association, said the association is coordinating with Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief and Send Relief. To read more, click here.
NORTH CAROLINA
Just two hours from where he grew up in Durham, North Carolina, Chad Ferrell planted King’s Church Charlotte near UNC-Charlotte, one of the largest schools in the state, reported North Carolina’s Biblical Recorder.
Ferrell and his wife, Christy, along with a core team from Crosspoint Church in Clemson, South Carolina, planted King’s Church Charlotte in October 2020. The church merged with an older North Carolina Baptist congregation to grow multi-generationally.
King’s Church added facilities a mile from UNC-Charlotte’s campus, including a gym to further engage college students. The church hosts sports outreach nights where they play sports and share the gospel. To read more, click here.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Greenville Baptist Association, which has 10 Hispanic congregations throughout the county, is among the associations across the state preparing for the rapid growth — 100,000 Hispanics in the next decade — by starting more churches, reported South Carolina’s The Courier.
Erwin Soto, pastor of Monaghan en Español, which meets at Monaghan Baptist Church in Greenville, leads one of the association’s new Hispanic congregations with about 40 members.
“We all know that God has brought the nations … to our country so that we can share the gospel with them without even leaving our neighborhood,” Ramón Osorio, ethnic-linguistic church planting director for the North American Mission Board, said. To read more of this story, click here.
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