Resources from 2015

NASHVILLE (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission addressed same-sex marriage, religious freedom, racial reconciliation, the sanctity of human life and politics among other issues in a tumultuous year for social and church-state issues. The ERLC sponsored conferences and panel discussions, provided resources to equip pastors and churches, and advocated for biblically based policies with the federal government during 2015.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- When Americans make New Year's resolutions, a better relationship with God ranks almost as high as better health, according to a study by LifeWay Research. And for many groups, faith actually outranks health. Older Americans, African Americans, Hispanics and Christians are all more likely to say they've made resolutions about God than about health. Overall, 57 percent of Americans report making health-related New Year's resolutions in the ...

NASHVILLE (BP) -- As politics, scandal and terrorism dominated the headlines this year, two stories related to the budget shortfalls of the Southern Baptist Convention's international missions entity were the most-read articles of 2015 on Baptist Press' website. It was the second consecutive year the entity accounted for the top story on the list. Google Analytics, which tracks web traffic, also showed stories related to the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage, the Kansas City Royals' Ben Zobrist and a 101-year-old man's salvation made the Top 10.

NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- When Jay and Elizabeth Terrill decided to forego Christmas gifts to each other and instead give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, it sparked an idea for their daughter Mollie and her cousin Lexi Cole: a Christmas craft fair to benefit the International Mission Board. With the recent IMB financial/personnel cuts in mind, the 11-year-olds enlisted the help of their church -- Gentilly Baptist Church in New Orleans -- and set a goal of $1,000 for the Dec. 5 event. With donated crafts, baked goods, garden plants and other items, the fair netted $1,067.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- January is a distinctive month of prayer across the Southern Baptist Convention. It is a time when a readiness to pray can gain new traction in churches, large or small, urban or rural. Listed as the "Call to Prayer" on the SBC Calendar, it gained momentum from the 2010 Great Commission Task Force report adopted by messengers to the SBC annual meeting in ...

ORLANDO, Fla. (BP) -- Vonette Bright, cofounder of Campus Crusade for Christ and an internationally known leader in prayer and women's ministry, died Dec. 23 from complications related to acute leukemia. She was 89. Bright and her husband Bill, who died in 2003, launched Campus Crusade, now known in the U.S. as Cru, at UCLA in 1951. It has since grown into what news reports called the world's largest Christian ministry, with 25,000 staff members and 300,000 volunteers working in 173 countries.

LAUREL, Md. (BP) -- Él dijo, ¿Quién eres, Señor? Y le dijo: Yo soy Jesús, a quien tú persigues; dura cosa te es dar coces contra el aguijón. El temblando y temeroso, dijo Señor, ¿Qué quieres que yo haga? Y el Señor le dijo, Levántate y entra en la ciudad, y se te dirá lo que debes de hacer. Hechos 9:5-6 RVR 60. En solo unos días será Navidad. Personas de diferentes nacionalidades celebran el nacimiento de Jesús de muchas maneras diferentes. Hemos notado, sin embargo, que a través de los últimos anos esta celebración ha tomado un ambiente secular. De hecho, ...

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- Looking back on 2015, the North American Mission Board released a list of the year's highlights -- spotlighting churches and individuals whose sacrificial giving and "life on mission" actions are changing lives and impacting North America with the Gospel. The following list for 2015 includes a brief description with each headline.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- In many ways, 2015 was not significantly different from 2014. Terrorism, war and natural disasters dominated headlines. Newsfeeds were filled with images of refugees in flight -- many of them children -- seeking safety and shelter from militants and terrorists. God often uses the displacement of people to bring them to a saving knowledge of Him, says Kevin Rodgers, an International Mission Board strategist in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rodgers visited several camps in South Sudan and heard harrowing tales of people running from ...

CHICAGO (BP) -- Tres bautistas del sur están entre el grupo ad hoc de diferentes denominaciones evangélicas que redactaron y firmaron la declaración de cuidar a los refugiados en medio de una crisis humanitaria que afecta a cerca de 60 millones de personas desplazadas en el mundo. Un grupo de más de 100 líderes de ministerio de representantes de diferentes denominaciones discutieron la declaración el 17 de diciembre en la Cima del Gran Mandamiento, la Gran Comisión (GC2) en el Centro para el Evangelismo Billy Graham ...