9/11 museum moves disaster relief leader
NEW YORK (BP) -- Oklahoma's disaster relief director Sam Porter spent an emotional day at the National September 11 Memorial Museum during a special preview of the facility in New York City. National disaster relief leaders with the North American Mission Board asked Porter to represent the Southern Baptist Convention at the by-invitation-only event on May 19. The museum officially opened May 21 to the public.
Volunteer’s wife gives back to disaster relief
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (BP) -- Christina Kiser has supported and prayed for her husband Dean, who has served for 12 years as a dedicated disaster relief volunteer.
Okla. relief effort provides shelter, hope
OKLAHOMA CITY (BP) -- Eight months after a tornado touched down west of Newcastle, Okla., and roared northeastward for 17 miles during a 39-minute reign of terror that ripped through Moore, Okla., Sam Porter is close to seeing his dream come to fruition.
Disaster relief unit serves hungry inmates
OKLAHOMA CITY (BP)--For most people, the prospect of going to jail would be terrifying. On Oct. 31, a bunch of Oklahoma Southern Baptists volunteered to do just that.
As tornado loomed, God slammed door shut
NORMAN, Okla. (BP)–Most of the time, believers obedient to the will of God pray that He will open a door for them. About 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, John Strappazon believes God slammed one shut for him — and he couldn’t be more grateful. Strappazon, Baptist Collegiate Ministry director for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, was […]
Okla. Baptists partner with East Asia
MOORE, Okla. (BP)–Nearly 900 messengers to the 103rd annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma embraced the meeting’s theme of engaging the world with the Gospel by endorsing a new three-year partnership with East Asia as they gathered Nov. 9-10 at First Baptist Church in Moore. Messengers, officially totaling 895, also approved a […]
Wildfire puts disaster relief leader in need
OKLAHOMA CITY (BP)--For 10 years, Sam Porter has been responding to other people's needs when tragedy strikes. In the early evening hours of April 9, however, the disaster relief director for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma found himself in an eerie role reversal as a wildfire ...
Disaster vols rush to aid 911 dispatcher
LONE GROVE, Okla. (BP)–As a 911 dispatcher for the Carter County Sheriff’s Department, Linda Shepard is used to helping others in distress. On Feb. 11, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from Oklahoma’s Enon Baptist Association did their best to return the favor. Shepard and her husband Phil, who is a detective with the Lone Grove […]
Okla. elects 1st Native American president
BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (BP)--Emerson Falls, pastor of Glorieta Baptist Church in Oklahoma City and a member of the Sac and Fox and Choctaw tribes, was elected as the first Native American president of the Baptist General Convention ...
Ray Sanders resigns Okla. convention posts
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (BP)–Ray E. Sanders has resigned as executive editor of the Baptist Messenger and leader of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma’s communications team to join the executive team of Giant Companies, a Christian-owned leadership development and business strategy organization headquartered in Oklahoma City. Sanders, who had led the BGCO communications team since […]
