News Articles by Brian Koonce

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP) -- It took until the final hours of the veto session late on Sept. 10, but the Missouri legislature has overridden Gov. Jay Nixon's vetoes and joined two other states with the nation's longest waiting periods before an abortion: 72 hours.

BALTIMORE (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting, June 10-11, drew 5,294 messengers to Baltimore from the nation's 45,000 Southern Baptist churches. The unofficial total is a three percent bump from last year's meeting in Houston, which drew 5,103 messengers. Official numbers will be released later in June and the numbers do not include guests or children.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- One of the catalysts of the Conservative Resurgence -- the Elliott controversy -- was examined by three Southern Baptist historians in a panel discussion Sept. 10 at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

NORWOOD, Mo. (BP) -- Days after churchgoers left their pews mid-sermon to tackle a gunman armed with a .357 magnum revolver, they returned to their seats at First Baptist Church in Norwood, Mo., for Bible study and to talk through the experience with chaplains.

NORWOOD, Mo. (BP) -- A man is in custody after witnesses say he opened fire during a Sunday (July 21) worship service at First Baptist Church in Norwood, Mo. Worshippers tackled him before anyone was shot.

HOUSTON (BP) — The 2013 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 11-12 drew 5,103 messengers to Houston from the nation’s 45,000 Southern Baptist churches. The unofficial total is a 35 percent drop from last year’s meeting in New Orleans, which drew 7,868. Official numbers will be released later in June. In 1993, the last time […]

NEW ORLEANS (BP) — Attendance at the 2012 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 19-20 tallied 7,868 messengers from the nation’s 45,000 Southern Baptist churches. Official numbers will not be released until later in June. In 2001, the last time Southern Baptists gathered in New Orleans, 9,584 messengers were in attendance. “We were expecting 8,000 […]

HANNIBAL, Mo. (BP) — Woodrow “Woody” Burt, president of Hannibal-LaGrange University since 1994, has informed trustees of his plans to retire effective Aug. 31, 2012. “God has blessed me with the privilege of serving at Hannibal-LaGrange for 32 years,” Burt said during a Sept. 9 board meeting at the Missouri campus. “As I begin my […]

PHOENIX (BP)--Attendance at the 2011 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 14-15 slumped below 5,000 for several reasons, registration officials said.

JOPLIN, Mo. (BP)--Relentless rain and the threat of more severe weather are holding back efforts in Joplin, Mo., to move forward with rescue and cleanup two days after the May 22 tornado that killed at least 117 people, including three worshipping at Harmony Heights Baptist Church. The weather is not cooperating. The Weather Channel forecast for the evening of May 24 noted a 70 percent chance of storms and winds of 20-30 miles per hour. Occasional thunderstorms may be severe, with damaging winds, large hail and possibly even another tornado. Wednesday's forecast is just as bleak with an 80 percent chance of rain and more strong winds that may produce large hail. Greg Walker, student pastor at Forest Park Baptist Church, asked for prayers that the rain and lightning would stop. "It would be a huge help," Walker said. "People go out to work and then they have to run right back." Steve Patterson, director of missions for the Spring River Baptist Association based in Joplin, said the rescue and cleanup process is barely moving. "It's been a long, strange prep stage," Patterson said. "Everybody is so ready to do something. We just don't want to get in the way of search and rescue work." Patterson said disaster relief assessment crews are staging to move in as soon as the city gives the go-ahead. A DR incident command center was set up May 23 at the Baptist Student Union of Missouri Southern State University and a meeting took place May 24 to regroup DR efforts and focus. On Sunday evening, 53 people at Harmony Heights Baptist Church were listening as pastor Charlie Burnett preached when storm sirens began to sound. Burnett moved everyone into the designated storm shelter interior rooms of the church (it had no basement). Moments later, the tornado hit the church, tearing it apart. "It is a miracle that many survived," Patterson said.