Daniel Woodman

MOSCOW (BP) -- A new Russian law that prohibits evangelism and preaching outside state-sanctioned sites reminds New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary professor Jake Roudkovski of his days as a youth in the Soviet Union. "Baptist churches in Russia will survive" the law signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin July 6 and set to take effect July 20, Roudkovski, associate professor of evangelism and pastoral leadership, told Baptist Press. Such oppression "is nothing new to them.... They will stay faithful to the Gospel."

NASHVILLE (BP) -- An article on adolescent suicide in the medical journal Pediatrics reflects a trend in modern pediatric medicine by omitting mention of sexual activity and elective abortion as "significant risk factors" for teen suicide, according the American College of Pediatricians, a socially conservative medical association. "There has been an unremitting trend across all of medicine, including pediatrics, in concert with the advance of the sexual revolution, particularly since the legalization of abortion in 1973," the College said in written comments to Baptist Press.

JACKSON, Miss. (BP) -- A bill that would have safeguarded the religious liberty of individuals and organizations who refuse to participate in same-sex weddings or gender identity transitions was stuck down by a U.S. district judge Thursday night (June 30), hours before the bill was slated to take effect July 1.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in NCAA basketball history who professed her faith in Christ four years ago through baptism, died today (June 28) at age 64 after a five-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. Summitt, coach of the University of Tennessee women's basketball team from 1974-2012, was a member of Faith Promise Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in Knoxville, Tenn. Her pastor, Chris Stephens, told Knoxville's NewsTalk 98.7 June 27 she would "probably pass into heaven in the next few days." Stephens led listeners in prayer during a five-minute interview, praying, "I knew her as one of Your followers. She brought so many people to church, and there was such a side of Pat that so many did not get to see and know, but I did."

ST.LOUIS (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship's partnership with the Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism remains valuable in reaching Jewish people across the globe.

ST. LOUIS (BP) -- Finishing the first year of a five-year initiative to plant 100 new churches, the Filipino Southern Baptist Fellowship of North America reported progress on their goal. Filipino Baptist churches across North America have planted more than 20 new churches, Peter Yanes, FSBFNA president, reported during the fellowship's June 14 meeting in St. Louis.

Collegian Daniel Woodman sees different generations come together to impact St. Louis. Believers came together through the Crossover evangelistic outreach prior to this year's SBC annual meeting "to bring a gift that can be shared by all generations -- the salvation of Jesus Christ," Woodman writes.

ST. LOUIS (BP) -- Hotel reservations for the upcoming Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting are up 23 percent from last year's total in Columbus, Ohio, leading some convention leaders to project an increased messenger total as well. Some 13,275 hotel room nights in St. Louis have been reserved for the annual meeting while 4,923 messengers have been pre-registered online so far, the SBC Executive Committee reported. That's up from 10,829 hotel room night reservations in 2015 and 3,267 pre-registered messengers.

The upheaval at the University of Missouri, journalism student Daniel Woodman writes, can be a juncture that "breaks down the barriers of fear and allows us to see each other as the creations of God that we are and helps us see beyond our differences of opinion."

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Jumping out of airplanes, breaking free from jail cells, and evading death. It's just another day of work for Anthony Martin. Martin, a member of Mapledale Baptist Church in Sheboygan, Wis., started Ambassador in Chains Ministries in 1998. Martin uses his talents as an escape artist to draw people into local churches. He specifically hopes to attract those who would not necessarily come to the church for a more traditional presentation of the Gospel.