Passion for ministry embraced by pastor
VIENNA (BP) -- One Southern Baptist pastor has found a renewed vision and passion for ministry through embracing one of Europe's unengaged, unreached people groups. "This is more than an opportunity to do missions," Keeney Dickenson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Crockett, Texas, said. "This is an opportunity to reawaken in us what true ministry really is, what evangelism is really about, and what it should be."
March for Jesus draws 12,000
VIENNA, Austria (BP) -- I must admit, when organizers told me they were expecting 5,000 to 10,000 people to gather together in Vienna's main square to proclaim the name of Jesus, I was skeptical. And when I was told a march around the central part of the city would conclude with a festival that included Christian music and preaching, I was even more doubtful about the impact this event would have.
Ukraine conflict prompts local church response
UKRAINE (BP) -- Artillery shells rock buildings. Armed men run through the streets firing their weapons. Citizens take refuge in any safe haven they can find. Yet, Christian workers in eastern Ukraine say the church has never been more alive.
Baptists assess damage in eastern Ukraine
Prayer draws ‘God’s wing of protection’ over Ukrainian city
KHARKIV, Ukraine (BP) -- "Our city is under God's wing of protection," Nadia, a Ukrainian believer, said.
Nadia said she feels it when she goes to the main square of Kharkiv each morning to pray for the city and for Ukraine. The eastern Ukrainian city, located just 20 miles from the Russian border, was expected to be one of the first to fall to pro-Russian separatists. But even though major cities in neighboring areas are controlled by separatists and embroiled in bloody battles, today Kharkiv remains relatively peaceful and residents say public demonstrations on both sides have all but subsided. For more than 130 days, believers in Kharkiv have started each morning on their knees in prayer. They believe God has honored their prayers. "This is not about us," Nadia said. "It is not about our prayers. But God has been faithful to hear our prayers and to keep our city peaceful and safe." The Kharkiv "prayer circle" began at the onset of the EuroMaidan revolution in Kiev. Started by a small group of evangelical believers -- mostly Baptist -- the group has grown and some days swells to nearly 200 people. Joy Burnett*, an International Mission Board worker based in Kharkiv, said the group has been faithful to meet regardless of weather or other conflicting factors. "In the days between the Maidan revolution and when violence broke out in the east, we were not sure what would happen here in Kharkiv," Burnett said. "There was lots of fear and uncertainty." And for a time Burnett left the city as tensions between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army rose. "I really missed being with the group during that time," Burnett said. "I may have been living somewhere else, but at seven o'clock each morning my heart was always with my brothers and sisters in Kharkiv. I really wanted to be with them on the square praying."Hands get dirty to help flood victims in Serbia
FIRST-PERSON: From tragedy to tourism
KIEV, Ukraine (BP) -- Just a month after the fiery riots now known as Euromaidan occurred in Kiev's Independence Square, I visited Ukraine's capital. I was there less than a year before this most recent trip, but that was a different time -- a different Kiev.
Attacks don’t hinder Ukrainian Christians
DONETSK, Ukraine (BP) -- Christians gathering to pray near a political rally site in one of Ukraine's eastern cities have come under numerous attacks -- even gunfire -- from protesters.
Unity found amid conflict in Ukraine
HAUNETAL, Germany (BP) -- As Russian tanks rolled through Crimea and thousands of people staged demonstrations both for and against the governments of Russia and Ukraine, there was one group united by something other than nationalism or a common language.
2nd VIEW: Olympics outreach bolstered by theme song
NASHVILLE (BP) -- Though the Olympics involve sports, they are so much more. They are about grandeur. They are about patriotism. And they are about people of the world coming together, if even for a few brief weeks.
