Missionaries take precautions as U.S. strikes terrorist targets
RICHMOND, Va. (BP)–Southern Baptist missionaries living in tense areas of Africa and Asia were responding to U.S. State Department warnings Aug. 20 to stay off the streets and out of sight. The warnings came as anti-American sentiment rose in response to U.S. cruise missile strikes against suspected terrorist operations in Sudan and Afghanistan. Extremist Muslims […]
Talks toward merger stir hope among South African Baptists
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (BP)–South African Baptists still bruised by apartheid continue to move toward a level of unity that promises to make them a powerhouse in evangelizing the rest of the continent.During a forum in Colesberg, South Africa, in May, delegates from the formerly white-dominated Baptist Union and black-dominated Baptist Convention decided to put the […]
Lottie Moon receipts surpass goal for first time since 1981
RICHMOND, Va. (BP)–For the first time since 1981, Southern Baptists surpassed their goal for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions. When the books closed May 31, the 1997 offering totaled $100,064,318.10.The $7 million increase from 1996 was the second-largest in history and helped produce the offering’s fifth straight record year. The increase alone […]
Israeli lawmakers clear new anti-witnessing law
JERUSALEM (BP)–A bill proposing a three-year jail sentence or $13,700 fine for people who verbally witness about Jesus the Messiah cleared a first reading in the Israeli legislature May 20. But the bill, like other restrictions on free speech and religious freedom, faces an uphill battle against international opposition. Among those voting in favor of […]
Personnel join mission board to broaden development effort
RICHMOND, Va. (BP)–In its quest to embrace the many ways Southern Baptists choose to work overseas, the International Mission Board has begun re-tooling its financial development programs — linking them to efforts to create missions-minded churches. In the past, development officers have focused on raising money by nurturing people who sought to give through special […]
Relief to Tanzania’s Gogo leads to decisions, growth
DODOMA, Tanzania (BP)–The Gogo people who live in the Dodoma region of Tanzania farm tiny plots of land where they grow a yearly food ration according to the mercies of the rainy season. The “rainy” season of 1997 wasn’t so merciful. A drought caused most crops to wither. Others flowered hopefully, then drooped and died. […]
Iranians not enemies, but lost, believer says
TEHRAN, Iran (BP)–Like other Iranian Muslims, Ali began a search for truth that led him beyond the dictates of the prophet Muhammad. Ali, who was called a “good Muslim,” received a set of Gospels in his mother tongue, Farsi, mailed to him by a Christian broadcaster. While reading Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” Ali realized […]
Russian Baptists race to gain gospel foothold
MOSCOW (BP)–The race is on in Russia. In this vast and complex republic where countless local kingpins resist the gospel, Baptists and other evangelicals are pitted against time to secure a foothold for the King of Kings. Gone are the days of the glitzy, big-name crusades that came rushing in from the West to fill […]
Ugandans respond to God’s plan for sexual purity in face of AIDS
KAMPALA, Uganda (BP)–Donning gym trunks and rolling around on a plastic tarp with water poured over it isn’t the best way to bathe. But it effectively conveys a simple message: It’s much easier to bathe when the water is contained inside a wash basin.It’s a message Baptists in Uganda have found useful as they try […]
Largest-ever increase for Lottie Moon projecte
RICHMOND, Va. (BP)–Southern Baptists have given the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions its largest dollar increase in history, according to a forecast released March 11. Lottie Moon receipts are expected to total $102.6 million when the books close in May, surpassing $100 million for the first time in history. That would be the […]
