News Articles by Tim Ellsworth

CARTERSVILLE, Georgia (BP) -- Their proximity to the University of Georgia -- about 100 miles away -- would naturally lend itself to Georgia football fandom. But for the members of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cartersville, Ga., a transformation of sorts has taken place over the past couple of years. "It's funny, we live in the heart of Bulldog country, but all of a sudden we've had a big conversion of Bulldog fans to Clemson Tiger fans," said Richard Brown, the church's education and church growth pastor.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- As a boy, Rocco Grimaldi earned a nickname from his grandmother -- "Little David" -- based upon his similarity, in size and temperament, to the biblical David. It's a nickname well suited to Grimaldi, a right winger for the Nashville Predators, who for his entire life has always been the smallest guy on his team. At 5'6", 160 pounds, Grimaldi has to rely on more than just his physical attributes to be a successful hockey player.

HOUSTON (BP) -- For Anthony Rendon of the Washington Nationals, being a superstar baseball player comes with a lot of baggage that he can do without. He doesn't like doing interviews. He doesn't like being idolized. He'd prefer simply to do his job on the field and not have to deal with everything that comes along with it.

HOUSTON (BP) -- Lance Barksdale was a 13-year-old pitcher in a baseball game in Jackson, Miss., and he wasn't happy with the home plate umpire. The young pitcher thought pretty highly of himself, by Barksdale's own admission. But the balls and strikes weren't going his way. The teenage Barksdale pouted. He complained. He stomped around the mound. His moves attracted the attention -- and wrath -- of the man behind the plate.

TOKYO (BP) -- Missionaries in Japan are hosting three vision trips in October for those interested in leading mission teams to Tokyo during the 2020 summer Olympics. Daniel and Tara Rice, the International Mission Board's Olympics ministry coordinators for Tokyo, are leading a yearlong "Connect2020" initiative to connect Japanese people to God, Japanese Christians to other believers and Japanese Christians to the world for the purposes of evangelism.

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP) -- Paul Chitwood, president of the International Mission Board, was the recipient of Union University's M.E. Dodd Denominational Service Award this year. Union President Samuel W. "Dub" Oliver presented the award to Chitwood earlier this month at Union's alumni and friends dinner during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala.

ATLANTA (BP) -- Matthew Slater won't have any divided loyalties when he takes the field Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams in his fifth Super Bowl. With two Super Bowl victories and two losses, the New England Patriots' special teams player hopes to have a winning record by the end of the night. He's not quite as sure about his dad's loyalties. "He's told me he feels like he can't lose," Slater said about his father Jackie Slater, an NFL ...

ATLANTA (BP) -- About 150 volunteers from First Baptist Church in Atlanta packed 500 gift baskets on Jan. 30 that will be delivered to local children's hospitals as part of the Super Baskets of Hope initiative. The project, sponsored by Basket of Hope, a charity based in St. Louis, Mo., enlists the help of current and former NFL players who deliver the gift baskets to children and their families. In Atlanta, the baskets are going to children at Egleston and Scottish Rite hospitals. "We like Basket of Hope's philosophy, and we like what they were doing," said Mary Gellerstedt, director of global missions at Atlanta First Baptist Church. "Our folks enjoy doing something like this that's going to help somebody else."

ATLANTA (BP) -- For Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Brandin Cooks, Sunday's Super Bowl is an opportunity for redemption. Cooks was part of the New England Patriots in last year's Super Bowl but left the game prematurely in the second quarter with a concussion. He never returned to the game, which the Patriots lost 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles. After an offseason trade that sent him to the Rams, Cooks is thankful for another Super Bowl appearance. "I've asked God to redeem me since that moment," Cooks said in a post-game interview following the Rams' NFC Championship victory over New Orleans. "I'd always pray, from that moment, to redeem me in such a way to glorify Him. And I think He's doing that."

ATLANTA (BP) -- When Heather Havard was a freshman in high school, she heard the song "27 Million" by worship leader Matt Redman about the number of slaves in the world. She was moved enough to begin doing her own research and taking measures to fight human trafficking. This weekend, she's leading a group of 10 people, most of them students at Sam Houston State University, where Havard is now a sophomore, to Atlanta to raise awareness during the Super Bowl about the problem of human trafficking. "The Super Bowl is the number one event every year where human trafficking rates skyrocket," said Havard, a member of University Heights Baptist Church in Huntsville, Texas. "Traffickers will come from all over the country, and some from places all over the world. They'll rent out whole hotel floors. Sometimes you'll find that entire hotels are rented out by traffickers."