SBC Life Articles by Trennis Henderson

SOPHIA, N.C. (BP) – Military wives and families "share their loved one with the world," said Mary Gray, a former military wife and current military family advocate. She is committed to serving the families of those she calls "the sons and daughters of America."

Mt. Lebanon Retreat and Conference Center has been making a spiritual impact in the lives of campers for nearly seventy-five years. But this year’s summer camp season has been unlike any previous year in Mt. Lebanon’s history.

Ministering to internationals is nothing new for First Baptist Church of Amarillo, Texas. In fact, the current program’s early roots date back to World War II and the Korean War.

LEOMINSTER, Mass. -- When Doris Opoku and her family immigrated to the United States from Ghana in 2008, they had no idea what ministry opportunities God had in store for them.

GALATIA, Ill. (BP) -- "Why did you become involved in corrections ministry?" It was a fair question that Karen Vinyard always had a good answer for: "My husband is incarcerated." Vinyard, a longtime Illinois Woman's Missionary Union leader, began volunteering in corrections ministry while her husband was serving 13 years in prison for drug-related charges. Their daughter, who was 10 years old when her father was arrested, grew up, graduated from college and got married while her dad was in prison.

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (BP) -- Launching an innovative ministry center in metro Detroit has been quite a rollercoaster ride for Sue Hodnett and her volunteer ministry team. The center opened in January in a small, tidy storefront in Shelby Township, Mich., offering Bible studies, one-on-one counseling and mentoring sessions, a "Mission Friends with Mom" pilot project and a food bank partnership.

FAIRBORN, Ohio (BP) -- What does a missions leader do when her Girls in Action group can't meet together? For Ginny Howell, the answer is simple: Form a one-woman neighborhood parade and go to them -- from a safe social distance, of course. Howell, statewide GA consultant for the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio, is in her fifth year as the GA director at First Baptist Church of Fairborn, Ohio. But she and her grade-school GA girls have never experienced a year of Girls in Action quite like this one.

GARLAND, Texas (BP) -- Missions discipleship is personal for Mary Lou Sinclair and her Acteens group -- even amid a pandemic. Sinclair has served as the Acteens director at Freeman Heights Baptist Church in Garland, Texas, for more than 20 years. During that time, five of her Acteens have been named National Acteens Panelists, and three others have been selected as Top Teens. They also have traveled extensively over the years to participate in mission trips, state and national Woman's Missionary Union annual meetings and Blume, a national missions gathering for girls.

PETOSKEY, Mich. (BP) -- Children's Missions Day, an annual missions emphasis promoted by Woman's Missionary Union, has the potential to generate missions projects that reach far beyond a single day. Such projects can be as practical as assembling and distributing fruit baskets to show appreciation to military veterans, firefighters, law enforcement officers and others in a local community. At least that's the case for True North Community Church in Petoskey, Mich.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. (BP) -- It would be challenging to find a ministry couple in Pennsylvania more committed to the role of Woman's Missionary Union than Kathy and Steve Sheldon. For the past 35-plus years, the Sheldons have invested their lives in families, churches and communities in their home state of Pennsylvania. Much of their ministry focus has revolved around engaging their churches and associations in missions on the local, state, national and international levels -- and the primary missions tool they have utilized is involvement in WMU missions support and discipleship programs.