[1]BCM/D introduces offering honoring George Liele
By Sharon Mager
COLUMBIA, Md. (BP) – When considering modern missions, most Baptists recognize the names William Carey and Adoniram Judson. But there’s a lesser known name to add to the list of early missionaries – George Liele, a freed slave who became a missionary, evangelist and church planter in the late 1700s.
In February 2020, the SBC Executive Committee designated the first Sunday in February as “George Liele Church Planting, Evangelism and Missions Day [2].” Robert Anderson, pastor of Colonial Baptist Church [3] in Randallstown, Md., made the motion to add the calendar date at the SBC’s 2019 Annual Meeting in Birmingham.
The SBC formally recognized Liele’s efforts as part of a resolution on “African American Contributions To American Baptist History [4]” at the 2012 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, the same historic year messengers elected the first African American SBC President, Fred Luter [5].
Additionally, in 2019, the SBC’s National African American Fellowship [6] renamed its annual banquet after Liele and presented awards to Julia Frazier White and Deborah Van Broekhoven, co-authors of the 2013 book, “George Liele’s Life and Legacy: An Unsung Hero [7].”
[8]In response to the new day of recognition, the African American Fellowship (AAF) of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware [9] encouraged African American churches to take a special offering during February in honor of Liele’s ministry. Gifts will support the The George Liele Fund and the BCM/D’s partnership with Kenya.
Read the full story here [10].
Baptist New Mexican changing publication size, frequency
By Kevin Parker
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (BP) – The Baptist New Mexican will transition to a larger monthly publication in March 2021, due to funding changes and cost increases. Along with the change in publication frequency, churches and individuals will also see adjustments in subscription pricing. The changes will allow the paper to continue publication and online availability and may allow for a return of some color printed issues, which were removed in 2020 due to costs.
Until these changes, the 109-year-old Baptist New Mexican newspaper was one of only two remaining weekly state Baptist newspapers among Southern Baptists. Other state Baptist news organizations either publish less frequently or have gone entirely online. The Baptist New Mexican staff began planning for the changes in mid-2020.
Since its beginning in 1912, the Baptist New Mexican has shifted its appearance and size, but has continually connected New Mexico Baptists across the state, told their stories, and informed them about the activities of their state and national denomination. During the convention’s leanest times, the newspaper continued to publish stories about God’s work in the state through Southern Baptists.
Despite the change in frequency and size, the newspaper will retain the same amount of news as found in three eight-page newspapers. Each monthly issue will retain only one of each type of opinion article, while the news space per issue will triple to match previous space.
Read the full story here [11].