[1]Mission:Dignity providing care to Southern Baptist retirees
By Jay Parker/GuideStone
DALLAS – On June 28, Southern Baptists will have a unique opportunity to support retired pastors, church workers and their widows on a special day of giving known as Mission:Dignity Sunday.
“Mission:Dignity is one of the most tangible ways that Southern Baptists care for those who have faithfully served others,” said GuideStone President Hance Dilbeck. “These retired SBC workers answered God’s call without concern for personal gain, and Mission:Dignity Sunday gives churches and individual groups a chance to honor that faithfulness and ensure they are treated with dignity and care.”
One hundred percent of the donations will go directly to the 2,600 Mission:Dignity recipients currently living on low incomes. Recipients like 81-year-old widow Sally Moore.
Sally and Dickie Moore shared 60 years of marriage, faithfully serving in ministry while raising four children. After decades of service that led Dickie to pastor churches and serve all over the globe, the practical realities of aging and financial planning finally came into focus. Unable to fully prepare for retirement, the Moores exhausted their savings. Providentially, a local associational missionary introduced them to Mission:Dignity and helped them apply for assistance.
[2]“Mission:Dignity is just one way God has supplied our [my] needs, but I praise Him when that monthly amount comes in!” said Sally, “I am able to pay my bills, tithe and even give to several mission causes I love to support.”
Around the same time that the Moores connected with Mission:Dignity, Dickie was diagnosed with dementia. He continued preaching for a few years before passing away in 2023.
“God is the reason for my strength,” Sally continued. “He has given me many friends who have stood by me in tough times. Those who have given their lives to serve God and His Church are very blessed to have this service, which continues to provide extra income when they retire.”
“It’s always a joy to see the generosity of my Southern Baptist family each year on Mission:Dignity Sunday,” said Mission:Dignity Director Aaron Meraz. “Your support helps our recipients live out their declining years with the dignity and care they deserve.”
Founded in 1918, GuideStone’s mission is to enhance the financial security and resilience of those who serve the Lord. Churches, Sunday school classes and other groups can learn more, download materials or give directly to Mission:Dignity by visiting MDSunday.org [3].
Union presents Akin with Dodd Award
[4]By Union University staff
ORLANDO – Union University presented Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Danny Akin with its M.E. Dodd Denominational Service Award June 10 during the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting.
The Dodd Award is the highest denominational service award Union gives. It is named for the man who was a 1904 Union graduate, served as president of the SBC and who was the father of today’s Cooperative Program, the method by which Southern Baptists pool their resources to fund their mission efforts.
The award, voted on by Union trustees, is given to a leader within the SBC who displays excellence and leadership in Southern Baptist life, as well as friendship and commitment to Union University. Past recipients include such leaders as Jimmy Draper, Adrian Rogers, R. Albert Mohler Jr., Steve Gaines, Paul Chitwood, Ben Mandrell, David S. Dockery and others.
“Dr. Akin has given Southern Baptists decades of dedicated, faithful service through academic service, extensive preaching and writing and by his steady example as a husband and father,” said Ray Van Neste, Union’s vice president for university ministries. “He has been a great friend to Union speaking here on numerous occasions, giving advice and sending two of his sons, Paul and Tim, to study here. I personally am grateful for his service and am delighted for Union to honor him in this way.”
Akin has served as the sixth president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, since 2004. He is retiring at the end of July.
Prior to Southeastern, he served at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as senior vice president for academic administration and dean of the School of Theology. He also served at Criswell College as professor of New Testament, theology and church history, and as dean of students.
He is the author and co-author of multiple books reflecting his interests in international missions, expository preaching and family life.
Akin and his wife Charlotte have four sons, four daughters-in-law and 15 grandchildren.
Mississippi Baptist Children’s Village wins Southeast Emmy Award
By Lindsey Carraway/The Baptist Record
LAUREL, Miss – Mississippi’s Baptist Children’s Village & Family Ministries [5] (BCV&FM) won a 2026 Southeast Emmy Award for its video “Continuum of Care,” produced through Cedar Creative, under the category of Informational/Instructional Short Form Content.
Earlier this spring, the same video won first place in three categories at the annual Baptist Communicators Association conference, one being the highly esteemed M.E. Dodd Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement in Radio, Television, Film & Video.
In under five minutes, the advertisement succinctly explains all six areas of ministry which the BCV&FM fulfills. Most audiences, however, are only familiar with one area.
“The video came out of a need for us to be able to clearly communicate the various ministries we have,” said Chrystelle Thames, director of communications. “For a long time, the Baptist Children’s Village & Family Ministries has only been known for residential childcaring, but we have even more than that now.”
In the video, a narrator takes the viewer on a “tour” of a dollhouse, in which each room depicts a BCV&FM ministry. As viewers “walk” through the home, the narrator describes the functions of each ministry in an informative yet personable way, all while actors portraying staff, children and families perform everyday moments.
Ethan Milner, director at Cedar Creative, has a “unique perspective on our ministry from a videographer standpoint,” Thames said. Milner, as the name may give away, is nephew to Sean Milner, executive director of the BCV&FM. Ethan’s father and uncle are alumni of the Baptist Children’s Village. Through his heritage, Ethan brings “an understanding of the history and the legacy” to the projects he has done with the BCV&FM.
When the BCV&FM approached Ethan with a need to visually communicate the many additions to their ministry, “he came up with the idea of the dollhouse, and each room as one of our programs, to help people understand what we do,” Thames said. “It has been very effective for us to be able to talk about what we call our Continuum of Care, which is that all-encompassing group of ministries which provide care for infants on through adults who are at-risk.”
For his excellent skills in directing and editing, Ethan also won two Southeast Emmy Awards recognizing his effective, high-quality work on the BCV&FM video.
The video may be viewed here [6].
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