Church Planting

WHITEFISH, Mont. (BP) – At the very moment pastor Curt Sparkman spread his arms preaching a sermon at Lower Stillwater Lake in northwest Montana, a bald eagle stretched its wings overhead, Sparkman told Baptist Press.

LIVERPOOL, N.Y. – During the Annual Gathering of the Baptist Convention of New York (BCNY) Sept. 26-27, executive director-treasurer Frank Williams shared news of Send Network New York, a new agreement between the North American Mission Board’s (NAMB) church planting arm and the BCNY.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – Terminology goes a long way in perception. It’s difficult to get a clear picture if words have different meanings on different sides of a conversation.

CLERMONT, Fla. – On Feb. 10, Primeira Igreja Batista em Clermont (First Baptist Church of Clermont – Brazilian) celebrated its one-year anniversary with a moment of unforgettable joy: the baptism of a man named Marcelo, whose story of salvation has already begun to ripple into his family, the community and the nations.

FRESNO, Calif. (BP) – A task force commissioned by California Southern Baptist Convention Executive Director Pete Ramirez is preparing its report based on listening sessions going back to the spring of 2024, which will be delivered at the state’s upcoming annual meeting.

NORTHWEST WASHINGTON – One Slavic church plant transitioned itself from speaking Russian to speaking English, then “hived” itself into two churches.

VALLE VISTA, Calif. – Scenic Valle Vista is nestled in the San Jacinto Mountain range, and Valle Vista Baptist Church has faced mountains of its own to climb as the church sought to fend off closure. Jason Mayo stepped up three years ago to lead the church through a replant process as its bivocational pastor.

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (BP) – Although Michael Cooper and his wife Devon moved to West Valley City, Utah, in 2015 to work with the North American Mission Board as the Utah Church Planting Catalyst, the Coopers never anticipated that they would be the ones to plant a church in this area.

AUGUSTA, Me. (BP) – One of the traits that makes Maine and New England a fertile area for the Gospel is the same one that leaves many an out-of-state missionary asking, “What did I do?”

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Three years ago, during a regular meeting at Stevens Street Baptist Church in Cookeville, pastor Scott Parkinson tapped Jesse Haywood on the shoulder and asked, “Hey, do you want to plant a church?”