EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) – “Pietàs” – sculptures of Mary grieving over her crucified Son – were so called because of the meaning of pietà in Italian: “compassion.” Other English words for pietà are “mercy, pity, and piety,” all of which are conveyed when one gazes upon Michelangelo’s Pietà.

PORTUGAL (BP) – In 2017, IMB workers Mark and Hannah Bustrum attended a retreat with missionaries from the region and invited national partners to participate. For more than a decade they had worked to strengthen relationships with Portuguese believers, but inviting them to this retreat was about more than building or maintaining those relationships.  

DURHAM, N.C. (BP) – SBC President J.D. Greear announced Monday (Sept. 14) that the theme for the 2021 Annual Meeting will be “We Are Great Commission Baptists.”

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – The International Mission Board joined with Barna Group for an online workshop titled The Future of Missions. The workshop, hosted virtually on Wednesday (Sept. 2), included IMB President Paul Chitwood, IMB staff and Barna Group representatives. Nearly 1,000 people joined the online event from around the world.

KEDIRI, Indonesia (BP) – Southern Baptists have a long history in medical missions and have continued to bring hope and healing during the COVID-19 crisis. Field workers around the world use hospitals and clinics as ministry centers to serve communities and offer physical and spiritual healthcare.

CENTRAL ASIA (BP) -- Anim* remembers the day when an old fortune teller told her mother that Anim had the gift of sight.

IMB’s oldest living missionary emeritus discusses vision for next 100 years; NAMB launches "Undivided: More than a Hashtag," designed to assist church leaders and their congregations as they navigate conversations about race.

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Rebekah Ann Naylor, a longtime medical missionary to India, has been appointed distinguished professor of missions in the Roy J. Fish School of Evangelism and Missions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the school’s administration announced today (Aug. 20). She is the first woman ever to hold such a position at the seminary.

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.

DICKSON, Tenn. (BP) -- Derick and Celia Cobb* traveled from Tennessee to South Asia to Latin America, training local leaders who would, in turn, train others. The retirees have made multiple trips as volunteers to partner with Chase and Rita Tozer*, IMB workers in South Asia.