Black pastors fellowship eyes Cooperative Program, missions, church planting
INDIANAPOLIS (BP) – Engaging pastors in church planting, global missions and giving to the Cooperative Program are top goals of the National African American Fellowship (NAAF) of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2024.
CP Stage to highlight ‘vast and diverse spirit of cooperation’
INDIANAPOLIS (BP) – The “vast and diverse spirit of cooperation” fueling the Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program is the meat of the CP Stage topics on tap for the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting, stage organizer Charles Grant told Baptist Press.
Arizona repeals 1864 abortion law; Florida 6-week ban becomes law
PHOENIX, Ariz. (BP) – The Arizona Legislature repealed May 1 an 1864 abortion ban that would have protected life from conception, but the law could still take effect temporarily during a 90-day waiting period for the repeal to become law.
New Orleans seminary/church door-to-door evangelism outreach sees high return
NEW ORLEANS (BP) – New Orleans seminary professor Preston Nix cites his divine conviction of the need for neighborhood evangelism during his pastorate at Eastwood Baptist Church in Tulsa, Okla., in the mid-1990s.
Baptist families forced from homes, church in Mexican villages
HIDALGO, Mexico (BP) – Nearly 150 Baptists have fled their homes in Mexico after village leaders persecuted them because of their faith, cutting essential services and blocking entry, CSW reported April 30.
‘Kumbaya’: ‘Come over to Haiti and help us, Oh Lord,’ as crisis enters third month
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (BP) – “Kumbaya,” the Negro spiritual pleading with the Lord to come and bless the oppressed, filled the sanctuary of Parkridge Baptist Church at a prayer service for Haiti, its capital paralyzed by gang violence.
States sue to block U.S. rule including abortion in maternity-related leave
WASHINGTON (BP) – A coalition of 17 states that outlaw abortion is suing the federal government for naming employee leave for elective abortions as a benefit of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).
Tennessee second state to criminalize ‘abortion trafficking’ of minors
NASHVILLE (BP) – Tennessee lawmakers have approved an “abortion trafficking” ban making it a Class A misdemeanor to transport minors out of state for abortions without parental consent, or to procure abortion pills for minors.
Biden signs foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, with relief for Gaza
WASHINGTON (BP) – President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package April 24 that drew bipartisan support for Israel, Ukraine and other allies, and pledged to begin sending weapons and military equipment to Ukraine within hours.
Passover festival of freedom marked amid war, rising antisemitism
JERUSALEM (BP) – This Passover, Holocaust survivors in southern Israel are afraid to leave their homes, a regional messianic leader told Baptist Press, while in the U.S. a rabbi warns Jewish students to seek safety at home amid rising antisemitism.