Mark Kelly

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (BP) -- Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc in Haiti and Cuba Oct. 4, destroying homes, fields and businesses and driving thousands from their homes in a part of the Caribbean where many people already struggle day by day just to survive. Baptist Global Response, a Southern Baptist humanitarian organization, is monitoring the situation in both countries to determine what response might be most appropriate and effective.

THE BRONX, New York City (BP) -- You've seen the pictures: burned-out buildings, junk cars littering vacant lots, drug dealers loitering on street corners. You've seen the news: In a single sweep recently, police arrested dozens of gang members accused of multiple murders, including the slaying of a 92-year-old woman. But the police can't fix the Bronx. Social workers can't heal the New York City borough, located north of Manhattan. Politicians?

PHOENIX (BP) -- When church planter Brian Bowman met Wes Sanders at Valley Life Church, the young congregation had just moved to a new location in the northern suburbs of Phoenix. "At the time, there were only about 50 of us, so it was easy to tell he was new," Bowman recalled. "I said, 'Hey, really glad you are here. I'd like to get coffee with you sometime.' Wes said, 'I want to bring my girlfriend Tiffany next Sunday. Maybe we all can talk then.'"

NASHVILLE (BP) -- The need for more churches in Fairbanks, Alaska, weighed heavily on Joe and Cindy Boney. As new church planter catalysts with the North American Mission Board, they were praying fervently in September 2015 that God would show them how He wanted to start new churches in this frontier city of 32,000 souls. Within the month, God had answered that prayer -- and over nine months, events have unfolded in a dramatic manner.

MINNEAPOLIS (BP) --- A young missionary family of five from Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis is being mourned after a highway crash in western Nebraska took their lives July 31. Jamison and Kathryne Pals, both 29, and their three children, Ezra, Violet and Calvin, ages 4 years to 2 months, died when their minivan was rear-ended by a semitrailer truck in a construction zone on Interstate 80.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- In the aftermath of a failed military coup, Christians in Turkey are likely to face increased scrutiny and more persecution, an international security expert told Baptist Press. An estimated 50,000-60,000 people -- soldiers, police, judges, prosecutors, civil servants and teachers -- have been fired or detained since the July 15 coup attempt, according to news reports. The coup is widely seen as move by elements of the military opposed to the increased political influence of Islam in the constitutionally secular country. Turkey's president, Tayyip Erdogan, has declared a three-month state of emergency, allowing him to bypass parliament to enact new laws and restrict or suspend freedoms, the BBC reported.

The need for more churches in Fairbanks, Alaska weighed heavily on Joe and Cindy Boney. As new church planter with the NAMB, they were praying fervently that God would show them how.

PHOENIX (BP) -- Some might say Queen Creek, Ariz., is growing fast enough to make a person's head spin. In just three years, a city of 29,673 southeast of Phoenix has exploded to an estimated 50,000 people. But Trey Van Camp's head isn't spinning. His heart is broken. "I was born and raised here. Queen Creek is one of fastest ...

Eighty next-generation leaders got an insider’s glimpse of the Southern Baptist Convention’s inner workings in a series of mealtime meetings with five key SBC leaders.

NASHVILLE (BP) --- Powerful earthquakes struck both Ecuador and Japan over the weekend, killing hundreds of people in the two countries and kick-starting local disaster response teams. In Japan, a three-day series of earthquakes and aftershocks rocked the southern part of the country. The tremors killed at least 42 people, collapsed buildings and caused fires and landslides, news agencies reported. The Ecuador quake caused ...