Tammi Reed Ledbetter

TUCSON, Ariz. (BP) -- Adam W. Greenway completes his first year as president of The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary encouraged by the reception he has found within the seminary community and the broader family of Southern Baptists. "I believe with every fiber of my being that the best days at Southwestern Seminary are in the windshield and not the rearview mirror," he told the TEXAN during an interview while attending a gathering of state convention executive directors and editors in Tucson.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- For the second year in a row, Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptists approved the largest increase among all state Baptist conventions in the portion of Cooperative Program receipts sent beyond the state next year. The new split of 65 percent for in-state missions and ministry and 35 percent for the work of Southern Baptist entities will deliver an anticipated $192,500 beyond the two states for international and domestic missions, six Southern Baptist seminaries, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, and the Executive Committee of the SBC. Joining Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptists with increases in the percentage given to SBC causes ...

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptists approved the most dramatic increase in the portion of Cooperative Program receipts to be sent beyond the state next year, moving from a 78/22 split to retaining 68 percent for in-state use and sending 32 percent for distribution to Southern Baptist missions and ministries. Simultaneously increasing their budget by seven percent, the huge leap to giving 32 percent of anticipated CP gifts of $544,000 to SBC causes follows seven years of keeping a pledge to increase the amount by a half percent annually from ...

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Escalating health care costs, increased expenses for utilities and other higher education costs have prompted personnel cuts at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Initial adjustments to operations were not sufficient to stay within the $36.8 million 2017-2018 fiscal year budget set by the seminary's trustees last spring, according to a Nov. 7 news release by Charles Patrick Jr., vice president for strategic initiatives and communications.

The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is facilitating connection points for churches to do intentional personal evangelism in the Dallas-Fort Worth area before the June 12–13 annual meeting.

GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) -- Even a 2-year-old can help the flood survivors in Houston and southeast Texas. That's the plan at Kristin Leonard's home, where her family is packing cleaning supplies for Hurricane Harvey survivors. When Normandale Baptist Church in Fort Worth announced plans to collect "Buckets for Harvey," she saw it as an opportunity for her family to get involved.

DALLAS (BP) -- As Dallas hosts next year's annual meeting of Southern Baptists, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is extending an invitation for churches to bring mission teams as well as messengers. Whether it is the week leading up to the June 12-13 meeting, extending their trip into the next week or finding another time frame later in the summer, mission volunteers will find plenty of opportunities from which to choose throughout the state, noted Barry Calhoun, SBTC director of missions mobilization.

JERSEY VILLAGE, Texas (BP) -- "Can I come to your church and bring my special needs child?" The question prompted Nancy Bergeron to launch a new Sunday School class at Jersey Village Baptist Church not long after she began serving as children's minister five years ago. "I said, 'Absolutely. We'll make room and do whatever we can to minister.'"

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Values-driven voting and defense of religious liberty were topics frequently addressed in annual meetings of state Baptist conventions this year as messengers voiced their concerns in resolutions. Nevada Baptists encouraged churches -- as led by their pastors -- to "engage in the political process by researching the candidates and ballot questions," helping their members vote "to reflect Biblical values in the upcoming election."

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Ohio Baptists approved the largest increase in the portion of Cooperative Program receipts sent beyond the state next year, moving from the current 59.75/40.25 ratio to a 50/50 split. "Supporting missions from Ohio to the ends of the earth is the heartbeat of Ohio Southern Baptists," said Ohio Executive Director Jack Kwok in praising the decision. The State Convention of Baptists in Ohio (SCBO) joins four other conventions that forward half or more to the Southern Baptist Convention, without a "shared ministry" calculation, including the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (55/45), Florida (51/49), Iowa (50/50) and Nevada (50/50).